Where It Leads Us

Chapter Sixty-two

It's been two weeks since we retrieved the last note. I've been up all night for the past few days, searching for clues that may be hidden in the text of the letter. I did everything I could think of, including turning the paper upside down and attempting alternative word combinations. I even looked the terms up online to see if they had any other meanings, but nothing turned up, so I came to the conclusion that the search for her notes was really over.

It's been two weeks, too, since I haven't sat well with the thought of them being over. I'm still deep in thought, and I can't help but feel frustrated and irritated. I'm beginning to question if those notes were ever intended to be discovered, and if not, why do the people I've spoken to who knew her appear to be aware of them?

I shake my head in an effort to clear my mind of the thoughts that were beginning to develop. Since then, I haven't had a good night's rest since I couldn't stop thinking about those notes and Elise's intentions. I wound up with more questions instead of getting answers to my initial questions.

I prop my elbow up on the window while supporting my head on my hand's palm. I exhaled heavily to myself as I closed my eyes, attempting to release all the stress from my body at once.

"What are you thinking?" I hear Aaren speak beside me as I forced my eyes to open as I look at him. He turned to my side, giving me a spare glance before setting his eyes back on the road.

Aaren invited me to watch a movie at his house after we had a conversation about the new movie that was released on Netflix just last week. He thought that we should watch it together since I'm interested in that movie and haven't found the time to watch it.

"Nothing," I said as I closed my eyes again, "Just tired."

"Do you want me to drive you home so you can rest?" He asks, "We can just reschedule next week if you want."

After our note-retrieving trip, our time together hasn't been too frequent. He was busy looking for part-time jobs to earn money for a new car before he leaves for college, while I was busy trying to uncover clues about the last note we got.

Speaking of college, I still don't know where I want to attend or what classes I want to take. Clarissa helped me look for classes at several universities online. She even had a plan for Zania and me to take a road trip after our high school graduation to see the colleges in person so that we could imagine ourselves going there.

I shake my head, "No, it's alright."

I felt his hand on mine as I immediately opened my eyes again. I stared at his hand, feeling the want to cry only to swallow away the pain that was forming inside me, "Hey, whatever it is that's keeping you caged within your thoughts, I'll be here to listen when you're ready to speak."

I nodded my head. I didn't need him to tell me because I knew that already, but Aaren's reassurance would always keep me steady instead of drowning.

After we grabbed some snacks at the grocery store, I planned to doze off on the drive to his house, but we arrived in less than five minutes. His home was of average size and was constructed to accommodate a family of four or five. It reminded me of my old house, except theirs was a little smaller.

As soon as we got off the car, I followed Aaren as he inserted the key to the door to open it. I entered their home and the first thing I saw was the portraits hanging on the walls. I quickly go over the framed photos, formal photos of him and his family, and some stolen photos that were displayed on the entry table near the front door.

Aaren leads the way as I follow him upstairs to his bedroom. It was my first time being inside a guy's house and my first impression of a guy's bedroom was that it would probably be a mess, but it turned out to be so clean and tidy.

"You can just sit there," He pointed to the chair on his desk. My gaze scanned the room's interiors as I pulled the chair out and sat down. He's moving back and forth, gathering clothes and some other items before tossing them into a basket while I watch.

"Hey, what do you want for dinner—"

A woman who looked to be in her late thirties emerged out of nowhere. She was dressed in a maroon cardigan over a white spaghetti top and black tights. She immediately plasters a smile at me, and I return the favor.

"Hi," I immediately stood up when she leans on the doorframe and greets me.

"Uh-" I awkwardly started as Aaren immediately stood in front of me.

"Mom! I didn't know you were home," Aaren says as he turns to look back at me, plastering an awkward smile on his face before looking back at his mom.

I watch as his mom rolls her eyes at Aaren, "What do you mean? I've never left the house since we got home from the hospital."

"I-I mean I thought you were out buying some groceries or something," Aaren scratches the back of his head. He immediately stands on my side and introduces me, "Anyway, this is Lauren. She's my..."

Girlfriend? Friend? Classmate?

Aaren looks at me as if he didn't know what to say. I watch his mom's lips slowly tug into a playful smirk, "H-Hi," I offered my shaky hand towards her. I was completely shocked when she pulled my hand and hugged me instead.

"Just tell me if he's not taking good care of you and I will scold him for you," His mom whispers into my ear before she pulled away from me, lightly. She winked at me and said, "It's nice to meet you, Lauren."

His mom crosses her arms to her chest, "You know, this is the first time Aaren brought a girl over—"

"Ha-ha, okay mom! You can go now," Aaren forcefully turns her mom around and pushes her out of his bedroom door.

She looks over her shoulder and says, "If you guys need anything, I'll just be in the bedroom, okay?" she looks at me and smiles.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Aaren says. Before he could close the door to his room, I heard his mom laughing.

Aaren claps his hand before letting out awkward chuckles, "Let's watch?" he says as I nodded my head. He took his laptop to the floor before sitting down in a crossed-legged manner, and I just did the same.

As soon as he flipped his laptop on, his eyes opened wide, and he moved it slightly out of my line of sight. I saw a familiar picture that was displayed on the laptop screen as I furrowed my eyebrows at him. He soon began frantically clicking on the mouse pad before repositioning the laptop in the middle.

He flashes me a smile before looking for the movie on Netflix. I try not to be too curious about it as we watched the movie in silence. I shake away the thought that formed inside my head. I could just be seeing things, plus, he did promise me a request I asked of him. But, why do I feel like he's hiding something?

***