The Innocent Lover

Chapter 8

Lucas

The entire day with Jerald had been a blast, as usual, but he got called mid-way by Kayla and I let him go. Their romance was still in its early stages and I didn't want to be the destroyer of such sweetness; like someone I know.

However, Jerald insisted that I go to his house and wait for him. So here I was in the evening, unlocking the door with his keys and stepping inside the dimly lit room.

The silence inside made the house seem empty, and I wondered where Mary was. After all, Jerald had told me she would be home by now.

I took my phone and decided to dial her number, just to check if she was home. Just then, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I turned, to see a dark feminine-looking figure standing by the flower vase near the kitchen passage. Is Mary trying to play a prank on me?

Let's play along then.

I switched off my phone and turned around.

"Who's there?".

"No, who's there," a familiar voice that wasn't Mary's replied but I could tell in an instant who she was.

Iris!.

"Wait," I said walking over to the wall.

I noticed her grab the vase beside the small display table as she took in a deep breath and screamed whilst swinging it in the air back and forth.

Fuck.

"Iris. Iris, it's me," I called out but she wouldn't yield.

She backed up on the wall and kept on screaming. Walking towards her was making it worse and at this rate, she was prone to losing her voice, so I stopped.

"Iris!" Mary's called out from the passageway. " That's Lucas, can't you hear him calling your name".

The screaming stopped and Iris tilted her head a little whilst looking at me, as if to make sure what Mary was saying was true. She slowly put the vase back on the small table in a robotic manner, as if she had forgotten how to move.

Mary started laughing and made her way to where I was, surprisingly maneuvering her way in the dark without bumping into anything, just so she could slap my hand whilst laughing.

I don't know how she fell, but Mary rose from the ground and took in a big breath of air, whilst supporting herself on one of the sofas, a big grin plastered on her face.

"You two get along for a while, I have a match in a minute," she said fanning herself before turning on her heel, leaving Iris and me alone for the third time since we had been with her.

I felt the warm air drift away as Mary left, and in its place came an unsettling feeling that made me feel jittery. Iris's glare wasn't making it any better too.

"So," I began. "What are you doing here?"

Silence fell in the room and I felt stupid. Why did I just ask such a silly question? Of course, she was here to be with her friend.

"I - um, I came here for a sleepover," she replied adjusting the vase beside her.

"Oh, that's good". I replied trying to judge her reaction in the dark.

The lighting wasn't reflecting on her face and for some reason it irritated me a lot.

I want to see her face.

"Can you turn on the lights," I said pointing at the light switch beside her.

"Huh?".

"I mean the lights, you know, switch them on?".