The Girl Who Found The Darkness

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty One

After that day, things change. I'm not allowed to go anywhere alone, except for when I'm sleeping, which means I can only talk to Ben in the night. I usually stay up until 4:30 AM just to talk to him. I usually take a nap after lunch so it won't be as noticeable I'm losing sleep. If David notices I'm not sleeping, he would get even more worried about me.

Chloe has become more secretive lately. She's always vague when talking to me, and tends to spend all of her time helping Marsa. In fact, she seems to be avoiding me. David doesn't mind, though. It's like he got another maid for free. And plus, then David gets more alone time with me.

And, of course, David is treating me like a china doll. He always talks to me softly and can't even say something sarcastic anymore. It's annoying. And that's exactly why I never told anyone before. I hate being treated like I'm weak.

One night, in the middle of May, I can't take it anymore. I wait until David leaves and goes to his room, and then sneak downstairs. I walk to the movie room, hoping to watch some Sherlock, but I notice that the light in the game room is on. Curious as to who's in there, I open the door and see Marsa on the computer.

"Oh, Juliette, what are you doing up so late?" Marsa asks, surprised.

"I should be asking you the same question." I respond snarkily. Marsa sighs.

"I guess you're right. Come here, I want to show you something." I walk over to the computer and see Marsa's on a social networking site.

"How'd you get on there?" I ask.

"David blocked all of the websites you can contact someone directly and tell them we were kidnapped."

"Yes," Marsa says, "but this website is different. It's called High Five, and it's not very well known. On here, you can't comment on someone's post, and David blocked me from posting anything."

"Oh. So, what did you want to show me?" I ask, kind of annoyed.

"There's this guy on here that calls himself Ben_Downs." Marsa explains, showing me the guy's profile.

"He's really cool and funny, and he's a total gamer. He talks about game hacks and glitches all of the time. And, he loves creepypastas. I think you would really like him." I blink. His name is Ben, and he likes game hacks, and creepypastas. What if he was my Ben? No, that's ridiculous. It's just a coincidence.

"But, unfortunately, he has a girlfriend, who he calls JNS." Okay, this is definitely Ben. JNS are my initials, Juliette Noelle Stevenson. I wonder why he got an account, though. That's weird.

"He sounds cool." I say, pushing away my thoughts.

"Yeah, he is." Marsa says.

"You would love him."

I already do, I think. I almost laugh at the irony.

"I can get you an account, if you want." Marsa offers. I shake my head.

"No thanks, I'm good." Marsa nods. Just then, I notice a small paper on the computer keyboard that looks like it's been folded a thousand times. I look at it more closely and realize it's a picture. It's a picture of a man and a woman, and three little kids, two girls and one boy. The smaller girl has auburn hair, and is the same height as the boy, who has blonde hair. And then it hits me.

"Marsa, is that your family?" I ask, gesturing to the picture. Marsa's face immediately darkens and she quickly takes the picture and stuffs it in her pocket.