Engraved

Chapter Five

"They what?" Lucas cursed under his breath, marching over to the short, stubby girl with flyaway hair. She looked so afraid of Lucas. Which Mori found completely ridiculous, her pale blue eyes widening as he approached.

"They saw her, when you guys left the café. Not only that, but they know who she is." The girl explained, taking a few steps back from Lucas who was towering over her. Annalise rested her hand on Lucas' shoulder, which Mori presumed was to calm him down. Mori had never seen Lucas even a little pissed off before, let alone fuming. The more the day progressed, the more Mori realised she knew next to nothing about Lucas. What she thought was him was just a tiny segment of who he really was and it frightened her. She only saw him as a fun-loving cocky piece of shit. But it started to occur to her that he was made up of so much more than that.

"Don't get angry Lucas. It was bound to happen, we'll figure this out, okay? Just don't take it out on Valerie." Anna said with a cool, collected tone, but it seemed like there was a hidden, panicked voice underneath it all. Mori was just happy to put a face to the 'Valerie' name. It had been dropped in conversations multiple times, but she was never curious enough to ask any more about it.

"This isn't fair. It's too soon." Lucas grumbled, pulling at the blonde roots at the front of his head in frustration. His eyes watered, glistening in a sad pool of blue, but no tears threatened to fall. "Her life is over from this point onward."

Mori had no idea what Lucas was getting so worked up over, to her it didn't seem like very big deal, what could be so bad about someone seeing someone else? It happens everyday. She was too afraid to question anyone about it, though, in fear that it would only work him up further. Mori had never seen Lucas cry, and she didn't want it to be today.

"I'd hate to interrupt but," Mori spoke out into the silence, fiddling with her thumbs awkwardly. "But can I go home now?"

Everyone turned to her, each sending her looks of a different emotion. She didn't like the atmosphere of the place, it sent shivers down her spine, she felt like she was constantly in danger. You could say it was fear of the unknown, or just fear that she didn't know anyone around her, at least, not anymore.

"Mori look,"

She jumped slightly at the sudden voice, not even noticing Dani standing up or walking at all, him suddenly being by her side.

"We're your friends now, your family. You have to trust us."

He seemed so genuine, his cocoa eyes full of compassion and warmth, for some reason it seemed rare for him, she got the vibe that he usually wasn't so welcoming. His words, however, only creeped her out rather than comforting her like he intended. Everyone here just seemed insane. She never needed friends before. And her mother was her family, she didn't need these people just throwing themselves at her. If she was going to have friends, it was going to be 100% voluntary, not forced on by a bunch of weirdos.

She didn't reply to him, just shuffling awkwardly away from him, gradually getting closer to the door.

"I'm not a good person, hardly fit for a good friend either. I'm just gonna go now, forget about me, please. I'm sure there are tons of people willing to join your creepy friend club, sorry, but, I'm just not interested." Mori said, giving up on pretending to be nice when that was just the opposite of her. She had her back to the door, slowly wrapping her hand around the handle, turning it carefully, trying not make a noise. It creaked open, she watched all their reactions, but none of them tried to make a move, just staring at her blankly. She turned to leave, not expecting to bump into a body, falling to the ground with a thump. She hit her head against the door frame, cursing whilst rubbing the wound. She wished she wasn't wearing her uniform, running away would've been so much simpler without a skirt. She stared up, ready to meet her victim, not expecting to see blonde hair and green eyes looking down on her.