Secrets of Adeline (Book 2)

Chapter 24: The door

     After what felt like hours, familiar headlights shined into my driveway. My dad exits his jeep with a calmed face. Relief floods over me as I let out the air trapped inside my lungs. Running, I greet him with a hug.

     "Oh, thank god! I thought you were going to do something crazy!" I sputter.   "No, I couldn't find them. I called the cops, though. Nothing to worry about." He shrugs, brushing off his anger with a quick motion. Releasing him, he heads inside. I jog back over to my friends, Jordan deciding to walk home.

      "Are you sure that you don't need a ride?" I raise an eyebrow. " I'll be fine." He nods reassuringly. "Okay..." I bite my lip, crossing my arms. Zack didn't live too far away, in fact, only a few blocks. So, him, Jasper and Todd took an alley home. They exit the gate, I hug them on their way out. "See you soon." Todd throws up his hand. "Promise?" I question, still afraid the SUV would come back. "Yes, we promise." Todd gestures to the rest of the guys. "Okay." I wave them off.

     Paris and Jessica are all that's left. A phone buzzes, catching my attention. "Hello?" Jessica answers. There's a silent pause, indicating someone was talking on the other end. "Okay, sounds good. We are at Adeline's. Can you come get us?" She nods. Another pause. "Mkay. See you soon." She purses her lips. "Our moms on her way." She turns to me, clicking her phone off. "Oh, okay. Are you guys okay?" I ask them both. "Yeah. This will make a great story, huh?" Paris laughs, nudging me. "Defiantly!" I agree.

      A few moments pass by and soon, Paris and Jessica's mom pulls up, honking the horn for them to go. I hug them goodbye and soon their gone.

    Entering my bedroom, I clumsily flop onto the bed. Sleep consumes me quickly, the morning sun brightening my face. With a yawn, I slip into a fresh set of clothes and head out the door. I decide to walk to Kat's, ignoring her previous blow up.

     After a few blocks of walking, I arrive at her front door. Cody greets me with a smile. "Hi." He brightens. "Hi..." I trail off. "Hey, I'm sorry for ditching you like that. It was wrong of me." He shakes his head. "No biggy." I shrug. And just like that, everything went back to normal. The previously shattered puzzle slips back together, forming my friendship not only with Kat, but Cody, too. And for that, I was thankful. We small talk for a few moments, Kat joining him by his side. He looks down at her, marveling at her beauty. His smile growing wider, he brings her in for a kiss. "Ehem." I clear my throat awkwardly, ruining the moment. "Sorry." She laughs. "I just find him irresistible." She adds, trailing her fingers through his blonde hair. "Okay, so do you guys want to hang out or not?" I laugh. "Yes, of course!" Cody returns his preoccupied eyes to me, Kat following. "Okay, let's get everyone else then." I decide aloud. "Sounds good." Kat agrees.

     After stopping at everyone's house, we manage to gather Malory, Jessica, Paris, Beatrice, Zack, Todd and Jasper. We recount our adventure from the previous night to Kat and Cody, them nodding with curiosity every few moments. "So now what?" Malory asks. A moment of silence rushes over us, everyone deep in thought. "I got it!" Jasper breaks the silence. "Okay, what?" Beatrice raises an eyebrow. "Well, my aunt owns this old, abandoned building. No one has stepped foot in it for years. Maybe we could have ourselves a little adventure?" Jasper smiles with delight, rocking on his heels. "Yes! That sounds awesome!" Cody jumps in the air. Kat giggles at him. "Deal. But does it have electricity?" Paris wonders aloud. "Well... No. But nothing a few flashlights can't fix." Jasper hints. "I have a few in my car?" Todd suggests. "Okay, yeah. You go get those and we will wait here." Jessica answers. "Sweet!" Todd excitedly jogs off.

     After a few moments, Todd returns with a bag of flashlights. Jasper leading the way, we start to walk to the building he told us about.

      We walked for what I thought was thirty minutes, the trail pouring off to dirt and trees. Twigs snap beneath my feet, birds chirping softly in the distance. The leaves blow with the wind, creating peaceful music of the nature surrounding us. A little rabbit hops across the dirt trail a little ways up, Paris wide eyed with happiness. "It's so adorable!" She squeals. "Calm down. Your so annoying." Jessica whines. One of their usual miniature sisterly fights break out, only lasting a few moments. "Y'all need to calm down. It was just a rabbit." Jasper calms them. "Fine... But she started it." Paris mumbles. "Enough." I snap. She flashes a dirty look at me. All over a bunny...