Black

Part 9 Black Butterfly

It had been a week since his death
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It had been a week since things fell apart only to be picked up again.
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It had been a week since things started to change
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It had been a week since she noticed something with Maria.

"Amber Callan you're assigned with Maria".They had been assigned a group project constitutes of two group members. Much to Haley dismay, who had been assigned with Jennifer, Maria and Haley were put together to work on their project. The topic had been specified along with other queries. Besides Marina, Amber had always worked with Sean. Their coordination had always been the good one without any much effort. But now, he's gone, she didn't know how she would work with someone else and none other than Maria herself. Maria as if on reading her thoughts snaked her hand in Amber's and gave it a light squeeze in reassurance. Haley's eyes narrowed at the intertwined hands. It took her all of her will power not to tear them apart from each other. She had already warned Amber to stay away from her but the girl had sworn to run straight in the mouth of danger. The bell rang and the hallway got crowded by the tired students towards their lockers. Maria looked around for Amber making her way through the douche bags and bitch queens not caring if she had bumped into someone or pushed someone back roughly. She released a breath that she didn't know,she had been holding when she found Amber at her locker.

"Hey Amber...", she panted smiling at the the latter one.
"It's at my house tonight at 5 pm".

Amber closed her locker and scanned the beaming face of Maria for no reason other than them working together. Maybe it's about time that she would peel layers of mystery off Maria.

"Okay at 6". Amber nodded back slinging her bag on her shoulder and walked from there. Maria smiled at her retreating form. Maybe it's coming true...

Someone bumped into her that sent her stumbling back. Maria jerked her head up only to meet Haley's blazing eyes in anger directed towards her. Something transpired between them and Haley brushed past her leaving a scowling Maria behind her.

-
Amber took a nice bath before dressing into plain skinny jeans and white printed top. She grabbed her stuff, files and jacket while checking her phone on her way downstairs. Her mother was out of station to check their aunt and had decided to stay there for two weeks. Not that Amber had much cared about her mother, they started growing apart after Marina's death. She locked the door, double checking it and pulled out Sean's car from her garage driving to Maria's house. She stopped at her house mansion she should have mentioned and got out of the car stuffing keys and car remote in the rear pocket of her jeans. Maria had already been there to receive her, must have heard her car when she pulled over. Her hair were up in the bun, and was in shorts and black cropped top that revealed her belly showing a butterfly tattoo on her waist.

"Hey!"Amber greeted her eyeing the tattooed girl who was smiling for no reason. Maybe coming to her house didn't appear to be a good idea but there was something about her that intrigued Amber.

"Let's go inside"Maria motioned her towards the house. They passed the lawn that was dotted with red and royal blue roses. A black butterfly fluttered and sat on the sleeve of Amber's jacket. She smiled and looked up to find others fluttering in the dimmed evening. They looked like petals of black roses falling down the sky. Maria stopped to have a look back of Amber whose eyes were watching dancing butterflies in both awe and confusion.

"They aren't bats." Amber took in smirk of Maria whose palm had a dead butterfly on it and its wing was ripped apart from its body. Something spoke differently eerily about her; the aura Maria had sent chills down her backbone. She felt naked, shivered underneath Maria's glazing eyes and adjusted jacket closer to her form as if it would hide her from Maria's eyes. It might be cold in the atmosphere, she told heself. Without saying much, they got inside the house and Maria offered to take off her jacket hanging it on the stand.