The Bad Girl Wears Pink ☑️

Chapter Eight

The door closed and I hurried down the steps of the Collins' home with the key still in my pocket. My feet carried me over to the garden beneath the window where the flower pots were, where the jar that the key had been placed in for safe keeping was hidden.

I lifted the lid and dropped the key back inside closing it quickly and tucked my hands back into my pockets. I was mindful to keep my head down just in case someone was watching as I walked down the Collins' driveway.

A red SUV came cruising down the street just as I reached the length of the driveway and walked onto the sidewalk. I recognized the SUV immediately without even having to look at the license plate. It was the one I had seen his mother driving the day before, and I've also seen it in and around the parking lot at the floral shop or twice. Careful not to make any form of eye contact, I kept my head low and crossed the street over to the only blue house just as the SUV entered the driveway.

An annoying feeling in my chest told me I was being watched, my eyes that did not belong to Mrs Collins alone. The vehicle engined died and I heard the sound of doors opening as she exited the car in the driveway. The garage where the Beetle was parked was still open, which was a shocker. It was almost like no one lived in the house.

Taking long strides I marched my way up the strange people's driveway and into their garage to get the car. I opened the door and hopped inside without even fidgeting and turned the keys in the ignition right before stepping on the gas and backing the car out of the garage, alarmingly faster than I normally would.

I glimpsed someone peeking through the window curtains of the house, looking shocked and confused, probably thinking it was some sort of robbery. The car hit the asphalt and I didn't have time for a meet and greet with the people that lived on this street and tugged at the seat belt and put it on using one arm with the other on the steering wheel.

Mrs Collins stood on her front porch, cellphone in hand staring directly at the car. I didn't wait for her to write the license number off either, only speeding away as soon as I got a clear view of the empty street with no oncoming traffic. The clock on the dashboard flashed eleven as the car sped down the street heading in the direction of John Wickerman High.

I propped my elbow on the car door against the glass and checked the rear view mirror checking every few seconds. I had placed a good enough distance between the Collins' house and myself in only a few short minutes. My stomach grumbled and I frowned. I was completely starving and the grumbles grew louder. Since I was still a matter of minutes from the nearest eatery, I settled for some well-needed entertainment and turned on the car stereo and cranked the volume up in the Beetle, rattling the windows a bit.

Music blasted from the speakers, a noteworthy bit from Fall Out Boy, which left me grinning smugly at the days accomplishments and the horrors that would be Blade Collins reality in only a few short hours

I drove swiftly while tapping rhythmically to the beat on the steering wheels, waiting to belt the bits and pieces of lyric that I actually knew. This was my cup of tea. Not most of the generic thrash that gets overplayed on the radio and most television channels that offered music as entertainment for persons my age.

I rolled the windows down and the wind whipped my face and I pulled the hoodie from my head. The Beetle was going just below fifty even though there was very little traffic. It was peaking noon so the traffic would be congested in just under an hour when persons went out to run their errands on their lunch breaks, which caused more chaos and turmoil than ever before and started unnecessary drama between belligerent drivers.

The Beetle slowed as the town loomed into view. I had passed John Wickerman high about two minutes earlier, making sure to toot my horn as I cruised along, then stuck my middle finger in the air as the music blasted from the speakers and I bobbed to it. The town wasn't abuzz with activity yet and I rolled the windows back up.