Hamartia [Nanowrimo] | ✓

Four

A piercing, loud sound sliced through the midnight air, but Tequila was already awake. She had woken up from a terrible nightmare a few hours ago. Her hair had been tangled in knots and her pajamas drenched in sweat. She had tried to go back to sleep but the nightmare was still visible, lingering on her skin. So she decided to soak herself in cold bath water which had calmed her down immensely, that is until she heard sirens blare down the streets. 

Her hands tremble fearfully as she rested them on both sides of the bathtub. She leaned her head back while taking slow, but deep breaths. The sound of sirens increased, nearing closer, but then all together the sounds suddenly came to a stop. 

A flash of fire appeared around her before quickly disappearing. The tip of her nose twitched as her whole body lurched forward. Her whole body began to shake furiously and her breath became heavy. 

The air around her whispered warning signs at her, telling her it wasn't safe here. She forced her hands to quit moving as she firmly gripped onto the side of the bathtub. With all of her might she managed to pull herself out of the water. 

The ends of her black hair dripped water all over the floor, but she kept moving. Grabbing a towel from off the back of the door, she quickly wrapped it around her body. One hand held up the towel and the other wrapped around the silver doorknob, slowly turning the knob. She cursed as the door creaked. Afraid that the door was going to make a sound again, she slid through the opening space. 

Was someone controlling her?

Because as she wheeled herself around the side of her bed to look out the window, something tugged at the bottom of her towel. Without knowing, her feet had turned her around and was now walking towards the stairs that led downstairs. 

The tips of her fingers slid down the smooth wooden railings as she tiptoed down the stairs. Standing up straight and sucking in her breath, she made herself weightless. She didn't want anyone to wake up because of her clumsiness, especially since she was almost naked. 

She reached the bottom of the stairs with perfect ease. Her golden eyes roamed around the living room before catching sight of a sleeping Victoria. She wasn't surprised that Victoria had picked the couch to sleep on. Every time she came to Tequila's house she would always refuse to sleep in Inigo's and Nero's bedroom. On the other hand, Rayland could care less where he slept so she figured he was in one of the boy's beds. 

Tequila's body stiffened as she heard a branch snapping that sounded as if it as in her front yard. She watched the slow rise and fall of Victoria's chest to see if see had also heard the noise, but her friend made no indication that she had heard. 

Slowly and carefully, she reached across Victoria's body. She tried to wrap her hands around the blind cords, but kept missing each time she tried to grab one. Huffing, she leaned forward and stretched her arm as far as it could go. 

She finally was able to latch onto the tiny threads of string and yank it down, allowing the blinds to be pulled upwards. Making sure it wasn't too noticeable, she only raised the blinds up enough for her to see through. 

But Tequila had never been good at math or measurements - whatever that was. 

She peered through the window only to see the one thing she feared the most.Between two big pine trees was a solid red mask. She couldn't see their eyes to tell if they had seen her, but once her heart started thumping against her chest, she knew they had. 

A loud piercing scream left tequila's dry lips as she stumbled backwards. She could still see the red mask facing in her direction. She lost sight of it as her butt came into contact with the carpet. Cursing under her breath she quickly scrambled to her feet. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the subtle movement of Victoria's eyes opening.