"You knew I'd come back for you, sweetie," the intruder said with an evil grin.
--
Getting caught up in the problem is the easy part.
Getting out unscathed though? Not so much.
Maya's life never seemed to be complicated but once her mother's murder...
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"There is no way that he's your brother." I said with so much certainty as I turned towards Zara.
With a small nod from her, my certainty broke down into nothingness.
I turned back towards the guy that opened the door.
Happiness coursed through me as I screamed, jumping straight into him.
"Connor, you absolute d;ckhead, how could you do that to me?"
"Do what?" he chuckled as he hugged me back. "Last time I checked, I was being pummeled for you."
"I'm so sorry about that. I really, really am. You know I would never hurt you."
"I was kidding, don't worry."
Undoing myself from him, I turned back around the face the others, my face probably turning crimson as the two boys stared at me weirdly.
Derek was the one to break the awkward silence when he asked "So, how did Maya not know you had an adopted sister?"
"We were trying to keep it on the down low."
That caught my interest.
"Why would you need to keep that from me?" I asked, I mean I was meant to be one of his best-friends.
He just stayed silent though, standing there for a few seconds before completely changing the subject.
"So, where's Ocean, how's she been?"
The sudden question of curiosity sucked the life out of the room. How could I break it to him that our only other friend was, in fact, dead?
I looked over at everyone in the room, an awkwardness settling in between everyone. I glanced towards Jacob and his face was filled with so much guilt.
It wasn't his fault though.
"Connor, I don't know how to say this easily," Derek said, a sorry look taking over his face "but Ocean didn't make it."
Watching his face fall so quickly was heartbreaking, the way his eyes just dropped and the way his head hung told us everything we needed to know. He needed his space.
We watched as he just walked away, up the stairs and out of our view.
"He'll be fine, give him till dinner." Jacob reassured.
That's when I realized, I don't actually know today's date, never mind, I don't even know the time!
"Guys, what day is it?"
"Thursday, why'd you ask?"
"I mean, the actual date. I don't know how long I've been at Jacob's."
"It's the 23rd of May." Zara told me.
"WHAT!" I exclaimed.
I'd been at Jacobs since the 15th of May. It's been well over a week.
There's no way I've been here for that long. No way.
