Fire And Ice

Chapter 20 - Set in Motion

Natalia's P. O. V

Heart pounding, I let out a whoosh of breath as I heard three sets of feet exit my house, followed by the sound of the front door closing.

I waited for the sound of their car's engine to fade before leaving the library and going downstairs to get the cleaning supplies.

'That was close.' Candy stated.

I picked the mop, broom and bucket up, 'Too close. What was that, Candy? I could feel you under my skin.'

'I guess your anger brought us close to shifting.'

I threw the cleaning supplies down, uncaring about the fact that they landed in my blood, 'Then what about those times I was being beaten into a pulp at the pack? Why didn't you come out then? Keily's snobbishness is nothing compared to what they put me through! What Clark put me through!' I paused, taking a deep breath to calm myself, then asked the question that had been nagging on my mind for almost three years, 'When Clark was about to rape me, where were you, Candy?'

She was silent for a long time. When it was evident that she didn't have an answer for me, I busied myself with cleaning the bloody mess on the kitchen floor. After that, I put the throw pillows back to the way they were before the surprise visit that ended in mayhem.

I slipped up again, I thought to myself as I looked at my newly healed hand. It was a bad idea to get hurt around them but, despite being aware of this, I'd let my anger get the best of me and had shattered a plate in front of Keily.

I sighed as I put the last thing away and made my way to my room. I opened my door and paused, catching a familiar scent drifting from my bathroom. Sniffing, I realised that it belonged to Trevor.

Eyes narrowed, I scanned the bathroom and my room for anything missing or out of place. There were no signs of foul play. I even checked my closet only to find nothing.

'Why would Trevor be in your room? Keily, I could understand, but not Trevor.' Candy asked.

Despite being mad at her, I replied, 'I don't know. I told them not to go into my room and I know I didn't hear my door open.'

I stared at the recently used Jacuzzi for a while before I realised another slip up I'd made.

'Great.'

'What is it?' she asked, confused.

'The bathroom was still steamy when I said Trevor and Greg could show Hailey and Keily around. Trevor probably came in here before the place cooled down.'

'Why is that a problem?' she asked, still not understanding

'It's a problem because I told Greg that I was already baking cookies before they arrived. I'm pretty sure they left some minutes after I did so if I'd taken a cab, I wouldn't have had time to bake cookies and use the Jacuzzi. '

'I see how that can be a problem but you can't do anything about it now. The more important question is why Trevor was here. What are they up to?'

I nodded, 'Don't you think it's strange, how Trevor didn't use the door to get in? I didn't hear any doors leading outside open till they left so he couldn't have used a window.'

'This has been bothering me for a while. When Greg cut himself, he didn't make a sound. Normally, a person would have hissed or yelped or something to indicate they were in pain but he didn't. He just watched your face intently, like he was looking for a reaction as you helped him then he looked confused, like your reaction was unorthodox.'