Killer

Chapter 3: Stranger in the Woods

For the rest of the week, everything was going at its own pace. It was like everyone had dropped the whole fight between Rachel and me and moved on to talk about this girl named Emily Rochester being pregnant by some guy from the baseball team. I was going through these two days with no eyes or whispers on me, although there were some girls flirting with Jace in English class. And to my surprise, it bothered me a little, but I managed to keep my distance.

I walked inside my house to find my mom's boyfriend, Rick, in the kitchen, spreading some mayo on slices of bread. "Hello." He said.

I shot him a look. "Uh, hi."

"Do you want a sandwich?" Rick offered. I would rather chew up a piece of gum off the ground than take anything from him.

"No, I'm good. Thanks." I answered politely. I looked around and asked. "Where's my mom?"

"She left to go to work," he sarcastically told me. There was an ugly smirk plastered on his face that I honestly wanted to wipe off. "They called her in to clean up shit from the toilets." He started to chuckle, and that was my cue to leave the kitchen to go upstairs.

Rick was just another annoying drunk that was added to the list. Nothing else is new. I padded to the window in my bedroom and gazed out through the glass surface. In the hopes of seeing Jace strutting around without a shirt again. But no, I saw nothing but his large, green backyard and that shed.

It was an early Friday evening, and I refused to stay inside with Rick. He was going to aggravate me, and I didn't have the patience for that. I decided to text Tre and ask him for his address.

WHAT IS YOUR ADDRESS?

I waited for at least ten minutes for him to respond.

5344 BAE AVENVE

I turned my phone off and opened up the top drawer to select an outfit for tonight. For the longest time, I've always worn hoodies and leggings to cover up my body, hiding everything as much as I could. But tonight, something came through and washed away all my insecurities. I pulled out a black dress that appeared to be tight. I held it up and analyzed it. The dress once belonged to my mom. She had a perfect body—such as large boobs, a smaller waist, and wide hips. I had a similar shape to that as well.

I stripped out of my clothes and pulled the black dress down to my waist. It felt like a glove, absorbing my frame as I stared at the mirror. My cleavage was showing, and my butt was protruding from the back. To cover up my revealing chest, I threw on a jean jacket and buttoned it up. I then combed my blonde hair with a brush and applied a little amount of lip gloss to my lips. Pairing the outfit with some combat boots.

Before I left my room, I looked into the mirror one more time to finally accept the look. It was decent enough to go out.

I raced down the steps to see Rick sprawled on the sofa, drinking a beer. On the television was an episode of Duck Dynasty. A plate of a half-eaten sandwich sat on the table, which was so low that Midnight could easily get a hold of it.

He didn't even bother to turn his head as I slipped out of the house through the back door. The warm September air was meeting my bare legs as I was walking down our narrow driveway. I stopped and looked at Jace's house for a minute. His blue truck rested still in the driveway, and the lights inside the house were not easily discernible to tell if they were on or not. A slight part of me wanted to walk up and knock on his door. The last time I spoke to him was the day he decided to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, which was ridiculously sweet. Other than that, we really hadn't spoken to each other.

Not until now.

Jace was coming out of his house. He was wearing a black shirt that showed off his nice arms and a pair of gray sweatpants. His skin was so clear and gorgeous under the orange sun when it hit him. He looked so mysterious and handsome—like a force gravitating toward me, almost.