🎧 Music Recommendation: Lily by Alan Walker 🎶

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  "Where the hell is Mason?"

  I slowly opened my eyes to see Melissa pacing in a rush. Her fingers flew to her mouth, and she began chewing her nails, anxiety practically emanating from her. What was she so worried about?

  "I don't know, Mel. My calls haven't been getting through," Silas replied, his eyes fixated on his phone.

  "Ugh. Soon, it will get really late, and then, it would become too dangerous to go into the woods."

  Silas dropped his phone on his laps and flopped his head onto the headrest in defeat. "It's official. My brother is completely unreliable."

  "OMG." She groaned. "Why can't we just leave him and go already?"

  "We can't. He'll never forgive us if we go without him, and besides, he's with some of our things."

  "Why are you so in a rush anyway?" Eve asked Melissa softly.

  "Tonight is the first time in years since my parents left me home alone. They went for some fancy business meeting. Who knows when I'll be left alone again?" Melissa rubbed her fingers on her shirt to wipe away the saliva and brought her hands to her hair. "I think I'm gonna go outside and wait for him."

  With that, she stormed out of the living room, leaving Silas and I alone.

Ding

  Silas looked down at his phone screen which lit up and said, "Mason just sent me a text; he'll come in a few minutes."

  "Good, Mel can stop panicking now," I replied, smiling.

  "Yeah." He shifted nervously in his seat. "Can I ask you something?"

  I nodded. "Why not?"

  "Oh, okay. Uh... First of all, you already know I... like you," he began, before getting up from his seat and sitting beside me. "Actually, I don't want to pester you about anything, but I just want something to be clarified. I don't know if I'm just getting mixed signals or I'm just stupid in this kind of thing. Oh, and, it's not like I want to force you or anything; it's just—"

  "Stop with all the 'justs', and get to the point," I laughed.

  He chuckled before clasping his hands. "Yeah, you're right; sorry about that. I won't beat about the bush anymore. I just want to ask if you like me too."

  "If I like you?" I averted my gaze to my hands in thought.

How do I answer without hurting his feelings?

  I cleared my throat. "Silas, you're an amazing guy, honestly, and—"

  "On second thought, it was a mistake going outside." Silas and I turned to see Melissa standing at the door with a strange expression.

  "Mel, I thought you left." I smiled at her but received an annoyed look in response. Although my smile faltered, I added, "Silas said that Mason will be here in a few minutes, so no need to panic anymore."

  Melissa did not respond and, instead, plopped herself down on a chair. Then, a painful, deafening silence ensued. The atmosphere was thick with tension and awkwardness, and her cold aura made it difficult for me to even try starting up a conversation. Why was she acting like this all of a sudden?

  "I... I'll be at the toilet," I announced. Weird how the first excuse that came to my mind was doing my duty.

  "Do you know where the lavatory is?" Silas asked almost immediately.

  "Yeah, I've been here more than once. Oh, and, please, never call it the 'lavatory' again." I chuckled before quickly leaving, gladly escaping the tense ambiance.

  I limped to the toilet, and as soon as I shut the door, I sighed in relief.

  "Mel has been acting so weird. She wasn't like this last night." I frowned as I pondered. "What if it's because of Silasʼ feelings for me?"

  I grasped the pendant of my necklace and whispered, "What am I gonna do now?"

  "Aurelia..."

  My eyes widened as my heart dropped into a bottomless pit. I turned to each corner of the room, searching for who had called my name. However, I saw no one.

  "Aurelia, where... are... you?"

  "Who's there?" I peeped, feeling tears threaten to spill from my eyes. What was happening?

  "Aurelia!"

  Falling to my knees, I covered my ears at the shrillness of the voice. "Stop it!"

  "Aurelia... Aurelia..."

  The unknown voice became louder and shriller, and I could no longer bear it. I found myself growing frustrated, my fear giving way for irritation. "Leave me alone!"

  Suddenly, I heard from behind the door, "Eve!"

  I jerked away, startled. Without thinking, I lowered my head and began to shiver uncontrollably. My body quaked as though I was immersed in the coldest sea.

I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy.

  "Eve, are you alright?"

  I heard the door swing open, and I was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace. Suddenly, I felt another pair of arms wrap around me, making my skin start to crawl.
Four hands.... Could it be another monster in real life?

  "Shh, it's alright. We're here."

  "Mason?" I asked softly, confused as the person placed my head on a shoulder.

  "Yeah, it's me. It's okay; you're fine. Don't cry anymore," he whispered as he stroked my hair, making all the fear and panic melt away.

  "Wh-Who is the other person hugging me?" I asked, sniffling.

  "It's Silas. I'll leave if you feel uncomfortable," Silas said from beside me.

  "No, don't go. I need... you all to stay," I replied softly. My heart began to fall calm as Silas caressed my back.

  "Mel, don't just stand there. Come here," I heard Mason say.

  I raised my head to stare at my best friend who was standing away from me farther than I thought, both literally and figuratively. Goosebumps spread across my skin as a rush of emotions flooded my whole being. Why wasn't she with me, comforting me?

  "You alright, Eve?" she asked, avoiding eye contact.

  I shook my head, hoping she'd look at me. Melissa sighed, "Alright, let's go to the living room and talk."

  Silas and Mason helped me to my feet, and we began walking to the living room. When we reached the three-seater couch, I slumped onto it and shut my eyes with a shuddering breath. I couldn't keep my eyes closed for long, though. Who knew what would happen if I did? Another monster appearance?

Just within few minutes, all these happened.

  "Eve, I don't think you're in the right state to go to the Dark Woods tonight," Melissa stated.

  I did not reply, for I knew she was right. What had happened had become nothing but a fresh memory—a memory that left me with an irrational fear. If I went to the Dark Woods tonight, I would probably turn full-on crazy, seeing things that weren't there and embarrassing myself in the process.

  "First of all, before we talk about that," Mason began with a glare directed to Melissa. "We need to know what's wrong with our friend."

What's wrong with me? Were they really asking what's wrong with me?

  Silas straightened his back, ready for an explanation. "Yeah. What happened there?"

  "D-Didn't you guys hear anything?" I asked.

  Silas exchanged glances with Mason, before replying, "We did hear something. When you excused yourself, I wanted to wait for you at the door because we weren't done talking. Then, I heard you... talking and yelling to yourself."

  "Didn't you hear a very shrill voice?"

  I could not be the only one who had heard that ear-piercing voice, right?

  "No, not really," he answered. His gaze turned from worried to concerned. "Are you... okay?"

Wait a second; did he just ask if I was crazy? Was I crazy though? Of course... not. That voice was real.

  If my friends thought I was crazy, who else but my superstitious dad would believe me?

  "I am not crazy! I am fine, and my mental health is absolutely stable. There's nothing for you or anyone to worry about," I snapped.

  "Eve, I didn't say you were—"

  "Well, you didn't have to. I understood perfectly," I said, my voice cracking.

  "Are you really sure you're able to go to the Dark Woods?" Mason asked softly with a gentle gaze. He was staring at me as though I was a child throwing some stupid tantrum.

  Him too?

  "Yes! For Pete's sake, yes!" I yelled, without a second thought.

  I knew if I refused to go to the woods, they would conclude I was too mentally unstable. With a firm resolve, I agreed to go, regardless of the fear lurking at the back of my mind.

  "Alright then, let's go now." Melissa got up.

  "No, no. You can't seriously consider going. Look at her, she's clearly not fine right now," Mason whispered to her.

I knew he thought I was crazy!

  I grabbed my phone from the table and rose, unable to look at anyone. "Where are the bags we'll be taking?"

  "They're... at the dining table. Why?" Mason along with Silas stood, looking ready to catch me in case I fall.

  Was I baby or something?

  I rolled my eyes in exasperation before heading to the dining room.

  We carried the bags outside, and I almost dropped mine upon seeing a black car parked beside the sidewalk. Mason smirked as he walked towards it, saying, "Presenting our ride!"

  "You brought a car?" Melissa asked, astonished.

  "Yeah, we can't go on feet, can we?" he asked, his question rhetorical, as he opened the boot of the car and placed his bags inside.

  "But, who'll drive?" I asked

  "Silas, of course. I know I'm not to be trusted with vehicles," he replied, leaning on the body of the car.

  Melissa and I threw our bags into the car, and with raised brows, she asked, "Silas can drive?"

  "Yeah. Dad taught him how to before he left, and we probably won't need a driver's license. So... all aboard The Silas Express!" Mason announced before shutting the boot.

  "All right! Finally!" she yelled, pumping her fist. "I call shotgun!"

  "No way, I call shotgun," Mason whined.

  "Eve, you coming?" I heard Silas ask.

  Taking in a deep breath to calm my nerves, I nodded and said, "Yeah."

♠️

  The drive was peaceful yet awkward at the same time, and the reason was clear. After all, I was the one who caused it.

I shouldn't have snapped at anyone.

  I leaned my head against the wall, watching the full moon, in all its glory, and rethinking my every decision. Finally, we arrived at the entrance of the Dark Woods. A tall, metal fence stood before us, and a sign was placed next to it. It read:

Entry prohibited!

  "Great, there's a fence. Now, we can't enter," Melissa mumbled, rolling her eyes.

  "And we can't actually break it. If we're caught, we'd probably have to pay a fine," Mason stated, his brows furrowed in contemplation.

  Then, to our surprise, a voice said, "Seriously? But I thought nothing could stop animals from breaking in. What a surprise."

Oh, dear God. Don't tell me...

  "Hailey? What are you doing here?" Melissa asked in shock like the rest of us.

  Hailey ambled towards us with a smirk. "I'm here to join you guys in this crazy adventure, duh! It's not fair if you guys are the only ones who missed school for three whole days."

   Yeah, we'd get in so much trouble for that," Silas muttered.

  "We'll make a plausible excuse, don't worry," I whispered to him. "I hope," I added under my breath.

  Averting my attention to Hailey, I asked, curious, "Who said you could come?"

  "Charlotte."

  "And, did your parents allow this?" 

  Hailey's smug smile fell, and a familiar aura of hatred emanated from her. "Don't you ever mention my parents. And also, don't tell me each of your parents know about the adventure y'all are headed to."

  "Actually, they don't. Let's just go before it gets too late," Silas said, stepping in in our conversation. He took out his phone and glanced at it. "It's a few minutes to eleven, almost midnight."

  With only a glance, Hailey sent me an unspoken promise to argue later. Then, my friends proceeded to pull out the heavy bags from the car while I headed to the front passenger seat for a quick rest and to take some paracetamol.

  After I had some painkillers, I watched as Mason walked over to the metal fence and asked, "Uh... how are we going to enter though?"

  Hailey answered, "Charlotte said that there's a hole big enough for each of us to crawl into. You just have to look for it."

  "Me?" Mason pointed to his chest with raised eyebrows. He shook his head and chuckled. "No way, sister; we're gonna look for it together. Now, get on your knees and start looking."

  I giggled as Melissa pushed Hailey down and yelled at her to start searching.

Ding

  I jolted at the sound, and saw my phone turned on, notifying me of a message. I found myself smiling as I realised it was from my dad.

Dad 🫂❤️
I hope my princess is doing fine. If you feel woozy, give me a call. And if you miss your old man, you can come back home. This house feels empty without you here, Green. Stay safe!
I want you to come back with all your body parts intact.

  I felt a burst of warmth in my heart at his words.

Me
Aww, thanks, dad. u make me miss you already. Don't worry, I'm def doing  great! <3

  As soon as I hit the send button, Silas announced, "Found the hole."

  I climbed down the car and walked towards the fence. I caught Hailey whispering, "Why did she get to sit there comfortably like a princess, while I got on my knees like some sort of peasant?"

Hailey and her histrionics [1].

Wait, did I just make an alliteration?

  "Who's crawling in first?" Mason asked, jutting his thumb to the hole.

  "Me!" Hailey rushed to the hole. As she bent down, sha paused and asked, "Silas... if I get stuck in the hole, you'll push me in, right?"

  "Yeah... why do you ask?" he questioned, confounded [2].

  "No reason," she replied, giddy smile and all.

  Then, Melissa shouted, "Ugh! Hailey, you're disgusting!"

  "How? Why did you say that?" Mason asked, curiosity and amusement gleaming in his eyes.

  Melissa turned to him, and I could not help but hear her say, "Don't you get it? If she got stuck in the hole, the only way to push her in is by touching her arse."

  Mason laughed hysterically and gave Silas several good pats on the back. He squinted his eyes, trying to understand why he was laughing. I shook my head at them with a chuckle, not knowing what to say.

  "Hey, you rats," Hailey suddenly called out, gaining our attention. "Stop laughing like a pack of hyenas and hear me out. I saw something strange here; come take a look."

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[1] - Histrionics: Exaggerated, overemotional behaviour, especially when calculated to elicit a response

[2] - Confounded: Confused, astonished

Woohoo! I'm finally done with this chapt! Oh, I loved writing this. I got such a rush from typing this chapter, I made some errors. Feel free to point out any of them!

So, y'all can vote, comment, and even share this book with your friends. I'd love it if you share your thoughts about this chapter and how you feel too. That'd truly make my day!

Oh, and, before I forget, I wanted to thank the people who wished me a happy birthday on the 14th of August. My thanks would have come earlier, but certain issues prevented me. >_<

Thanks for reading, darlings! Stay peachy perfect. ❤️♥️