Days went by quick and it was time for the Thanksgiving break.
If I'm being completely honest, I was so happy going back home. The school stress and all the drama with Damon had gotten to me.

Going home was a breath of fresh air and on the plus side, I get to see Jeff, Maya and Dimitri.

"Hey." I said as soon as Hope picked up.

"Hey, how was your trip? Are you home already?" She asked hurriedly.

What was with this girl and overexcitement of recent?

"Yeah, I just settled in few hours ago." I answered.

"That's great. Send my love to your Mum and Uncle Dimitri." She said.

"I will." I replied.
"Are you sure you can't convince your mum to spend Thanksgiving with us?" I asked.

I had been really excited for this thanksgiving break because it will be drama free, I had gotten closure and was no longer hurting because of my father and brother's death and I was going to have my favorite people around. But then, Hope called to inform me few days ago that she won't be coming home for Thanksgiving. Her mother wants them to spend it together.
I definitely understand where her mother is coming from but I'd be lying if I say it didn't hurt a little.

"I've tried. I really have but she keeps saying we need this 'alone time' to bond." Hope said.
"This year will definitely be different without you being around but we still have next year and many other years. Don't fret." She added.

"Yeah I guess you're right." I replied, cheering up a little.

There was a knock at the door and my mum walked in almost immediately.

"Something just came up, I'll call you later." I said as my mum signaled to me that someone was downstairs.

"Okay Bye girl." Hope said and ended the call.

******************************************

"Wait so you're telling me that she actually made everyone believe that?" I asked laughing.

Dimitri was telling me about his latest encounter with some lady who was obsessed with him.

"Yep. Luckily, it was obvious that the guy in the video wasn't me. She almost got arrested but I decided not to press charges. She traveled to Spain not long after that, said she wanted to start afresh and do something better for herself." He said taking a sip from his drink.

"Good for her I guess. You're nice for not pressing charges, that video could have tarnished your reputation if the guy hadn't messed up the video by letting a part of his face show." I stated honestly.

"Yeah I know, but it's all good. How about you? How has college treated you so far?" He asked.

"It was little stressful these last few weeks but it's been good, better than I expected." I answered.
"By the way, Hope sends her regards." I added.

"That's nice. How is she coping with her mum and all? And I thought she was coming home for Thanksgiving." He said.

After the incident with Sylvester, Dimitri had felt really bad for Hope.
Finding out your father and brother had a lot of blood on their hands wasn't an easy pill to swallow.

"Based on what she has been telling me, her relationship with her mum is getting better. And about coming home, her mum apparently needs them to spend some bonding time together and Thanksgiving is more or less perfect timing, so she won't be coming." I explained.

"Oh wow, that's..well good I guess." He said looking thoughtful.

"Anything the matter?" I asked him.

"Not at all." He replied.

"Dinner is ready." My mum said stopping me from probing Dimitri further.

******************************************

"Any gift ideas?" Mum asked.
"I'll love to do something thoughtful for all our friends this year's thanksgiving." She added walking into the kitchen just as Dimitri and I were rounding up cleaning from tonight's dinner.

Dinner was fun.

Mum, Dimitri and I discussed about a lot, made jokes and laughed like we didn't have a worry in the world. Definitely something I could get used too.

"You could send out gift cards or Christmas decorations." Dimitri suggested earning weird looks from both mum and I.

"Emphasis on the word 'thoughtful' Dimitri." Mum said causing me to laugh.

"At least I came up with ideas." He said going back to drying the dishes.

Mum looked towards me expecting my suggestion.
I raised my hands up in surrender, I was terrible at gift ideas. Most likely worse than Dimitri, the only thing that makes me seem better is that I don't bother giving suggestions.

"I'll just go check the internet." She said walking away.

I and Dimitri laughed and went back to cleaning.
We kept light talk as we worked, it was fun until I suddenly had that weird feeling that I was being watched.

I discreetly looked through the windows but didn't see anything out of place.
Telling Dimitri sounded like a good idea.

"I need to tell you something." I said to Dimitri.

"Okay?" He said raising his brow in question.

"I think there's someone following me." I said.

Dimitri looked at me for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter.

"Wait, you're serious?" He asked when he realized I wasn't laughing along.

"Of course I am." I said with a frown.

"Since when?" He asked.

"Sometime around Halloween period. I always feel like there are eyes on me, especially when I'm alone." I answered.

"Any prove or clue?" He asked.

"Well except from a note of encouragement I got after my argument with Damon, nothing." Saying it out made me feel ridiculous. I kept remembering what Cole said the note could mean.

"The note may not be from a stalker it may-"

"-just be a concerned neighbor." I completed for him.

"Exactly. You've given it some thought already." He said.

"Nope. Told Cole about it and he said the exact same thing." I replied with a shrug.

"I'm not saying you're paranoid, but maybe everything that happened is still getting into your head. Use this break to clear your thoughts once and for all." Dimitri said walking closer to me.
"Stop overthinking kid, they're all behind bars and you're safe." He added pulling me into a hug.

"Thank you." I said calmly.

I couldn't ignore the gut feeling I had, but maybe they were right and I was still plagued by past events.

But what if they were not?

Hey you,

Hope you had a nice time reading.

Don't forget to vote, share and comment.

Till next time,
Massie 💫💫

Song of the week - Comethru by Jeremy Zucker.