C H A P T E R  F I F T E E N

D A T E : 5/26/18

Life seemed to continue moving after my encounter with Connell. Though my heart still quivered whenever I saw him, I didn't. I could actually be in the same room as him without wanting to pass out, which was good.

We found a routine of normalcy, even if it was for a short period of time. It was on a rather cold afternoon, though, that my life once again started moving. This time, full force.

"Can I have a cheeseburger, a small fry, and a large Pepsi- wait, no- diet Pepsi?" Maddie called out of the window into the speakers. Her sunglasses were perched low on the bridge of her nose as she glanced at Sara, who had a murderous look on her face.

The person taking the orders was silent, before finally speaking.

"Um, Ma'am, this is Starbucks?"

There was another long spout of silence, before Maddie smiled, turning away from Sara towards the ordering box.

"Oh, okay, thanks!" She chirped, pulling her car into the parking lot. As we left Starbucks, I put my chin into the palm of my hand, smiling.

"Your crazy," was all I said.

"Any dares you give me relating to food will be answered, I can promise you that!" Maddie laughed, and I couldn't help but laugh with her. We had spent our day around town, fulfilling stupid dares. Sara was loosing majorly because she refused to participate in 'such stupid activities'.

"I have worse dares than that, Maddie," Sara said, crossing her arms. "I was just being easy."

Maddie looked at Sara out of the corner of her eye, tapping her fingers on the wheel.

"Oh yeah?" She asked, curious. Sara just nodded slightly, an evil glint in her eyes.

"Maddie, do what's best and let it go," I told Maddie, and she just sighed. "And Sara, stop agitating!"

Sara let out a humph and looked away, squinting from the sunlight.

I looked at my phone, yawning when I saw the time. It was only mid-afternoon, but I considered that naptime.

"I'm tired, take me home," I demanded annoyingly, causing Maddie to nearly crash the car trying to hit me. I kicked blindly in her direction, letting out a playful yell.

It was a good thing we were driving on such an empty road.

"What's the magic word?" Maddie asked, rearing away from my kicks. I let out a loud hum, tapping my finger on my chin.

"Please?" I asked, but Maddie only shook her head. Crossing my arms, I gave her a look.

"What?"

"It's 'Please Holy One'"

I blinked a few times, before shaking my head.

"Please holy one?" I asked, and she gave an approving nod. Sara snorted from her seat, looking up from her sketchbook.

"Nothing holy about you!" She laughed, and Maddie scoffed, throwing a quarter at her.

"Shut up! I am holy, thank you very much," Maddie defended, looking for another thing to throw at the still-laughing Sara.

Looking up with a mischievous glint in her eyes, Sara moved her feet from the dashboard, pointing her finger at Maddie.

"I'm sure Zach wouldn't say that!" Sara accused, and Maddie's mouth fell open. She yelled at Sara, who started to sink in her sink, her hands dramatically going to her hair.

"I can just hear it now," Her voice got lighter as she started to pretend to be Maddie. "Oh, please Zach- more!"

She was cackling, and Maddie was hitting her from the drivers seat, a blush on her face.

I covered my ears as Sara continued, yelling out.

"Please, this is so disgusting!"

That made Sara laugh more, causing her to stop her impressions. Though Maddie looked so red she might pass out, she was also laughing. It was only me that was mortified, probably because they were talking about my brother!

"I hate both of you!" I said, a slight smile on my face. Sara had barely calmed down, trying to catch her breath. I knew her parents had come home a few days before, so she was in a rather good mood.

When my house came into view, Sara started doing her impressions again. Just as she was reaching over to grab Maddie, I got out of the car, slamming the door shut behind me. I could hear both of there laughter from the car, and I only shot them the finger as I walked up my driveway.

My parents were gone, busy with work. Zach was staying at his friends house, doing a project.

As soon as I stepped into my house, I pulled off my jacket, yawning. Rubbing my eyes, I lumbered up my creaky stairs, and took a sharp right to my room.

Once I had opened my door, I walked straight to my bed, kicking of my shoes and heaving myself onto the soft covers. Snuggling deeper into them, I let out a content sigh, shutting my eyes tighter.

Then, I smelled something.

My eyes snapped open, and I jerked up. Shock went over my system as I looked around, my eyes adjusting to the interior of my room. Everything was in disarray.

My bedside table was tossed to the side, and my lamp was broken on the floor. My drawers were all open, and my clothes flung around my room. My closet was open, and everything inside it everywhere.

With a cry, I stood, my hands going to my mouth. A strange, unfamiliar scent invaded my scent. It was everywhere.

Someone had broken into my house.

Taking a few steps forward, I moved my shaking hands from my face, to my stomach. I stood still for a few seconds, using my hearing to try and tell if someone was in my house. Luckily, whoever had been there was gone.

I went to my dresser first, looking at my top drawer. It was my underwear drawer, and it was half empty. Some of my underwear was thrown around my room. Gross. I hoped whoever went through my stuff didn't have a fetish, because that would be just plain weird.

Trying to ignore it, I pushed the remaining underwear around and looked at the bottom. Underneath it all, was my letter.

With a sigh of relief, I moved away from my drawer and shook my head. I was getting a headache, but I trying to clear my mind anyways.

I looked around the rest of my room, but nothing seemed to be missing. Not that I would notice since my room was naturally messy. Still, my jewelry was in its case, and my cash was still safely hidden.

With a stressed sigh, I sat on my bed, looking around my room.

They must have been looking for something, but what? I had nothing of importance that I could thing of.

Clutching my ring for comfort, I reviewed the damaged once more before standing, wiping the tears from my eyes. My parents would be home in a few houses, and I didn't want them seeing the wreck. Since it seemed only to be my room that was affected, I wasn't sure how I could explain to them that I knew nothing of what was going on.

I hadn't cleaned my room in so long, I barely knew where to start. I put away my clothes and threw away my lamp. It took another hour before I had cleaned up everything in my room. I also had to fix up my house,  which had also been looked through. Mildly, though.

After I had done all that, I sat on my bed, sniffling. My room now looked cleaner than it had before, but I still felt violated. Rubbing my eyes,  I stood, leaving my room and walking downstairs.

Breathing deeply, I opened my front door and went to my porch, sitting on my front steps. The house was making me dizzy.

Leaning my head back, I exhaled. I didn't care how cold it was getting, or how bad I looked.

There was a loud sound from my right, and when I opened my eyes, I notice a set of curious eyes looking at me.

Connell was standing in his driveway, right outside of his car. I hadn't heard him pull up, but then again, my senses were once again in overdrive.

He looked conflicted as soon as he saw my face. I could only assume it was about my eyes, which were most definitely red and puffy.

I held my breath as I watched him, waiting for him to make a move. After a short moment of looking at me, he turned away, walking towards his door.

My eyes remained on him as he climbed his front steps and pulled his keys out of his jacket pockets. When he opened his door, he looked over at me one last time, a certain look on his face. Sadness.

As soon as he had opened the door, it was closed, and I was once again completely alone.

Authors Note

Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, but here is the next chapter! nothin much to say... Thanks for reading!