Chapter Nine

Four months ago

Storm

"Zara, our cookies are gonna be burnt!" I screamed, running down the stairs like crazy.

"Sorry, I forgot to set the timer!" she laughed, following me to the kitchen.

"Girls, what's happening? Why does it smell like barbecue?" Mrs. N asked, chuckling at our reactions.

"Aah, they're hot!" Zara squealed when she tried to pull the pan out of the oven.

"You stupid little fuck," I laughed, grabbing it with a towel instead.

"They're burnt," Zara pouted, putting her fried fingers under the water.

I grabbed a cookie and smashed it against the pan. "It's literally hard as a rock," I cackled.

"Let me make you girls some proper cookies," Mrs. N meddled in, already pulling out the ingredients.

"You guys start, I need to call Sar," I excused myself and left the kitchen, dialing his number.

When he didn't answer I tried again. And again, again, again.

He never answered.

I ran to the kitchen, dragging Zara outside.

"What's wrong, boo?" she asked me, concern radiating off her.

"Sar he- he isn't answering my calls!" I panicked, looking at the texts I'd sent him.

He never replied.

She placed her hands on my shoulders. "Take a deep breath, Storm. He's probably just in the shower or he fell asleep. It's already past midnight."

"No, no, no!" I shook my head, removing her hands from me. "He would've said something. He always does. Zara, we have a rule. He would always reply to my texts so I know everything is okay. And right now it's not!"

"Okay," she thought, looking at the floor. "Lemme grab my keys and we'll head to his house."

I nodded, waiting for her outside. I texted Orsen to see if he's still in town, but he's already in college.

Fuck.

"Let's go," Zara appeared next to me and grabbed my hand, walking to her car.

"Zara, I'm scared," I admitted as she started the car, speeding out of the driveway.

"You have nothing to be scared for, honey. Sar is okay," she assured me, although my gut was telling me something else.

"I don't want to lose him," I whimpered.

"Storm! Stop that right now. Sar is fine, he's probably planning a special day for your guys' anniversary, so he's not able to pick up his phone."

For the rest of the ride, we drove in silence. She was focusing on the road because it was late and I was praying to God or whoever was up there in charge.

Please, let him be okay.

I need to see him smile and kiss him tomorrow when we go on our date. I need to see him smile when I walk down the aisle or when he holds our first child.

"We're here," she announced and parked the car in the driveway.

"You have the key?" she asked me and I nodded.

Both of us got out of the car and quietly inside the house. Everything was in deadly silence and I could hear my own heartbeat.

I glanced behind at Zara as we walked upstairs towards his room. His doors were opened, which was unusual because he always made sure they were closed.

"I was expecting you."

I jumped at the sound of an unknown female voice. Zara and I rushed into his room to find Narathyia, Sar's mother, sitting on his bed with blood covering her from head to toe.

Zara gasped and I ran towards her, grabbing her shoulders. "Where is he?!" I screamed into her face, refusing to think the worse.

This is not his blood.

This is not his blood.

This is not his blood.

"Who are you talking about?" she asked calmly, the reflection of her eyes deeply disturbing me.

"Saradonyx! Where the fuck is he?!" I repeated, shaking her shoulders.

She pushed me away and I fell off the bed. Zara was immediately by my side, helping me get up.

"What have you done?" Zara asked her, narrowing her eyes.

"I finally got rid of him," she smiled, looking in the distance.

A high pitched shriek escaped my throat and Zara ran to Narathyia, slapping her cheek.

"You're lying! TELL US THE TRUTH!"

My knees gave up on me and I fell to the floor, looking around the room. The bathroom door was opened and the steam was still evaporating into the air. His phone was on the bed next to Narathyia and his closet was opened.

"You heard me. I finally killed him and got rid of my misery. You'll never find his body, I hid it in the woods."

Zara screamed and started hitting her. Narathyia never defended herself, she just took the punches.

I stared out of the window, watching the darkness consume the city. The tears were running down my cheeks in enormous amounts, but I didn't feel them. I felt nothing.

Red and blue flashes snapped me from the trance.

The sun already started rising and I was alone in the room.

Zara appeared at the doorstep, looking as dead as I imagined I looked.

"The cops are here. They need to take statements," she murmured and waddled to me, getting me up from the floor.

"He's not really dead, is he?" I whimpered, walking with her downstairs.

She said nothing.

I tasted tears in my mouth which made me believe I'd never stopped crying.

"Hello, girls," one of the cops greeted us with a sympathetic smile. I saw Narathyia in the back of a police car, staring right at me. "We haven't found the body, but by the amount of blood on Mrs. Reyes and a knife we collected as evidence, we're certain she's telling the truth. I'm sorry for your loss."

His words echoed through my head. I started sobbing as my worst fears came true.

"When you're ready, we'll be waiting to take statements and close the case..."

I fell to the floor, covering my face with my hands.

I deserve this. My life was miserable and I was making him miserable too. He was too good for me.

Two strong arms lifted me and buried their head in my shoulder, firmly hugging me. By his smell, I recognized Drew. Law was few feet away, embracing Zara.

"Is it true?" he mumbled against my bare shoulder.

I cried out, hugging him tighter.

This was the first time I heard him cry.

"I'm so sorry," he sobbed, his tears wetting my clothes.

"Me too," I hoarsely whimpered, closing my eyes.

I'm sorry Sar, for not being a better girlfriend.

×××××

Shopping for a dress for the funeral was a nightmare. Zara and I went through a dozen stores until we finally found our dresses. Neither of us talked much that day, but we wished to be anywhere except at home.

Mrs. N was planning the funeral and I couldn't bear to be anywhere near it.

Now was the moment I was fearing the most.

I was preparing to see the coffin of the love of my life get buried in the ground.

Whoever I'd told I was okay, I was lying.

I dressed in the slim, mid-thigh length black dress and black opened heels, wearing minimal makeup.

I put on the necklace Sar gave me on our first anniversary, crying as doing so.

Nowadays, I could barely keep myself from crying. Everything I did or saw reminded me of him.

I glanced at the desk beside a window, noticing a pile of papers on it. I walked towards it.

27. 6. 2018. - the day that I met her
28. 6. 2018. - the day that I realized I liked her
30. 6. 2018. - the day of our first date
17. 7. 2018. - I kissed her
18. 7. 2018. - I told her I liked her
19. 7. 2018. - she told me she liked me too
1. 8. 2018. - the night she fell asleep in my bed
2. 8. 2018. - we woke up next to each other and I realized that I love her
21. 8. 2018. - I confessed my love,
she replied immediately
5. 9. 2018. - she transferred to my school
8. 9. 2018. - the day that I realized we're meant to be
23. 9. 2018. - she became my girlfriend
4. 10. 2018. - she's the one I'm going to spend the rest of my life with
21. 12. 2018. - she saved me

Hundreds of memories flew through my brain, remembering each of the dates that he wrote down.

Except for the 21st of December. What happened that day? Why did I save him?

A knock on the door interrupted my self-pity. I put the papers down and dried my silent tears. "Come in."

Zara's head peeked inside the room, empathy flashing towards me.

"You ready to leave?" she asked.

Zara was stunning even without makeup and in trashy clothes, which was something I could never pull off. She was wearing a loose gown, black pumps, and a see-through hat. Unlike me, she had winged eyeliner and dark lipstick.

I nodded, grabbing my small handbag and black sunglasses before leaving the room.

The entire Stone mansion was decorated for guests, so I guess Mrs. N couldn't settle for a small funeral.

I don't judge her, though. It's her nephew, she can do whatever she wants to drown her sadness.

The guys were waiting for us in front of the house. Law removed the roof from his car because it was extremely hot.

They were both in black suits with ties, accessorized with sunglasses each of their own.

"You look amazing," Drew had to comment, turning from his seat to glance at us.

"Thanks," Zara replied for the both of us.

I covered my eyes with thick, black glass, distancing myself from everyone.

Before I knew it, we arrived at the cemetery. Unlike the funerals you see in the movies, this one was the opposite. The sun was shining, the grass was greener than ever, and birds flew around my head, loudly chirping happy tunes.

Zara took my hand when we got out of the car and the four of us started walking with the crowd.

Everywhere around me were familiar faces, either from school or from Zara's part of the family.

It was easy to say everyone adored Sar. Well, everyone besides his own mother.

Hundreds of people surrounded me and suddenly, I found it hard to breathe.

Zara guided me to the opened grave, where I recognized her mother and other family.

They were all sobbing.

Orsen glanced in my direction, but I barely even recognized him. His entire appearance reeked of grief and suffering.

I looked away, not being able to keep looking into his shallow, red eyes.

Zara squished my hand, leaning her head on my shoulder.

I don't know where my mind was during the Priest's speech, but it wasn't there. I just stared at the old man in a black robe, his and everyone else's words becoming a muffled echo.

When Zara suddenly guided me toward the grave and threw her white rose in it, I winced.

I followed the fall of the rose, seeing his polished coffin deep in the ground.

Although I knew I was holding the line back, I couldn't move. My body was frozen.

"He isn't dead," I whispered and Zara shot me an empathetic look. I looked at Mrs. N, whose eyes held the sadness I wasn't able to comprehend. "He isn't dead!"

"Hey, come on, sweetie," Zara hugged my shoulders, trying to get me to walk away.

"No!" I pushed her away and fell to the ground. I dropped the rose, which slowly fell next to the coffin. "He can't... he- he isn't..."

×××××

"Hey, Storm," Colson Embers' voice greeted me in the school hall. "What's up?"

I turned around, seeing the same smirk I did when he put his hand up my thigh all that time ago.

"You've changed," he eyed me up and down, satisfied with what he saw.

"You haven't," I fired back, surprised he has the balls to talk to me ever again.

I know Sar's not here to protect me, but Law and Drew still are.

It may have not looked like it, but they followed everything Sar did. Drew usually always tried to act rebellious and Law overanalyzed everything, but in the end, they were all on the same page.

"I see you've learned to stand up for yourself. That's nice," he smirked, leaning onto my locker. "Unfortunately, I can't have you running around my school like that."

I scoffed, raising my brows. "Oh, I'm sorry for not being interested in a rapist."

He raised his hands, taking a few steps toward me. "Hey, hey. Let's not throw false accusations that hastily."

I took a few steps back, not wanting to be anywhere near him. Although I was utterly disgusted by his existence, the fear of his touch overpowering any other emotion.

"Get away from me," I threatened him through gritted teeth.

"Or what?" he sneered. "Saradonyx is not here to protect you anymore."

Or anybody else in that matter.

The hall was empty because I was late for my class, as usual. This was his perfect opportunity.

"Then what are you waiting for?" I let my arms hang by my body as tears stung my eyes. "You sick, rapist bastard," I insulted him with contempt.

He took a few steps forward, trying to intimidate me. If I didn't know better, I would've thought he was a good guy. He represented himself like it, anyway.

"You'll regret talking to me like that," he hissed, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he stumbled back.

He looked behind my shoulder, terror spreading through his expression.

"And what will you do?" I heard Drew's daunting voice behind me.

"Are you gonna... rape her?" Law added with revulsion, embracing my shoulders in comfort.

"Guys, you misunderstood me," he chuckled nervously and raised his hands in surrender. "I wouldn't do such a thing to Storm."

"To Storm?" Drew raised his voice. "But you would do it to someone else?!"

Although Drew was still behind me and I could feel the warmth of both of their bodies, I was afraid to look at him.

By the tone of his voice, he was extremely pissed off, something I've seen often, but never in this amount.

He was raging.

"I- I wouldn't... I've never..." Colson stuttered as Drew passed by me and towered over him, furiously breathing in his face. "You know..."

"Oh, I know," he snarled, his breathing rapidly increasing. "You raped Tracy, Lana, and Emma," his voice got deeper the further he talked.

Goosebumps bolted through my arms at the aggressiveness of his tone.

"Man, I didn't..."

"Storm, let's get you out of here, it's 'bout to get ugly," Law pulled me behind, leading me in the opposite direction.

The screams I heard afterward may have lured me to turn around, but my common sense ordered me to keep walking.

×××××