remembered the chain rattling noise I’d heard in the basement before. The crashes, along with the angry, red bite mark on his arm, and the scene from two nights ago made my skin crawl at the thought of what might be going on in his house. Something wasn’t right, and I was going to get to the bottom of it. I just needed to talk to Adrianna first.
Chapter Nine
Paranoia
“Lorenzo is coming home to visit at the end of the month,” Adrianna spoke, her voice coming out loud and clear over the phone.
I twisted a strand of hair around my finger, and continued to stare out the window at David’s house. “Mhm, that's good.”
Adrianna huffed into the phone. “No it’s not. All he does is pick on me and act like he's in charge.” She paused for a moment, before saying, “Wait, you aren't still into him, are you?” Her tone was accusatory.
I scoffed. “Not even,” I answered, coming out of my slight daze at her question. “He's not even cute anymore,” I lied. Adrianna’s brother, Lorenzo, was and always had been cute. He was three years older than us and was in his first year of college. I wasn't in love with him anymore like I was at one point, but I don't think I’d ever stop finding him attractive.
Adrianna breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, because that was so gross. He has a girlfriend now, you know,” she pointed out.
My eyes focused back on David’s house, looking at every square inch of it. The house really did freak me out. “Good for him.” I sighed into the phone and began twisting my hair around my finger again. “Can we talk about something else?” I asked. I had called Adrianna in hopes of talking about my suspicions about David, but she had instantly dove in and began talking about everything under the sun.
Adrianna sighed. “Well, I had been meaning to tell you about something that happened in anatomy today,” she noted, her tone changing. There was a hint of something in her voice, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Unease, maybe?
I sat up a little straighter, finally looking away from my window. “What happened?”
Adrianna took a moment to reply. When she did, her breathing was hitched. “Something happened with Ben. It was really strange.”
I was perfectly still, holding my breath as I waited for her to go on.
“We dissected a fetal pig in class today,” she continued. “Mrs. Nocera wanted us to remove all of the internal organs, examine them, and then make a chart on paper with their names and leave the correct organ beneath the name. Well, when it was time for her to come around and check our work, I noticed that our chart was missing an organ—the heart.”
“Did you get points taken off?” I questioned, crossing my legs and bouncing my foot. I didn’t see where she was going with this story.
“Well yeah, but that’s not the point. The point is that after class ended, Ben offered to walk me to my locker. I didn’t want to be rude, so I accepted.” Her voice lowered an octave, coming out in a whisper. “Claire, he gave me the heart.”
My foot stopped bouncing mid-air. I froze completely, digesting her words. “He what? ”
“He gave me the heart,” she repeated slowly. “He used an x-acto knife to carve our initials into it. It was so small.”
I gulped. “Okay, that’s disturbing.”
“That’s an understatement. I threw up in the bathroom before we walked home. Dissecting the pig was bad enough already.”
That’s why she was so quiet on our walk home. “You should’ve told me sooner,” I chided. “I could’ve talked to him. I honestly think he means well, he’s just a little socially inept. Not to mention the fact that he’s a guy. Guys our age are gross and don’t think before they act.”
“I guess,” she mumbled under her breath. Then a little louder she said, “I’m going to try to avoid him from now on. He makes me uncomfortable.”
“Fair enough.”
We were both silent for a
Chapter Nine
Paranoia
“Lorenzo is coming home to visit at the end of the month,” Adrianna spoke, her voice coming out loud and clear over the phone.
I twisted a strand of hair around my finger, and continued to stare out the window at David’s house. “Mhm, that's good.”
Adrianna huffed into the phone. “No it’s not. All he does is pick on me and act like he's in charge.” She paused for a moment, before saying, “Wait, you aren't still into him, are you?” Her tone was accusatory.
I scoffed. “Not even,” I answered, coming out of my slight daze at her question. “He's not even cute anymore,” I lied. Adrianna’s brother, Lorenzo, was and always had been cute. He was three years older than us and was in his first year of college. I wasn't in love with him anymore like I was at one point, but I don't think I’d ever stop finding him attractive.
Adrianna breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, because that was so gross. He has a girlfriend now, you know,” she pointed out.
My eyes focused back on David’s house, looking at every square inch of it. The house really did freak me out. “Good for him.” I sighed into the phone and began twisting my hair around my finger again. “Can we talk about something else?” I asked. I had called Adrianna in hopes of talking about my suspicions about David, but she had instantly dove in and began talking about everything under the sun.
Adrianna sighed. “Well, I had been meaning to tell you about something that happened in anatomy today,” she noted, her tone changing. There was a hint of something in her voice, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Unease, maybe?
I sat up a little straighter, finally looking away from my window. “What happened?”
Adrianna took a moment to reply. When she did, her breathing was hitched. “Something happened with Ben. It was really strange.”
I was perfectly still, holding my breath as I waited for her to go on.
“We dissected a fetal pig in class today,” she continued. “Mrs. Nocera wanted us to remove all of the internal organs, examine them, and then make a chart on paper with their names and leave the correct organ beneath the name. Well, when it was time for her to come around and check our work, I noticed that our chart was missing an organ—the heart.”
“Did you get points taken off?” I questioned, crossing my legs and bouncing my foot. I didn’t see where she was going with this story.
“Well yeah, but that’s not the point. The point is that after class ended, Ben offered to walk me to my locker. I didn’t want to be rude, so I accepted.” Her voice lowered an octave, coming out in a whisper. “Claire, he gave me the heart.”
My foot stopped bouncing mid-air. I froze completely, digesting her words. “He what? ”
“He gave me the heart,” she repeated slowly. “He used an x-acto knife to carve our initials into it. It was so small.”
I gulped. “Okay, that’s disturbing.”
“That’s an understatement. I threw up in the bathroom before we walked home. Dissecting the pig was bad enough already.”
That’s why she was so quiet on our walk home. “You should’ve told me sooner,” I chided. “I could’ve talked to him. I honestly think he means well, he’s just a little socially inept. Not to mention the fact that he’s a guy. Guys our age are gross and don’t think before they act.”
“I guess,” she mumbled under her breath. Then a little louder she said, “I’m going to try to avoid him from now on. He makes me uncomfortable.”
“Fair enough.”
We were both silent for a
Similar Books
