Dangerous Secrets (Dangerous Series: Book 1)

Chapter 3 - And then came Tristan

Before the sun had made its way over the horizon, Winston started barking with excitement and woke up Stella. To make sure she wouldn't fall asleep again he jumped up in her bed and nudged her with his nose. She laughed and scratched him behind the ear and his tail started wagging.

"I know Winston," Stella laughed, "I'm also excited."

It was only 06:15, but Stella felt rested and alert. Her body was programmed to get up early to  walk Winston before work. Normally, she hated getting up before sunrise, but today she was eager to get up and start the day. For the first time in her life, reality was better than her dreams. 

The move felt like a new chapter in her life. The pages were blank and she was free to write whatever she wanted. She didn't have to worry about jobs, bills or her mother - she was free to be a normal teenager. Even better, she had an amazing stepbrother to guide her.

Stella got up from the bed and opened the walk in closet. She couldn't help but laugh. It was an entire room dedicated to her two pants and five tops. She grabbed a pair of worn out shorts and a t-shirt. She wished she had something nice to wear. Something that Ben would like. She would love to have a dress, or at least something that wasn't second hand. She glanced at the credit card on the desk. She was going to ask Ed if she could use it to buy some new clothes.

When Stella left her room she noticed that Ben's bedroom door wasn't fully closed. It was next to her room and she had to walk pass it to come downstairs. It felt like a lure. She couldn't resist the temptation to have a quick look inside. She just wanted to see that he had gotten home safe yesterday. At least that's what she told herself.

She carefully peaked through the doorway, but to her disappointment, his room was empty. The bed was perfectly made and his room clean to perfection. Dissatisfied, and a little bit ashamed, she closed the door and continued her way through the house. 

She hoped everything at Ben's work would turn out okay. She didn't like seeing him upset, especially not when there was nothing she  could do to help. In the future, when the time was right, she was going to ask if she could work for him. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with him. Besides, she was used to working.

It was wonderful walking along the gravel road in the forest. Stella and Winston were used to walking on pavement, surrounded by noise and garbage. Now, the air was fresh and they could hear birds chirping. Winston didn't even need a leash. He ran up and down the road and circled around Stella. He was overloaded with joy and energy. Stella had to pinch herself, it felt too good to be true.

After about twenty minutes, Stella saw a red, old and rusty pickup parked by the side of the road. A young boy was sitting on the ground. He leaned his back towards the front wheel and hid his face in his hands. It looked as if he was crying. 

Stella stopped walking and carefully whistled at Winston to come back to her. She wanted to sneak away before the boy noticed her. Winston had other plans. He ran up to the boy sitting by the car and gently nudged him. The boy flinched. He probably hadn't heard Winston nor Stella. When he saw that it was a dog and not a hungry bear, he laughed and scratched Winston behind the ear.

Stella wanted to run away, but her body was frozen, besides, she couldn't leave Winston behind. The boy looked kind and he was nice to Winston, but strangers scared her. She never knew what to say and awkward silences made her skin crawl. She wanted to improve her social skills and challenge herself, but this was sooner than she planned for. 

The boy looked up from Winston and saw her. He dried his eyes, put on a brave smile and waved at her. There was no turning back now. She took a deep breath, waved back and started walking towards them. The boy got up from the ground and wiped away the sand from his pants.