Repaying Her Blood

Chapter twenty five: The photo

Marissa

"Hey, Alex!" I squealed, rushing over to engulf him into a tight squeeze.

He cringed slightly, his cheeks blushing a faint red as he tried to pull away. "Marissa, what can I do for you?"

I beamed at him and shoved the mobile phone in his face as well as the device I used to track it.

Alex gazed at the objects and hesitantly took the phone and tracking gadget from my hands.

"I found it...in my friend's locker." I rolled back and forth on the balls of my feet.

The baffled expression on his face caused a rumble of chuckles to be released from my mouth.

"And they're still your...friend?"

"Yes, an eyewitness saw a person plant the phone in his locker," I replied.

"And you believe said eyewitness...?" He asked, wide eyed with his mouth agape.

"He has no reason to lie." I shrugged. "Plus, I trust my friend Jordan. He stopped my sister from being bullied."

He nodded slowly and unlocked the mobile phone before stating, "So, you want me to check this phone for any clues on who Lorna's tormentor may be."

"Perfect. Glad to know we're clear," I responded happily before standing up and slapping his shoulder gently. "I'll see you around, Alex."

"Wait a second, I've got something for you," he told me, spinning on his chair and pulling open his desk drawer.

"Ooh, what is it?" I grinned, approaching him with a bounce in my step.

He grabbed my hand and placed something into my palm, closing my fingers over it.
"Can I look?" I asked, shaking my closed hand.

He nodded before rolling up his sleeves.
I slowly moved my fingers off of the object and smiled at what was in my hand. It was a silver metal chained necklace that had a cute small, bulky heart attached to it.

"A heart necklace. That's so cute!" I grinned, ruffling his hair.

Alex scowled at me before fixing his hair.
"Thank you, Alex. I'll see you soon," I said cheerfully.

"Alright." He rolled his eyes and spun on his chair to go back to whatever he was doing on his computer before I bombarded him.
Walking away to his bedroom door to exit, I took one glance at the intelligent boy behind me and smiled.

He would make a great FBI agent one day.

†

I was at a table which consisted of Jordan, Miles, Madeline, Andrew and Elijah. It was surprisingly fun since Jordan and his mates brought a new atmosphere to our table.
"I met this Asian girl once, I think her name was Amy, and she always used to clip her toenails and keep them in a box," Andrew snickered out before pulling a disgusted face.

Jordan and Elijah erupted into laughter and slapped Andrew's back, like they were saying, "Good one." I didn't really understand what was so funny about it, so my eyes ended up drifting around the canteen aimlessly.

What caught my eye though was Gracie who spoke on the phone with a rather peeved off expression. She did not look happy. Not one bit.

Abruptly, she stood up and stormed angrily out of the canteen, causing my suspicions to sky rocket.

So because I was dying of curiosity, I made up an excuse to everyone that I needed the toilet and then dashed off into the direction that Gracie went in.

Slowly, I followed behind her, trying hard to quieten my footsteps along the corridor's floor. I instantly hid around the corner once Gracie halted her footsteps and turned to the side.

I watched as she narrowed her eyes at something, her lips moving afterwards. I leant in closer to listen in harder, but it was useless so I just backed against the wall. It seemed to me that she was talking to a man, but that was it really. There were tons of boys in the school, it could have been anyone.

"They've got it!" The man's voice exclaimed.

Jolting at the sudden loud voice, I gripped onto the corner of the wall and looked around.

They both had moved a certain bit to the left, making them exactly in my eye line.
I wasn't bothered by the fact that they were having a secret conversation. What bothered me was the fact that I recognised the guy in the black clothing. I had definitely seen him somewhere.

Oh wait... wasn't he the waiter in Pizzaland with the intense stare that made me feel rather uncomfortable? Jordan had been the one to step in as I did feel a little uneasy back then.

Gracie must have had some awful date with him and found out he was some total creep. I wouldn't have been surprised at all. The waiter came across as some stalker. But then again, I shouldn't have really judged people.
Maybe they were dating and he decided that he couldn't take her craziness and broke up with her the week after. Another possible theory.

The phone in Gracie's pocket rang quite loudly, causing me to jump the slightest bit.

"Hello?" She said with a bored tone.

"Hello?" She repeated before rolling her eyes and hanging up.

Stuffing the phone back into her blazer pocket, she said something before leaving, "Make sure you find it, Wesley."

He murmured a brief, "I won't let you down." and hurried along.

I breathed heavily against the wall and wiped the beads of sweat that had started to build up on my forehead. That guy terrified me.
†

Opening my locker, my eye caught sight of a small, shiny photograph taped on the wall of my locker. I had taped the photo there after my sister's death. Looking at the photo made me feel like she was still there at school with me, walking with me to class every day.

The photo of Lorna and I wrapped in a warm hug on the cliff side helped me cope. Although the destination of our captured moment wasn't exactly a pleasant memory anymore.

Tears blurred my vision, preventing me from staring at the photo any longer.
I had been there that day, unable to get there in time before she…

I shook my head hating the memory. The memory that stayed alive in my harrowing dreams. At least I still got to see her though, even if they were terrible dreams.

"Hey little mouse, how-?" Jordan stopped talking once he saw my shaking, hunched shoulders and trembling hands.

Turning around to him, I gave him a watery smile with tears pricking my vision. Arms instantly wrapped tightly around my shaking frame, making me feel welcomed and safe. That was when I bawled into his arms, smacking his chest repeatedly until only a whimper was left.

Hot tears uncontrollably ran down my face as I allowed Jordan to comfort me, just like I had done for him. Jordan squeezed me tightly and stroked my hair continuously with a few whispers of comfort in my ears.

"I hate seeing my little mouse upset," he murmured softly. “But cry for as long as you need. I’m here.”

My little mouse.
And I could not have wanted it any other way.