Unmasked:

Chapter 5

Felix’s POV

Her silky black dress hung to her and flowed behind her, as she came down the stairs, hitting every curve of her body just right. Each step she took was dragged out, making the floor shake slightly from the power that she emitted. Her dirty blonde hair fell in abundance down her back and swayed with her movement.

Those big beautiful hazel eyes of hers surveyed the room; making contact with each and every guest for a second, assuring her presence was known. When they landed on me, she held it for a little longer and then moved on. I knew exactly what she was trying to say. “Stick to the plan” I could almost hear her say. I sighed internally knowing there was no way I could change her mind.

By now the music was cut off, conversations were terminated and any laughter came to a grinding halt. Everyone was on their feet, with a glass of wine, waiting for her to say something.

At the bottom of the stairs she stood straight, fixing her posture, and spoke with confidence. Her voice felt like silk against my skin, rich silk, waking every nerve of my body…

Brooke’s POV

“Good evening and welcome everyone” grandma paused.

The white beaded lace, trailing down from her left hip down to her feet, was gleaming in the light.

“As all of you know, tonight is a very special night” she paused glancing at me for a brief second.

“I know many of you are alarmed about the events of the past couple of weeks but I assure you, there is nothing to worry about. The council has everything under control and will get to the bottom of this” She said, her voice full of confidence.

I felt a huge tension lifting from the room. All the guests seemed more relax. Some of them let out a big breath before fixing their gaze on her again. I noticed they all hung at every word she uttered. They were in awe of her and I couldn't blame them.

Even though I barely knew this woman, I was amazed by her. The way she walked, the way she spoke, the way she seemed to capture everybody's attention in a matter of seconds. She was powerful. I was sure of it. I couldn't explain how, but I could feel it.

All my senses were telling me to retreat and hide. But my body wanted to stand its ground, as if not wanting to back down from a challenge. It’s like my body was fighting my mind. I couldn’t understand what was wrong with me. I looked around to see if anybody felt the same but they were all just staring at her. Well, almost all of them.

Felix was standing at the far right corner of the room, looking at me. His dark brown eyes were starring right back at me, almost burning wholes into my soul. He looked almost ready to kill me.

Fear and confusion coursed through me. How did this happen? How did I end up in a place like this, with strangers?

“Before we get started with tonight’s festivities, I want to introduce to you all someone very important, my granddaughter Brooke Rivera.”

At the mention of my name, my whole body stiffened. Slowly, I turned my head back towards my grandma. My eyes widened in surprise when I realized she was now standing not even two feet away from me. But the fact that she moved so fast wasn’t what shocked me the most. It was the fact that she was smiling. And not just any kind of smile, this was a full blown, teeth showing, ear to ear type of smile.

Before I could think about it more, she put her hand on my shoulder and pulled me right next to her.

“Brooke is going to be staying with me for a little while, so how about we show her how welcoming the people from Delridge really are” she said with a warning tone.

Everyone in the room was currently starring at me. Some were shocked, others were confused but most of them couldn’t care less.

A few hours passed and all I wanted to do was get the hell out of this party. Grandma had introduced me to almost all the guests tonight. My body ached. I didn’t have energy to do anything. As the time passed, the ache seemed to get worse. Maybe I was coming down with the flu.

The worst part was the little patience I had. Everything the guests did seemed to only aggravate me. The smallest of things would get me snapping at them.

“I just need you to meet one more person and you can get out here.” Grandma said from my side. She must have sensed how tired I was.

“Why?” I asked looking up at her. I didn’t understand why she wanted me here.

Why’s it important to her that these people know who I am when she, herself, doesn’t know me?

“Why what?”

“Why do I have to meet them, why do I have to get to know anybody here?” She turned to me, looking a little shocked, and studied me for a little while.

“Because it’s important”

“How? Why?”

“Trust me, Brooke, it’s for your own good.” I felt more than I saw her frustration.

What? For my own good?

“How would you know?” I almost spat out. I could feel my anger building up.

“How would I know what?”

“How would you know what’s best for me? You don’t even know me. You have no idea who I am because you haven’t been there for me.”

“The last time I saw you it was on my seventh birthday and even then you didn’t speak to me once or wish me a happy birthday. Not one visit, one call or letter from you after that. Not even when your only son died in an accident. What type of mother doesn’t attend her own son’s funeral?” I said my voice laced with blame and hurt. With each word, my voice grew louder.

You abandoned and turned your back on your own family and now you want to tell me you know what’s good for me? Well you can kiss my ass Jane, because you are NOT my grandma, you’re far from it.” I finally yelled, my voice challenging. I kept my gaze on her eyes for a little longer, daring her to say something – anything –back to me.

When she didn’t ,I stepped back and ran out of the room. I needed air, some fresh air, and to get as far away from this house as possible. Once I got out of the room, I turned right and headed straight for the kitchen. I needed to find Stella, see if she was okay, and then maybe she could help me get out of here.