Love's Victim

Chapter XI

Secrets

"Stay away from Candice Lucy. I mean it." He warns, ignoring my question.

"Why?" When I get no reply I groan in frustration. "Christian! Why should I stay away from Candice?"

"Because it's dangerous!" He snaps, finally looking up to meet my eyes.

"I'm already in danger Christian." I snap back; my patience already waning.

"I know, I'm so sorry. Lucy-"

"Why? Why are you sorry? Christian. You have to tell me what's going on. I want answers. No, I need answers."

"I know you do Lucy, and I'm sorry I can't give-"

"I deserve to know." I cut him off, lowering my voice to just above a whisper. I'm surprised he even heard me, but he does and he stops talking. There's a long pause as his eyes signal an internal battle.

Finally, I know I've won. He exhales loudly and his shoulders slump. "Fine. But you're going to have to give me that bottle back. I need more alcohol if you want to hear this damn story." With that, he leans over and grabs the bottle from my hands.

➰
-3 days earlier-

It's Tuesday. A week ago today, someone tried to kill me. I still haven't told anyone what happened to me, after promising Christian not to, but I was scared. Ever since that fateful near death experience, my nights have been plagued with nightmares. Every time I close my eyes it's like I'm in the pool again, unable to swim and feeling the crushing of the water and the abhorrent thought 'this is it. This is how I die'. Every time I wake, my heart racing, coughing and spluttering as if there is still water in my mouth and nose. And still Christian has no answers for me.

A week ago Christian kissed me.... Ok, he didn't kiss me as such but he gave me CPR. But that feeling of his lips on mine; I just can't get it out of my mind. Of course he'd been trying to save my life, not kiss me like in my fantasies, but even so. Call me dramatic, but I can't get the thought out my head, replaying it over and over and reliving the tingling feeling on my lips. And that scares me. It scares me that I can't stop thinking of him, fantasising what it it would be like to kiss him and have him hold me. It scares me that I've grown to care, and consequently trust, this mysterious boy. Can I really trust him? He did save me, but is it a coincidence he was there? Or was Christian really the one who pushed me in....

I haven't forgotten, either, that a week ago yesterday, I had managed to corner Candice in the girl's bathroom and learned that she had a sister. But much to my annoyance, that seems to have done nothing to answer my questions, merely adding to them. And Eleanor interrupted us anyway, resulting in Candice clamming up before running out.

I'm currently lying on my bed, scrolling through Facebook. Ever since hanging out with the A-List, my notifications have blown up dramatically, and daily. I'm scrolling through my newsfeed when Candice's face appears. I stop and look at her new profile picture. I'm about to carry on scrolling when her words cross through my mind again.

"Look, just.... you've just got to watch out. My sister didn't and now-"

Her sister... before thinking through what I'm doing, I've clicked on her page and am now scrolling through her friends. I go to the 'M's' and eventually, a name catches my eye. Elizabeth Montez. Montez.... They have the same surname! This must be her. I hesitantly click on her name, and wait for the page to load.

Her face greets me in her profile picture. She looks like Candice, I can see the resemblance, but I can already tell she's a very different kind of person from her sister. While Candice plays her beauty down and is modest in her demeanour, her sister is all dolled up and looks to be a popular sort. She looks ready for a night out, wearing a halter neck with a low cut and her hair is curled. All that can be seen behind her is a wall painted light blue and an empty shelf. All that sits on the shelf is a small, solitary statue of a rearing horse, but the focus on her background is blurred so I can't identify any further details.