Secrets And Demons

Chapter 8

The day just doesn't want to end... Sara does not want to speak to me at all... I look over to her and she has a deep set frown on her face. I sigh deeply as I look at her again.

"Sara..." I start, I look and see Mrs van Zyl has her back turned towards us. "Listen... it's not what you think... I was walking to school with the kids and then he pulled up and offered us a ride, before I could refuse, everyone had already gotten into his car... and then..." I feel my face heat up. "My stomach growled so loudly." I lower my voice to barely a whisper. "So loud that he heard it..."

She looks at me with pity and a wave of shame washes over me. "Oh Mia..." she says softly.

I run my fingers through my hair which gets tangled. I frown as I pull my fingers free, I need to go and wash my hair. ASAP.

"And I know you're struggling as well, since your dad was rentrenched. So I don't want to add to your own burdens Sara... really I would rather be starved..." her shoulders slump a bit.

"He's applied to that new mine that is going to open. That one that's going to mine the gas or some kinda shit like that..." she tilts her head closer to me. "But they say the risks are much higher than the gold mines."

I sigh as I realise that her worry is bigger than my own in some way. Her dad is a fully qualified electrician and was retrenched about a year ago, he still hasn't found work and their financial situation has worsened badly. She has 2 younger brothers that are now under 2, talk about surprise pregnancies, her mom doesn't work full time as she needs to look after the boys.

"Askies, pla ek julle pratery? Nee? Goed, kom ons aangaan." (In English: Excuse me, am I interrupting your chat? No? Good, let's carry on.) Mrs van Zyl quips from the front, making me zip it.

The rest of the day is long and boring to say the least. By the end of it Sara isn't mad at me anymore and we've made peace with it.

Ryan leans against his car with the passenger door open. "There you are. I almost thought you ghosted me..." I giggle in response. As I get in. I can't help but feel like someone is watching me.

I whip my head around me but only see crowds of students pushing past one another trying to get home.

I shrug it off and close the door. We drive in the direction of the river, my heart skips a beat hoping that nobody has seen me washing my hair there and mentions it in front of Ryan.

We travel slowly down the gravel road and we make small talk about some of our best memories.

One in particular stands out that he tells me. It's about when he met his brother for the first time. His brother is the same age as Theresa would have been, his mom is overseas doing something. I'm not allowed to know. I don't know.

His dad is in a different city, where you may ask? He doesn't even know.

We climb a slightly steep baby hill but his car gets up there easily. "I actually haven't been up here before." I admit as the car comes to a stop.

I climb out and head to the edge of the like cliff. "Imagine jumping off of here into the water." Ryan says as he joins me by my side. I look over the water and close my eyes imagining how that would feel.

"That sounds really good." I say softly as my body itches to feel it. I sit down and contemplate everything, I swing my legs as I lean back on my arms. "I wish..." I gulp as I stare out over the almost still water. "I wish my sister could see this."

He sits next to me and mimics my sitting position, he stays quiet which lets me carry on. "She was so young..." I choke on my words. Tears sting my eyes and I think back to how much of her future was stolen from her. "I tried really hard... but I couldn't save her..." I sit up a bit straighter and look at my hands. "Maybe if I pushed through the pain quicker, I could have..."

He grabs one of my hands and rubs it gently. "He set the house on fire Ryan... he drugged us, killed my mom... and then chickened out by committing suicide..." tears stream down my face as it all just flows out of me. "The handles... they were hot, like so hot..." my hands clench at the memory. "They stayed like this... they wouldn't go back to normal!" My voice breaks.

"I took too long to open the window... and then... and then..." I look at him to see his eyes misty. I quickly look away as more emotion rocks my body. "I was falling... I couldn't grab onto something... to save her... instead... I-I..." I bite my lip to the point that it bleeds. "I fell onto her."

He pulls me into his chest and I begin to full heartedly cry, wetting his shirt and making myself seem weak.

For who knows how long he holds me. Not saying a word. Just rubbing my back and holding me.

Once it seems as though I have my emotions under control, the sun is starting to set. "You know..." he says hoarsely. "You were brave to fight for your life, you know?" I pull away slightly to look at him as he starts his own story.

The fight in his eyes shows me how much of a war is going on inside of his head. Torn between keeping it a secret and letting me in. "I stopped fighting once I was tied up." He says extremely softly. He breaks eye contact and rubs his wrists. "They took me while I was walking home with my brother." The puzzle pieces in my mind fall into place and I realise that he was kidnapped.

"My poor brother was calling out to me as the van sped away." He chokes a bit. "He had nobody to protect him then." He takes a deep breath. "They tied me up and stripped me naked." His cheeks and neck go a dark shade of red. "Then the whips came out..." his body starts to shake and I immediately lean my head on his chest.

"It's okay... you can stop if you want..." I say soft with a rough voice, still raw from my own emotions.

He shakes his head. "I've never been able to share with anyone. So it feels kinda good to get it off my chest." I nod my head and he pulls me into his arms even tighter. "I gave up then, I begged them to kill me... but they didn't... instead they... they..." his arms tighten around me even more, to the point of hurting. "They taped it and sent it to my dad."

He shivers from the memory and I give him a squeeze. "Eventually after I was bloody and like really hurt... my dad must have caved in to their demands. Because they took me butt naked and dropped me off in the middle of the day, at my school."

The amount of embarrassment and pain must have been so traumatising to him. "I was in hospital for a while and then we kept moving around... now here I am separated from my dad... to be safe in small little town... no offence."

"None taken, I wish I could get out of this hell hole in any case." I whisper into his ear.

He shudders and pulls back to look me in the eyes. My eyes naturally drift down to his lips and I subconsciously lick my lip. I frown and bring my hand to my mouth, I pull it away and see blood. Ah yes... I bit my lip, how off-putting.

He grabs my face and looks in my eyes. "Mia... you can't tell anyone... and I mean anyone... you can't tell anyone what I've just told you." I nod my head furiously as I get a sense of his need for reassurance.

"I cross my heart and hope to die." I whisper as I drown in his eyes.

Then it happens he leans closer and his lips touch mine. My body coils up like a spring and my lips send sensations to the rest of my limbs.

I close my eyes to enjoy the feeling. I've never been kissed before, so what in the world do I do?

Suddenly we're blinded by lights. He jerks away and I'm left wanting more. He goes stiff and I stay in place.

"Ah shit..." is all Ryan says before the lights come to a stop.

Who do you think is watching? And who do you think is going to get out of that car? I'm literally on the edge of my own seat excited to see where this book goes.