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CHAPTER SIX: SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK.
6TH MARCH 2022 - 2:50 PM
Sure enough, if I squint my eyes, there's a blurry white square ahead that almost looks like an abandoned building. I feel Aaliyah's fingers slipping through my grasp and a single touch on my shoulder; before she runs off ahead of me. "Race you." She shouts, laughing.
Stunned, I watch as her curly wet hair swishes from side to side, her naturally red lips turning upwards to me as she runs further ahead of me. I snap out of my daze, and before I know it, my feet are kissing the ground, chasing after Aaliyah. I felt the warm air wash over me, fresh pine wafting to my nose, and the pain of my lungs burning as I ran. It felt refreshing.
I was just behind Aaliyah, so close that I could almost reach her within arm's length. And I almost caught her; until she slipped out of my reach. She turns back, grinning, sticking her tongue out. Even though my calves were aching, the blood rushing to my head making me dizzy with delirium, I never stopped to catch my breath. I push myself harder to reach her; I'm chasing after Aaliyah even though I know she's so close, even though she's already mine.
My hand meets her wrist, and we both stop. I turn her around; we're so close we can feel our heart beating hard, our breathing haggard, everything around us blurs away. I've chased Aaliyah for so long; now that I have her, it puts me at ease. I'm never going to lose her again.
"I got you," I managed to get out. I'm looking at her big brown eyes and come in disbelief when I realise that they're no longer brown. It's like her eyes have melted into golden rays, circling an eclipse. I wanted to get lost in those angel eyes of hers and never come back.
Aaliyah smirks. I suddenly can't breathe. "You mean I got you?"
I furrow my brows. That's when I realised Aaliyah was right. We were standing in front of the warehouse; I was so busy trying to catch up to Aaliyah that I completely forgot that we were supposed to check this place out. I let go of her hand and felt my jaw drop. I stare at the warehouse in front of me. But it wasn't a warehouse like Aaliyah said it was. It was a farmhouse. A gorgeous white farmhouse with a black-tiled roof. There were many, many windows around it. I heard Aaliyah chuckle beside me, then her fingers lifted my jaws, my teeth snapping shut.
But as I looked closely at those windows, I saw some of them were cracked, broken, or boarded up by wooden boards. I wonder what happened here. There were a few stairs that led to the front door. Cautiously, Aaliyah and I took them, every step creaking beneath us.
Aaliyah put her ears to the door, listening attentively to see if there were any sounds from within. After a minute or two, she got back and shook her head at me. No movement, no sound. I started to knock on the door, glancing at Aaliyah every so on. When I got no answer, I finally tried the doorknob. It's locked.
