Nicole

Chapter: 02

For the first time, Nicole wanted school to end quicker. And for the first time, it was going extremely slow.

She had been tapping her pen on the table all day, her curiosity taking over her mind. She had almost smiled at a few people that day. Think before you act, she told herself every time she was close to doing that.

No one had noticed the sudden change in her mood though. People didn't talk to her a lot which slimmed the reason for them to notice her. For them, she was always a shadow. Always there but never approachable.

It was hard for her to pay attention in class as well. Every time she tried to focus, her mind would wander back to the unanswered questions she had. A few times, the teacher had to snap her out of her thoughts.

"Ms. Jones," she turned her head to Mr. Smith. "Are you listening?" She just nodded and tried to stay focused.

It felt like an eternity before the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. She was quite quick to grab her things and exit the school building before walking home.

It looked like it was going to rain again as the sun was nowhere to be seen. The breeze blew past Nicole as if agreeing with her thoughts. She picked up her pace not because she didn't want to get wet but because she was eager for answers.

It wasn't until she reached home that it started to pour down. She reached for her keys as she stopped in front of the door but froze when she saw that the door was ajar.

She knitted her eyebrows in confusion. Her mom would never leave the door open like that. Ever. Panic rose in her chest as she slowly opened the door further and walked in.

She almost gasped.

There were splashes of blood on the walls of the hallway and shards of broken glass on the tiled floor. Nicole put down her bag as she slowly continued ahead. She passed the kitchen where her mother's delicate china lay broken on the counter and floor and the windows were shattered as if someone had jumped through them.

As she reached the open living room, a horrible sight met her eyes.

The couch was upside down and the glass table in front of it was broken into pieces, its shards on the floor. The TV was smashed and the wiring hung freely in the air from it. The windows were shattered as well and there was blood all over the floor. The rod of the curtains was hanging down and all the pictures on the wall now lay dented on the floor.

Nicole took a shaky breath at the sight. Then a thought crossed her mind, causing her eyes to widen.

Mom.

She whipped around and busted into her mother's room which was only a few feet ahead of her. Her hand flew to her mouth at the sight.

There were two men in the room. Both of them had unshaven faces and dark circles under their eyes. One of them has pinned her mother against a wall and had a knife put against her throat.

"Oh, look who we have here," the man holding her mother said. "An unexpected visitor."

"Mom," Nicole managed to say from all the shock that dawned upon her.

"Nicole, you need to run, you need to—" her mother grunted as the man pressed the knife harder to her throat.

"Stop!" She yelled at the men, her heart pounding against her chest.

"Sorry, kid," the man said. "We don't forgive mistakes."

With that, the man moved the knife away from her mother's throat who only had the time to take a breath before he dove the knife into her, just below the chest. Her mother gasped.