DARK AND TWISTED

CHAPTER 7

I scanned around to see if I was the only one who saw him. My forehead was damp with cold sweat and my fingers started shaking so I hid them under the table.

Renee noticed my reaction and raised her eyebrows. I cocked my head to my left to inform her about the man. She glanced without making it too obvious and shook her head with a smile. I shifted my gaze in the direction and it was nothing. But I saw him just now, right?

"Hope?" Suzanne called me. "Is everything okay?" Her question made the rest of them stop eating and stared at me.

"Yes. I'm exhausted from the trip that I see things," I chuckled.

They told me to sleep early that night, which I definitely agreed. That night after dinner, I went into my room, locked the door, and sat on the couch with blankets covering my entire body.

I opened my eyes, blinking a few times to adjust my eyes to the blinding sunlight. A loud thud from downstairs got my adrenaline rushed. With my forehead covered in a cold sweat, I sprinted out of my room to find Christian. If I heard a sound like that, my only goal was to find someone I trust to deal with it while I hid.

My friends were still in their room. Even though the doors were closed, I could hear them snoring. I ran straight downstairs while calling for Christian.

At that moment, Zayne came inside from the kitchen with his white shirt stained with blood. Not to mention his nose was pretty red as well.

"Zayne?" my eyes widened.

He looked at me with a smile, "good morning." He glanced at his shirt, "I fell again, hit my nose, got a nosebleed for a few minutes. It rained last night so everything is slippery."

"I didn't know you're that clumsy. I heard a thud just now."

Christian came from the front door, staggering, "that was Zayne. He fell pretty hard. No need to worry about it." He narrowed his eyes at Zayne, "I told you to be more careful. Especially with the stairs."

"Christian, what happened?" I noticed him leaning against the wall while standing.

He staggered towards the couch, "it was Zayne. He." He sat down on the couch, rubbing his right foot, "dropped something on me."

"Well, that's good news. Not that Zayne and you got hurt is good but the fact that the sound was just you two is good. You know what I mean," I bit my lips to stop talking before I said something offensive.

Christian laughed, "do you think it was something dangerous?" He paused to see my reaction. I nodded.

"Like I said yesterday, I'm a pretty good fighter so I can protect you and other people in this house. By the way, the breakfast will be ready in a few minutes." Zayne said as he snatched a tissue to wipe his nose.

I sprinted upstairs to take a shower and got dressed. I didn't want to be late for breakfast because knowing my friends, they would eat my breakfast if they wanted to. After a few minutes, I dashed to the kitchen and was relieved I wasn't late. Dan, Tessa, and Kate weren't there yet.

I glanced at Zayne and he pulled an empty seat next to him, signaling me to sit down. After the rest of them joined us, we started munching. Then, someone rang the door. Zayne stood up to open it and in a few seconds, he came back with someone behind him.

"Mrs. Brown gave this to you. She's a bit busy this morning so she asked me to deliver this. New recipe she said and wanted you guys to taste it first," the person placed a basket of muffins on the table. They smell so good. I had to control myself so I didn't drool in front of people.

"Nyx, perfect timing. Come in and join us," Suzanne invited this Nyx person.

Zayne cleared his throat, "Guys, this is Nyx Parker. She helps us with the groceries and deliveries sometimes."

Oh, she's a female. She got broad shoulders with her denim jacket wrapped around her pretty muscular physique. Her navy blue slicked-back hair with undercut got me confused for a moment. I mistook her for a male just now. I was sure she wore light make-up. But she was extremely handsome. She got that rare gray eye. More handsome than a regular guy and prettier than a regular girl. That made me rethink my judgment. Stop it, Hope. She's a female. Move on.

She eyed an empty seat next to me and pulled it, "are you a relative?" She sat down.

I couldn't concentrate with her strong perfume, "no, just visiting." But it smelled refreshing though.

"Oh yeah. If you guys want to have some fun today, Nyx can bring you to any place you want. She knows a lot," Christian wiped his mouth with a napkin nearby.

Kate narrowed her eyes at me, "I heard Hope went to the wax museum without us yesterday."

"Even if I invited you, you won't come. I saw a wax figure of Melissa."

Dan almost choked on his orange juice, "What? Seriously? Wow, she's so awesome."

"That reminds me, where is she? I haven't seen her back on campus." Tessa asked with her mouth full.

Dan rolled his eyes, "She's a celebrity, I'm sure she's somewhere better."

Sometimes, I couldn't believe a few of those people were older than me. Beside me, Nyx scoffed at Dan's statement.