DARK AND TWISTED

CHAPTER 8

After finishing our breakfast, Suzanne and Zayne did the dishes while Christian went out to get something important, he said. Tessa and Renee went to the toilet because they had too much juice.

"So, you're Hope, right?" Nyx raked her long fingers through her soft hair. "I heard your friend called you that," the corner of her mouth quirked up.

"Y-yes. That's my name."

She observed my body language and chuckled, "I'm a tour guide here. I can bring you guys anywhere you want." She shifted her gaze to Dan and Kate but of course, none of them paid attention to her. I noticed her jaw tightened with her gray eyes got darker as she glared at them.

"Honestly, that sounds good," I grabbed her arm. "Hey! We're going out today, you guys coming?" I kicked someone's foot under the table.

Kate jumped a bit; must be her legs. Renee and Tessa came down asking what we were talking about.

Dan gazed at Nyx, "This person is hitting on Hope."

My face got warm as it was about to explode. Nyx gaped at me while rubbing her ears and clearing her throat.

"She was asking if she could take us around today. Not asking me on a date!" I slammed the table, causing all of them to flinch at once.

"Okay, chill. Do you give Melissa a tour too?" Dan started asking another of his stupid question.

Nyx scoffed, "I know a lot of people named Melissa. Sometimes I don't even bother to know people's names. Come on, I'll drive you guys around. Go get your stuff." her voice got deeper and her eyebrows furrowed. Wow! Even a stranger already had enough of Dan babbling about Melissa. I knew I wasn't the only one.

I already had my phone with me so I waited for Renee and Tessa. They grinned without any reason.

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"So, Nyx, huh?" Tessa teased. She wiggled her eyebrows while pouting her lips.

My blood rose and made my face warm again, "Seriously?"

Renee burst out laughing, "Sorry, sorry. We love teasing you because you give good reactions."

We met Nyx outside and she said she could fit all of us in her SUV. Nyx asked me to sit in the passenger seat and I agreed. But of course, Tessa and Renee went ahead to tease me one more time.

"Why didn't you let Dan sit here?" I raised my eyebrows.

Her mouth twitched, "I'm going to die if someone like him sits next to me in a moving vehicle."

"I feel you."

She's not wrong. Once all of us got inside, she started the engine and let it roar before hitting the road.

She drove using the same road Zayne used yesterday but the only difference was there were too many cars. Nyx cursed under her breath as she rolled down the window. A man walked past us and she seized the chance to ask him.

"Sir, what's going on?"

He stopped in his tracks, "An accident. If you want to go deeper into the town, use the other road."

"You mean the shortcut?" Her voice changed. The man nodded and went further straight into the crowd.

She managed to drive away from the chaos after a few tries. She clenched on the steering too much until her fingers turned white as she heaved a sigh. Her jaw tightened and her eyebrows knitted together. The sounds of Dan cackling distracted me from observing Nyx's expression.

When we entered the different side of Sy Cove using the shortcut, I knew why Nyx wasn't eager to use it. The buildings were ancient and trash was everywhere. Cracks on the walls with vines coming out of them. The paint almost faded and looked like they didn't paint it back. Not to mention the moldy walls, pavement, and so on. Should I say it's not tourist-friendly? It got worse once rain drops, landing on the windshield.

We stopped at a traffic light and I took the time to study people from the outside. Flashy clothes, strange fashion trends all over, and it looked like a cosplay convention. But something else caught my attention; on every wall, there were flyers everywhere. The font was big and bold for me to see from a distance.

It said 'MISSING' on every one of them. I didn't see any of them yesterday when I went to the wax museum with Zayne. My heartbeat elevated and cold sweat dampened my forehead, back, and neck, making my shirt damp and sticking to my body.

Could it be those missing people on the news? That was the only thing on my mind.