Secrets And Lies [Completed]

28. i know what you did last summer

Song of the chapter is
NDA by Billie Eilish

-28-
-Siya Malhotra-
-Present-

____________

Delmore County Road
24 November, 2030
5:45 pm

Resting my head atop his shoulder, I breathed in his familiar scent of raindrops and cinnamon.

Twilight was starting to descend upon the gloomy little town now. I watched the last bit of the sunrays disappeared behind the clouds and a solemn cobalt blue spread through the sky. The streetlights zoomed by fast, as the car gathered more pace after being stuck in traffic for a while.

"You think we'll find anything there?" He asked, as the car took another right and entered a narrow by-lane.

I moved back and glanced at me. "I hope so."

He gave me a tensed look. "I mean... it's been a while since they were there. What if we don't find anything?"

"Well, we'll just have to seek other options then." I said, caressing his arm. "Hey, don't be so dejected alright? I have a feeling we'll find something there."

I had no such feeling. What I had currently was an overbearing amount of anxiety.

But sometimes, we had to pretend to be each other's pillars, even if we didn't exactly feel strong enough.

As the car swerved to a different direction again, I sat up and rummaged through my bag to find my chapstick, in order to dampen my chapped lips. Just when I got it out, it accidentally slipped from my hand and fell between the gap in the middle of the two seats in the front.

"Shit."

I leaned forward to pick it up and felt the driver shift slightly in his seat. As I fished my hand to reach it better, my eyes accidentally fell on the driver's hand, which had a huge scar on it. Not paying much head to it, I reached for my chapstick and retrieved it but before I could move back in my seat, the driver moved his head in my direction, giving me a good look at his face.

And when I saw it, I froze.

My hands felt like icicles, frozen in place while my throat dried up. A scream rose to my throat but died there itself.

It was none other than the guy at the Paper Lantern. The one clicking pictures of us.

The one stalking me.

His ice cold gaze remained trained on me for a solid moment before he suddenly applied the brakes, causing me to stumble back. Kartik caught me before I could hit my head on the headrest.

The car had come to a standstill in the middle of nowhere.

My lungs constricted at the thought of us being alone with the guy there. Even if I had Kartik by my side, I still felt unsafe in that moment. A gurgling feeling rose up like bile in my throat.