Haunted

thirteen

He walks back quickly and hands it to Scarlett.

“Here.” He smiles. 

Scarlett thanks him quietly and brings the glass to her lips, gulping the water down. 

He nods and leans back on the wall.

“You feeling any better?” I ask, shifting my gaze towards her. 

She gulps the last bit of water down and places the glass on the side table, nodding. 

“Yes, thank you.”

I purse my lips.

“So.. what happened?” Niall questions, lifting himself off the wall.

“Someone found me.” She says, barely above a whisper. 

“What?” Niall and I say in unison. Niall looks at me and lets out a chuckle, causing me to laugh as well. 

Our expressions immediately change once we turn back to Scarlett. 

“I was in my apartment making dinner, when someone knocked on my door.” She swallows. 

Niall and I stare at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. 

She runs her hand through her slightly wet hair, looking down at the floor.

“Who was it?” I ask.

“You’d be surprised.”

“For crying out loud, just spit it out!” Niall yells slightly, causing Scarlett to flinch. 

I turn my head towards Niall and send him a death glare. 

“It…It was your uncle.” She sighs, rubbing the side of her arms.

“What?” Niall and I exclaim at the same time. 

Scarlett shrugs and lifts her head, the corners of her lips twitching.

“Told you you’d be surprised.” She states blankly. 

“Uncle Ben?” I ask in total disbelief. 

“No, Harry. Uncle Julius Augusto Rodriguez,” Niall rolls his eyes. “Who else could it be?” He states and I can almost see the words ‘note the sarcasm’ written all over his face. 

I tilt my head and land my eyes on Niall, scowling at him with my eyes narrowed. 

Niall shrugs and moves his eyes towards the wall. 

I direct my attention towards Scarlett.

“What was he doing at your place? And most importantly,” Niall asks. “How the hell did he find you?”

Scarlett looks up at Niall with a terrified and clueless expression on her face as she shakes her head and mutters a quiet ‘I don’t know’.

I lift my head and stare intensely at the ceiling in deep thought as the words escape my lips.

“I guess we’ll need to find out.” 

Scarlett snaps her gaze towards me.

“Find out what?” 

Shit.

I swallow and Niall immediately sends me a warning look as he mouths the words ‘Shut up.’

“Uh.. N-nothing.” I stammer quickly. 

Scarlett stands from the couch and strolls towards me, raising an eyebrow as she eyes me. 

“Is there something that you’re not telling me?” She asks, squinting her eyes.

“What?” I say in a fake shocked tone. “No, no. Of course not.” I lie as I let out a nervous, shaky laugh.