Problems of an Invisible Girl

Chapter 28

Not surprisingly, when Rina got home and told Grace the news, Grace seemed relieved.
She was even gracious enough to tell her to take as much time as she needed although it was obvious to Rina that it would be preferable if she left as soon as possible.
Now that Grace knew for sure that Rina would be leaving she could allow herself to be generous, something she hadn't been in a long time.

However, Rina wanted to leave that house as soon as possible.
She didn't want to keep trying to reconcile what was happening, to keep trying to find excuses for her 'family'.
It was pointless to keep trying to fool herself that she meant something to her mother and brothers, so she thought it best to just leave.

Her plan was to get Nat and Serena to help her move all her things the next morning before school. After all, she would only be taking a few suitcases and no furniture.
For that purpose, a taxi should be enough, with Serena and Nat helping out.
She sent a message with all the details to Serena who had finally gotten a cell phone and upon receiving an affirmative response Rina went to bed.

It would be the last night she spent in the house of her childhood.
She couldn't help but feel brokenhearted.
After all, even after everything that happened, she would miss the house.
There were good memories in it as well, especially when her adoptive father Ronald was alive.
They spent hours playing together and laughing out loud.
She felt safe and loved.
Maybe that was why she didn't notice the distance between her and the other members of her family, because her father showered her with so much love that she failed to notice that none of it came from other sources. Once he died, the realization that they didn't even like her came as a shock, but she learned to live with it. Thoughts of past, present, and future swirled around her head as she started slowly drifting off to sleep.

When she woke up, she got ready, and then she quickly finished packing.
Just as she was bringing down the last of her suitcases to the front door there was a knock on the door.
She opened the door for Nat and Serena, and they helped her put all her things into the taxi they came with.
The house was surprisingly empty and Rina wondered if she should have said goodbye.
Taking one last look at the house, she realized that it was better that way, they probably left so that they wouldn't have to say goodbye to her.

As Rina was saying her silent goodbye to the only place she ever knew, Serena surprised her with a big comforting hug.
"Everything will be okay, you'll see. Don't you worry, sis." Serena said.
Her words had the wanted effect.
Rina smiled from ear to ear, Serena's words piecing her broken heart back together.
"I know, everything will be okay as long as we have each other, sister," Rina said.

Trying not to get too emotional they went to the taxi settling in comfortably for the drive to their new home.
Rina was seated between Nat and Serena which would have made her uncomfortable in any other situation, but this time she didn't mind.
Even the lively chatter they kept up the whole way there didn't bother her since she was too excited at the prospect of independence.
Once they got there, Rina just had enough time to put her things in the spacious pink bedroom that would be hers, with Serena and Nat's help, before she had to hurry off to school, ready to face another boring day.

The school hours went by uneventful, as expected, but the strange thing happened after the classes ended.
While she was gathering her things eager to go back to the apartment and turn the pink room into HER room Mel and Angela, her self-proclaimed friends approached her.

"Rina come with us to the park!
Let's hang out! We haven't spent any time together for such a long time." Mel, one of her 'best friends' said.
Rina found her statement strange since they had never spent any time together, not after school.
When the girls did communicate with her it was when they needed something or when one of them wasn't at school and the other one needed Rina so as not to seat alone.

It occurred to Rina that they were trying to make amends for their previous behavior, and she didn't want to make it more difficult for them.
Having in mind everything that had happened to her, Rina thought that maybe her luck was changing and that her friends were finally truly her friends.
Without thinking about it too much, she agreed to go with them.
She did it partly because she was curious, and partly because she wanted to feel like she could have her own friends just like Serena had Nat.

As they were leaving school they didn't notice a pair of frightened eyes following them out with trembling hands and a head full of questions.
"Those are the girls whom I heard talking about luring the girl who thought they were her friends to some isolated place. This doesn't look good. What should I do?" The person to whom the frightened eyes belonged thought while silently following them towards the park.

For some reason, Rina felt uncomfortable, but she couldn't understand why.
She was sure there was something odd about the other girls' behavior.
"Where are we going?" Rina asked as the girls continued past the most frequented places in the park.
"We have something to show you, " Angela said.
Curious, Rina followed them eager to figure out what was it all about.

When they reached the farthest and least frequented part of the park, the one filled with the huge trees, two figures jumped out of the shadows.
Before Rina had the chance to turn invisible, or scream, or do anything a huge hand covered her mouth with a wet cloth.
The sweet smell with a hint of alcohol filled her nostrils, and soon enough she was unconscious.

From behind the nearby trees, unnoticed by anyone a small shadow was frozen in the light of what was happening.
Something had to be done, but what?
Moving was an impossibility so the figure clung to the shadows which provided protection from whatever was happening out there.
She saw the two girls getting affectionate pats on the back from one of the shadows while the other slung the poor girl over his shoulder.

As they went into their cars, the scared little shadow tried to memorize every little detail, the car's plate number, the color, model and so on before they drove off.
After a few more moments, the shadow took a deep steadying breath and finally moved.
"I need to get help." Thought the shadow running back, towards the school.