Her Darkest Secret

Chapter 22

Skyler's POV

"So, here's the deal, Skyler. And, Nora. And, Leo," Haruki started.

Nora, Leo, Haruki, and I were in a call. Haruki made a perfect plan to get to Priya's house. Her family lives in a townhome because their dad is the only one who gets out of the house to work.

"Wait, wait, wait," Nora started. "Does this family know about 'the key' and 'the letter' and 'the necklace'."

Haruki shook her head. "Nope. They don't know anything about it. They used to go out with gloves on, but they stopped doing that and stayed inside since last year. And, Priya's earrings are in her mom's jewelry box. Most of the people in her family line found love."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Oh, stop," Haruki sighed. "It's not my fault your family is bad at finding love."

"Whatever," I mumbled. "You would've at least thought your family would be exempted from this 'key' stuff, but the potion didn't do anything for you."

Haruki scoffed. "My ancestor isn't as smart as he thought he was. Big deal!"

I knew Nora and Leo were staring at us, knowing how much hatred was between us.

I was pretty much mad at everyone these days. Nora keeps asking stupid questions, Leo always encourages her, and Haruki had a short temper towards every person.

"Hey, here's a question!" Nora exclaimed. "Did you study English in Japan?"

I saw Haruki glare at Nora through my screen.

"You're an idiot. I can know anything. It's all in my head! I can speak any language I want."

"Oh, yeah?" Nora challenged. I knew this was going bad for her. "Then, speak Indian."

I smacked my forehead and groaned.

Haruki's eyes were daggers, and I watched her open her mouth in disbelief. "Indian... Is... Not... A LANGUAGE!"

Nora and Leo jumped at her sudden burst.

"Nora, can you stop?" I requested.

"It was just a question!" she fired back. "It's not my fault your friend is such a hothead!"

"Geez, can you both stop?!" Leo yelled.

Soon enough, Nora, Leo, and I were scolding each other, back and forth.

"We are here to make a plan, and you idiots... DON'T EVEN CARE!" Haruki screamed. "THIS IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH! I KNOW THIS IS MY FAMILY'S FAULT! I KNOW MY ANCESTOR WAS STUPID FOR PLAYING WITH ANCIENT HERBS, AND WE'RE PAYING THE PRICE FOR HIS MISTAKES!" Her voice cracked. "But, please... just listen to me. I'm afraid, okay? And, I can see the future, and I can see that there's something that will go horribly wrong, but I don't know what it is... because I'm stressed and I need to calm down... I think this plan is the only way we can save ourselves and not have anything go wrong, but I'm so scared that I can't explain it, properly. This won't work... unless you guys cooperate. Please." Her face was wet with tears.

I could tell Nora was completely surprised at this, and Leo was, too.

"Umm," I started. "Maybe we should call another time. So, we can all calm down and Haruki can get the plan together. Properly."

I saw all of them nod and Haruki wipe her tears. She instantly left the call, leaving Leo, Nora, and me.

"I feel guilty," Nora sighed. "I'm going to stop asking dumb questions. And, note that Indian isn't a language."