The Riverside Curse

Chapter Eighteen: Tahira

Tahira's P.O.V

I had been staring at the glass window for twenty minutes and still haven't made my move. It felt good to be here. My sister and I hadn't visited Rose Manor in two years. Well not to hang out with Jair and Sydnee anyway.

We came for family dinners every so often even though it was completely evident that our family's rivalry made our parents resent each other. My dad always said that it was good to have competition because it made you better.

But I believed sometimes the Roses took their "healthy competition" with us too far. We competed in everything, from new shoes to test scores to houses, and to even how many kids each family had. I'm still recovering from the surgery I had on my spine from that time my parents found out Sydnee was taller than me. Even though my sister and I always squeaked past them to the top, the Roses were always seen as superior.

And that was something we could never change and I was okay with that. I knew my worth and no one was going to take that away from me. I finally find the courage to lift the window and slip inside the house. People were too busy getting drunk and dancing to notice a teenage girl struggling to get her ass out of the window.

I fall to the floor with a thud and quickly disappear into a crowd of people. After getting a few weird glances from people I realized showing up to a party in a huge black hoodie and jeans wasn't exactly blending in.

Kids are sitting on expensive couches, on the floor, and perched on glass tables, and dancing in the large lavish living room. Then I spot Anais dancing with Tate in the dining room that they used as a dance floor. She had her braids curled and wore a tight white dress with black heels.

I smiled, she was laughing. I'm glad that she was happy. A high pitched screech subsequently became my cue to head to the kitchen and try to remember what I was looking for.

No matter how much it kills me. Zeke can't know that I'm here tonight. It's one more thing I keep from him but I have to because I'll know he'll stop me. But something is pulling me here and I have to figure out what it is.

Zeke was my best friend. He understands me better than anyone else and always considered my feelings. The person I always knew I could count on no matter what. But after a literal death experience, all these feelings I have for him seem to be coming to the surface. But I have to keep them a secret because I'm not exactly sure what they are.

It wouldn't be fair to dump this all on him when we had bigger things to focus on and what if after I said something our friendship would be ripped to pieces and no there would be no way of ever going back? I would be lying if I didn't think he was cute the first time I met him. But on that day I vowed to never let my feelings get in the way.

I so desperately needed a good friend and he was the best of them. It would be selfish to throw it all away on a crush, on feelings that could fizzle out in a day. But what if I missed out on something amazing, something I could never get with anyone else?

There are two girls that I recognize from school sitting on the stools by the counter, drinking champagne out of champagne glasses. If you looked closely you could see the word Roses in cursive etched in the center.

I didn't know exactly what I was looking for but I knew I would find it here. Flickers of memories from the nights I spent here flashed in my mind but none of them gave me any significance to who my killer would be.

My hand slides against the glass cabinets and the counter. I close my eyes and try to sense anything familiar from that night but my mind remains blank. Just when I am about to give up I spot something on the floor.