Eldon starts to drive down Amanda's street. He takes a lot of sharp and confusing turns that I lose count.
"Where are we going?" I ask as he takes a right onto a smaller residential street.
He doesn't answer. He seems very focused on the road ahead of him.
"Eldon?" I lean forward to face him.
"Why do you drive Emily?" No one can answer a qustion with a straight up answer nowadays.
"To get places?" I question my own answer.
"Not like that." Eldon chuckles but doesn't turn away from the road.
"Then like what?"
"When you're upset? You just seem to get into your car and drive. How come?"
So many deep questions with deep answers, but I don't feel the need to hide myself in front of Eldon.
"Do you know how hard it is to be trapped in one spot? When I drive, I'm free and if being free is losing all consciousness and feeling, then I'll take it over pain any day." I look straight ahead just like Eldon.
"This is your form of freedom?"
"I don't need freedom." I sigh.
"What do you want?"
"I-I don't know. Liberty?"
"You don't sound so sure?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure of anything."
I close my eyes and let the sound of the wheels drown all the other thoughts in my head. It feels as if I'm driving. Driving away from my problems just like always. Driving towards something that isn't known to me. But this time, it's different, I'm not in control. Someone else is behind the wheel but I put my trusst in him. I can trust him.
Soon, the car stops.
"Where are we?" I feel a hand on my waist and another unbuckling my seatbelt.
"You're home."
I'm home already? That felt very short.
"Can you come in?" I offer, but I will find a way to drag him in no matter what his answer is.
"I want to be with you."
My heart beats ten times faster than normal. I feel a squeal making it's way to my throat but I hold it back. My body gets tingly and warm. I think I'm in love.
"Then come with me." I whisper into Eldon's ear that is pressed up against my face.
I hear him shut off his engine and unlock the doors.
"Come on then." He gives me a tug and I open my eyes.
Half of the sky is a beautiful orange, the other half is turning black. I can see the sun disappearing behind the houses across the street. How long has Eldon been driving for?
I get out of the car. Eldon takes my hand and I lead him up to my house in my daze. As a reflex, I pull out my keys and unlock the door. Eldon walks in and I follow.
"I'm home! Don't check on me!" I yell out to my parents who - I assume - are having dinner. I can smell their lasanga but I have my eyes closed.
I hear soft clanks - like boots on wood. Something stops my step. Stairs. I step up with my right foot then follow with my left. It's just a pattern. Right, left, right, left, right, left. Then Eldon takes a turn. He pulls me with him. I feel his hand, it's warm on mine. I squeeze his hand and he tugs me. We turn left then make a right. Shortly, we reach our destination. Eldon stops then I feel the air of a closing door. The room becomes instantly quiet. The only noise is Eldon and I breathing.
I feel someone taking off my coat and dropping it at my feet. Then I'm being lead to a soft surface - my bed. Someone pushes me down onto the cool blankets and I just lie there. Then my shoes are being taken off. My eyes remain closed. I feel myself drifting away.
"Go to sleep Emily." Someone - Eldon - whispers into my ear.
"Don't go." I respond in a raspy voice.
"I won't." He responds.
Then I feel myself being pushed over and something soft yet heavy is put over me. My head is resting on something soft - a pillow - and I can feel someone's arm around me - Eldon's.
After what seemed like five minutes, I reopen my eyes. I look out the window, it is completely dark.
Eldon still has his arm around me, and by the weight and the sound of his breathing, I think he is asleep.
"Eldon?" I whisper.
No answer.
I try to slip away from him without waking him up but it's not possible. The clock above my head is blurry from my peripheral vision but I can make out the small hand at the nine and the big hand at the two. 9:10.
I search around for something I can do. Whatever fatigue I experinced, I'm over it now. There is a book on my nightstand. I reach the hand closest to it to try and grab it. It touches it ever so slightly and I manage to bring it over to me.
It's one of Riley's journals. It's one I haven't read yet.
Oh how lovely. I haven't been talking about you much have I? I'm so sorry 10. I have big plans, but I can't say anything yet.
10. 10. 10. 10. 10. Why haven't I met you sooner?
You're not like all the others 10, you actually care.
I've never said this before, but, you have one chance, use it well my lucky number 10.
Who is 10 and why is Riley talking about him or her so much? Who would Riley care so much about that she would give a second chance to?
I flip to the beginning of the book. It's marked 2014. This is still pretty recent. Who does Riley have a crush on? I'm starting to feel like I don't know as much about Riley as I give myself credit for.
I keep reading. The numbers return to a smooth pace of different people every few entries. She introduces someone new within every five pages. By the end of this, she has her numbers all the way up to 28. Some people are more important than others. 14, 19, 23 who she likes to torture. Then there's 1 and 10 who she cares about but there isn't one person in this book who she doesn't know something bad about. She has a whole lot of black mail opportunities.
I feel the arm around me start to stir. Eldon must be waking up.
"Eldon?" I say in a very low voice.
"Umhuh." I hear Eldon grunt from behind me.
"Are you awake?" I wince at my choice of words.
Eldon groans then I feel the warm hand leave my body. He stretches then takes a deep breath.
"Yeah." He finally answers.
I turn around in bed to face him. He is sitting up whie rubbing his eyes.
"I'm sorry I woke you up." I says sheepishly.
"No, no. I would have had to wake up anyways." Eldon seems to realize what he is doing so he jumps out of bed and starts to put on his coat.
"Please stay." I reach my arm out to him.
"I'll be back tomorrow." Eldon smiles then starts for the door.
"Wait!" I call out to him when he is half way out of my room.
"What?"
"Where are you going to take me out?" I smirk.
"You'll see." Eldon copies my smile then walks out the door.
I sigh. The bed is warm but I know I can't stay in my leggings and sweater forever. I haul myself out of bed and trudge to the bathroom.
"Ugh." I say once I see my reflection.
My mascara is running and my hair looks like a bird's nest. My breath smells horrible and I haven't taken a shower yet today.
I turn on the shower and take off my clothes. The water is cold; or maybe I'm just too warm. After putting conditioner into my hair three times - all failing to untangle my hair - I get out and wrap myself up in a purple towel that is lying by the shower. Then I brush my teeth and wash my face meticulously. I don't feel like going back to bed.
My pyjamas are astray somewhere in my closet. I hurry out of the now steaming hot bathroom to find some clothes to put on, not caring whether they matched or not.
Then I throw myself back into bed and stare at the ceiling. I'm no longer tired. Instead of sleeping, I think about where Eldon is going to take me on our date. On a picnic? too cold. Skiing? not enough snow - plus, I hate snow. The cliff? cute but I've been there already. I start getting tired of the location, then I wonder what will happen. Maybe he'll kiss me, no, that would only get another innocent person killed. I can't kiss him. But what if he kisses me?
It doesn't help to think about all the things that can happen. So much can go wrong, but what can go right? Not much. I can't even imagine things right because I don't have a proper location. This is going to be a long night.
Riley's journals still haven't found a home in my room yet. I'm thinking of prying a floor board from my bedroom floor too but knowing me, it won't go as smoothly as Riley's did. I could shove them under my bed but there isn't much coverage since I like my sheets tucked in.
I get out of my bed - that's now cold from my absence - and pick up every one of her journals. The pile is pretty big, it won't fit into a drawer or blend in on a bookshelf. I look around my room. My parent's clean my bathroom occasionally so that is out of the question. My closet could work but it's almost always open so anyone will be able to see it. I could put them under my dresser but I'll have trouble getting them back out. Sitting right beside my dresser is my backpack. That's it! I'm not going to have to go to school for a while which means my school bag will have no use. I drop the books nicely and rip open the bag. Then I put all of them into the backpack along with the rest of my textbooks. My backpack weighs a ton now. I'm glad I won't have to carry this to school until the murder is solved - if there are enough students to attend for the highschool to continue.
I take a step back and study the bag. It seems completely normal but I can feel it jumping out at me, trying to say I have journals in here that can be used as police evidence.
That gets me thinking, if the police can use this information, maybe I can too, but how? Riley isn't guilty of anything, but maybe Amanda is! All of their secrets are in here. Riley had a lot of blackmail material - she still has. I can put Amanda behind bars, even if it's not for murder, I won't have to deal with her anymore. Then Riley will be able to come back and whoever else Amanda has hostage. If Amanda goes to jail for this, then Daniel comes out.
Where is Daniel? They don't thave anything to hold against them do they? I think back to the time I went to go see Daniel. He knew something! The police do have something against him. Information. For all they know, he could be working with he killer, but they don't know who. If I can prove Amanda is guilty, then I can free Daniel from his holding cell.
I feel a knot in my stomache. I usually hate Daniel. He is snobby and sassy and he cheated on a girl with Riley! Who says he won't do it to her? By now, I have a different perspective on Riley but she is still my sister and I still love her. I won't let Daniel hurt her. What does he know? But the better question is: what can he tell me?
I pull out one of the journals that are now very well concealed, and start to read. There are only about three more books I have to finish before I'm done, and still, I don't know any of the secrets, all I know is that they have to be somewhere. No one can remember this much. Not even Riley.
The secrets have to be written somewhere. No. They have to be in these journals. All of these threats are codes for everything. Before me - I assume - only Riley has read these so these only have to make sense to her and only her. Her plan is probably to make sure if anyone else tries to read it, they will fail to understand. Just like me. But there is something in there.