Too late, too late! The words rang in her mind as she awoke with a start. Her body was clammy, her heart was racing, and darkness spread throughout her room like a blanket. Thick like the quilt on her bed, too, feeling almost suffocating to her.
Andorra slid from her bed, the room stuffy and hot. No signs of Noah, Kyle, or the beast, but her body was still shaking in fear.
Her window was shut; there was no inky liquid coating her carpet. Andorra took a deep breath and closed her eyes, telling herself that it was a nightmare, and nothing else. When she grasped her door and pushed the open, the hallway light was almost blinding, and she stood there blinking for a moment, disoriented.
She could have sworn that there was blood on the hallway floor. She blinked again, but the blood drops didn't disappear, as though her dream had actually been true. Her fingers brushed her head and found the wound from earlier, when she was in the bathroom, but nothing else.
Andorra pushed herself to the stairs and crept down them quietly. There was the soft hum of chatter in the kitchen, something about the feel of quiet laughter making her feel safe again. Her parents were alive, not dead, and certainly not underneath a creature from her nightmares.
She didn't want to interrupt them, or even draw attention to herself, so she lingered in the hallway, her ears picking up the soft notes of her mother's voice, talking to her aunt, or perhaps her father, Andorra didn't know yet. It was nighttime, for real, and her mother talking meant that the time wasn't too late.
She heard her aunt snort. "Your daughter isn't who you think she is. I know you love her, but I'm serious. She's dangerous."
Ice flooded Andorra's veins as she listened to her aunt slander her. The words were vicious, unfeeling, and cruel. Andorra always knew her aunt was hateful, but this was different. There wasn't just hate in her aunt's voice. No, there was a sense of desperation and fear.
Was her aunt afraid of her? Or, was she afraid for her parents?
There was anger in her mother's voice, too. "You always bring this up! My daughter has never once come for us like that. She's a sweetheart, and her kindness is radiant. She's always been that way; our little sunshine. Is this why you've actually come back to visit? To tell me again how my daughter is evil?"
Andorra pressed herself against the wall, her ears twitching at the voices. She knew listening was poor of her, but she needed to know what her aunt wanted to do. What the point of her visit actually was.
"I'm here because I fear for your life! I've always seen the devil in that girl, even when she was a baby. She doesn't even look like you! Things don't add up with her. She has freakishly good hearing, and she can smell when things are... are rancid and poisonous! She is fooling you!"
Her mother laughed, but it was biting. "No, she isn't. And, ever since you tried to come here, she hasn't been feeling well. The moment you called, she began showing symptoms of illness, and she never gets sick. Never."
There was a pause, and then she felt someone in the hallway with her. She looked away from the hallway that led to the kitchen, and met the eyes of her aunt's boyfriend. Her heart stuttered for a moment, fear coiling up her spine at the sight of him standing there, so casually.
She'd been caught listening, and even worse, she hadn't heard him approach.
She opened her mouth to say something, perhaps to lie, but her aunt spoke again, drawing her attention away. "Why do you think she never grows ill? That isn't normal of children. None of this, of her, is normal!"
"Ah, you're listening. Not very polite, now is it?"
Andorra turned back to her aunt's boyfriend, her cheeks turning crimson. But, something he said made her eyes widen, because from where they were standing, it had to be impossible for normal ears to even hear the conversation in the kitchen. Even Andorra had to admit that she had freakishly good hearing, and she knew it. She knew listening in by the staircase should have been impossible, yet this man could also hear them.
Questions felt thick on her tongue, but she didn't know how to ask what should be impossible. Or how he knew she could hear them.
The conversation in the kitchen had gone too quiet for her liking, so Andorra grabbed the man's arm and swung him into the staircase and she went up a few steps, pausing to listen for more chatter, or perhaps footsteps coming towards them. When she was satisfied that they were alone and not in hearing range, she looked at the blonde haired man. "Who are you, really?"
The man flashed a grin, his teeth too bright in the dark staircase. "I'm dating your aunt."
She shook her head, her mouth flattening into a frown. "No, I'm not falling for that. You're not dating her. You're pretending to do so. Why?"
There was something about him that was radiant. Something about him that drew her to him in a strange, comforting way. Something about him was familiar, trustworthy, honest. And a voice, deep in her mind, told her to trust him.
She jumped at the voice in her mind, like the dream from earlier, and she wondered if she was still dreaming. Still, the man in front of her didn't seem to notice her discomfort, or her panic as he began to answer her questions. "You aunt and I are very in love. And that's all I am: her boyfriend, accompanying her on a trip across the country to visit you and your parents. Though, we haven't really been introduced. I'm Paul."
She needed to escape the conversation, and quickly. "Well, Paul. I'm growing tired, so I'm going to return to my room. I'll see you in the morning, I suppose." She didn't wait for his response as she turned on her heel and nearly ran up the stairs. Paul didn't follow her, but his eyes did, all the way to her bedroom. Even if he couldn't see her from the staircase.
She closed her door and leaned against it, breathing hard. Her ears strained to listen for Paul's footsteps, but she heard him go back downstairs and away, probably towards the kitchen. When she was sure he hadn't followed her up, she crawled back into bed, her body ice cold. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't know just what it was, not yet. But, she would figure it out soon.
* * *
In the morning, Andorra didn't head downstairs until she was completely dressed. She lingered in her room as long as she could without her mother coming upstairs to find her, and with her backpack on, she entered the kitchen.
She released a breath that had been tight in her chest when her Aunt Ruth and Paul were nowhere to be seen. Her mother, however, was right there, sweeping Andorra into her arms. "How are you feeling? Are you alright? You must be, if you're dressed for school."
Andorra hugged her mother back, which was more her mother's benefit than her own, and stepped away. "I'm fine, mom. I don't know what's been going on recently." Andorra sat at the table and forced a smile. "I'll let you know how I feel after school, though."
Her mom lingered by the table, unsure if she should let Andorra go to school, or lock her in her bedroom. She decided to go to the fridge, where she pulled out the milk. "Would you like some breakfast?"
Andorra shook her head. "No, I'll just wait for dad to drive me to school. He is driving me, right?" She hadn't seen her dad downstairs yet, and the clock was rounding close to their usual departure time.
"I think your father caught what you must have had, because he isn't feeling very well. I'll drive you."
Andorra nodded, feeling a sense of unease because she wasn't sure what she had was the flu, or a common illness. She had the feeling that her hallucinations had nothing to do with being sick, but she didn't tell her mom that. Instead, she smiled and stood from the table.
When she arrived at school, she stood at her locker and tried to shove her backpack into it. Her hands were shaking from the chill of the weather and the fear of her aunt returning, but she tried to ignore it. That wasn't an issue until later, and she refused to spend the day thinking about it.
"Andorra, thank goodness you're here." Kyle was at her locker then, his smile bright but worried. Something in his expression told her that he hadn't expected her there at school.
She gave him a good look, the conversation with her aunt coming into sharp focus. She wondered if she really could fall in love with him, and she knew she could. He was kind hearted, and he was funny, and he seemed to be honest with her.
And, if she was being honest, he was extremely attractive.
But, her nightmare came into focus as well, and she remembered the look in his eyes, the evil that had been there, the desire to hurt her. She knew that hadn't been real, but she couldn't seem to push the thought aside that he was working with Noah.
"Yeah. My mom wanted me to stay home, but I couldn't. School keeps me occupied." Which was true; it kept her mind off of her house guests, and what she would do about her aunt trying to poison her.
She longed to be able to tell someone about it, but that wasn't a conversation for school, nor was it a conversation for a boy.
"Well, what do you say you dump the backpack and we grab some breakfast? The cafeteria is pretty empty right now." She could read the words he didn't say. Noah isn't there.
She nodded, closing her locker door. "Do you think I'm going crazy?"
Kyle laughed, as though he found the thought humorous, but there was a hint of worry as well. "No. Why on Earth would I think that?"
She edged closer to him as they walked towards the cafeteria. "Well... yesterday, I did look crazy. And then before, when I was having that panic attack in the hallway... I think I'm going mad."
Kyle turned towards her and pulled her to a stop, bending down to look into her eyes. "Andorra, you can't honestly think that way. I don't think you were lying about yesterday, with that thing in the bathroom. I mean, you were bleeding, and you were so afraid. Obviously something was amiss. And in the hallway... Andorra, you're not going crazy."
She met his golden eyes, the kindness and the honesty there telling her that he didn't believe her to be crazy. That he believed her. It warmed her more than she thought it would, to have someone believe in her like that.
"Thank you," she said, bending her head, her voice low, "that means more to me than you know."
He grinned at her, then placed his hand on her lower back, pushing her forward into a walk. "Andorra, you need to trust yourself."
She nodded, agreeing with his words. "I do trust myself." She was silent for a moment, trying to gather her words, trying to think of how to bring up the topic of Noah. "I also have a theory... which is crazy but, I think Noah is doing this to me."
Kyle gave a laugh, and this time, it was all humor. Not in a mocking way, but in a way that sent relief flooding through her body. "Noah isn't the cause of this. Although, I'm glad you paint him as the bad guy."
She stepped into the cafeteria with Kyle, her eyes narrowed at him. "Okay well, it's not hard to do that. He's friends with people that hate me, and he's always making a joke of me. He's not exactly friendly, either."
She wanted to ask Kyle why he seemed so familiar with Noah, but she didn't. She held her tongue as they walked towards the breakfast line, which was full of eager people looking for something to eat.
"Noah isn't someone you should trust, Andorra. He's not a kind person, and I bet you anything he's just working as Shaniah's sidekick."
Andorra knew what he meant by that: working to embarrass her, like Shaniah had suddenly wanted to do. Shaniah had always been there, but never had she attacked her in such a personal way before.
Andorra didn't want to say anything more on the topic, so she focused on the breakfast line, and then when it was her turn, she bought an apple. Behind her, Kyle also bought an apple, and then rushed to catch up with Andorra as she walked towards a table.
Her eye caught the clock, noting that there was only a good ten minutes before school started. She'd taken one bite into her apple when the girl she'd just been worrying about slid into the seat across from her.
Shaniah's smile wasn't friendly, but then she turned to Kyle instead. "Good morning, Kyle."
Kyle's smile was pleasant enough and he even said hello back, his voice honeyed. A voice that he hadn't shared with Andorra earlier in the morning. She couldn't tell if that was because it was fake, or if it was because Kyle didn't care to impress Andorra.
"I'm here to talk to you about something I heard from Jessica."
Andorra tried to place the name, recognizing it as one of Shaniah's friends. Kyle was still smiling pleasantly. "Was it about my good looks? Or, was it about my charm? I am pretty charming." He stroked his chin, his attention focused only on Shaniah.
And the girl let out a laugh, like she was the one under Kyle's charm. Shaniah swatted at Kyle's arm, clearly flirting. "She wants to know if you are going to ask her to the winter formal."
Kyle ran a hand through his hair in a slow, lazy fashion. "Why didn't she come ask me herself?"
Shaniah looked at Andorra for a single moment, but Kyle caught the look and the meaning behind it. He gave Shaniah a reassuring smile, his eyes shifting to Andorra. "Tell Jessica I know exactly who I'm asking, and that she can expect me to find her at lunch."
Shaniah squealed, standing from the table. "Can you imagine it? You, me, Jessica, and Noah, going to winter formal together!" Shaniah clapped her hands and grabbed her bag. "It will be so great!"
Noah's name caught Andorra's interest as she realized what Shaniah was insinuating: Noah had already asked Shaniah to the dance, which further proved Kyle's notion that the dark haired boy was nothing more than a rude, evil henchman to Shaniah.
Shaniah seemed to think she hadn't dug the knife in deep enough already, so she turned to Andorra, a fake smile on her face. "Andorra, who are you going to the dance with?"
Shaniah already knew the answer: no one had bothered to ask Andorra, and shame bloomed in her cheeks as she forced herself to look at the dark haired girl right in the eyes. "I think school organized dances are for those who have nothing better to do with their time."
Maybe it was luck, but the bell rang immediately after that, and Andorra stood from her seat with purpose. She sent a look to Kyle that wasn't so kind, and then sent a similar one to Shaniah as she spun from the table to leave the two there, in silence. Andorra would have liked to think it was stunned silence, but she knew better.
The shame she felt from Shaniah's show burned deep in her chest, almost painfully. That entire interaction was to show Andorra that both Kyle and Noah wanted different girls, and that no one wanted Andorra.
Even though she'd already known this, it still hurt to have it shoved in her face like that. She looked at her feet as she walked, trying to force herself to brush it off, to ignore Shaniah's words and her antics.
But, luck wasn't on her side when she ran headfirst into Noah. She knew it was him immediately before she looked up, stumbling into his arms. His ice cold hands grasped her upper arms, his face closed off.
He's with Shaniah. What a great couple, she thought bitterly, trying to pull out of his arms. His grip, however, was like steel, rooting her to the spot. "You're not even going to apologize?"
Her face twisted into a sneer, which was very unlike herself, but she couldn't help it. "I don't apologize to people who enjoy tormenting others."
Noah's face flashed a moment of confusion, but then he composed himself. He opened his mouth, perhaps to ask her what she meant, but Shaniah called his name. In that brief moment of distraction, Andorra pulled out of his arms and stormed off to class, dreading their shared class at the end of the day, but knowing their partnership was inevitable.