Tori's POV
I woke up to the sun shining on my face through the windows. It seems like I forgot to close the curtains last night. I was contemplating going back to bed, but I chose against it and got up. I looked at my alarm clock and read it.
Monday, December 11, 7:45 am.
I stared at it for awhile. I blinked once, I blinked twice, until it finally hit me.
It's Monday!
It's been 2 weeks since I've been out of the coma. The doctor said today should be suitable for me to go back to school, only if I don't engage in any physical activity, such as gym.
I scurried to get out of bed and went to my bathroom. I quickly did the usual, showered and got dressed, leaving my hair out in its natural curls.
When I finished and looked at the time I nearly fainted. 8:12.
School starts at 8:30!
I grabbed my phone and rushed downstairs, passing Leo along the way. Malcolm wasn't here, ever since I got out of the hospital, he's been staying more to the west side of the house. Avoiding me like the plague, scared that if he sees me again, he'll do something and I won't make it out alive this time.
"Come on, let's go. We're already late!"Leo completely ignored my statement and carried on eating his breakfast.
"Are you deaf? I said let's go."
"I'm ignoring you for a reason Tori."Leo rolled his eyes and ignored me once more.
"And why is that?"
"Because, I'm not going to school today."he said like it was nothing.
"And why is that?"
"Today's parent, teacher consultation. Since I don't have one of those, I shall be staying home."
"Why didn't you tell me Leo. I would have made arrangements to come with you."I sighed when I realized he was being ridiculous.
"I didn't tell you because your not my mom!"he screamed at me and stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind him. His bedroom door followed shortly after.
8:22
I sighed when I realized I had to talk to him. I can't leave him here in this state.
I slowly climbed the stairs and made my way to his bedroom. When I got there, I stood outside the door, listening for any sound that could give me a hint of how he was feeling.
"Leo?"I knocked once.
No answer.
"Leo?"I knocked twice.
Once again......no answer.
"Leo?"the third and final knock. I'm not knocking again, I'm just going to open the door next time.
"Go away Tori. I don't want to talk."
Oh, he did answer.
"Please Leo, we need to talk. Just open the door."I was met with silence once again. At first I thought he was ignoring me, but I was proven wrong when the door slowly opened, revealing a tear stained face Leo. He opened the door a little wider, a signal that I can come in. I stepped inside and looked around.
I haven't been in here for awhile.
His bed was unmade and there were clothes everywhere. None of that bothered me though. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that he had the same picture of mom that I had on my bedside table on his bed. Tears stained the frame it was in. I looked to the door where he was and saw him staring at it in my hands, eyes filled with unshed tears. As soon as I saw him in this state, I opened my arms to him which he quickly acknowledged, and walked into my embrace.
"I didn't even get a chance to know them, Tori. Dad died and mom died before I even learnt how to talk properly. I just- I can't take it."he cried in my arms. I held him like I always did when we were younger, and he said he was scared of the monsters under his bed.
"It's going to be OK Leo, I'm here."that made him cry even harder.
Um....what?
"That's just it Tori, I don't know if I'm gonna lose you too. I almost did, I don't know what I would've done if you didn't recover from the coma. For the one and a half weeks that you've been gone, I could barely handle myself. Malcolm didn't feed me, he barely even looked at me, I had to live off the contents from the pantry. I'm just trying to hold it together for the sake of becoming a man one day."by the time he was finished I already had my own unshed tears.
"Leo, I know you miss her, I do too, but unfortunately, we can't change the past. I wish we could, but we can't. But I can promise you this, I will avenge her."Leo only looked at me when I said the last statement, his eyes that were once filled with tears now held hope.
"Correction, we will avenge her."I laughed at that and he quickly joined.
"Are you going to be alone by yourself here today?"I asked him once our laughter ended.
"Yeah, I should be fine."
"Ok, I gotta go, I'll see you later though."
"Yeah."
I walked out of Leo's room and closed the door behind me. When I got downstairs, I went to the cabinet where Malcolm kept the car keys, seeing which car he left today. I opened it only to find it empty, either he took both cars or he just didn't want me driving his car today. I sighed when I realized I have to walk.
8:36
Just my luck. Walking to school when I'm already late.
I took up my school items and headed out the door.
***********
By the time I got to school it was already the session before lunch. I opened the door to Mr. Taylor's Woodwork class and slowly stepped inside, hanging my head low.
"Ah, Ms. Valentine. So nice of you to join us once again."he wasted no time in calling me out for my lateness.
"I did tell you that if you're late for my class again you will have to serve a detention. Didn't I Ms. Valentine?"
"Yes sir, but I have a valid reason."
"It still doesn't allow you to come late to my class."
It seems pointless trying to come to an agreement with him so I just mumbled a 'sorry sir' and took my seat beside Elijah.
"Where have you been?"Those were the first words Elijah said to me.
"Hi Elijah. Nice to see you too."I rolled my eyes at him.
"I'm sorry. Hi Tori, how are you?"he smiled.
"I'm fine, thanks."
"Good to hear. Now, where were you?"his face switched from the smile to a frown very fast.
"I was at home Elijah. I had to take care of something."his eyes widened when I said this.
"Not a Malcolm problem. A smaller one."I saw him visibly relax.
"Oh."
"Nice to see that you notice us Tori." I turned my attention to the two boys who were sitting behind me, both giving me an ear to ear grin. I grinned back.
"I'm sorry you guys. Elijah took away my attention."
"It's ok. I'm used to that by now."Micheal answered on behalf of him and Vaughan.
"I only intervened because I had to remind Elijah about the thing."Vaughan said and gave Elijah a look.
"What thing?"he looked really confused.
"The thing."
"Oh, that thing."Elijah seem to finally realize what Vaughan was talking about.
"When can we discuss it?"they were talking like I wasn't even there. Even Micheal was there nodding along.
Even he knew!
"What are you guys talking about."I had to find out. They can't be talking about something that is clearly important and not including me.
"Nothing for you to worry about."Elijah reassured.
"Come on Elijah, just tell me."I know I was being annoying but I have to know.
"Tori, don't worry about it."
"Tell meeee."he didn't even answer me he just turned to Vaughan.
"So, where are we going to discuss it?"
"I-"
"Tori Valentine. You will be serving your detention during your lunch period."Vaughan was cut off by Mr. Taylor stating my punishment. My eyes widened when what he said finally settled in my brain.
"What?! Sir, you can't take away my lunch period. It would be more suitable if I served it after school."I argued. He can't do that!
Can he?
"I'm only free during the lunch period Tori. If you wanted your lunch period, you wouldn't have come late to my class."he argued back.
"But sir."
"End of disscussion."
I looked to Elijah to see if he could help me. He only shrugged and mouthed 'sorry'.
I accepted the defeat and layed my head on the desk.
"Hey, cheer up. Detention isn't so bad."Elijah layed his head on the table also and whispered in my ear.
"You would know, wouldn't you?"I can't help but smile.
"I know a little about it."he smiled back.
We just stared at each other for awhile. Him looking at me and me looking at him.
"Sorry to interrupt again but, Elijah, I think it's best we meet lunch time."Vaughan stretched over his seat and tried to whisper in Elijah's ear. Keyword;
Tried.
I don't think they know that I heard them. I just played oblivious and kept quiet.
"Ok " Elijah whispered back. The bell rang at that moment and everyone gathered their things and filed out.
"I'll see you later."Elijah said that to me before he walked out the classroom with Vaughan and Micheal in tow.
"Let detention begin, please be seated Ms. Valentine."
************
Elijah's POV
Vaughan, Micheal and I walked into the cafeteria and scanned the room for our friends. When we saw them at our regular table, we made our way towards them. They looked to be in a deep conversation.
"Hey guys, are you talking about the text message?"I asked as I sat down.
"Sshhh, lower your voice." Chelsea said in a low but harsh voice.
"I'm sorry. Jeez."I apologized and put my hands up in a nonthreatening way.
"It's ok, it's just that we're on edge, always looking over our shoulders."she sighed. DJ put a comforting hand around her waist and hugged her from the side.
"Why would you always be looking over your shoulder. It was just one text message."Micheal asked while stealing a fry from Shontae's tray.
"Actually.....we all got more."Damian whispered, looking over his shoulder as if someone was watching him.
"What do you mean you got more texts?"this conversation now had my full interest.
"I mean, we all got more text messages Elijah."Damian repeated himself.
At that, they all took out their phones and placed them on the table.
"Here, read mine first." Shontae slid her phone across the table.
Unknown Number
-Hope being her friend is worth you getting hurt.
-Who the hell is this?!
-Your worst nightmare ;)
My eyes went wide when I read that.
"That's not that bad." Damian slid his phone across the table next.
Unknown Number
- How do you think a gun would look pressed to Tori's temple?
- What do you want from me?!
- For your worst nightmares to come true ;)
I started to get sweaty and nervous, looking over my shoulder just as they we're doing before. They kept on showing me the different text messages they got.
Chelsea's Phone
Unknown number
- Hey Chelsea :) ready for Tori to die?
-Leave me alone!
-Your worst nightmare never goes away babygirl. ;)
DJ's phone
Unknown number
-DJ, that girlfriend of yours, what's her name,? Is it Chelsea? Yeah, that's it. Tell her to tell her friend Tori to watch her back. I'm coming.
- Leave Chelsea out of this!
She didn't do anything!
- What's in the dark must come to light. ;)
All these text messages are giving me shivers. Especially when I read Chelsea's, asking if she was ready to see Tori die. I tightly gripped the edge of the table in my hands.
"So Cleo, did you get a text message too?"our attention all went to Cleo when Vaughan asked this.
"Uh..........yeah."he quickly unlocked his phone and did some scrolling until he finally handed it over.
Unknown number
-Watch your back.
We all looked to Cleo with our eyebrows raised.
"That's it? We're all getting death threats and you got 'watch your back'?"Chelsea accused.
"Yeah, that doesn't make any sense Cleo."Damian accused as well.
"Guys chill. Maybe because I didn't get the first message he didn't want to go all out in this one."Cleo defended himself.
"That's reasonable enough."Micheal started to see things from Cleo's point of view.
"I still don't understand it. Why would he not go all out in your text message?"I intervened.
"Who said it was a he?"DJ butted in.
"Whatever it is?! I want an explanation."I continued.
"We-"
Riiiiiiinnnnngggg!
Shontae was cut off by the ringing of the bell, signalling the end of the lunch period.
"We'll talk about this some other time. I'll see you guys later."I said before I got up and walked out the cafeteria and headed to my next class.
**************
Tori's POV
The school day was finally over. I served my detention and I must say, that was the most boring hour of my life. Mr. Taylor wouldn't stop talking about his proposal and how his fiance gracefully accepted it.
I was currently at my locker taking out my belongings when a pair of hands covered my mouth from behind.
"Gimmie all of your money."
I already knew who it was from the sound of his voice. I elbowed him in his chest, causing him to release me and stumble backwards. When I turned around and saw his bright blue eyes, I smiled.
"Real funny Elijah."
"It was, wasn't it?"he smiled back.
"I'm not going to lie, it actually was."I shut my locker and headed in the direction of the exit. Elijah followed me and put his hand around my shoulder.
"Oh, by the way, we need to finish the project for woodwork tonight. I already asked Mr. Taylor for extra time."Elijah started the conversation.
"Oh right. I totally forgot about that. If you want, you can take the chance and come back to my house so we can finish it."was my reply.
"That sounds like a chance I'm willing to take."
"Ok then. Race you to your car."those were my words to him before I dashed out the door.
*************
"I seriously still can't get over the fact of how big your house is."Eli looked around in awe.
"You've been here before Elijah!" I laugh and joked.
"Yeah, but I didn't have time to look at the house that time."he joked back. I quickly picked up on what he meant and changed the subject.
"We can go to my room and finish it there."
Elijah agreed and we ascended the stairs to my room, passing Leo along the way. Elijah and Leo both exchanged greetings, nothing too long though. Before you know it, we were in my room, laying on my bed browsing the web, looking for a design.
"Ugh!! Tori. Your Wi-Fi is shit. Don't you have a faster router?"Eli groaned and complained. I could only laugh. He looked like a spoilt chlid.
"This is the best I got, but I think Malcolm has a faster router in his home office."
"Great, let's go there then."Elijah was already standing and was halfway through the door.
"Hey! You can't go in there. That's sacred territory. I escaped death once, I don't plan to meet it again anytime soon."I was running after him. He was still walking down the stairs in the direction of which he thought Malcolm's office was. Surprisingly he found it and opened the door. He then turned to me and saw the scared look in my eyes.
"Tori, I wouldn't do something I know would cause you harm. This is for a project, and I wouldn't do this if he was here."Eli placed his hands on my shoulders and looked in my eyes.
"Ok." I sighed and stepped into the room with him. I walked over to the desktop that Malcolm had on his desk and turned it on.
"Now let's get the design and-"
Ping!
Elijah's phone went off, signalling to him that he got a message.
"Shit."he cursed when he got the message.
"I have to get home. Can you finish finding the design and send it to me via SMS?"his voice laced with hope. I couldn't turn down his offer so I simply nodded.
"Thanks, your a life saver."he gave me a small wave before he headed out the door.
"No problem."I said, even though he was almost out of the house. I just sat there and browsed Malcolm's computer until a specific file caught my attention.
Private File
May 24.
My curiosity got the better of me, so I did what any sane person would do. I clicked on the file.
When I did, a video clip came up. I pressed play and watched intently. I realized that the video was filmed at my old house, more specifically, the foyer. It was just filming for about 2 minutes. Thinking that it was nothing important after all, I was about to exit the file, when something in the video grabbed my attention.
My mom just walked in.
The video was audioless, but I could tell she was saying something. More specifically, talking into her bluetooth earpiece. She was there for awhile just doing random motherly things, such as fixing the coats and more. Shortly after, I saw Malcolm walk in with his head hung low and something behind his back. Due to the fact that he was facing the camera, I couldn't make out what it was. They exchanged a few words until Malcolm finally pulled out what was behind him. My eyes widened when I saw what it was. There, in Malcolm's hand, pointed at my mother, was a gun. I saw my mother get down on her knees and start to beg. Malcolm shakily lifted his hand with the gun and pointed it directly at my mother. While he was there, holding it to her head, a look was in his eyes that I couldn't decipher. He looked a little hesitant, but I thought wrong because he finally pulled the trigger, lodging a bullet between my mother's eyes. I didn't even finishing watching the video. My vision was clouded with tears.
I just watched my mother get murdered.
I ran until I reached Leo's door and opened it. I saw him there playing video games.
"Pack a bag, we're leaving."I didn't even give him time to question me before I dashed to my room and packed as many clothes as I can. I tried multitasking, taking up my phone and dialing his number.
Hey. It's Cleo. Obviously I can't come to the phone right now, so leave a message and I'll get back to you. Beep.
Voicemail.
I didn't know what else to do, but I had to get out of this house. I took up all that I packed and ran downstairs, seeing a confused looking Leo with a knapsack on his back.
"What's going on Tori?"
Again, I didn't answer him, I just grabbed his arm and ran out of the house, not looking back. I ran until my feet became numb, headed for my destination. When I got there, I knocked on his door.
Once.
Twice.
He finally opened the door. He got no time to see who it was, because I flung myself onto him as soon as I could see him.
"Elijah!"I cried into his chest.
"Tori? What's wrong?"I could feel Elijah's frown as he rested his head on the top of my head.
"Its Malcolm.......he killed my mother."
AN: hey guys. So chapter 15 huh? This is honestly the longest chapter I've written. Word count: 3364 words. Wow. So....Who do you think is Unknown? Finally found out who's Tori's mother's killer. I know some of you may have already guessed but.....whatever.
Yours truly,
Gea.