Chapter 3: Party
“What were you doing outside?” Lizzy asked me instantly. When I sat down, I accidentally spilled my drink on the table so she asked for some table napkins.
“Nothing,” I shortly answered. I calmed myself by taking a deep breath.
“Thank you, Jace,” Lizzy said when he handed her the napkins she asked for. “Oh, and by the way, this is my friend. She just moved to Mirfield a few weeks ago.”
“Hi.” He flashed a genuine smile. “Ivana, right?” he asked, offering a hand to me.
“Y-yeah,” I agreed, not asking why he knows my name. It’s not like not everyone talks about me the time I stepped on Mirfield College. “Just Ivy,” I said as I shook his hand.
"Well, it’s very nice to meet you. Jace, Jace Remington," he politely introduced himself. "Uhm, do you guys wanna go to a party?"
"Yes, of course!" Lizzy exclaimed as if she was already invited by him.
"Great. There will be a thanksgiving party tomorrow at our house because my mom became the mayor of Mirfield. Both of you should come," he said, inviting us.
"Well, yes! I'd be happy to come," Lizzy happily said with the biggest smile ever on her face.
"That's fantastic," he said and smiled at her. He suddenly put his hands on the table before he leaned and looked at me directly in my eyes. "You'll come too, right?" he asked me as if he couldn’t a ‘no’ for an answer.
"I'll think about it," I answered him.
___
Lizzy keeps on telling me that I need to go with her to Jace’s party. Leaving me no choice, I said yes. I wore blue sweatpants and a white hoodie. I tied my hair into a ponytail before going downstairs. Lizzy texted me her address so I started walking toward her place.
The cold air was penetrating my clothes, causing me to put my hands inside the pockets of my hoodie. I smelled something sick to the stomach as I peacefully walked. I looked around, only to see a pile of dead deer with fresh blood all over its place.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered while I felt my heartbeat getting faster. I ran and as soon as I got into Lizzy’s place, I aggressively knocked on the door.
“Hey, easy on the door, Ivy—”
“I saw something. I saw dead animals, Lizzy,” I told her, catching my breath out of my nervousness.
“What? Where?” Lizzy asked.
“Right…” The pile disappeared from where I saw it, a minute ago. “…there.” I pointed out the place.
“Wait, are you messing up with me?” Lizzy crossed her arms, not believing what I had just said.
“Lizzy, I saw it with my naked eye. This isn’t the first time—”
“Okay, stop. Maybe you’re just hallucinating, Ivy,” she said, cutting me off.
“But—”
She didn’t let me finish again. “Shhh.” Well, I hope she’s a hundred percent right that I was hallucinating because I couldn’t bear to see something like that ever again. “Oh, my God. What are you wearing?”
“Clothes?” I said, literally.
“No, I mean what are you wearing exactly? Ivy, we’re going to a party, not jogging,” she said, throwing a disgusted face while looking at what I was wearing.
“I know. Is there a required outfit for parties?” I asked because I don’t go to parties as she does.
“Of course! You should wear things like this," she said and flexed her outfit to me.
Lizzy forced me to wear a white sleeveless dress but I told her that I’m not comfortable wearing clothes that are revealing so she also lent me a denim jacket. When we got inside Jace’s house, I saw him coming toward us with a glass of liquor in his hand.
“Oh, there he is.” Lizzy was smiling, very excited to see her ultimate crush.
“I’m glad you made it,” he said while looking at me. “Both of you.”
“We’re glad that you invited us too,” Lizzy told him with a smile.
“Come, let me show you where the drinks are,” he said, leading us the way. I sighed in relief as soon as I saw non-alcoholic drinks. When we got our drinks, someone suddenly called him, it was probably his friend or something. “Excuse me for a minute,” he said, smiling.
Lizzy spilled some drink on her dress. “Oh, what a clumsy hand I got. I’ll just be going to the bathroom, Ivy,” she informed me and I nodded. She then left and went to the bathroom to get herself cleaned up.
“Hey, you left this on the floor.” I turned around and saw someone very familiar. He was holding my handkerchief that I must’ve dropped while walking.
What’s he doing here?
He looked surprised to see me too. Before I could get my handkerchief from his hand, I heard Jace’s voice. “Zion, there you are.” It looks like they’re close. They might be friends. “Oh, Ivy. This is Zion, my uncle,” Jace introduced him to me.
“Uncle?” I confusedly asked. I’m pretty sure they’re the same age.
“Yes. He’s my mom’s youngest brother,” he told me. Makes sense.
“I’ll just head outside,” Zion said. “Nice meeting you,” he added while looking at me like we haven’t met at school already. He then left and used the backdoor in the kitchen, I think.
“Where’s Lizzy?” Jace curiously asked.
“Uhm, she’s in the bathroom. I’ll go get her,” I told him and he said, “Okay.”
I walked away and instead of going inside the bathroom, I went to follow Zion. I went through the backdoor too and he was there, struggling to light up his cigarette.
“It’s kind of windy, you know?” I said which made him look startled when heard me. But after he saw me, he didn’t give any reaction and tried to light up his cigarette again.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, not looking at me.
“Just give up on it already,” I told him. “Smoking isn’t good for anyone’s health.” He just gave up and put the cigarette back in its silver box and put it in his pocket. I went closer and stood beside him but I was weirded out when he went a step to get farther from me. I didn’t bother to ask him about it anymore. “It was you, right?”
“What?” he asked, leaning his back on the wall and putting his hand in his pocket.
“You were there at the diner,” I told him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said right away but I didn’t buy it.
“Why were you looking at me like that?” I asked again but he didn’t speak. “And now you’re avoiding me. You weren’t like this when we first met.”
“Can you just please go back inside? I need to be alone,” he said, sounding annoyed that I’m here with him.
“Not until you admit that it was you,” I said. I didn’t care if it would make him frustrated.
“Okay, fine.” He faced me. “Yes, it was me. So, can you leave me now?”
“Not until you tell me why I felt like you needed to tell me something,” I replied. He was getting furious. Too bad, he won’t get rid of me until he tells me what I need to know. He looked like he was planning on avoiding my question again but realized it was hopeless.
He leaned his back on the wall again before sighing. “I saw you in my dream.”
Chapter 4: The Dream“You saw me in your dream?”Zion didn’t say a thing when I asked. He kept silent and didn’t even bother to look at me. If he saw me in my dream, is that a reason for him to follow me? Or to avoid me?“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you—Oh, you’re with someone. Hi,” Lizzy greeted Zion who was still quiet.“Hey,” he greeted her too with a serious face. “Excuse me,” he said before walking away. We watched him as he walked and I saw the smirk on Lizzy’s face.“I didn’t know you know the word ‘flirting’,” she said to me.“I don’t. I was asking him something and he just ignored me.” I sighed heavily and crossed my arms on my chest.“He’s hot, though,” she said, teasing me. I just rolled my eyes when she said that. “Who is he, anyway?” Lizzy asked me.“His name is Zion. He’s Jace’s uncle,” I answered.“Oh. It’s not surprising. They have good genes.” Lizzy chuckled.___I was still at school, walking downstairs when I saw someone on the balcony. I know it
Chapter 5: We Aren't Friends"How's school?"I was breathing so fast. I couldn't calm myself after I had some clues about Zion and I don't think that he's what I thought he was before. It was a good thing that mom called me, a way to get off the tension I was feeling."I'm doing great, mom. Mirfield College is a really good school, I can tell. How are you and dad?" I asked, changing the topic to avoid a conversation about how I am in 'Mirfield' itself."Well, we're still having trouble finding a stable job. But don't worry, once we save up, you can come back home and we'll be the ones to handle all your school fees," she told me, loving the idea of me going back to our home."Mom," I sighed. "We've talked about this, right? Aunt Rosie has already given me the opportunity plus, I promised her that I would be staying with her until I graduate college. And also, I wanted to watch over her, now that Abbie is gone. She needs someone right now," I explained to mom."I know. But your dad and
Chapter 6: Dear Diary "Wow." The man who had me laughed sarcastically. "Look who's trying to be a hero." Zion looked at me, maybe trying to figure out if I was okay or if I got hurt. I was trying to be brave but I couldn't. I was so afraid of what this man with sharp teeth might do to me if I don't stay still. Tears were falling on my face as I look at Zion, begging him to help me. "I'm sure you heard what I said," Zion told him. "Let her go," he repeated. "Or what? Do you think I'm scared of you? If I were you, I'll leave and let someone enjoy their meal," this man answered. Is he pertaining to me? How can I be his meal? "You don't know what I'm capable of, James. You broke the rules. Now, guess what's coming for you," Zion said in a dark voice. I didn't quite understand what they were talking about. All I know is that I need to get off of this dangerous man and go home because aunt Rosie must be worrying about me already. "Even if you run away, you will need to pay the price
Chapter 7: Dungeon Zion. Ivy is related to Abbie? I went to the balcony of my room and put my hands on the railing, feeling the fresh air because I need a whole lot of it. I get that this is a small town, I just didn't expect it to be smaller. I went inside my room and picked a book from the bookshelf to distract myself. As I was reading, I didn't notice that something fell from the pages. Oh, it was a picture of me and Abbie at school. ___ I was looking at Mr. Coleman even though I wasn't paying attention to what he was teaching to the class. Ivy was sitting next to me and I can feel her eyes staring at me, probably getting a reaction from me after how I acted when I drove her to Rosie's house. The class ended and I went straight to the library. I saw Ivy entering while I was looking for a book on the bookshelf. It looks like she was following and looking for me when she entered. I didn't bother to hide. Instead, I showed myself but didn't make any eye contact with her. I can h
Chapter 8: The Town IssuesIvy."Have you spoken to Zion?" Lizzy and I were walking home. I invited her to watch a movie and have dinner with us as my aunt said when I told her that I already have a friend at Mirfield College."Yeah. But he seems so cold to me these days," I answered Lizzy.Zion and I didn't have a proper conversation since that day when he drove me home. I know that something is wrong and I'm guessing that aunt Rosie is involved."Wait a minute," Lizzy said and stared at the house of my aunt. She seemed confused and surprised."What's wrong?""This is where you live?" She arched a brow and I slowly nodded, also getting confused. "You live with your aunt, right?" She asked and I nodded again. "Is her name Rosie?"That was when I got my eyebrows furrowed. I don't recall mentioning aunt Rosie's name before but silly me, I just remembered that it is just a small town and a small village."Yeah, you know her?" I asked before opening the door and giving her a signal to co
Chapter 9: Search Party"Where the hell did he get my number?"I was walking back to my room and by the time I said that I saw the look on Lizzy's face. At that moment, I knew she was the one who gave it. It looks like she was guilty of not asking permission from me."He asked for it," she said. "I didn't have time to ask you because he said it's urgent. Sorry," she apologized."I'm not mad at you, Lizzy. I'm just confused right now," I assured her."Did something happen? Why did you suddenly close the windows?" she asked curiously.I wanted to call Zion again but he said he'll be out with someone to look for James, the one who tried to hurt me. I wasn't so afraid when Zion said that he escaped but I'm not at ease either."Zion asked me to do it," I told her.I sat down in front of her, hearing the movie that was still playing on the TV. I never believed in supernatural things, never. But what I'm experiencing right now kind of telling me that I am blind in all ways.I saw Zion's eyes
Chapter 10: Kyran Mansion"When are you planning on talking to me?"I was getting furious when we were inside the car. He wouldn't even say a single word since we left the house. I packed up some of my things as he told me but here he is, ignoring me.Even though Lizzy agreed to sleep in the house because I told her I needed someone to be there and comfort aunt Rosie, I was still worried. She already suffered severe anxiety when Abbie died. Another reason for her to feel lonely is that uncle Paul, his ex-husband, wanted a divorce after what happened to their daughter. He's now currently with his new wife and they are living in Holbeck.After minutes of him driving, we arrived at their mansion. The last time I went here, there weren't a lot of people inside. Just the maids and gardeners. But now, I assumed that his family is there because of the cars that were parked in their big garage.Zion helped me with my bag but still, he was avoiding eye contact with me. I sighed before walking
Chapter 11: Delicious Bunny"Ivy."I turned around and saw Zion walking to us. His presence saved me from Jace's complicated question. Of course, Zion and I don't have the thing that Jace was thinking about. Neither do I know if Zion treats me as his friend, I shouldn't assume anything unless it came from him."I have good news and bad news," Zion started."Bad news first," I told him."We still can't find James," he answered."And the good one?" Jace asked him."We know where he's hiding but we're unprepared. James's group is armed with deadly weapons. Tomorrow at noon, we'll be continuing the search but as they are, we will be prepared," Zion explained to us.___"Thank you," I thanked the helper who put some water on my glass.I was having dinner with Zion's family. Everyone was nice but I don't think that Charlotte likes me. Like earlier, she was giving me a death stare and I didn't know why. I was intimidated but instead of giving her eye contact, I just focused on eating."I hea