I took the ceramic cup and picked it up, bringing it close to my lips to blow it. Steam rising above the dark liquid. I sipped on it and the bitter taste filled my senses, flooding my taste buds and I savored it, letting the liquid slide down my throat, and it left a hot trail behind.
I never liked coffee but today was an exception. This headache was going to kill me.
I waited the whole night to tell the others, calling them to pick me up in my house on their way to school and now, I am deaf. The constant ringing in my ears as I watched a certain petite girl pace back and forth was dizzying.
My hand shot out to halt her next step while I nursed my throbbing head.
“Monic, please stop screeching your head off,” I begged my baby sister. She might be small but dang, her vocal chords were strong.
Jake was past begging and sat there silently, sipping his tea like his beloved girlfriend was not about to bite my head off for telling her off.
“What do you expect me to do, Case? Sit calmly while you reveal that Dom, our childhood best friend Dom, was involved with our brother’s death?! Well, shits for you, you can throw that thought out the window because I can’t. I just can’t,” she bit out.
Her breathing was labored, her nose flaring and her chest heaved up and down. There was a feral look in her eyes that I had only seen when someone took her candy when she was 10.
It was way too early for this. It was Monday now and I have no plans to skip school. I turned to face the counter, giving her my back to glare at instead and got back to buttering my toast, and drinking my coffee.
“You think I’m not freaked out by this? The fact that he was involved is sickening.” I lashed out and there was a slight tremor in my voice that was hard to miss.
“Not to mention he probably sent that stupid cowardly jerk- face to kidnap me. What a joke. I’m actually kind of offended. He thinks he can kidnap me that easily, huh.” I muttered in annoyance.
It was supposed to be those crazy-talk-to-yourself kind of moment but of course Monic chose that particular time to have super hearings.
“He did what?!” She screamed at me in horror. Oops.
I shrugged at her, “I forgot to tell you. I was almost beaten up to pulp by some asshole on steroids and his goons after a party Penelope invited me to.” I explained in a mock apologetic tone.
“Oh, that girl,” Monic addressed darkly and for a silent, brief moment, I was terrified for Penelope’s safety; this time from my own cousin.
I told Monic about Penelope over the phone the day she started talking to me.
The second I described the bubbly personality that Penny has, Monic is somehow determined that Penny is a fake, two timing, good for nothing bitch. Which, of course, earned my utmost objection.
Penelope was the sweetest girl I’ve ever had the honor to meet and I didn’t understand how Monic came to suspect that she was using me.
I decided to ignore Monic’s accusations against her and just turned a deaf ear towards her yells.
I glared at the toast whilst Monic continued to chide me off on how I was too trusting, my appetite had taken a vacation and it doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon.
I heard soft pads of footstep approach and a hand fell on my shoulder. I flinched, causing the hand to fall from my shoulder blade and to my utter horror; I felt a tinge of disappointment when I found out whose hand it belonged to.
I turned around to face the green eyed man whose face was inches away from mine.
I shuffled my feet, trying to create as much space as I could between us and I held onto the edge of the counter.
“W-we should get to school. We’re late.” I stuttered, averting my eyes elsewhere.
Haven’t this dude ever heard of personal space? Well, he was invading mine.
He nodded stiffly before moving a few steps backwards, stares at me for a while and walked out of the kitchen. I let go of the breath I didn’t even know I was holding and my grip on the table loosened before my body slumped forward.
Get a bloody grip of yourself, you moron.
It was only then did I realize that Jake and Monic was nowhere to be seen. Since Zac apparently left town two days ago to get back to wherever he came from, there where only four of us left. Adam followed suit after the two, leaving me with my thoughts in the kitchen.
I shook my head before shoving the toast inside my mouth and chewed it around. I ignored the taste that awakened my gag reflexes and downed it with the rest of my coffee.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. ‘Mom would’ve killed me if she saw what I did with that toast,’ was all I thought about while rushing out of the kitchen and grabbed my backpack on my way out. I slung it onto my shoulder and rushed to catch up with the others.
After locking the house, I caught up with Adam and got on his bike swiftly while strapping on my helmet and kicking the footrest, hitching my feet on them afterwards.
Adam waited for me to get comfy but he didn’t try to make me wrap my hands around his waist this time, he waited for me to hold onto his shoulders like every other time before the bike lurched into the streets.
We were silent on our way to school. It’s not like you could hear anything anyways, the engine of the bike would drown any noise that came out of either of our mouths so why bother.
As the school’s building came into view, a dreaded thought filled my mind; how am I going to explain anything to Penny?
“Oh hi Penny, remember that man with the bodyguards that tried to kidnap us and possibly rape you in the process? Yeah? They were coming after me because someone wants me dead.”
It sounded even more stupid in my head.
I just hope I don’t make a fool out of myself.
The dread that felt like an anchor tied to my heart was slowly but surely pulling my heart along with it, sliding down into my stomach the second that we started nearing the double doors leading into the school with every step.
Something was going to happen and I was almost positive that I wouldn’t like it.