Mint to Be

Chapter Twelve: More Time in Paradise

Cole cleared his throat awkwardly, "Um, maybe we should give these two some privacy-"

"No, it's fine," Aiden cut in, glaring at me. "We were just finishing up."

I crossed my arms. "Maybe you were. I was just getting started."

"That's enough," Miles intervened. "Aiden, please show Adeline and Cate to the guest rooms."

"But they've been here a million times-"

"Now."

Aiden huffed, but decided not to start anything. He muttered something under his breath and started toward the stairs, the two girls in tow.

Garret and Cole gave me apologetic smiles, and followed after the others in suit.

Once we were alone, Miles turned to me.

"Sorry about that," He breathed. "Aiden just hates girls who stand up to him."

I brushed away his concern, "Its fine. But can I ask you something?"

He looked at me in the eyes. "Anything."

"How long are you planning on keeping me? Are you going to kill me?"

Miles froze.

The room became very quiet.

For a long time.

He still was silent.

Um... was he planning on answering me? Or was he just going to stand here awkwardly.

"I would never kill you," He finally said. Thank goodness. "And I can't tell you how long you'll be here."

His hand came up to touch my shoulder, and I immediately backed up. What is he doing?

"Sorry," He said.

"It's fine," I lied. It was not fine, I don't like people touching me. Especially strangers. Also, Miles creeps me out on a whole other level, so coming in contact with him was not on my to-do list.

"I'm going up to my room," I said, turning and walking towards the stairs. He let out a sigh, and I felt better with each step I took away from him.

When I reached my room and opened my door, I jumped onto my bed and brought the covers down, revealing my food.

First, I tucked the knife into the middle drawer of my nightstand. Then, I opened my box of granola bars and took one.

As I unwrapped it, I also took out my notepad and pen

Chewing, I wrote,

Dear Notepad.

I have a bad feeling about Miles. Something about this guy sets off my sketch detector.  Maybe it's the wired way he looks at me, like he's analyzing every move I make, or maybe it's the way I always feel his eyes on me, but I don't like it. Something is going on here. Also, Aiden made me pasta. I guess that's even weirder. But I have a good feeling about tomorrow.

Suddenly, a soft noise caught my attention.

I looked around, and froze when a scratching noise sounded.

Oh no.

It was coming from the closet.

I cautiously swung my legs off the bed and stood upright, slowly making my way over to the double doors

What if something in there was about to eat me?

My hands shook a little as they reached for the doorknobs, and with a breath, I yanked them open and flung myself back behind the bed.

And then I saw it.

The little black kitten from the sidewalk.

"Meow," It said.

The thing was sitting calmly with its bright blue eyes staring at me, and it's head cocked.

I glared at it. "Haven't you done enough?"

It stood up, and padded over to me, jumping up onto the bed, and stopping in front of me. How the heck did it even get here?

I peered at it. The inky color of his coat shone in the sunlight, and I made a split-second decision.

"I'm going to keep you," I said. This time, he didn't run away. He simply blinked.

"I'll take that as I yes," I decided. "But you need a name."

Again, the deep color of ink popped into my mind as I stared at his fur.

"Inky," I concluded. The kitten made another meow, and walked in a circle before plopping down and tucking his paws under his stomach.

I was glad to finally have a friend in this hole of sorrow, and for a moment, I let my spirits rise.

Then I spotted a small piece of paper poking out from under my pillow.

For some reason, my chest filled with dread as I reached over and gently lifted the pillow.

My heart stopped.

Written in scrawled ink, were the words,

Look behind you.

I turned around slower than I'd ever done anything before, and saw something I hadn't noticed before.

On the back of the door, was a picture of me, taken at some point before I was kidnapped. I was laughing at something, but that wasn't the part that sent chills down my spine.

Going from corner to corner, was a giant black X. And the words below read,

Not long now.