The Victim (Book #1)

Chapter 26

My bare feet treaded softly along the wooden floor as I scurried downstairs to the only room that really provided comfort. Another nightmare had interrupted the sleep I desperately needed, and I had started to imagine the dark circles under my eyes as holes being carved deeper and deeper.

On the plus side, they really brought out the dark nothingness in my eyes.

I pushed the door to Charlotte's office open carelessly, unbound by the rules that made me appear reserved in the daytime. I didn't have to be timid now. It was just me here. The vanilla scent that lingered from Charlotte's perfume spilled into the doorway and I took a breath before entering the room.

I had left a book on the desk next to the couch, but I walked past it and examined the shelf. I brushed my pointer and middle fingers across the bumpy and concave spines of the books as I danced down the aisle. And there was a certain dance to it; the relationship between reader and book. I occasionally halted to bend a book towards me and read the snippet on the back. More often, I skipped down the line and passed tiny immediate judgements on the books that I didn't want to read. Too big. Too small. Too pink. That font is horrifying. What kind of a title is that?

I made an effort not to judge people without first attempting to know them, but in books I could be honest. I don't like you. I don't want you. And it is entirely up to me.

Finally, my eyes caught on a fictional story about a hypnotist. I pulled it out fully and cracked it open, reading the first line. And just like that, I was hooked.

I sat in the couch facing away from the door and wrapped my body protectively around the new adventure.

I stayed there while the morning light tinted the room golden from the small singular window, and the silence of the house turned to rumblings.

"Good morning." I heard from a deep voice behind me.

I spun over the back of the chair and smiled at Dominic.

"Morning!" I said with a small wave.

"Took you long enough." He said with a small scoff. I must have missed his first hello's.

I placed my finger on the page I was reading and closed the book around it before waving it up to show him. "Busy with more important things." I said breezily, feigning self-importance.

He snickered and walked further inside. He turned to face the bookshelf and grabbed the one he was looking for, tucking it behind his back.

"Why are you in here?" I asked, curiously. I didn't think he liked to read.

"None of your business, nosy." He said, turning around to leave the room. I saw a flash of the book in the form of a dark green cover, and then he was gone.

He poked his head back in the doorway and said, "Try to sleep sometime too, kid." And with that he left.

I turned back to my book and tried to pick it up again, before standing up and heading to the door. I opened it and leaned out, yelling out the door to him "I'm trying!"

Damon walked back with bleary eyes and groggily replied "Great. Now try being quiet."

I glared as he walked to the kitchen, and then placed my book back on the shelf.

As much as I wanted to spend all of today here, I had big plans. And I knew just who was going to help me with them.

I got her number from Brooklyn and borrowed his phone briefly, drafting a message. I sent a text that seemed casual to me. The reply was almost immediate.

"OMGGGGGGGG! Hi Maya! I'd love to!! I know just where to go. When can I pick you up?"

I laughed aloud at Valerie's enthusiasm and ran to my room to get ready.