Author's Note: Woo! I'm updating much sooner this time. ;) Soooo I am so happy that everyone enjoyed the last chapter! Clare dying instead of Imogen was quite a twist. ;) well the drama isn't over; actually, there's MUCH more to come! Enjoy chapter 7! :D
Eli and Bianca huddled together in the corner as warm blood splattered all over their shooken bodies. Eli slowly turned to the possessed windmill and cringed. Pieces of Clare's body hung from the wings, sending a torturous feeling down to his stomach. He ran to the other corner of the room and barfed, taking no time to gasp for air; it all just poured out.
Bianca slowly crept behind him and rubbed his back, shaking intensely. She had silent tears streaming down her face and was scared out of her mind.
Drew ran up the steps with Imogen in his arms, going wide eyed at the display in front of him.
"What the hell happened?" He shouted, setting Imogen down against the staircase railing. "I see Imogen shaking at the foot of the staircase, and then I heard a bunch of screaming...what...what happened?"
"What the hell do you think happened, Drew?" Eli screamed, tears pouring from his eyes. "We are covered in Clare's blood because that fucking fan shredded her to pieces!"
Drew barfed in his mouth, the scent of the fresh blood tingling his nose. "Wait but... I thought..." He trailed off, remembering that Imogen was less than two feet away from him. He thought Imogen was supposed to be next, so how was Clare's death even possible?
"This is all too much for me right now, so can we please just... just get out of here?" Bianca asked, shivering.
"You expect me to just leave Clare here?" Eli shouted, rage overtaking him. He sounded manic, and it frightened the others.
"Where's Clare, Eli?" Imogen spoke shakily. "She's gone! She's dead! There's nothing even left to identify her body."
"She's right, dude! We need to get out of here before anyone tries to put her death on us!" Drew added. Eli scoffed at them, clenching his fists by his side. He refrained from saying anything more, knowing it would get him in a lot of trouble. He was just happy that Imogen was still alive.
"Go to hell. All of you," he muttered, brushing past Drew and down the stairs. He opened the front doors of the warehouse and noticed the light storm forming outside. It was barely raining, but it was soon to pour at any minute now.
He absolutely resented Kendra for setting them up. He hated himself for letting her trick them into going there. If it wasn't for her, Clare would still be alive right now.
He climbed in the drivers seat and pressed his forehead against the steering wheel, crying softly. Clare had kissed him, not the other way around. Even though that was true, he could still feel himself...wanting it. He didn't stop her when he knew it was coming. He was just as guilty as Clare, and he knew it.
The others followed along in the car, Imogen switching spots with Drew in the back. Eli peeped at her through the rear view mirror and sighed.
"So you're really pissed at me, aren't you?" he asked, starting the engine. She folded her arms and ignored him, her bottom lip quivering. "Are you going to answer me?"
"Eli, just leave her alone. Please," Bianca quietly begged. Eli sighed heavily and drove away from the cursed warehouse, tears still sliding down his pale face. His life was crashing down minute by minute, second by second. He couldn't feel the world around him anymore; it was all a nightmare that he couldn't seem to wake up from.
"Tell me something," Drew said after a minute, looking over at Eli. "Where the hell was this Kendra you were talking about?"
"That's what I want to know," Bianca added shakily.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Eli's flip flopped sanity tricked his mind into thinking he was on the phone with some Kendra when it was really just his foolish imagination," Imogen declared, her eyes still dodging Eli's in every way possible. The car was dead silent after that.
"How could you even say that?" Eli asked quietly, his headache pounding harder and harder. She didn't respond, she just whimpered to herself. The rest of the ride to Eli's house was awkward and uncomfortable, and they all couldn't wait to be out of it.
They escaped the murky storm and ran into Eli's house, safely out of the rain. Even then, they were still more scared for their lives than ever before.
Cece was in the kitchen, speaking on the phone with Mrs. Edwards. Fucking hell.
"Oh, I think he just walked through the door," Cece whispered through the phone. "Eli, could you come here for a sec?"
Eli trudged into the kitchen with his mother and stared at her with red, swollen eyes. She looked up at her son from the chair that she was sitting in and almost dropped the phone.
"Baby...baby are you okay?" she gasped, rising from her seat and running her fingers down the side of his face. He scrunched his face painfully and shook his head, looking down in shame.
"Mom," he breathed, his tears causing light hiccups in his throat.
"Talk to me, Eli..." His mother urged, her eyes searching his frantically.
"Mrs. Goldsworthy?" Mrs. Edwards screamed through the phone, alarming both of them. She put the phone back up to her ear and shuddered.
"I'm sorry, my son is a little upset right now..." she apologized, her eyes never leaving Eli's. "Eli, Mrs. Edwards wants to know why Clare hasn't come home yet?"
Eli looked into his mothers beady eyes and choked up. The others overheard, their hearts beating rapidly.
"She's not with us..." Eli whispered painfully, more tears pouring from his eyes. This worried Cece deeply, because she strongly remembered seeing her with him the other night. She covered the speaker with her hand and stepped closer to Eli.
"Then where is she?" Cece whispered. Eli sniffed and choked on a sob, clutching his chest. He needed someone to come in and save him before he ended up making a huge mistake. Imogen flew in the kitchen, all eyes turning to her.
"Mrs. Goldsworthy, Clare and I got into an argument last night and she left the house... Eli's kind of upset because he doesn't know where she is and uh, he's... he's scared that... that um, something might have happened to her..." Imogen lied, the words just swarming into her tiny head each word she continued to speak. Cece nodded slowly and sighed, putting the phone back up to her ear.
"The kids said that she left last night and they hadn't heard from her since," Cece explained, biting her lip. Vulgar words exploded from the other end of the phone, causing Cece to tear it away from her ear. "I-I know, ma'am... yes, this isn't good... now you hold on a second there, Helen! My son had nothing to do with your daughter up and leaving in the middle of the night!"
Imogen grabbed Eli's arm and pulled him out of the kitchen, his head spinning; He felt as if he was about to faint. Cece and Helen continued to argue, each of their voices getting louder and louder; this couldn't be good at all.
All four of them marched their way upstairs and into Eli's room, locking the door after them. Drew's phone buzzed in his pocket and he panicked. He took it out and groaned.
"It's my mom. This is the 100th time she's called," Drew said hurridley, checking his missed calls. He knew that he was in a shitload of trouble.
"My dad..." Imogen cried, grabbing at her hair. "Fuck. Fuck! I need to see him right now!"
Imogen's dad was so sick that he could barely be left alone for a few hours, and Imogen had forgotten about him for a whole day. She wouldn't be surprised if she came home to find him dead. At least when she was leaving for the trip, she had scheduled for a nurse to come and take care of him. Now he was alone, and it was all her fault.
"My mom doesn't give a shit about me," Bianca said quietly. "I wish I had a parent to be worried about me like you guys."
"Guys, my mom is calling me right now! What the hell am I supposed to say?" He screamed, the phone continuing to buzz in his hand.
"Elijah Goldsworthy!" Cece shouted from downstairs. His mind began to spin even more, more vomit rising up his throat. Drew noticed automatically and threw the wastebasket at him. Eli hawked up the rest of what was left in his stomach, causing more tears to sting his eyes.
"Drew, answer the phone. Imogen, I'll take you to see your dad, and Bianca... please go stall my mother," Eli said weakly, still leaning over the tiny wastebasket filled with his liquids. Bianca made her way out of Eli's room and down the stairs to Cece as Drew answered his cellphone.
"...Hello?" he asked wearily.
"ANDREW TORRES, WHERE THE SAMSHELL ARE YOU?" she shouted, her voice loud enough to be heard from miles away. Drew shivered and switched the phone to his other ear.
"I'm at a friends house," he answered, his voice low and timid.
"WHY ON EARTH AREN'T YOU HOME? DREW I'M NOT PLAYING WITH YOU, GET YOUR ASS HOME RIGHT NOW OR-"
Drew closed his phone, his eyes big and afraid. He couldn't bare to hear it anymore.
"Eli, I can't go home... I just can't," Drew told him, his mind shutting down. Now that Clare was gone, was he next? He needed to see that therapist, and soon.
"Do your parents know where Bianca lives?" Eli asked, placing the wastebasket beside his bed and resting his head against one of the pillows. Drew shook his head. "Then I'll drop you two off over there. You two should be safe for tonight...just be careful. Me and Imogen will bunk at her house."
"You can sleep on the porch," she muttered, heaving in and out. She needed to see her dad, and fast. Eli didn't have anytime to argue, so he chose not to respond.
"Then we need to leave," Drew said, grabbing his bag from the ground. "Wait, what about your mom?"
"She'll be fine, don't worry," Eli said, reaching for Imogen's hand. She stared at it for a second and brushed past him, making her way downstairs. Eli and Drew followed after her and overheard Bianca speaking with Cece.
"Her mother is putting in a missing child's report and trying to hold me accountable for it!" Cece shouted. "What if we can't find Clare and she takes this to court?"
"We have no proof that Clare was even here, Cece! It's not any of our faults... Clare ran off on her own," Bianca argued, trying her hardest to calm Cece down. Eli barged into the kitchen and gestured for Bianca to leave, which she gladly did.
"Cece, I'm going to Imogen's," Eli said quickly.
"No the hell you're not!" Cece shouted. "Not with Clare missing."
"Mom, Imogen's dad is sick as hell! She needs to see him. If you need me, that's where I'll be," Eli protested. Cece knew Imogen's dad, and it pained her to know that he was so close to death. She took a deep breath and sighed, nodding slowly.
"Keep your phone on," she told him, caressing his cheek. She loved her son so much, and she could tell that something was up. Maybe it had to do with the sudden deaths of his friends, but she knew that her child wasn't alright. It was almost as if she had no control over what was happening to her or her sons life.
Eli smiled at his mother the best that he could and kissed her cheek. "I love you mom."
"I love you too, baby," she said quietly. He quickly ran from the kitchen and out the door, the four of them jumping in the car.
"Where are we going?" Bianca asked, leaning her head on the side of Eli's drivers seat.
"I'm dropping you and Drew off at your house. Your mom won't care, right?" Eli asked hurriedly.
"She won't even notice," Bianca answered honestly.
"Perfect," Eli breathed, zooming down the road. "Here's the game plan. You and Drew are staying at your house tonight, and I'm staying at Imogen's. You two need to be fucking careful, I'm serious. Tomorrow morning, we're going down to that therapists office. I'm going to be checking in on you guys all night, so make sure that I'll be able to get in touch with you."
"Got it," Bianca said, slumping back in her seat. Eli pulled up in front of Bianca's house and stopped the car. He turned Bianca and sighed.
"Be safe," he warned, looking back and forth between Drew in the front, and Bianca in the back.
"We will," Drew promised, exiting the car. Bianca followed after him, running for her front door. Eli stared back at Imogen and gulped.
"You aren't going to get in the front?" he asked reluctantly.
"Not while you're up there," she answered, her eyes staring outside of the window.
"Imogen-
"Just get me home!" she interrupted, finally staring at him. He nodded slowly and began to drive, refusing to cry. There were no more tears left inside of him. They finally arrived at Imogen's house, the trailer looking no different from the time they left it.
Imogen quickly scurried the car and grabbed the key from her pocket, opening the door. Eli quickly followed after her, closing and locking the door.
"Daddy!" Imogen screamed, making her way into his room. His body was stiff on the bed, which caused Imogen's heart to stop. She ran by his side and shook him lightly, looking for any response that she could get. When she heard him groan lightly, she sighed of relief; he was still alive. He was slightly dehydrated, and you could hear his stomach rumbling.
Eli appeared by the door to check on the two. "Is he okay?"
"He will be," Imogen said, tears stinging her eyes. "I'm going to take care of him for awhile... I guess you can go in the room and just chill for a bit."
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay and-
"Yes," she snapped, looking at him. "I'm sure."
He nodded slowly and backed out of the room. "If you need me, just call me."
With that, he entered Imogen's room and left the door open, collapsing on the bed. Her bed was so cold and small, but it felt like heaven at the moment. He looked on her bedside dresser and grabbed the picture of them framed inside of a heart shaped picture frame.
He smiled to himself and kissed her face, feeling so much guilt at that moment. Why did his heart have to be so big? He wondered if life truly hated him; he didn't doubt it at this point.
About an hour later, Imogen crept into her room with a bottle of water. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, leaning against her closed door.
"Are you hungry?" she asked quietly. Eli shook his head and rose from the bed, walking closer to her. He made sure to keep his distance, just in case it angered her even more.
"Your dad is okay now?" Eli asked after a minute. Imogen's eyes were spaced out as she nodded slowly.
"I fed him and gave him plenty of water. He should be fine, he just missed me," Imogen replied, her eyes watering again. It broke Eli's heart to see his love in so much pain. It broke it even more to know that he was the reason for most of it.
"Imogen, I am so sorry for what happened," he whispered, looking deep into her eyes.
"I know you are," she whispered back, sniffing once more. "It just kills me, baby. It... it truly kills me. You looked at her the way you looked at me. You were in love with her, Eli. I know it."
"No, no I love you and ONLY you!" Eli argued, stepping closer to her.
"Bull!" she spat, her face turning red. "Do you think that I'm stupid?"
Eli was beginning to get angry, but he knew he couldn't hide the truth for long. He knew it was time to confess. "You can't blame for loving her, Imogen!"
"And you can't blame me for hating her for it," Imogen retorted, her voice shaky and full of hurt. There it was again, the tension; the tension that he'd kill to have go away. Eli walked closer to Imogen until their bodies were barely touching and brushed her hair out of her face.
"What are you doing?" she breathed. He crushed his lips against hers and kissed her hungrily, not giving her a chance to protest. He trailed kisses down her neck and ran his fingers down her waist.
"Stop," she moaned, squeezing her eyes closed. He didn't listen, he just kept planting wet, steamy kisses on her soft flesh. "Eli, stop," she said in a more forceful manner, but he still didn't stop. He placed his index finger inside of her shorts and rubbed the wet spot between her panties, angering her. "Stop, dammit!"
She pushed him away from her and slapped him hard across the face. His hand flew up to his cheek as it burned intensely.
"I said stop," she whispered, folding her arms across her chest. "Have fun sleeping on the floor."
She snapped the light off and climbed in bed, throwing a small blanket to the ground. He felt worse than ever, and in his heart, he knew that he'd truly lost her.
…
Eli and Imogen arrived to Bianca's house bright and early, honking the horn. They ran outside and took their usual seats in the car as Eli made his way to the therapists office.
"Did your mom try to contact you again?" Eli asked, looking over at Drew.
"All night," he sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. "It's so hard ignoring her like that, because I know what she's going through right now but... we need to stick together. I don't need my mother losing another child."
Bianca looked over at Imogen and shook her shoulder, getting her attention.
"Are you and Eli okay?" she mouthed. Imogen rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning away from Bianca. She honestly didn't want to think nor talk about Eli. All she wanted was to forget about yesterdays events.
They pulled up in front of the therapists office and stormed from the car, bamming on the door. They were all infuriated.
In less than a second, Dr. Floyd came running to the door, going wide eyed at the four kids in front of her.
"We don't have a meeting scheduled," she said. Eli didn't care, he just barged into the tiny office area and noticed a small, light skinned, African-American woman seated on the couch.
"Excuse me, sir!" Dr. Floyd screeched as the others gathered in the office.
"We need to talk to you!" Drew shouted, his anger overpowering him.
"If you can't tell, I'm in the middle of a meeting!" she gasped, pointing at the girl who was still sitting on the couch, obviously shocked.
"I don't give two shits," Eli admitted. "One of our friends is dead, and it's all this bitch named Kendra's fault! She said that you're her therapist!"
"If she hadn't lied to us and told us to meet her in some abandoned warehouse, our friend would be alive right now!" Bianca added, all four of them surrounding the doctor. They just wanted answers; they were so confused.
"Oh my God... you guys, I'd like you to meet someone," Dr. Floyd said, gesturing toward the girl on the couch. Every one turned to her confusedly and narrowed their eyes.
"Who the hell is she?" Imogen asked quietly. The girl rose from her seat and cleared her throat, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"I'm Kendra Baker," she said quietly, causing everyone in the room to gasp.
Author's Note: muhahahahaha. ;) cliffhanger. What do you dudes think is going to happen next? And did you like the chapter? Let me know in a review, please! :D oh, and follow my OTHER account on Twitter!
AshleyMocha12 and AshleyDesirexo :D
