Chapter Five: The Unexpected Visit

*Aiden was walking in the small park in the town. It was an aimless walk, one that mainly aimed to distract his mind from being in Secret Valley for almost a year, yet he still didn’t get a glimpse of his reason to be there. His last argument with Bates kept playing in his mind for he knew Bates was right; that their presence in secret Valley would be nothing but trouble, but Aiden was relentless.

*He saw her sitting on the bench all alone with a book in hand. He already knew who she was; his trusted source made sure to inform him of Lorraie’s arrival. However, she looked nothing like he had expected. He approached her, out of curiosity and intrigue, but she seemed to be lost in her own world. It wasn’t until he stood right before her, blocking the sun from falling on her face. He noticed how her long balckhair was pinned in a straight ponytail. Her wide green eyes looked at him questioningly, with curiosity that almost matched his.
*
“Can I help you with something?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

*“You’re new in town.” It was more of a statement than a question.
*
*She nodded her head, closing her book, and putting it next to her on the bench. “I’m Lorraine Dawson.”
*
“Aiden Aetos.” He introduced himself with a short nod of his own. His eyes drifted to the book she was reading, “The Raven, that’s an interesting book you have here.”

*She smiled, “It is. Have you read it?”
*
“A long time ago, yes. A pretty dark book.”

*“Most of Poe’s books are.”
*
“So, why are you reading it?”

*“Some things are worth the grief they cause. It’s a choice”
*
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Lorraine had calmed herself down, managed to wash her face, and decided that she should order some pizza. It was already 7.30 and she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. Before she could even make the call, she heard the ringing of her doorbell. She stood behind the kitchen island, surprised at receiving a visitor. Another knock on the door jolted her of her wondering and she walked to her door and opened and was welcomed with a grinning Judy and a brooding Aiden. Lorraine blinked a couple of times then knitted her eyebrows together in obvious puzzlement, “What are you doing here?”

Judy scowled at her and playfully shoved her to the side, so she could enter, “People say hello, first, maybe then, please come in”. she pretended to be scandalized, “Where are your manners? Where is your southern hospitality?”

Lorraine stood in her place, both her eyebrows raised, Aiden only shrugged and followed Judy inside. “Yes, please come in.” Lorraine mumbled sarcastically under her breath and shook her head, while closing the door.

Judy seemed to find the living room and threw herself on the couch while Aiden took a seat on the opposite armchair. “Your house is nice” Judy said with a small smile, while her eyes were scanning the place.

“Thank you”. Lorraine replied, still a bit surprised at her guests. There was a moment of silence, very awkward and thick that you can cut through with a knife, so she decided to say, “I was going to order pizza, interested?”

Judy gave a wide grin, “God, yes!” she exclaimed loudly, “I’m starving”

Aiden didn’t regret making her forget that one memory. He knew it was the right thing to do. Bates would probably have his head if he knew he was almost making friends with her. He didn’t need the man more angry at him than he already was. He watched her move, still puzzled at their presence, calling to order pizza. He would not say it out loud, nor did he like thinking about it, but she was beautiful. She had this kind of beauty, which seemed effortless and easy.

Once Lorraine came back, Judy began telling her about this party they held every year. “It’s a tradition.” She explained. “Usually, it would be at Mike’s house, sometimes at Jake’s. But we decided this year to change it a little. Actually, it was Mary’s idea.” she was quiet for a second with a contemplating look on her face. “I’m not even sure why she suggested it” she shrugged, “It came out of nowhere”

“So, where are you holding it?” Lorraine asked with no real intrigue behind her tone.

“In the woods. There’s this spot near the valley, and Mary thought it would be great to have this kind of change.” Judy gave Lorraine an excited look, “You sure are coming, Lorraine. You can’t miss it!”

Lorraine chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck, “I’m not sure.” It wasn’t that she hated parties, but she didn’t really know what to do with herself when she was at one. She didn’t drink, she didn’t have a boyfriend, and she was an embarrassingly awkward dancer.

Judy let out a horrified gasp, “But that would be like social slaughter.”

Lorraine arched her eyebrow, “You’re totally exaggerating”

“I’m totally not”. Judy turned to Aiden, “You’re coming though. You didn’t attend last year, but you have to. It will be a blast, you guys”

Aiden then turned to Lorraine, “If you go, I’ll go”

She arched a perplexed eyebrow, inquiring with her eyes about the change of tone he showed. Albeit noticing and understanding the look she was giving him, Aiden resorted to only tilting his head to the side. “You two must come”. Judy interrupted the silent exchange with a huff.

Opting to change the subject, Lorraine said, “Not to come off as rude or anything, but why are you here? How did you even know where I live?”

“Well, I was worried about you. You know after that creepy ass thing that happened in school. I thought we’d make sure you’re okay”. Judy’s explanation made sense; it was sweet of her, and it made sense; it was Aiden’s presence that still baffled her. Lorraine nodded her head with a small and appreciative smile, then her gaze turned to him, pinning him with her question. Aiden only shrugged his shoulders and averted his gaze to the short shelf hanging on the wall with only five books. “I told him to tag along” Judy answered her question, noticing Aiden’s defiance not to.

“It’s a small town, everybody knows where the new family lives”. He stated, but his eyes remained on the books.

“Thank you for your visit, honestly”.

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Apparently, the party of the new school year is held on the first weekend of the year. In the meanwhile, Lorraine found herself falling into a stable routine. She would wake up, have breakfast with her mom, walk to school, hangout with Judy and on occasions Aiden would join them. He didn’t really joined any kind of conversation. He would always sit silently, she would feel his eyes on her, but he wouldn’t say much.

The first time he joined them during lunch the others were shocked. Jake and Mike were talking about football, and Judy said that Aiden never showed much interest in sports. He didn’t give her a reply, but turned to Lorraine and asked, “Do you like sports?” Slightly surprised, she told him she was more of a reading kind of girl and that sports never really intrigued her. Lorraine could still remember the awkward silence that befell their lunch after that.

Her days remained peaceful. She would wake up sometimes in the middle of the night with loud gasps from a terrible nightmare, but she never remembered them. One more thing that really unsettled her was that she could not shake the feeling of being watched, and sometimes it made her feel downright paranoid.

It was Wednesday morning; Lorraine was in her room getting ready to leave for school. When she went downstairs, she had expected her mom to be sitting on the kitchen table with her cup of coffee and breakfast ready for the both of them. However, Lorraine was flabbergasted at the sight of Aiden chatting with her mom; it was such a domestic sight.

“Good morning”. Her tone conveyed her confusion and surprise.

Suzan turned to her daughter with a wide grin, “Morning, sweetheart”. She gestured for Lorraine to join them. When the girl’s eyes turned to Aiden then back to her mother, Suzan said, “He came to pick you up, isn’t it sweet?” The way she cooed at the end fazed Lorraine, perhaps more than necessary. Her eyes difted to Aiden with only one question in her mind, *"Why are you here, Aiden?"*