Chapter 8: Part 5

The pounding in the pavement softens, and her feet begin to slow to a walk. She stands before the green street sign. 'Florence Street,' it reads. The same street she remembered crossing the night before, the scene of the crime, so to speak. Hesitantly, she presses further down the street, her overactive mind once again craving answers. One foot carefully placed in front of the other until she is standing at the entrance to the park. The first thing she notices is the dark spot on the ground. It's long, and a shade of dark burgundy. Something crunches under her sneaker and she slowly lifts her leg to find glass. Actually, now that she looks around there's glass everywhere.

She must be in something like shock, because even now, it takes her a few minutes to realize this is blood. Her blood. Last night was not a dream, it wasn't a crazy figment of her imagination—it was real and somehow, she survived it. She tosses her head from side to side causing her auburn ponytail to swish behind her softly at first, then gradually more violent. She's trying to shake all the bad memories out of it. Whipping around, she breaks into a run back the way she had come. She sprints the entire way home without ever looking back. When she finally collapses on the porch steps with her head in her hands, she allows herself to process what she had just seen. It started out a joke, that she was losing her mind... but now, the things she has seen in the past few hours alone make her think otherwise. Her mind is close to overload again as thoughts flood her mind. On the verge of yet another re-boot, she finally shakes herself out of it. There's no way she's going to come to some solid conclusion right now. Her hands slap against her thighs, the only thing she can do is live her life, wherever that may take her—she has a feeling the answers will come to light.

Pushing herself to her feet again, she notices a stir in the woods across the street. Her eyes study the bushes with her new sense of sight, but it turns out she doesn't happen to have x-ray vision. After a few more moments of staring at a bush, she finally decides there is nothing there and turns to head inside.

Sera makes her way through the hall, her stomach growling like it never has before. Bianca Cross's humming makes it's way to her from deeper inside the house.

“Mom?" Sera calls.

“In the kitchen, dear."

She walks in the kitchen and finds her mother is behind the newly renovated island. The house is old, old enough to have been in the family for centuries. When Sera's parents agreed to keep it, her mom had one condition—an updated kitchen. She can survive without air conditioning in the summer, the creaky floorboards, and a leaky roof, but an outdated kitchen was not going to cut it. It only took one month to get it Bianca-Cross-perfect. Brand new white cabinets keep the farmhouse vibe, but the sleek new granite countertops and sleek metal appliances bring this ancient home back into the twenty-first century.

“And where did you go this early on a Saturday morning?"

Sera's head is deep into the fridge as she mumbles her response through the grapes in her cheeks, "I went for a run."

“You? Running?" her mother retorts before bursting into laughter. Obviously, Sera had never really been the athletic type (to put it nicely). Unless walking home from school constitutes athleticism.

Sera's father comes strolling into the kitchen drawn in by the laughter. Sera is shoveling yogurt into her mouth when her mother feels the need to fill him in.

“Edward, dear, did you hear that? Our Sera just came back from a run."

He has to lean on the granite island for support as he cracks up alongside of his wife. Maybe un-athletic was a little generous.

“Ha-ha-ha," Sera mocks, "I guess I just wanted to get back in shape since I'm dating again, but go on laugh." The statement was a joke, trying to put her parents in their place. She scoots up onto the counter top with a bag of chips in her lap.

“Oh, good," her mother mumbles, "You know, Sera, we were starting to worry about you..."

“What do you mean?" The joke is apparently on Sera.

“Well, it's been a while since Caleb and, it's just that you haven't even looked at another guy..."

Sera sucks in a sharp breath at the mention of her ex-boyfriend's name. It's been a while since she's heard it. It's a ripple of guilt every time she thinks about him. They were serious for a good while, but something told her it wasn't right. So, when he went away to college, she let him. Sera got into the same college, but she couldn't shake the feeling that here is where she's meant to be. Instead, she received a full scholarship to North Commons University, one town over from her little farmhouse. The full ride included housing so she was able to get the best of both worlds—the college experience and still close to home.

"... And you've been very distant and aloof lately," her mother continues.

“You know, Sera, when your mother and I were your age, we were already married and little Sera was on the way," Edward Cross feels the need to chime in.

This is Sera's cue to leave. She swings down from the island, "Okay, I'm done with this conversation." Her hands fly up in defeat. Before she turns to leave, she steals one of the ham sandwiches her mother has just finished making and walks out of the room.

Sera is finishing up the sandwich, but when she climbs the steps toward her room, her stomach still growls for more. It's crazy, she thinks, I exercise one time, and I'm ravenous. Get a grip body. She pats her abdomen for emphasis.

Once she closes the door to her room behind her, she finds herself pacing back and forth, desperate for something to do. She can't seem to sit for too long. Her eye catches a book she's been wanting to read. Reading hasn't exactly fit her mood lately. In one swift motion, she grabs the novel off the shelf, jumps into bed, and opens to the first chapter.

Less than an hour later, she tosses the finished book down and slips back downstairs for yet another snack. Coming out of the kitchen with a spoon to a tub of peanut butter, she catches sight of her mother's Kindle lying on the coffee table in the living room, unattended. With one glance around, she slips into the recliner and downloads the next book in the series.

The large mahogany grandfather clock in the hall chimes its tune. It's only chimed three times since she started reading. The tune echoes up through the house and reverberates through her ears. Staring at the words The End on the Kindle in her lap, she blinks in disbelief. She has finished the remaining three books in the series, in record time according to the percentage statistics on the Kindle. Her eyes flew across the pages at record speed and yet, she can still recall every line with insane precision, every plot twist connects. It seems that all her cognitive processing is moving at an incredible rate, just like her body. Whoa. Her fingers run themselves through her hair and she tries to contemplate this new phenomenon.

Finally, climbing out of the ugly recliner she makes her way back upstairs for her cell phone. It's on the bed where she left it. Clicking a few buttons, she calls Amanda.

Barely waiting for the second ring, "Oh my Sera, I was just going to call you! I met this really hot stud yesterday, and he wants to meet me at Chaos tonight." She breathes in. "Please, please come. Don't let me meet a strange hottie in the big city all by myself."

Sera's not fully inept when it comes to dating, but even she knows that guys only meet girls at clubs for one reason. She doesn't have the heart to break the news to her friend. That and a part of her needs an excuse to get out. "You read my mind—a night out sounds great right about now."

“Really?" The disbelief is clear. "Okay, who are you and what did you do with my best friend?"

“I thought you'd be happy. Can't a girl be in a good mood?"

“I am, I am! Let me go get a new dress—pick me up at ten-thirty; it's going to take a while to get to the city. Okay, see you later." Amanda hangs up without another peep from Sera, apparently trying to hang up before she would have the option to change her mind. With a smile, Sera places the phone down, Amanda is absolutely nuts, but she couldn't imagine her life without her.

Glancing at the clock, she has two hours—what the hell could keep her busy until then. A nice relaxing bath should be just the ticket to get her in the mood for a girl's night. It's been a while since they've gone out. Usually, Netflix and wine are the kind of nights they have together. Sera has learned the hard way that going out with Amanda is an adventure in itself. Especially, when there's liquor and boys involved. For some reason, deep down, Sera has a feeling tonight is going to be a good night.