The Enigma Within (Thorn Under Pedals Book 2)

Chapter 2:

It was almost a week that past when Isabella had last made the decision to hide Elizabeth’s past. Everyday Isabella went to the hospital to see her acting like the loving sister that she would be. Nothing was different or any sign that Elizabeth or Cassandra as Isabella had been forcing herself to think of her as getting better. Arthur would sometimes take her and wait for her as she visited. When Isabella was alone she contemplated what her move should be. How could she make it believable for Elizabeth’s death? It had taken a while for her to decide and then to set the pieces in place. Not having Arthur or Erik finding out her plan was difficult. Arthur seemed to be more present in her life now that Elizabeth was missing. It was killing her not to spill the truth.

Isabella sighed deeply as she watched Arthur drive away from the home. No more waiting. Tonight had to be the night she put the final piece in place. Hopefully by this time tomorrow she would not feel as terrible. Quickly Isabella left through the back door away from the praying eyes. No one was to see her leave. Luckily she had dressed in warm clothing in the cold night sky that was cloudy. Wind was whipping her hair back and forth in her eyes blocking her vision.

“Please let this work.” Isabella prayed to whoever would hear her. Little did she know the darkness was listening to her, smiling. She was watched as she traveled from the house through the dark street. The farther she walked the heavier the darkness drew following around her. Isabella felt the temperature dropping more. The air she was breathing was now coming out visible. Her body was shivering even with the heavy coat covering her upper body.

Glancing at the moon above her she noticed it was tainted red. Her complexion paled a bit at the red full moon directly over her. Uneasy and creeped the f**k out Isabella quickened her pace. The demons lurking around started to chuckle, smelling the fear dripping off the human girl. They loved that smell. Some closed their eyes savoring the scent. Isabella hopped on the bus feeling slightly better as she sat. Fighting her uneasiness Isabella continued forward and sat patiently for her stop to come.

Two hours later she clicked a lock off the door of an old warehouse. No longer was she in her town but a whole state to the left. There were no homes or light in sight for miles. She had hidden Elizabeth’s car in the countryside away from others' eyes. For this to work everyone had to believe Elizabeth had taken the car. Isabella had carefully driven the car using Elizabeth’s fingerprinted gloves and clothing. Isabella would be using the same trick driving the car back part of the way.

Isabella placed Elizabeth's cell phone down in the cup holder. On the screen Isabella had the message from two days ago about Elizabeth apologizing for being gone so long. That she was on her way home. The message had been sent in the group chat they all had. Erik was furious at her for just ghosting them while Arthur had been more understanding. Isabella seemed more concerned for her safety in the message. With a deep breath Isabella started the engine.

Not letting time pass anymore to change her mind Isabella stepped on the gas pedal. She continued to drive with the gps on set for their home. Elizabeth’s favorite station was blaring much like Isabella knew she would usually have it. When she got to the mountain hill area Isabella parked the car to the side. Her hands were shaking so badly. Could she really do this to her friend's favorite car? The last thing Elizabeth had of her brother?

She sat there screaming in frustration. Her mind was already set on this happening. Her heart was not. Back and forth internally she went trying to make up her mind or give all this up. Not for the first time did Isabella wonder how Elizabeth could do this so easily. The image of Elizabeth laying in her hospital bed in a coma surfaced in her mind. Isabella had never seen her friend so hurt and helpless. Not even the day after her family was found dead and she came to school like nothing serious happened. Elizabeth held in her emotions not showing them to those around her.

“This is to protect her.” Isabella whispered to reason. If Elizabeth was pronounced dead then she would not be accused of killing anyone. Her past would just be a tragic story that ended. Please forgive me, Isabella thought as she started back on the road.

In the back seat covered in the darkness the demon prince of wrath and chaos smirked watching Isabella struggle to make up her mind. Oh how silly the human mind wavers. With a flick of his hand the image of Elizabeth in her coma the demon was able to sway her to do his will. The will that would seal the girl's fate. As the car moved again he chuckled, getting comfortable in the back seat to watch how this girl would play this out. He did love a good show.

The further they drove in the mountains there was hardly anyone on the road. Isabella was fighting sleep the longer she was driving. It was almost midnight and she was not used to being awake this late. Let alone driving this long distance. She had about an hour until she would be getting home. The bright lights of a vehicle up ahead blinded her. Blinking rapidly Isabella judged how long she would have to safely do this. With adrenaline pounding her eardrums Isabella steered the car towards the car. When she could no longer take it Isabella jumped out of the door rolling away. The gravel dug into her skin but her face was protected with her gloved hands.

There was a blaring of a semi truck horn filling her ears. Next thing she could hear was breaks being slammed on but it was too late. The sound of metal colliding and next Isabella saw the back of the truck tipping over to fall on its side. Heat burned her body as the temperature went up as both the semi truck that had held gasoline and Elizabeth’s car exploded in flames. Isabella screamed in horror as she laid there glued to her spot, partially seeing the driver's figure scrambling to get out the shattered window.

God what had she done! The scene was blocked from her view as she felt a heavy tiredness falling over her. The demon was laughing watching the driver burning in the flames as he forced the human to sleep. She had indeed entertained him well and for that he would allow her to believe this was all a dream. In time he would have her remember it all but for her it was not the time for her to break down.

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Isabella groaned. Her body felt sore. As the fog of sleep was leaving her mind Isabella tried to remember why. All that came to mind was driving the car. Was she feeling like this because she jumped out of the car? Panic had her heart racing. Her eyes flew open and her body shot right out of bed. Isabella frowned, taking in her surroundings.

“How?” She wondered out loud. Isabella could not remember coming back home. “Ow.” She whined in pain as her head pounded as she tried to remember what happened after jumping out of the car. Had she crashed the car and just took the bus home? How would she not remember that? No. She felt weird. It was like she had guilt for something. What was she guilty for?

Placing both her hands upon her aching head and closing her eyes helped the nausea that was starting to affect her. Maybe she should just stop trying to force it. The sound of knocking distracted her. “Coming!” She called. Isabella forced herself up and looked in the mirror next to the door to see the state she was in.

“Oh God.” Isabella groaned, taking in the dirty clothes she was wearing. In a rush Isabella threw off her dirty clothes into the hamper in the bathroom. A second sound of knocking came with Arthur’s voice asking for her. “I’ll be right there!” Isabella shouted hoping Arthur would wait some more instead of coming in to check on her on his own. For the life of her she could not even remember if she had locked the door after coming home. He must have heard her because Isabella was able to quickly redress in a nice blue blouse and skinny jeans.

“Sorry, I just woke up.” Isabella answered the front door. Her hair was a bit messy but she did not want him to wait forever right out front for her to get completely ready. Arthur leaned against the wall of the doorway casually with his arms crossed over his chest. He had a leather jacket with a red shirt underneath and blue jeans. An amused smirk lifted his lips. To him Isabella was beautiful no matter how she looked and right now he found it adorable how her hair was a bit messy. Isabella squirmed under his gaze and found herself pushing back a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you going to come in or just stand there?” She asked, growing embarrassed.

Arthur straightened and shrugged. “Erik will be here in a few.” He began to shrug off his jacket as he walked past her. Isabella motioned for him to put the jacket in the hall closet where shoes and jackets were kept. Isabella nodded her understanding. As they waited for Erik she showed him around since Elizabeth had not had the boys over. Isabella was not sure if there was a reason or if it just never came up. After all, their group hadn’t hung out until recently.

“What did I miss?” Erik appeared by the door peeking around it.

Isabella giggled at his silly behavior. “I’ve just been showing Arthur around.”

“Without me! Here I thought you liked me too.” Erik exaggerated with a fake hurt expression shining through his eyes. He even added the touch of a pouting face just making Isabella roll her eyes.

“Oh please.” She replied.

Erik just chuckled and closed the door. He was sporting a green shirt with black jeans. Both guys were dressed in clothes they did not mind getting messy since they had agreed to help Isabella repair the roof leak. There were actually a couple spots on the roof that would need to be repaired so when it rained again no water would leak through. As the guys talked through the material they would need Isabella went to fetch the latter they would need to use along with the hammer and nails Elizabeth’s father had in a shed. Erik and Arthur took a look at the damage and decided what they would need after going over the items in the shedd to see if there was anything useful in there. Isabella took the list of items and went to the warehouse store. Thankfully the guys were handy since both were taking a shared class in this kind of thing as an extracurricular class.

After two hours in the dam store with the guys they finally had all the items needed to repair the roof and ceiling tiles that had leak damage. Arthur had videos playing that would help guide them on the steps to complete the process just so they had it as a refresher. Isabella tried to be out of their way but at the sametime help when they needed it. Though all she really did was pass them nails or move the roof tiles around. Time went by so quickly that none of them had noticed when it was well past lunch time until Erik’s stomach started growling.

“How about we take a break to eat then we can do the finishing touches inside?” Arthur swiped his forehead along his arm that did not hold a hammer.

Erik nodded, feeling exhausted and sweating.

“Sounds good. Let me make you guys some sandwiches.” Isabella headed down the latter first and into the house as soon as the guys told her what kind of sandwiches they preferred. Washing her hands first of the dirt and germs outside and then she started making the food while the guys cleaned up on top. By the time she had their sandwiches completed and chips all on plates with drinks placed on the dining table the guys walked in through the front door.

Lunch was full of steady talking about school and the roof project. Not far away was the thought of Elizabeth. You could see it in the guy’s eyes. They were worried about her. The three of them discussed the text that Elizabeth had sent them last night. The guys were excited to see her and give her a mouth full for just up and leaving for so long. Isabella tried to act as normal as possible so they were not suspicious but she felt like her body was giving her away. Did they hear her heart beating out of her chest? How about the unsteady breathing she was slightly having from anxiousness?

Isabella would have swore her heart stopped as the front door was pounded on. She probably jumped ten feet off her chair from her spot in the dining room. The guys had their eyebrows drawn together. A look of curiosity but also caution flowed between them in a silent message that Isabella barely saw. In her anxiousness Isabella shot out of her seat. “I’ll be right back.” She said before making her way to the door not waiting for the guys to respond. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach when her eyes looked through the peephole. God she was going to faint right here with the amount of fear and anxiousness filling her. Breath Isabella. In and out.

Collecting herself for a minute Isabella made sure she wasn’t hyperventilating as soon as she opened the door. Right in front of her stood a middle aged man with brunette hair slicked back with gel. He was dressed in his professional gear of a police officer. Beside him stood his partner that was in a similar outfit. Both men were standing intimidatingly. One had a hand on his vest strap while the other had his hands to his side but feet stepped apart.

“How can I help you officers?” Isabella was proud of herself for sounding so unphased. Just like she would normally talk instead of letting all her inner turmoil be shown. The officer that had his hands to his sides took off his sunglasses to get a good look at her.

“Are you Isabella Johnson?” The officer with the slicked back hair asked.

Isabella forced herself not to swallow and instead nod her head slowly. No signs. Isabella reminded herself over and over.

“What’s going on?” Erik asked from the hallway. He had been concerned for Isabella as it seemed to be taking too long. He had not been expecting police at the doorway though. This concerned him more. In a few strides Erik stood behind Isabella for support. Arthur was not far behind him.

The officers glanced at the two guys with Isabella as if calculating or judging who they could be. They seemed to recognize the sheriff's son moments later. “May we come in, miss?” the officer that had his hand on the vest strap asked. “You may need to sit down for this.”

Isabella paled, not liking the sound of that. Arthur, who took notice of it, led Isabella to the living room so she could sit down on a chair. Erik motioned for the officers to follow. Soon all of them were in the living room. The two officers sat on one couch while the guys were standing beside Isabella protectively. Erik was thinking that this had something to do with her father while Arthur was concerned about this being about Elizabeth.

“Last night there was a car accident on highway 87 just an hour away from here.” The slicked back haired officer cleared his throat as if he had a difficult time breaking the news to them. “We are not too sure what happened but I can tell you what we do know. This morning my partner and I were called to the scene to find the remains of a Dodge Challenger that had run into a Circle K gasoline semi truck.”

Isabella gasped and her hands went to her lips playing the part of shock. Arthur was frowning. Erik was the one that spoke. “Are you saying that Elizabeth…That she…was in this accident?”

The second officer nodded his head. “We were able to salvage the license plate in the explosion to lead it back to being Elizabeth Greenvines car though there were no bodies at the scene for us to analyze.”

“How is that possible?” Arthur questioned.

“The car accident led to a large explosion to the engines which led to most of the car being completely crushed into ash by the time that we got there. The semi truck was also mostly damaged.”

“Oh.” Isabella cried into a sob. She imagined Elizabeth laying on that bed in a coma to get tears falling down her cheeks.

Arthur moved to hold Isabella so that she could cry on his chest. Erik was numb. He was not sure he could believe what he was hearing. “She was on her way home. Elizabeth had messaged us last night. She was going to be coming home. We were going to have dinner…” His voice shook with emotion.

Arthur clenched his eyes shut feeling the sense of his heart crushing. Erik was shaking and muttering about how it was not possible. That they had finally heard from her. The officers let the group have their reactions without saying or doing anything to let them process the information.

“I’m sorry but Elizabeth is…dead. She died in that car accident and won’t be coming home.” The first officer stated plainly.

You could hear the sobbing that Isabella was making, leaving wet stains on Arthurs shirt. Arthur was taking shaky breaths with his eyes tightly shut. He held Isabella closer to him. Erik feeling lightheaded gripped the back of the chair in a death grip. Erik had tears building behind his eyes. One stubbornly made a trail down his cheek to his jaw. How could this happen both guys asked themselves deeply, feeling crushed in guilt for letting Elizabeth leave instead of stopping her.