Death in the Woods

Chapter 5

“How is this one?” Sarah chirped pushing herself out of her wardrobe to stand in front of her friend who was busy with her iPhone.

“Not impressive enough, change.”

“Change, Again? This is like the sixth dress, Clara. I don't think I'm  called for the party life, why not just go without me?” Sarah complained while pouting her lips.

“Come on, Sarah, you promised. I can't do this without my best friend.”

“Alright. Why don't you help me in picking something to wear.”

“With pleasure,” She said while making her way to Sarah's wardrobe to pick out something suitable for the party. 

“Voilá, here it is.” She exclaimed while producing a black mini dress from the wardrobe. Sarah didn't even know she had a dress like that in there. 

“Umm… Clara, where did you get that dress from?” She asked.

“From your wardrobe of course. It's really beautiful. How come you've never worn it before?” Clara blabbed on while Sarah zoned out on her.

Sarah knew that she didn't wear most of her clothes in her wardrobe and preferred putting on jeans and tees, but she had never seen that dress before. Or, did her mum place it in there for her? She thought.

“Sarah, go dress up. We are getting late already,” Clara called out making Sarah to come out from her inner thoughts. She collected the dress from Clara and rushed into the bathroom to get changed.

“Wow! you look exquisite,” Clara shouted as Sarah made her way out of the bathroom. The black dress stopped a little above her knees and her long legs were on full display. The back and the cleavages portion of the dress were made of a net material making it a bit decent and also good for a party. Just the kind of dress for her kind of personality.

Sarah decided to put on some black heels to match her dress. She applied a little makeup while Clara retouched her makeup at the same time, urging her to hurry up. Clara wore a gold gown, and she let her blonde hair fall down her shoulders in bouncy curls. She was dressed to impress Jacob and get more of his attention.

*********

The party was in full swing by the time they got there. Almost half of the whole school fitted inside the Madison manor. There were people dancing and grinding and kissing in the living room accompanied by loud music. Some were headed upstairs, hopefully to the game room but let's be real, that is never their destination. 

There were people in the pool and in the kitchen and Sarah got all anxious to leave. She was someone who never liked being in the crowd. Growing up as an only child made her love her personal space and dislike anywhere crowded.

“Hey, just breathe, okay?” Clara said as she rubbed her hand over Sarah's back. She looked over the crowd from the second-floor balcony in search of someone while handing her a red cup filled with a liquid content. The smell was so strong and Sarah was afraid that with just one of these cups, she would be drunk in no time.

“Am fine.” She lied to her best friend as she saw the worry that was written all over her face.

“Why don't you go and find Jacob? This dress would be a waste if he doesn't even get a glimpse of it.” She said with the hope of persuading her friend, so she can at least find a corner to hide.

Clara was having double thoughts on leaving her friend at first. She knew how Sarah didn't like to go out, but she just wanted her friend to have a little fun before they left high school. 

When she assured her that she was doing okay and would be fine on her own, she patted her back for a moment, after which, she went downstairs to find Jacob. Sarah ran a hand through her dark hair as she was left alone and turning around, headed straight for the bathroom.

*********

A few minutes later, Sarah walked out of the bathroom and turned to head towards the stairs while drying her hands on a paper towel. She didn't know she was close to the stairs because the next thing she knew, she was leaning her chest into a shoulder with a large hand on the small of her back and one on her hip.

“Oh, I am so sor-” she said as she tried to steady herself with a hand on the person's shoulder. She turned her head to see who stopped her before she plummeted down the stairs and came face to face with striking green eyes. The same eyes which she has been drawn to in class during the past week.

“Adrian,” she whispered, breathlessly.

“It's no problem, Sarah.” He said.

His deep baritone voice was enough to send goosebumps across her skin. She chuckled nervously and her cheeks became a bright red. She got caught up in searching for more golden flecks in his green eyes before realizing that he still had his hands on her waist, and she didn't even want him to remove it. She could live there on the steps, if it meant him never letting go. God, he was so gorgeous.

The sound of her phone going off to signal an incoming message, made her jerk her body, causing Adrian to drop his hand. She blushed furiously and stepped to the side and out from in front of him.

“W- well, do have a n- nice evening. I- I'll umm… Go check on my friend.” She said while stuttering and ran down the stairs in search of Clara.

*********

Sarah searched for Clara downstairs but couldn't find her. She turned her phone screen on in other to call her and then saw that she had a message which she forgot to open because she was drooling all over Adrian. Thinking it was Clara, she opened it but the contents of the message sent her into a state of terror.

YOU LOOK GOOD IN BLACK. I GUESS I PICKED THE RIGHT COLOR.

Sarah, turned around to see if someone was watching her but everyone was busy dancing and drinking and chatting. Now, she was starting to believe that this wasn't some random high school prank.

 So many thoughts were making their way to her head. How did the person enter her house? How did they put the dress in her wardrobe? Or was she just overthinking things? 

She was beginning to have a headache, and so, decided to rest on the wall to calm herself down. A hand on her shoulder made her jolt up from her resting position 

only to find Adrian staring down at her.

“Are you okay?” He asked her with the look of worry on his eyes.

“I don't think so,” She said. 

“Do you want to leave?” he asked her. 

“Yes, please” she replied. Right now, all she needed was to get home, away from the noise and just rest her head. 

But, was her home safe for her?