Souls Of The Innocent

Chapter Fourteen: Interrogation

“ Now will you tell me what the heck is going on!”, Nathan said as he took a glimpse into the rearview mirror making sure that whatever that thing was, it wasn't following them.

He glanced at Amber who was sitting staring at the road with an intense look on her face and her hands were clenched on her laps. She answered his question with her silence and that only infuriated him. Making sure for one last time that they were not being persecuted by that woman, he stopped the car and switched off the engine. He didn’t like it when he was talking to someone about something crucial and the only answer that he will obtain is silence. Whatever was going on was irritating him and he needed to know the facts.

“ Amber I’m talking to you. Can you please tell me what is going on!?”, Nathan said raising his voice which surely got Amber’s attention.

She turned and looked at him and when he saw the look of anxiety mixed with despair on her face, he quickly calmed down and ran a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth to say something, he hesitated for a moment, then without giving it another thought, Nathan pulled Amber into his embrace and was surprised when she placed both hands on his chest to stop him. He looked at her with narrowed eyebrows and her eyes met his. Amber could see that Nathan was surprised by her sudden reaction but she didn’t know how to react. Nathan Ricci was pulling her into his arms this was all new to her. Their gaze locked and his solemn gaze searched hers but tears had filled her eyes erasing the fear he saw earlier. Her tear-filled eyes made him understand this was more serious than what he was thinking about. Before he could say something, Amber was the one who wrapped her arms around his neck and almost dug her nails in his back as she held him tightly. He could feel that she was crying, he wrapped his arms around her and he hesitated before he gently caressed her hair. They sat like that for a moment, him gently caressing her hair which helped her to calm down.

“ Amber you need to speak up. What is going on?”, he calmly whispered and he felt her shifting as she slowly removed her arms around his neck and quickly moved back to her seat.

Amber wiped her eyes with the back of her hands to remove the teardrops on her eyelashes. She glanced outside and noticed that her house was not far from where they had parked, without saying a single word, in a split second, Amber was out of the car and was running towards her house leaving Nathan sitting there looking at her with a perplexed face.

“ Run Amber keep running, but we are going to run into each other again. I’ll make sure that you tell me what is going on and who was that strange woman”, Nathan said as he started the engine and drove off.

On the way to his house, Nathan thought about all of the events which took place tonight. He was still curious about why those girls were together tonight, creeping out for them to meet up, like some sort of secret meeting. The thought of witchcraft crossed his mind and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he shook his head. That could be a reason, there must be a reason why Logan is called a witch. Someone must have seen something... or she must have done something for her to earn that name, Nathan said to himself. The thought that those girls could be involved in some witchcraft circle couldn't be erased from his mind. So many things rushed through his mind, especially the thought that Amber and her friends could have done something to Nora and they are trying to find a way to conceal their dirty secret, maybe by framing someone else. That freak of a woman who seems to be following them everywhere could also be involved as she certainly fits the description of a witch. The fear and sadness in Amber’s eyes could be a sign of desperation or regret. Isn’t that what happens in movies when you make a deal with the Devil, he comes back to claim his share?!

Curiosity was burning up inside of him, so bad that he wanted to turn the car around and drive back to Amber’s house. He checked the time and realized that he better get home, he will catch Miss Jones some other time. He took a left turn and drove down the road, he was ten minutes away from his house. He kept his gaze on the road hoping that he wouldn’t get any more surprises jumping in front of the car. Amber Jones, by Monday you and your little friends will tell me what is going on, I can bet on that, Nathan said to himself with a smirk on his lips as he drove up the driveway to his home.

Amber splashed water on her face for the third time, she still couldn’t get rid of the image of that woman who had even tried to reach out towards the door handle to open the car. She used to just stand there and observe, tonight she took a different approach. Anger filled her face and Amber noticed how she looked different. She was no longer looking like the older version of Nora, one thing that she noticed about her was that her eyes were now like a marine blue color, her sister didn’t have blue eyes. She made a mental note to search about any missing girls with blue eyes. She was more convinced that her weird neighbor had something to do with the disappearance of her sister. Amber wiped her face with her towel and grabbed her phone from her backpack. She didn’t even have time to get changed the first thing she did when she got inside the house was rushed to the bathroom. She slowly opened the bathroom door and checked both ways down the corridor, the door to her parent's room was still closed. She rushed to her bedroom and closed the door, she stood by the door took in a deep breath. Slipping her backpack off her shoulders, she tossed it on the floor and as she was about to dial Logan’s number she heard her door opening, s**t, she silently said to herself as she quickly removed her shoes and managed to grab a book from her desk before her mother pushed opened the door.

“ Amber, why are you still up at this time?”, her mother asked looking at her with narrowed eyebrows.

“ Studying”, Amber answered showing her the book.

“ All dressed up like that? Plus it’s the weekend”, her mother said looking at her from head to toe.

“ Yes, I didn’t want to wear my pajamas yet”, she answered and she faked a yawn.

“ I’m calling it a night, just going to finish this page”, Amber added and her mother didn’t look convinced at all, but she told her to have a goodnight and she walked back towards the door, and then she paused and turned around almost catching Amber breathing a sigh of relief.

“ By the way, were you in Nora’s room today?”.

Amber was taken aback by her mother’s question, she had no idea where her mother had hidden the key to Nora’s bedroom. She wonders if there was something in Nora’s bedroom that they needed to see to understand something about her disappearance. Was she trying to send them a message, but she couldn’t say something like that to her mother. She would think that she was going crazy.

“ Mum, I don’t even know where the key to her bedroom is”, Amber answered.

“ That’s what I told you, dad. Since he didn’t open it and neither did I, we thought it was you. There must be a problem with that door, I have to get it checked”, her mother said before she walked out and closed the door.

Amber walked towards the door, she pressed her ears against the door and listened, waiting to hear the sound of the door closing. Once she was sure that her mother was back in her bedroom, she quickly walked to her desk and grabbed her phone. She checked her time, it was nearly two in the morning. Amber was quite sure that Logan and Deb were still up. Even if it is called a sleepover, but you do more staying up and chatting than getting any sleep. She simply couldn’t wait until the morning to tell them what happened to her. The thing that was bothering her the most was the fact that Nathan saw that woman and how she had reacted must have left him in doubt. She knows that Nathan would have plenty of questions to ask her, but was she ready for his interrogation? One thing that crossed her mind was that Nathan could even be thinking that she and her friends were involved in something bad. What if she tells him the truth and if he wants to make fun of her so be it! But, what if she asks him to help them instead, his sister’s name will be cleared. If that psycho was the one who was involved in the disappearance of Nora, then they will all solve the disappearance of her sister. Amber agreed with herself, but she will have to tell the others about what she had decided to do and hoped that they will understand her dilemma. She didn’t want to be persecuted by Nathan Ricci for the rest of her life because of some family grudge. She dialed Logan’s number and waited impatiently to hear her voice on the other side of the line, she didn’t want to annoy Stacy anymore tonight as she thinks that she has had enough for one night. They will fill her in tomorrow or Monday at school.

“ You wouldn’t believe what happened to us on the way back”, Amber said as soon as Logan answered the call.

“ Wait, Deb is next to me. I’ll put you on the speaker”, Logan said and Amber who was trying to remain calm told them everything that happened on the way back except the part where Nathan hugged her to calm her down.

“ OMG! That woman is crazy!”, Deb exclaimed as she finished given them an account of what happened.

“ I doubt if she’s a human being”, Logan calmly said and for a moment there was a silence on both sides of the phone.

“ What...what do mean Logan?”, Amber said stuttering a bit. She had often asked herself those questions, what if her neighbor wasn’t a human being who could do some sort of tricks on people , what if she was some sort of Alien or a witch or a time traveler, something out of this world. She didn’t want to think about it, it was easier to fight against a human being but how do you fight an immortal, and who will believe them?

“ We break into her home , gather as much information about her and then we will conduct a research. I do hope that we do find something in her home .Meanwhile, we search for a girl gone missing with marine blue eyes, we have to check every single detail, no stone unturned”, Logan directed what they will have to do and they all agreed to share whatever information they will get over the weekend on Monday at 8.30am. Deb will inform Stacy tomorrow of what they will have to do.

“ I have something else to say. I think after what happened tonight, I will have to tell Nathan the truth”, Amber said and for a moment both girls were silent.

“ I understand Amber”, Logan said first and Deb agreed as well.

“ Do you guys think that Stacy will agree?”, Amber asked.

“ I’m sure she will understand”, Debra said and then added, “ On one condition, that he keeps his mouth shut!”, and Amber agreed.

“ We need his total discretion. We don’t even know what we are dealing with! Ladies, we should get some rest. We start our research tomorrow. I will text you later”, Amber said and after bidding her allies goodnight she hung up her phone and placed it on her bedside table.

Amber walked towards the windows and slowly opened the curtains just enough for her to take a peek outside. She looked at her neighbor's house but she wasn’t standing in her usual spot on the porch, she was probably busy jumping in front of people’s cars. Just the thought gave her goosebumps, Amber was glad that Nathan reacted quickly otherwise they could have ended up in a bad accident. She took in a deep breath and glanced up towards the sky, she noticed that it was nearly full moon. It made her realize that the night that Nora had disappeared, it was around a full moon as well. Her hope of finding her sister alive was slowly evaporating. What Logan had said about that woman not being a human being with some skills to scare people bothered her. She had often brushed that thought aside ,but it was inevitable, a human being doesn’t hunt anyone in their sleep or appeared in a séance. She had wished it was otherwise ,but now it was the time to face the truth nothing but the truth.It was hard to accept reality , but it wasn’t time to be living in her imagination she needed to face whatever was out there . She walked to the small shelf next to her desk and looked for a notebook that she had not used yet. She sat down at her desk and opened the notebook and on the first page she wrote investigating the neighbor;

1. Break into her house and find anything about her. Where is she from? Or is she hiding anything or anyone in there?

2. Search Nora’s room. First I have to find the key.

3. Research about girls who had disappeared recently.

4. Talk to Nathan.

Amber closed the book and unlocked the first drawer of her desk and placed it underneath her other books. She walked towards her bed and sat down on the edge of the bed and removed her socks. She couldn’t even go back to take a proper shower, her mother was not convinced by her studying act and she didn’t want to answer any more questions tonight. She rested her head on the pillow and placed her hands on her chest as she stared at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and remembered the tenderness of Nathan’s touch when he had embraced her. His fingers softly touching her hair, she couldn’t believe that Nathan had hugged her to calm her down. She opened her eyes even if she was feeling like floating around because Nathan Ricci had hugged her, another part of her was telling her that she humiliated herself by crying in front of him which burst her happy bubble. But it didn’t matter because tonight Amber Jones saw a softer and sweeter side of Nathan Ricci.