Shadows of Darkness

Chapter 3- How did you end up in the park?

After the final touch of the nude lipstick, I gave one final look at myself in the mirror. The beige high-waisted pants fit perfectly on my body, neither too tight nor too loose, just right. The same went for my white top with the bell sleeves, The caramel brown hair was pin straight with no hair out of the place, my makeup was subtle with brown eyeshadow instead of eyeliner and a tiny wing, in the end, to make my blue eyes look less tired, in case the concealer left some hints of tiredness from last night. I added a small necklace with a crescent moon in the middle and carried the brown handbag before walking out of the room. The pendant was a gift from Eddie, which she gave me a few years ago.

No sound other than the sound of my heels clicking on the heels could be heard in the hallway, the silence could be creepy for some people but it was normal for my family.

I made my way through the same path that I had remembered by heart.

Everything was shining like it was freshly polished and the fresh fragrance of flowers covered every inch of the house like a garden, just how my mother liked things to be. According to her, the home reflects the people living in it, a clean and well-maintained home already tells the visitor so much about the family residing in it.

As I inched closer to the dining hall, another pair of heels approached my way.

I paused, “Good morning, Aria.”

“Morning, Celeste,” Aria gave her perfect smile, equal but not showing any teeth.

She was wearing a purple dress that reached her thighs, it was strapless and on her body made her look like a runway model, which she already looked like with her height, sharp grey eyes, slender lips, and well-defined cheekbones. I pressed my lips tightly, looking at her choice of clothes for the class but said nothing.

Mother would not like this.

“There they are, my soul and my heart,” a sweet voice made our heads turn.

“Good morning, mom,” we both said together, giving a hug to mom.

Her grey eyes first fell on me and instantly a smile formed on her lips. Her curly brown hair was tucked very neatly in a bun in a way that made it look like a stylist took hours to make sure every curl was symmetrical on both sides of her head. Her skin was glowing as usual like the rays of sun on a drop of water, Her flawless skin could make people half her age feel jealous, but it was in our genes.

Even my father looked nothing like his age. They both believed in maintaining themselves, a trait they tried to pass on to their daughters.

She then turned towards Aria and the smile fell slightly. Aria knew the reason well, she quickly hugged mom, “I missed you so much, mom.”

She had to bent a little due to the difference in their heights. Aria took the height from our father while I was like mom.

Mom was on the curvy side and knew well how to carry herself, She always believed in dressing according to the place but more importantly, she believed in showing the power with the clothes we wear and the way we looked.

“Where is dad?” I changed the subject before she started talking about Aria’s choice of clothing.

“Daniel is on the dining table already, you know your father, he gets cranky like a toddler without his food,” mom added a rich laugh in the end.

Aria gave a small smile before following mom. I nodded and copied her action.

Dad was sitting on the head chair with his forest green eyes glued to the screen of his phone, he was always on his phone, always trying to be the best at his work, it was what gave the area around his eyes a sunken look, according to mom.

“Good morning, dad,” we said simultaneously once again.

Dad finally looked up with a smile on his brownish lips, a smile that could bring smiles to our faces as well, there was not a time when I had seen him without a smile on his face, no matter how stressed he was.

“Good morning, Celeste, Aria. How did you both sleep last night?”

With a small frown, I sat down next to him while Aria took a seat next to me, closer to mom.

“Like a baby,” Aria started putting fruits in her bowl.

“Celeste?’ Dad asked.

I forced a smile, “It was good.”

Everyone started eating their meals. I did not get any sleep last night but how was I supposed to tell them?

I motivated myself last night to tell everyone what I witnessed but my tongue was not moving at all.

I cleared my throat and took a small bite of waffles from my plate. First, I checked dad, he was once again busy with his phone, he would not know even if someone screamed bloody murder just outside the window closest to him. Then I moved my eyes towards mom and Aria, they were busy in their own world as well, talking about the new trends.

I took a sip of freshly squeezed orange juice and cleared my throat once again, this time I was ready to say everything.

But how was I supposed to start? Should I start by confessing how I sneaked out of the house at night? But it would cause more trouble for Eddie and Neon. Mom knew I would never go out alone, her doubt and wrath would fall on Eddie.

I could tell them I heard the news from someone. But that would require the name of the person and complete information about the whereabouts of that person, something I could not create in a day.

C’mon Celeste, you are wasting your time, someone died in front of your eyes and you are here thinking about how to say a few words. I tried to motivate myself.

“Mo…”

“And then they were caught by everyone,” Aria added before I could say anything.

“I knew it already, what can you expect from that family anyway,” mom scoffed.

“I have…” I tried once again.

“I always thought the children were different from their parents.”

“Oh, no sweetheart, trust me they are the same,” mom answered Aria with the same excitement in her eyes that were floating in Aria’s eyes.

I sighed, knowing well, that it was useless to interrupt their gossip.

I turned towards dad this time.

“Dad…”

“Hold on, Celeste,” he put his index finger in the air, giving me a sign to wait, “this is an important email.”

I nodded.

“Sweety, don’t tap your fingers on the table.”

I looked at mom and then back at my hands. I stopped moving my fingers immediately.

It was my opportunity to tell her, I opened my mouth but once again Aria started another story that held mom’s entire interest.

A notification sound on my phone caught my attention. It was Eddie.

I gulped the remaining orange juice and stood up to leave, “I will see you guys in the evening, Eddie and Neon are outside to pick me up.”

Mom stopped talking to Aria and gave me the same look which she gave Aria earlier. I forced a smile and grabbed my phone while leaving. I had to try again.

“Seriously, take your time,” Eddie shouted through the window before I could enter the car.

I hurried and took a seat in the back, “Sorry, mom and dad got back in the morning.”

I explained quickly,

Neon started the car and I rested my head on the window once again thinking about how I was going to tell everyone about what happened at night. I was cursing my luck, why was I there?

Out of all the places, why did I pick that park?

What if I told my parents I could not sleep at night so I went out for a walk and stumbled upon a possible murder? I shook my head, it was dumb. They would just say why I didn’t take a walk in our garden or why I didn’t take someone else with me.

Those eyes were not leaving my head, whenever I closed my eyes, I could see them staring at my soul.

“Lessie?”

“Huh?” I looked to find Eddie and Neon looking at me with a weird look.

“Are you alright?” Neon asked very slowly.

I looked outside the window and found the reason for their stares, we were already outside the university. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I missed the entire journey.

I forced a smile, they did not have to know anything yet, “Yes, just a little tired from yesterday.”

Eddie shared a look with Neon.

“Guys, it’s 10 in the morning, please stop.”

“What is it?” Eddie said with a little strong voice.

I licked my lips. I could not tell Eddie what I saw, she would get worried and feel guilty for not being with me. She was just doing what she thought was best for me, I could not make her feel bad.

But there was another doubt in my head.

“Do you guys think the drink was spiked last night?”

Neon raised his brows, “I brought your drink last night.” He sounded offended.

“No, I did not mean it like that,” I quickly added, feeling bad.

“I meant before you got the drink, do you think someone added something?”

Neon shook his head immediately, “No, the drink was safe and not contaminated. I made sure before giving it to you.”

I stayed silent for a while.

“Will you just tell us what happened?” Eddie urged, “first you walked out of the party then you went to a park in the middle of the f*****g night alone, and when we found you…you looked like you had seen a ghost.”

It was worse than a ghost, I wanted to tell her but I could not explain what I saw at night. No sane person would ever trust my words.

“I...I don’t know,” I started, “in the party, I felt like I was trapped inside a bubble. I had to go outside, all the cells inside my body wanted to leave that house.” I started explaining what I felt that night.

It was something I had never felt before, I could not breathe properly, something was suffocating me, maybe it was due to the strangers around me or the fear of lying to my parents, or maybe both.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Neon asked in a calm voice exact opposite of Eddie.

“I didn’t want to ruin the night for you guys as well.” I did not look at them directly.

“Are you crazy,” Eddie said loudly, Neon put a hand over her neck lightly.

“I thought I just needed some fresh air, I was not used to being around too many people.” I kept explaining.

“How did you end up in that park?’ Neon further asked, staring at me without blinking.

I opened my mouth but closed it, I had no answer to his question. If I told him the truth he would never believe me.

“I don’t know, I was not thinking much.”

Thankfully they did not ask anything.

“What happened in the park, Celeste?’ Eddie asked with a serious look on her face and I knew what I had to tell her.