Ridgewood Town

Chapter 11

Sophia

June 25

Thursday; 9:52

“I can talk with your dad if you want to come. Are you sure you’ll be alright all by yourself?” mom asked for the nth time. She was leaning on my bedroom door, watching me paint the first coat of white on my wall. I am trying to ease my mind by doing things that calm me.

“I'll be alright mom. It's not like I'll run away when you're gone. You’ve been locking me all by myself for days anyway,” I answered nonchalantly. I heard her sigh deep. I looked at her from my back and her face seemed sad as she stared at the floor.

“I’m sorry, Sophia. I should go. Your dad must’ve been waiting for too long," she answered back. I could feel her disappointment and regret, but what can I do? I reacted because of the unfairness of how they are treating me now. They treated me kindly but I was a prisoner in my own house.

“Yeah. You should lock me now," I replied.

I heard another sigh and the click sound on my door. I glanced back and my door was closed. It was hard to convince them I wouldn’t involve myself in Mason’s case. It seems like they don't trust me at all. Well, I would still involve myself without their consent. Taylah’s death was a mystery itself. And it made it harder to believe she'd kill herself. That night that I saw the bullet wound on her head, I know it’s impossible to rule it out as suicide. Watching too many YouTube videos made me smarter.

When I heard the car engine start and they drive away, I pulled the latch to lock my door from the inside. I crouched under my bed and pulled out the backpack I had prepared a while ago. I needed to check the treehouse in this broad daylight. Our mission that night wasn’t accomplished. What happened that night still confuses me. WIC Company is investigating Luis’ case too. I don’t see the need for them to be involved. Luis hasn’t been a part of the training yet. He only received the badge and nothing happened.

I pulled out the wooden ladder I'd kept behind my walls. I laid it down beside my bedroom window. When I was at my first step, I felt the eyes watching me. I unconsciously trained my eyes around and my eyes met her brown ones. She has witnessed me sneaking out of my own house, again. She gave a little smile and went inside her room. Ana Ricotta might think I’m a rebellious daughter now. Well, whatever.

Once I was on the ground, I made my hair into a bun and wore my black baseball hat to hide my face. I folded the ladder and hid it behind the bushes. I made sure no one could detect it from there before I decided to go. I started to walk fast, looking at all sides to see if there was someone following me. I have been feeling this strange energy, the feeling that someone’s watching my every move. Sometimes it wasn’t there, but it scares me every time. The eyes might just be everywhere. I don’t know but I can feel them. And I'll never know if someone was even out there.

Ridgewood Town looks lively during the day. I could see some teens of my age doing their summer jobs. Some kids wake up early and play in the playground. Some people meet up and laugh as they talk about their lives. The road is busy but it was lively.

The night makes everything feel nostalgic. It was dark and calm, but sometimes it's the deafening silence that scares me. It made me remember the days where Luis and I drove on the road at night, Secrets by The Weekend playing on the car stereo. I miss those nights with Taylahas. We sit at the patio while we drink a warm cup of tea as we go over a book and talk about life. It would have been better if these things hadn’t happened.

The woods felt calm and welcoming. My eyes felt relaxed looking at everything green and yellow. The sun envelopes everything and it’s a sight I always love to see. I always walked around here and never got scared. It was like a second home to me. Luis and his grandparents tag me along and sometimes fall in love with the woods. I walked on the path that was familiar to me. With the daylight, it was easy to know where I was heading to.

Just as I thought, the treehouse wasn't there at all. It was taken down. But I don't know who did this. I could see some debris they failed to hide. Peyton was right after all. We couldn’t find the ashes. It’s because they didn’t burn it down but they tore it. Was WIC Company responsible for this? I saw them hovering over here last night and I couldn't think of anyone that could be related here. I wish it wasn’t them. They have the power but, for what reasons would they do it?

I felt like finding a needle in a haystack. Aside from Luis’ badge, there’s nothing here. I had already flipped over everything around here but I couldn't see anything.

"I should go look around," I thought. I can look up from here till I get to the lake. It has been weeks since I last went to Lake Srori anyway.

I thought there was nothing I could find here and there, but that only lasted for a few minutes when I saw some familiar bundle of wood. The familiar birch wood of the treehouse was laid in a clearing near the lake. Laid like it was some sort of a trap for someone like me. I looked around and felt wary but nothing came out.

"Why did they tear it down and place all the evidence there?" I asked myself. I walked my way to the clearing.

My eyes widened when I saw the familiar paintings lying beside them. It was the one Luis had hanged in the treehouse. I wore my gloves and collected them in a pile, isolating them from the rest. My chest tightened when I saw dried blood on it. My heart beat, I felt a clog in my airway causing difficulty in breathing as memories I didn’t recognize flooded my mind. I felt like I was choking as I felt my soul slipping away.

“Sophia, please wake up!”

Luis was in front of me. He was cupping my face as he pressed something cold on my forehead.

He was frantically looking around. He was shouting but the sound didn’t reach my ears. I can’t read his lips. I can’t breathe.

I can’t… breathe.

SNAP!

The emotions building up halted. My heartbeat slowed. I looked around and saw the familiar body built of a person running away. He's back was turned but I immediately recognized Luis. Even with my weak knees, I couldn’t stop myself from chasing him. I ran fast, shouting his name loudly.

“Luis!” I called out to him, but he was running. He could not hear me. Or he can but ignoring me.

We kept on running but he was so fast I could barely breathe. I have been a runner but I have never run this very long in my whole life.

“Luis, it’s me. Please, stop running away.” I ran onto a different path, realizing the familiar route. The end of this path leads to the lake. I took that path hoping I would come across him.

I was panting when I got to the lake. If my calculations were right, he would be here in a minute. But there’s no one. I waited for another minute until it went for thirty minutes. Everything was quiet and still.

No. I saw him. I was sure that it was him.

“Luis?" I called out. "Please, come back to me.” I heard my voice c***k. I was pleading but no one answered. Where are you? Why are you hiding from me?

The water running caught my attention. It has always been there but my ears failed to recognize it. I am now in front of Lake Srori, the place where he confessed to me for the first time.

“Luis?" I called out. "If you can hear me, you remember this place, right? I’ll never forget that day. I'll never forget this place."

I smiled, reminiscing about the past.

"Please, come back. Everything’s a mess now. I couldn’t function well anymore. I don't know what to do. Taylah is dead. I'm sorry I couldn't help her. Everyone’s blaming you for Taylah’s death. I know you wouldn’t do that. Please, come back.”

No one answered. I smiled bitterly as I tried to stop my tears from falling.

"Luis? I know you're here. Can you please stop hiding?"

Everything is calm. All I can hear now is my loud deep breath as I rest.

Was that just my wishful thinking? Did some part of my brain trigger something and make me see something? I am sure I have seen someone running. His back and the shirt he was wearing were the same one Luis was wearing that day. Why is he hiding? I can't doubt him just because he's running away. Right!

SNAP!

There’s that sound again!

I turned around and tried to locate the location of the sound. A rustle of leaves followed immediately. Before I could stop myself, my feet immediately ran into the sound.

"Please, stop running away!"

The air felt cold as I ran inside the woods again. The bullets of sweat that cling on my skin dance with the wind as I run. Twigs snapping, the rustle of the leaves, and the chirping of birds is all I can hear now. I couldn’t even find where the sound was coming from anymore. I was following my instinct, letting my brain direct me where I should go.

I was relying on it. I was so sure I was running in the right direction. But I failed to realize the danger that comes with it.

I halted when I bumped into something hard, feeling like my body was crushed. Screams followed. I felt my body roll to the ground, my head bumping into something. My head felt spinning from the impact. I couldn't feel any pain at all but I know I had a cut or something. The sounds went quiet. I can only hear the loud beats of my heart. A loud groan of pain came next.

What the hell did just happen?