Ridgewood Town

Chapter 16

Sophia

June 27

Saturday; 19:34

I stop painting for the nth time and stare at the wall. I stared at the unfinished lily flower. The post still bothers me despite how many times I’ve tried to ignore it. It’s like acne that no matter how you hide them well, they pop out, they stand out.

There are three people; Mallory, Ethan, and Nathan. They decided to get out of Ridgewood Town but one of them betrayed them as he was working with the people who were chasing after them. If that happened, I couldn’t even imagine how I would feel. Forgiving an enemy is easier than forgiving your friend. Building trust is already hard. I can say that I never fully trust someone, even if it’s my parents. I always feel a doubt, something that scares me. I don’t trust them. I never felt like this when it comes to Luis. It just felt like I was trusting the right person.

“Hey.” A light tap diverted my attention. Ana, who was lying on the other side of my bed, was now looking at me. She was holding a book I’m very familiar with. The book cover was amazing with a midnight blue sky that was full of stars with a house in the middle. She waves the book and I stare back at her.

“I’m okay.” I answered. I continued painting on my wall as she continued reading her book.

She decided to be friendly with me suddenly. Jean drove us both home. My parents asked them for a sleepover but Jean declined since she was supposed to be grounded. Ana, on the other hand, happily agreed. Ana lives with her dad and her grandparents next door. Everyone was out during Saturdays since they worked for the WIC Company, making her adapt to her situation of living alone in their big house. My parents were glad that I had found new friends aside from Luis though. They were acting like I never had friends before. They’re acting like they don’t know the reason why I became antisocial. Right after Ana said yes to the sleepover, they decided to have a dinner date out suddenly.

Aren’t my parents shoving me into Ana’s care? She didn’t even really save my a*s back from the forest – well, in a way, it was my fault and she really did help me anyway. Ugh.

“You keep on sighing, Sophia. Is there something wrong?” Ana peeks from reading a book. She closes it a little and stares at me. I didn’t realize I was sighing because of the thoughts running through my mind.

“I’m just thinking about something. I’m sorry. Did I bother you?” I placed the paintbrush in my pail and decided to rest my hand for a while.

“Not really. I can read the book later; you can tell me anything. Is there something wrong?” She put the book on the side table and looked at me, waiting. “I promise to keep it a secret.”

I contemplated for a minute but I needed to let my thoughts out before it exploded in my mind.

“I am still bothered by the post. Three people escape but one of them is a traitor. Which of them? Or is the story even real?” She sighed too, and now we were both staring at the ceiling.

“I don’t actually know. I only know that the two people involved trusted a friend. The horror of finding out you’ve been betrayed.” Her voice came in a whisper when she was saying the last sentence. Now, I remember she used to be friends with Jean. I wanted to ask her that but it doesn’t seem to be a good idea either. One reason is that we aren’t friends yet. Second, it was personal. And third, it’s a sensitive topic.

I don’t know what to say anymore. It’ll feel awkward if I change the topic too.

“I betrayed Jean.” She suddenly blurted out. It was my chance to look at her. She was staring at the ceiling and a small smile was on her face.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to- “

“I told everyone she liked Luis,” she continued, stopping my words in midair. “I didn’t know what came to me but I hated it. She’s my only friend, Sophia. But look at us now. The simple mistake I made burned the bridge between us.”

“She likes Luis?” With all the words she said, these words kept ringing in my ears. “Did she ever hate me?”

She chuckles, “Can anyone even hate you? You were kind. Well, I am eradicating the fact that you’re creepy sometimes.” We both laughed at her remark.

“I never knew you were this nice, Ana.”

“I never knew you could be this cool too.” She resumed reading her book and I continued painting, not thinking about the post anymore.

“But Sophia, regarding the post, I think there’s a story behind that,” she said while still reading her book.

“I guess I’m just overthinking,” I answered back. We continued the things we were doing, as I continued to push the thoughts behind my back.

Jean

20:24PM

It would be another thirty minutes before Dad came home. I sneaked into his room as I hid away from the guard's eyes. No one can get inside his office room other than me. I'm the only one brave enough to go against him anyway.

I quietly roamed around the office as I fumbled with the things in the room. I opened all the drawers I could see. I checked everything that could help me but there was nothing to see. I settled on his soft swivel chair and sat comfortably. I stayed there for a minute before something caught my eye. It wasn't easy to spot it when it was well hidden amongst the mini library. I walked to it and took it out. It was a hard bound book and it was red in color, with a black print on the front, WIC Company: Ridgewood Town Project 2021.

"What the hell is this?" I asked myself. I started to flip the pages but stopped when I saw a familiar photo. A young photo of a girl who was holding a woman's hand. Both of them were smiling. My eyes drop to the letter below the photo. I covered my mouth to silence my gasp. My name wasn't Jeanette Garinder but it was Hannah Perkins. It was stated that I was adopted by the Garinder family and my mom didn't die of childbirth. I just don't really have a mom.

Not believing what I had just read, I continued to flip the pages. I saw dozens of pictures of mostly all the children and teens that I knew. What the hell is happening in here? What does this Project even mean to WIC Company?

I snap some photos and put them back on the shelf. A leather book caught my attention again and I couldn't stop the urge to check it out. The front page shows a print of WIC Company: Abyss Project. I took a photo of it.

I heard my phone ding and a text message from Sophia was received. I dialed her number immediately. I decided to check the book as I waited for her to answer. I was about to flip the pages when I heard the familiar heavy steps.

Sophia

21:53PM

I couldn’t sleep. My parents slept hours ago but I can’t even close my eyes. Ana snores so loudly that it distracts my focus.

I quit!

I got out of the warm sheets and walked to my study table. I pulled out Henry’s diary from my satchel bag. I was glad that I hid it well. I don’t want anyone to suspect me or anything. It’s just that, I can’t trust them yet. Not too early.

“There’s a lock?” I whispered to myself when I noticed it. There is a lock beside it but I never really notice it. It requires three combinations of numbers in order to open it. That’s nine hundred and ninety-nine combinations for me. I thought of trying Henry’s birthday but it didn’t budge a bit. I tried Taylah and Luis’ birthday but both didn’t fall in the third number. I know I could just rip it off right away, but this diary isn’t mine. I literally climbed into a house and stole a diary. Yes! That’s the real situation right here. I just really hope something is in here.

Should I tell Jean? I mentally asked myself. I quickly grabbed my phone and sent her a message.

“Hey. Are you still awake?”

The text shows it was read. I waited for a few minutes but she never replied. Did she hate me when Luis dated me? Or was it a sign not to tell her about what I'd found?

I was about to head to bed when my phone lit up, Jean’s name was registered as the caller. I was about to answer the call when the call dropped suddenly. I stared at it, trying to remember if I had accidentally tapped the end button or it was on her end. I waited for a few minutes till the clock showed it was already eleven pm.

“I guess she accidentally pressed the call button accidentally while sleeping,” I whispered to myself.

My phone lit up once again, Jean’s name flashing on my phone screen. I dragged the green one sideways and the call started. I wore my earphones immediately and walked to my bedroom window.

“Sophia, are you at home?” Jean’s voice was low, at low volume as she kept on pausing at every word. She speaks like it was so hard to say the words and she was even panting.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked as I gripped the window sill. I looked at the sky and I saw how the moon feels lonely. The sky was dark without the stars.

I heard the shuffling of papers and inaudible voices from the other end. It wasn’t Jean but there were people with her.

“Jean?”

“Shhhh… Quiet!” she whispered, but it was like she was screaming to shut me up. I heard the wood creak softly.

“Where is Jean?” a voice shouted. It felt like it was a few metres away from where Jean was at.

“She’s in her bedroom already, Sir,” a woman replied.

“Someone came into my office. Some files are missing. That brat came into my office, I’m sure!”

“Jean, are you in trouble?” I asked worriedly. No one answered from the other end, but I heard something drop.

“Hello? Jean?”

“I told you to shut up. I’m gonna lay on my bed. If Dad comes in, I want you to act like we are on a call and I fall asleep or something. Do it.”.

I was confused but I heard a wub sound; that happens when the sheets are wobbled gently. I guess she’s in bed now when a soft snore came after that. But how do I act? Why am I dragged into this mess?

In a few seconds, I heard a creaking sound like a door was opening.

“Jean, I know you’re awake.” I heard a loud blap. “Where are the files? You shouldn’t be touching my things.” Jean continued on acting.

“You’re even on call, huh?” I heard a ticking sound at the other end. “Hello, Ms. Chase!” Mayor Gardiner’s voice filled my ears. My heart races as I cover my mouth to hide the sound of my breath. I didn’t respond as it felt like my world had just stopped. I saw Ana, who was still snoring loudly. I tiptoed and went to her side and let her snores fill the mayor’s ear.

“Oh. What a loud snore Ms. Chase has. Aren’t you really going to confess right now, Jean?” the Mayor asked again. Jean didn’t respond but continued her deep breathing and soft snores. That was all that I heard before the call ended.

“That was… weird.”

I brushed off the memory of what happened and tried to sleep once again. But I couldn’t help myself as I still waited for Jean’s reply.

My phone lit up for the third time and a text message from Jean flashed.

“I found something important. I need you guys tomorrow. This is important.” Her text message was short but direct. I was typing a reply when her profile suddenly showed she had deactivated her account. I tried to refresh it and even restarted my phone but nothing came up.

“What happened?”

I laid on my bed staring at my phone screen, waiting for Jean to fix her account. I waited for so long that I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep. And when I woke up, her account was back.

I guess it was nothing serious after all. How wrong I was.