Chapter five

"Honey, are you okay?" My mom asked, poking her head through the door opening. She had this worry in her blue eyes that made me regret not locking my door. I guess pacing my room and staring at my phone with wide eyes for hours was not a good idea. Especially since my mother was the most anxiety-ridden person I have ever seen.

I sighed before dropping down onto my bed. I have been waiting for Mira's text or call since I got home. It's been five hours now. "Yes, mom. I am fine."

She stepped in, and somehow, her presence took away some of the tension I was feeling. My mother was my greatest blessing. She was nice, calm, and very understanding. Whereas my dad was more on the strict side, he was always yelling at my sister and me. Apparently, everything we did irritated him, and he saw nothing more than failures. Yeah, extreme, I know.

She tucked some of her golden strands behind her ear before saying, "Dinner is ready. Your father is off on a business trip and won't be joining us." I could not stop my cringe after hearing her mention "business trip." She was twenty-five years older than me yet so naive. It was hard to believe at times.

"No, I will eat later. I am waiting on something right now," I said before reconnecting my eyes with the bright screen. My mom stood at the doorway for a few more seconds before leaving me alone. I did not know why it felt like she was about to tell me something, but I didn't want to dwell much on it.

My heart practically leaped out of my chest when my phone finally rang; I didn't bother checking the number before answering and simply pressed it to my ears, "Hello? Mira?"

"Mira?"

All the blood in my body must have drained because I suddenly felt pale and dizzy. I really was not expecting to hear Clara's voice. Especially after what I had done to her earlier today. I dragged a hand down my face as I tried finding the right words. "Clara. Sorry, I wasn't expecting your call."

"But you were expecting Mira's?" The anger in her tone was building, and I felt like ending this conversation, but that would probably cause more problems between us.

"Yeah, um, forget about it. Do you need something?" I probably sounded like a douche, but I couldn't help but think about the possibility that Mira would try calling and change her mind when she sees my line is busy.

"I wanted to talk about what happened earlier today," Clara said with a soft voice, and I exhaled loudly. Not because I was annoyed, but because I was not ready to have this conversation. She continued, "I'm really sorry, it's just... I am worried about you. You're new. You did not witness the horrible things that happened when Mira was involved. I just don't want you to get hurt."

My fingers made their way to my hair. It was suddenly way too hot in here. "No, I am sorry. I should not have been so harsh. You were only trying to look out for me. But I need you to understand something," I said with a serious tone, and I could tell that I had gotten her attention from the way she spoke next.

"What's that?"

"I am my own person. I can handle myself,I don't need you to be worried about me."

Silence.

I was starting to hope I hadn't said that, but there was no backing out now.

Her voice was barely a whisper as she said, "Okay."

My phone suddenly started beeping, and I pulled it away from my ear to get a look at the caller this time. It was an unknown one. It might be Mira. I put the phone back on my ear before saying, "I think Mira is calling me; I have to go."

Clara answered me in the same tone as earlier before terminating our call, "Okay."

Again, I felt like there was something more she wanted to say. I will make things right between Clara and my mom tomorrow, but for now, all I could think about was the most feared girl in school.

With a pounding heart, I answered the call. God, I felt like I was a thirteen-year-old who was about to talk to their first crush for the first time. "Hello?" I spoke into the phone, and I was answered with silence.

Yup, that was definitely Mira.

"Mira, how are you?" I asked, and there was this chill that crawled up my spine as her voice seeped into my ears.

"I'm fine."

●●●●●●●●●

I awoke this morning with no recollection of what happened the night before.The last thing I remembered was hearing Mira's voice before it all went dark. It was strange; I'm pretty sure I would have known what had happened during the phone call I had waited five hours to receive. I just hoped I hadn't fallen asleep on her. That's why my eyes searched for her the second I stepped foot into the school hallway. My eyes fell on Mira as she opened her locker, and I rushed over to her.

"Hey," I said once I came to a stop beside her.

She shut her locker and made eye contact with me. Her dark eyes were so mesmerizing. It was almost impossible to look away. "Hi," she replied, and I was surprised. She only ever answered questions, not greetings.

"Okay, this may sound weird, but I really want to know what happened last night because I can't remember a thing," I said all in one breath, if not one second.

All Mira did was blink up at me before looking at our feet, saying, "I think you fell asleep."

Shit.

"I'm really sorry." God, was I really that tired? She made no attempt to respond to my apology. I felt a pair of holes drilling into my temple, and my eyes caught sight of two amber orbs staring right at me from across the hall.

Clara.

She stood beside her brother, watching me with unblinking eyes. I tore mine from her and said to Mira, "Come with me." I took her small, cold hand in mine and led her to them. Clara was quick to look away, but I had already caught her. I came to a stop in front of them and waved, "Hey, guys. You all know Mira." I said, and the three of them did nothing but stare at each other.

Clara glanced between Mira and I before her eyes fell on our joined hands. They narrowed into slits, but only for a fraction of a second before her lips lifted to form a tight smile. "Hi, Mira. I am Clara."

As always, Mira made no response; her gaze was cold towards the siblings, but then again, when are they not?

My eyes went to Raphael, who was looking at me disapprovingly. I sighed, "This is Raphael," I introduced, seeing as he was not going to do it himself. I was quick to change the topic, "So what do you guys have for the first period?"

"Biology," Clara answered.

Raphael had chosen this moment to speak for the first time this morning. "Yeah, and we have an uncompleted assignment." He grabbed his sister's hand and dragged them down the hall without so much as another word. I turned towards Mira to find her staring at the space where Clara once stood.

"Why don't you talk much?" I finally decided to ask, and her cold orbs met mine.

"Habit," she replied before walking down the hall, leaving me alone and confused.

I didn't really pay much attention to the things going on around me for the rest of the day. My mind was completely set on Mira, and I found it strange how my world suddenly revolved around her ever since the second I set eyes on her. I was still creeped out from last night; I had been anticipating her call for so long and had just slept it off. It was unfortunate that Mira and I did not have any classes together. I really wanted to ask her more questions.

I stepped out of my chemistry class and groaned when I realized I still had one more class before school was over for the day. The hallways were busy as I made my way to the IT lab, but I couldn't help but listen to the murmuring as I passed. It seemed as though everyone was saying the same thing.

"That girl is a witch."

"Mrs. Harper was so nice."

"She did not deserve what that crazy girl did to her."

"She needs to be stopped."

"The Harper family is beyond devastated."

I prayed to whatever being there was above that they were not talking about Mira, but then again, what are the chances?