The Siren Series: Books 1-3 (The Siren Series Boxset)

Chapter One

The darkness gripped me, and it wasn’t letting go. It dragged me down into the dark. My mind was blurry as darkened figures gathered around with talon-like claws. Scratching and stabbing, as my bare flesh succumbed to their brutality. I screamed out in pain as they swarmed around me. I tried to push the figures away until a hot agonising pain shot through my chest, causing the creatures around to cry with joy.

     Ellie Laveau, please pay attention. the teacher asked. 

The voice tore me away from the dark and brought back to reality.

     Ah, crap. I mumbled under my breath. Quickly, I raised my head. 

Mrs Clayson's face was stuck in a constant frown. The teacher wore it nearly every day. (Cheer up woman, it may never happen). 

     Sorry, miss. I said. Mrs Clayson gave me a quick nod and turned her back on the class and continued to write on the board. 

I hated math, and my brain could not keep up with all the ridiculous numbers, but as my Dad says, I have to stick it out until the end. I looked over to my right where Lilly was heavily reading her textbook. Lilly was one of the cute girls, but she never really thought of herself as being pretty. She had long flowing blonde locks, but today it was high in a ponytail to show off her high cheekbones and her slender neck. She loved math, and even tried to teach me at one point, but it wasn’t sticking and she gave up. I love Lilly very much, but the girl, she can be such a know-it-all.   

I was about to finish some answers on my page when the bell made its ear-piercing noise and my heart jumped for joy. I slammed my books shut and threw the rest into my backpack and zipped it up. I hurried out of the class and quickly caught up with Lilly as she waited. She turned to face me and she had her careful look etched onto her face (here we go).

     You were sleeping again, weren’t you? she asked.

Lilly was one of my best friends and I have known her since I came to this school a few years ago. We hit it off quickly and have been friends ever since. She has become the mother of the group, always knew what was best for us.

     Um, yeah I’ve been having trouble sleeping that’s all. I replied. 

     Again? What’s going on with you, Ellie? Are you sick or something? she asked.

     God I hope not, I hate getting sick, I said while feeling my forehead. No, no temperature. I just need sleep, that’s all.  

I hated getting sick. I always felt like I was on death’s door, and, It was so not attractive, always blowing my red nose, coughing up nasty phlegm. Ugh, I just didn’t want to think about that right now.

     Well, maybe you should see the schools nurse? Lilly suggested. You look puffy.   

     I’ll be OK, but thanks. Let’s get something to eat, maybe that will help. I said to change the topic.

We arrived together at the dinner hall, and, as usual, everyone had their little group and sat at the same table every day. The hall had a high white ceiling with long circular lights hanging down low along with a wooden tiled floor that had seen better days. We quickly bought a sandwich and a drink from one of the vending machines. I looked over and saw Becky wave at us from our favourite table, shaking her many bangles attached to her wrist at the same time. Rebecca (Becky for short, as she hates being called Rebecca) was also one of my other best friends and I adored her. 

Becky has a cute little mole on her right cheek, (she calls it her beauty mark, but Lilly and I sometimes tease her about it), Becky’s hair was black as the night, and cut short, she had a thin nose with soft full pink lips that she covers with a bit too much lip-gloss. I sat down at our small table and ate my sandwich; I didn’t realise how hungry I was until I took my first bite.

      So Becky, Lilly started, how was Matthew then? Lilly gave Becky a cheeky little wink.

     No, nothing happened. she sadly said. The teacher didn’t give us a chance, and you know that’s the perfect time when he’s alone. When he’s not in class, he’s surrounded by those friends of his. 

     Do you want us to go with you? I asked. I knew what her answer would be straight away.

     No way, I’m not a kid anymore, Ellie. I quickly stop talking and continued to eat my sandwich. It just drives me mad, we give each other looks, now and then, but none of us can pluck up the courage.

     You’ll get him next time, how does the saying go? Lilly asked. 

     Absence makes the heart grow stronger? I asked. 

     Um, no, I don’t think that’s it but I know where you’re coming from, replied Lilly. Oh yeah, Becky, Ellie has something to tell you.

Uh oh, I knew what this would be. Was it gang up on Ellie day, and with that, I had a major headache going on.

     Don’t tell me she’s been sleeping in class again? Becky said like I wasn’t even in the room.

     Yep. replied Lilly. 

     Ok, can you two get off my back, please!? I haven’t been sleeping well and I’ve got a thumping headache and you are not helping, I felt the anger bubbling deep down. I’m sorry, it’s just that today hasn’t been a pleasant day. 

     Sorry Ellie, you know we’re only joking. said Lilly. 

     Yeah, sorry. added Becky.

Both of them just stared down at their food, feeling ashamed. I took a deep breath and exhaled a big sigh. What was going on with me lately, I’ve been snapping at them a lot, and I was acting bitchy lately? I tried to give the girls a brief smile to ease the tension.

     Sorry girls. I said. 

     Apology accepted, but you owe us now. Becky said immediately.

     Fine. I accepted. The awkwardness soon disappeared between us. I took one last bite of my cheese sandwich and washed it down with some lemonade when the bell rang throughout the enormous hall.

     Let’s go, Becky, we’ve got a class together. I told her.

     O.M.G. I totally forgot about Mr Drop dead gorgeous. Becky said. 

I gave her an eye roll. Let’s just get to class or Mr Thomas will not be so drop dead gorgeous and please do not call him that to his face, I asked. Becky bit her seductive, which I giggled at.

     Behave! Lilly said by playfully throwing a rolled up paper napkin at her.

I threw my rubbish into the bin and brushed myself down. Becky shot a raised eyebrow my way.

     What? I don’t want crumbs on me when I go to the lesson. I said.

     Yeah, whatever. Becky giggled.  

We walked together amongst the crowd of teenagers. It didn’t take us too long to get to our English class since we knew a short cut up the side stairs. We climbed and just around the corner was our next class. We found our seats, lucky enough I was sitting next to Becky, but sometimes we slacked off and just chatted and gossiped about our teacher (well Becky did, I just agreed now and then.)

Mr Thomas had short sandy coloured hair with two-day stubble that looked great on him. It defined his firm jawline and in the right light made me go weak at the knees. His chestnut eyes sparkled as he stood in the class's front. Becky was right, he was drop-dead gorgeous. All the girls had a major thing for him. (I know, I know. It’s just wrong). 

Today we were reading Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. I didn’t know much about it, but I knew that it was sad. Why did Shakespeare write such dark tales? I mean, did he ever look on the brighter side of life? I looked over at Becky and saw how completely enthralled with Mr Thomas as were the other girls. Now and then Mr Thomas gave us his famous crooked smile that everyone loves.

Mr Thomas held up the book. Right class, for a few days we will read Romeo and Juliet His voice was soft yet commanding.

He flipped open the pages and read. His soft manly voice flowed naturally as he quotes the words of Romeo to his imaginary Juliet, totally captivated as he read from his book. He then asked some students to read passages from the book, and he then asked them what they thought it meant. Some of them gave stupid answers while others gave in-depth analysis to the meaning. Thank god he never invited me to read, I hated reading out loud, too much pressure.

     Isn’t he gorgeous? drooled Becky.

Now and then his eyes would meet mine and I would blush all over and I would then stick my face straight into the book to avoid him.

What had seemed like minutes had turned into a full hour. It was time to pack up and head home. Becky was fast to put her things away and zoomed out of the class, but she turned back.

     I’ll wait outside for you, OK. she said.

I nodded to her and went back to packing my overly packed backpack. One of these days this bag will fall apart. When I finished, I noticed that I was the last one in the room except Mr Thomas. He was tidying some papers away on his desk.

     Don’t you want to go home, Ellie? asked Mr Thomas.

     Yeah, just packing this bag, the zip keeps jamming all the time. I replied.

He came around each of the tables to collect the abandoned books that he had provided. There was one book sitting on my table and without thinking I kindly passed it to him and for a split second my hand touched his. (Oh crap).

I knew what would happen, and I looked into his deep brown eyes. Mr Thomas’s pupils doubled in size. I could feel his heat flowing through his body and into mine. It felt wrong and right all mixed into one being. He came closer towards me and I immediately pulled my hand away and ran straight to the door. I hurried down the stairs so fast that I nearly fell. I had to sit down and take a breath. My head was spinning and I couldn’t breathe. I undid my buttons on my blazer to let chilly air try to calm me. I sat on the icy rubber floor with my back to the wall. This cannot happen again. I don’t want it. Tears flowed down my face (crying at school was such a big no, no) I tried to get my breathing under control when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. 

No, don’t come up here, please. I thought. 

I was just about to get up and leave when I heard a familiar voice calling my name. The two girls came up the stairs with worried looks. 

When I saw them, I cried again. Becky and Lilly rushed over to me on the floor and were about to hug me.

     Don’t I yelled, and they backed away.

     Sorry, Ellie. Becky said.

Becky and Lilly knew not to touch me but now and then they would forget and I had to keep on reminding them, even though I hated it, they knew about my so-called condition.

     Don’t worry, we know it’s not your fault, don’t cry, we’re here now.

I was so lucky to have them as my best friends; they mean the world to me. But the sad thing is, I can never touch them. They never once judged the things that happen to me. They just accept me and that’s why I love them.

     It happened again, didn’t it? Lilly asked.

I gave her a quick nod.

     Who was it? Lilly’s voice was soft.

     Mr Thomas, I replied. 

     Not Mr Drop dead gorgeous. said Becky.

Lilly gave Becky a slight nudge.

     Sorry Becky, I know you like him. I said. But he did nothing to me. I ran out of there just in time. 

     Don’t be so hard on yourself, said Becky, it’s not like you control it, it just happens.

Becky was right. I had no control over it what so ever when I accidently touch people. The people I touch, they change, and I don’t know how or why they just do. Even my friends, I have to watch who I meet, like last year. I tripped over some idiot’s bag in class, and I fell lucky the teacher caught me. (Well, not lucky). As soon as he grabbed me, he changed. His eyes went wild and crazy. He tried to rip my clothes off in front of the class while saying real horrible graphical stuff to me. He forcefully sought to kiss me. Thankfully, if it wasn’t for the other students and the teacher’s God know what he would have done. Unfortunately, for him, he’s no longer working at the school, and it was my fault. I want nothing like that to happen again.

     Let’s get you home, Ellie. said Becky 

I wiped my wet face with the back of my hand. Lilly and Becky were the first on their feet. I grabbed onto the bannister and pulled myself up. 

The three of us walked down the stairs and into the darkly lit carpeted hallway. It felt weird being in school after hours. Normally kids were pushing and running down the halls, but now it just felt spooky and empty. I followed the girls as we exited the building and into the warm June sunlight. The fresh air whipped around me in playful blows and it felt good against my clammy skin, cooling and refreshing me at the same time. The three of us walked out of the school grounds in awkward silence. I stood by the school gates, ready to say my goodbyes.  

     Do you want us to walk you home, Ellie? asked Lilly. 

     No thanks, it’s only ten minutes away, I’ll be fine. I replied. 

     Are you sure? Becky asked.

     Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll speak to you later, OK. I answered.

I turned my back on my friends, walked home. My girls were always there for me and I don’t know what I would do without them. They always knew what to do and how to do it, Becky and Lilly were all I had. Well, except my Dad, (crap). I will be late getting home. He worries about me a lot, with good reason.

I quickly picked up my speed when something caught my eye. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle and my entire body shivered as if a sharp wind rippled through me. My mind was shouting at me, telling me not to look, but something inside of me wanted to see what it was. I turned around, and expected the worst, but what I saw was more breathtaking than anything. A beautiful woman stood in front of me with a gentle smile.

Chapter Two

The woman who stood before me was beautifully stunning. She had long red flaming hair that flowed in waves down to her breasts. The woman’s eyes were a bright fiery red, and she aimed them right at me. The beautiful woman walked towards me, closing the brief gap between us, one step at a time. It was like I had turned to stone on the spot. As soon as she got within arm’s reach she smiled the most heartwarming smile, showing a set of white teeth. I just stood there looking at her, lost in her beauty. Her face looked like it was carved from marble with no blemishes, no uneven skin tone, just beauty. Her dark rose lips had the perfect cupid’s arrow I’ve ever seen. This woman looked like they created her from the gods themselves.

     Ellie? she asked.

I’m taken aback when she speaks my name. Her voice was smooth and delicate with a hint of allure.

I gathered myself and answered. Yes, that’s me. 

The woman gave another angelic smile. You’ve grown so much. she said.

I immediately took a few steps back, which she noticed. I did not know who this woman was.

     There’s no need to be afraid, Ellie. She gave a slight giggle. I’m sorry if I’m scaring you. Her smile died and a stern stare replaced it.

     Who are you? I asked. I noticed that my voice was not steady as it should have been.

     My name is not important right now. she replied. I could have listened to her voice all day.

I slowly found my voice. Then I think we’re done here. I said.

I was about to turn and walk away when she called out my name again with her seductive voice, Ellie, please be careful.  

I continued to walk away from the beautiful woman, ignoring her words, and quickly headed home.  

As soon as I saw my house I nearly ran to the door but decided against it.  My home was not big or fancy but it was ideal for me and my Dad, it was kinda’ small but that’s what I liked about it. It was just the two of us since my Mother died when I was young. Our house was in fact plain except for the beautiful rose designs on the glass windows and the door, the roof tiled in a dull grey colour. Some roofing slates were missing or badly discoloured. The building work was of red brick, but like the tiles on the roof, the brick had lost some of its colour. I crept by the window and peaked in and saw my dad sitting there with a cup of his favourite drink, tea. Seeing him sitting in the living room put an enormous smile on my face.

I opened the front door to see my Dad staring in my direction. Uh oh, I forgot that I was late getting home.

     And where have you been, young lady? he asked. His tone wasn’t angry, but very concerned.

My Dad gets worried about me easily. Me and the girls lost track of time that’s all. I lied.

My Dad wasn’t stupid at all and he knew if I was lying, which was now. But he’s one of them Dads that never pushes.

     Is that true? he stared at me while sitting in his chair. I did not dare move.

     Don’t do it again. he asked.

     I won’t, I promise, Dad. I replied. He went back to drinking his tea and reading something in the paper.

I left him in the living room while I ran upstairs and threw my bag in my room. I changed into my oversized lazy clothes, a large oversized T-shirt and some baggy pyjama bottoms. I wiped some of my make-up off with a wet wipe (I wasn’t going anywhere else today anyway). I grabbed a quick snack from the fridge downstairs in the kitchen and sat lazily on the sofa watching TV.

     Are you watching anything? I asked him.

     Watch what you want. he replied without moving his gaze from his paper.

I scanned through the boring channels, cooking shows and poorly acting soap operas with crappy plot lines flew across the screen. I finally settled for an action TV series that I only just caught the end of. My Dad put down the paper and entered the kitchen. As he opened the kitchen door, a familiar smell sneaked its way towards me I knew very well. I inhaled deeply as the succulent smell of garlic and basil shot towards me. Dad was making my favourite food, spaghetti and his famous (well, not famous) tomato sauce that I loved. Italian food was my favourite. I have always enjoyed it since I was a young.  

     Smells good. I commented as I entered the kitchen.

     Yeah, I was in the mood for spaghetti, and I know it’s your favourite. he replied.

     When’s it ready? I impatiently asked.

     It’s nearly ready just a few more minutes, he replied, so how was school then?

My heart skipped a beat. Yeah same as always. I said nonchalantly. 

I expected him to say something else, or to ask more question, but luckily, he didn’t. Dad searched the cupboards for the plates and knives and forks.

     Did you move the plates? he asked.

     No, Dad. They are in there. Check the top. I replied.

I felt guilty, so I got on my tiptoes and felt my way around for the hidden plates. Finally, finding them, I grabbed two and took the knives and forks from my Dad and placed them onto the small kitchen table while he strained the spaghetti. I helped myself to the grated cheese in the fridge and placed it in the middle of the table. I pulled back the wooden chair and sat at the table, waiting. The delicious smells toyed with me while I sat. He dished the spaghetti onto two plates and topped it off with the garlic and basil tomato sauce. In less than a minute of it being in front of me, I forked mouthfuls of spaghetti straight into my mouth. Dad sat across the kitchen table from me, enjoying his meal. I was about to eat another mouthful when I noticed that the kitchen was silent. Normally the TV would play loud in the other room or Dad would talk (or more likely blabbing about something), but there was silence, and it was weird. 

I broke the uncomfortable silence. Dad? He looked up from his plate to meet my eyes. I met a woman outside school today. I told him about the creepy, yet beautiful woman. 

He continued to listen. She was an older woman and I’ve never seen her before in my life, she was very weird. 

Slowly, I watched my Dad as he placed his fork to the side.

     Tell me a bit about her. he asked.

     Um ok, she had long red hair, very attractive, older than me, and she said that she knows me? I answered, she was beautiful Dad and I mean beautiful. 

     Hm. he mumbled. I’ve known no one like that, but If you ever see this woman again, please tell me. he asked. 

I’m confused, but I agreed. OK, but I don’t think I’ll see her again. but deep down I knew somehow I would. 

     Is the first time you’ve seen her? he asked. 

     Yeah I replied.

     Was that the reason you’re late? 

     Yes, and no. But Dad, if I see her again I will tell you OK. I said reassuring him.

I scraped around my plate to finish the last few bites. With an empty plate, I took it over to the sink. 

My Dad leaned to one side in his chair for his all-time favourite, his forehead kiss. I kissed his forehead to say thank you. (You’re never too old to give your Dad a quick kiss, so don’t judge) Something wasn’t right, but I put it to the back of my mind. I headed upstairs to my bedroom and grabbed my laptop from my bedside table. The girls were usually online, and I needed to tell them about that strange woman. Why did I have such a crappy day today? I doubled clicked on the laptop’s mouse pad, and I waited for one of them to pick up. Within a few seconds, my two best friends were on the screen side by side. 

     Hi girls. I said. 

     You all right, Ellie? asked Lilly. 

I repositioned my screen so they could see me better. Lilly was looking at some papers and Becky was in the middle of curling her hair. 

     Yeah, I’m fine, but my Dad noticed something was up when I walked straight through the door. I said.

     God, he must have something like a sixth sense or something, Becky said while trying not to burn her fingers.  Did he say anything?

     Well, not really, he just gave me that look. I replied. 

     Oh, we all know that look. added Lilly.

     Yeah, my Dad gives me that look all the time. said Becky.

     Is there something else you’re not telling us? You seem a little quite tonight and a bit agitated.

     Ah crap was I really that easy to read. I asked.

     Yes. they both said together.

     It’s obvious, Ellie. said Becky.

I bit my lip to try to not look guilty, but that made it even worse. I couldn’t keep anything from these girls.

I gave a deep sigh. Fine, when I was on my way home I bumped into this woman, and she was a beautiful-looking woman, and I’m talking top model beauty. She said that she knew me, but I’ve never seen this woman in my life and I told my Dad about her. But he didn’t know her either.

     Did she hurt you? asked Becky.

     No, she didn’t. She just stood there talking, but I speechless, I was kinda’ star struck. I replied.

     Good, as least she didn’t hurt you. said Lilly. 

Becky and Lilly started chatting amongst themselves, Lilly commenting on Becky’s hair and about techniques with curlers. I watched them as they talked amongst themselves, but I wasn’t. I just sat there staring at the screen, ignoring everything around me. I could hear something calling out to me and I couldn’t really make it out. Slowly, more voices piled on top of each other, making the cries unbearable. I placed my hands over my ears tightly to drown the harsh noise. The loud voices echoed each other and called out my name many times, but I tried to ignore them.

     Stop, stop it. I screamed.

The deafening calls gradually faded away, and in the background a clear voice called out to me. It was my Dad; he was calling my name. The room around me came into focus and I was lying on the floor, arms and legs fully tucked up to my chest.

I lifted my dizzy head to see his worried face staring intensely down at me. He bent down and scooped me up from the floor and carried me onto the bed. As soon as I tried to relax a sharp searing pain shot through my head, burning like fire. I tried my best to hide the pain.

     Are you all right, Ellie? he quickly asked.

     Yeah, I-I’m fine I lied through gritted teeth.

My mouth felt dry, and I didn’t have the energy to speak anymore.

     What happened? He asked.

I turned my head to one side to notice that the girls were still watching me on the laptop. Their eyes were wide open and full of horror. My Dad noticed the laptop and walked over. He said his quick goodbyes and switched it off.

     Ellie, are you going to tell me what happened or do we have go to the hospital? he asked again.

I cleared my dry throat. No! I quickly said.

     What happened? he asked.

     I don’t know. I was talking to the girls, and I felt this pain in my head and that was it, I said, how long was I out for?

     Not long, I heard a bang from your bedroom and when I looked in you were lying on the floor. he said. You scared the life out of me when I saw you curled up. 

     I fell? I didn’t feel it, I winced when I tried to sit up. Oh, I will feel that in the morning. I said. I’m fine though Dad. 

     Ok, I think you need an early night, if something like this happens again you need to tell me right away. Understand? he said. 

     Yes. I answered him. 

     Goodnight. he kissed me on the forehead and closed the door behind him.

I slowly climbed out and made myself ready for bed. I took off my pyjama bottoms and got back into bed. What was that about? Was I ill or maybe going crazy? Did I just have a breakdown? How the hell would I know? Anyway, time for sleep. I tried to get into a comfortable position but couldn't, something was bothering me but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Today was one hell of a day and it pissed me off that crap like this was happening to me, and that weird woman didn't help at all. Who was she? Maybe she’s an escaped mental patient, but what about the stuff she was saying to me? If I ever see her again, I must be very careful.

Chapter Three

I woke up in the darkness. There were strange noises outside my window that did not seem to go away. I threw back the blanket and got to my feet, and I fumbled my way to the window to check out the weird scratching noise. Darkness had claimed the street, and not even the lamps were on, which was strange because they annoyed the hell out of me. The other houses across the street were dark too. Not a single light lit within the buildings. I opened my bedroom window to find where the annoying noise was coming from. I tried to look out into the darkness, but there was no use. Ignoring the sound, I turned away from the window and my heart started beating rapidly within my chest.

Standing in my doorway was something not of this earth. It took the form of a tall man, but it with no facial features, no eyes, and thin slits for a nose. The only thing it had was a mouth with sharp teeth. It faced me, grinning a horrifying smile. I stood there rooted to the spot while the monster faced my direction.

How can it see me, it has no eyes? I thought. 

I tried to scream, or to move, but something was stopping me from doing so. The faceless creature glided smoothly towards me. My heart pounded in my chest and my hands shook. Was I about to die? The creature was now within arm’s length from me. The faceless monster gave off a foul stench, smelling of rotten eggs combined with raw sewage. It nearly made me gag. My eyes and throat burned with the strong fumes. He lifted its worn, bony arm and tried to grab hold of me with his putrid fingers along its sharp black fingernails. The creature grabbed at my throat, his skeleton claws burned into my flesh. I tried to scream out, but the pain was too much.

The disgusting creature’s smile grew wider and more terrifying. Tears ran down my face as the pain intensified. It tightened its grip on my throat until I finally found enough strength to scream. The monster released its hold and disappeared back into the darkness. I fell to the floor gasping for air, and my throat burned with every fresh breath I took. I closed my eyes just for a second when I felt the darkness take me.

I opened my eyes to the bright, warm sun shining on my face. I lay in my bed, all tucked up. I shot up, throwing the sheets off me, and headed straight for the mirror. I checked frantically for marks around my neck, but there wasn’t any. I remembered the agonising burning pain of last night’s attack, but there were no signs, no bruises, nothing.

While looking for the marks on my neck, I caught a glimpse of my face. I had deep black circles under my emerald eyes, and my face was deadly pale and my brown natural wavy curls were a total mess. I jumped in my en suite shower (god; I love my en suite) and put the water on full blast. The warm water felt good against my cold, clammy skin, I took some of my favourite strawberry body wash and lathered myself up. I stepped back into the blast of the refreshing water and washed it all away. I took some silky shine shampoo and massaged it into my hair slowly, finally finishing I stepped out of the shower shivering. 

I quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself. In my bedroom I opened one of my desk draws, inside was my hair dryer, a girl’s best friend. I made sure my hands were dry as I plugged it into the socket. A blast of warm air shot out through the hair dryer. It was a godsend. My wet tangled hair blew playfully around my face as I tried to brush out the tangles. (Ouch, why did I have long hair?) I opened my small wardrobe, taking my clean uniform from the rail. Not that bad of a uniform, and I had seen worse. It was a white blazer with a black skirt along with a light blue t-shirt. I didn’t mind wearing the skirts, but on a windy day, it was hell.

I changed into my uniform quickly, then ran back into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I slapped some simple makeup on (not the ho-ish’ type like some people). I put some concealer on my dark bags and a bit of blush on my cheeks to get rid of that grey.  I covered my bags without having to make my face orange.

I grabbed a hair band from the bedside table and quickly tied my hair up into a ponytail. I threw some of my important books into my backpack and ran down the stairs. I wanted to grab something easy to eat from the kitchen when I stopped dead. Sitting in the kitchen eating toast was my favourite Aunty in the whole wide world. I dropped my bag on the kitchen floor and ran over to her and gave her an enormous hug.

Hugging Aunt Kate seemed to shut entire world out, I felt safe in her arms. I inhaled her sweet strawberry scent on her clothes; I love so much. Kate slowly stroked my hair (I loved it when she did that). She took a step back and looked at me from top to bottom. Kate looks a lot like my Dad, and you could tell they were related. They had the same nose, and both had the same shade of emerald eyes. She had short shoulder ebony hair that was perfectly straight. Kate wasn’t a tall woman, and she knew it, but she was the woman who would let nothing stop her and I loved her for it.

     You’ve grown again, haven’t you? Kate turned to look at my Dad and he nodded.

     Have I? I smiled. Kate, why are you here?

Kate laughed. Do I need a reason to see my lovely niece?

I just stood and stared at her. Are you buying any of this? she asked.

I shook my head. Fine, I’m here to take you to school, she finished with a warm-hearted smile.

     Dad, do you need to monitor me? I’m fine, really. I said.

     Your Father has told me a few things about what’s been going on and, to be honest, I agree with him. Kate said.

     Agree with what? I asked.

     That, from now on, Kate will take to school and bring you back. I’m getting worried about you, Ellie. Are you OK with this? Dad asked.

I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Fine, I agreed.

I took some fruit for the road (It’s good for you) and said a quick goodbye to Dad before we headed out the door. We jumped into Kate’s car. It wasn’t a big flashy car, but it still did the job. I did not understand what make it was since I have no clue with cars but it had three doors two at the side and one in the back. I buckled my seat belt and Kate drove away from the house. As soon as the car was away from the house, Kate talked.

     Right, what’s going on then. she blurted out.

With problems, Kate didn’t mess about. She liked to get to the root of the problem straight away, and with me she wasted no time to sort it out.

     Don’t know what you mean, I said shyly.

     Ellie, this is me you are talking to now. she said.

     I know, I know. I’ve been having these weird dreams and this woman just turned up out of nowhere yesterday and asked me things. She even knew my name which was weird. I said all at once.

     Was she one of your Dad’s friends? Kate asked.

     No, he said, he’s never seen her before, I replied. She freaked me out a little, though.

     Well, if you ever see that woman again, tell me and I will sort her out. Kate laughed.

Hearing Kate, laughter was bliss it lifted some of my worries off my shoulders.   

The car came to a complete stop and Kate turned from the wheel and gave me a bright smile.

     Do you want me to come and pick you up later? Your Dad says I have to, but... Kate waited for my answer.

I took a moment to think it over. Better had or he’ll be mad at us, I said. I opened the car door and was about to say my goodbyes when Kate leant her head out of the window.

     Ellie, Kate talked and her face grew solemn. Please be careful, OK? she finally said.

I just stood, staring at Kate. Her face fixed with worry. But why was Kate worried about me suddenly? I gave her a quick reassuring smile and walked away from the car. I heard her pull away from the kerb and beep as I walked through the school grounds. Walking towards the building, I went over in my mind what lessons I had today. Double English, I was not looking forward to that. Science, I liked, but sometimes it was annoying. I could always talk it over it over with the girls. They’d always make me feel better. I didn’t realise it at first, but I was way past the school’s primary entrance and there was no sign of Lilly or Becky anywhere.

They should’ve been here already. We always meet up around here. I checked my phone to see if they left any messages, but there were none. I kept looking around when I heard the vilest voice I knew, Beth.

She trudged