Hearing his footsteps, Nadia looked behind her. "I must say Colton,
you look a lot better without pizza sauce all over you," she
giggled. Turning back to the kitchen, she said, "Are you sure? The
least I can do is help out after all you've done for me."
"I will ignore the first part of that and take it as a compliment,"
he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He pulled out one of
the seats at the bar-like counter and sat down, figuring that his
assistance in the kitchen was no longer needed or wanted. "Don't
worry, dear, we'll find some work for you once you're feeling
completely better," the woman said with a smile. "Any specific
toppings you'd like?"
"No, I'm good with anything." Taking a seat next to Colt, She
leaned against the counter, resting her chin in one hand and
drumming her fingers with the other. Another one of Nadia's habits,
really, she needed to learn to sit still. Her mind went to the
paper in her back pocket. Fingers reaching for it, she pulled it
out, unfolding it underneath the counter and glancing down at it to
read it once more.
Hearing the rustle of paper, he glanced over at her momentarily,
but was distracted by Angel letting out a growl in the direction of
the side yard, surprising the whole family. The collie rarely, if
ever, so much as bared her teeth. However, after a moment, she
calmed down and laid her chin back on her paws. Colt narrowed his
eyes, a little twinge of foreboding rising in his chest.
Glancing up from the paper, Nadia was more confused than uneasy.
She'd hardly ever heard dogs growl, so it suprised her. But when
she saw the look on Colt's face, she grew concerned. "Is this..not
normal for Angel?"
Colt's dad answered for him, shaking his head slowly, setting down
his newspaper and reaching forwards to scratch the dog behind her
ears. "It's not normal at all, no." Colt frowned as Cam stuck the
first pizza into the oven, set the timer, then moved towards the
door, opening it and looking out into the yard.
Someone was already walking away by the time Cam opened the door,
but there was another note. This one read: "Don't listen to him.
He's misguided. We apologize for the inconvenience. Winners should
never be disturbed when the game is complete."
Cam narrowed his eyes. "What in the name of hushpuppies is this?"
he muttered, shutting the door and locking it, well aware that it
was glass and therefore if someone really wanted to get in they
could. Reading it aloud, he walked over to hand it to his father.
Colt turned to look at Nadia, confusion and slight panic in his
eyes.
Nadia's eyes were wide with fear and shock. "Well.." she brought
out her own peice of paper. "I think it has something to do with
this." She read it aloud. "I think..maybe it's the trauma talking,
but I think this has something to do with the Killing Game." She
glanced at the paper in Mr. Taylor's hand. "Angel must have been
growling at whoever put that there, and I don't think it was the
same person who put this note on the window. I think they were
trying to chase them away." She ran a hand through her hair,
drumming her fingers against the paper. "It's over." she muttered.
"It's all over. You're safe now."
Colt laid a hand on Nadia's shoulder, wanting to comfort her but
knowing this was something that had to be talked over. The
possibilities, the implications, weren't good, and he knew that,
but at this point, it was far more dangerous to not talk about
them. "Could Dan have left that?" he said softly, nodding to the
first note. The handwriting certainly didn't look like an adult's.
Of course, if Dan had left the note that Nadia held, what did that
mean for the the one that Cam had found?
"It could be..but why would he want our help? It's not like we
could do anything, he's on the run, and he deserves to be punished
for what he did." She shuddered violently just thinking about being
trapped in the boiler room. "It makes sense though. He hurt us
both, and I guess he wants..help? But why from me or you? Why did
he have to drag this from Morshton Acaademy? I thought I was
finally safe!"
"Nadia, you are safe. We're going to be okay. I will
not let him hurt you again. But that second note is what
worries me. That sounds like something the principal would say, and
I'm voicing this opinion because we're going to figure it out. We
had some robbers break in to our house about three years ago, and
since then, Dad's installed some security cameras around the
outside," he said softly, doing his best to keep his voice steady,
reassuring, and calm. However, internally, all his fear and anxiety
was crashing back in on him. He wasn't a claustrophobic person; far
from it, actually. But after the whole boiler room ordeal, he
wouldn't trust Dan with so much as borrowing a cup of sugar. Colt
took his phone from his pocket and opened the app that allowed him
to monitor the cameras, turning the time back thirty minutes and
speeding up the feed before holding it out so Nadia could see. Cam
walked over behind him and leaned on the back of Colt's chair,
watching with them as the parents walked to Mr. Taylor's office and
spoke in hushed voices.
Nadia forced herself to look at the cameras, trying to calm down.
She knew she was much safer here than at Morshton Academy, under
the principal's thumb, but all of this didn't help to calm her
nerves. But she really tried. She was able to keep herself stable
enough to nod and say in a slightly shaky voice, "If he does come,
what would he want? The principal doesn't have any power outside of
the school. What do I, or you, have that he wants? How, for another
fact, does he know where you live?"
Rubbing his temple, Colt tried to recall something that Mrs.
Luswire had said to him. "Not the real principal..." he muttered,
frowning. Then a thought crossed his mind. The figure in the
parking lot. Well, mushrooms, he grimaced slightly, but said
nothing, seeing Nadia was already worked up enough. "I have no
idea," he said aloud.
She sighed. "I wish I had never come to Morshton Academy, but then
again, that wouldn't change anything, would it?" She looked at the
papers, then Colt. "But I'm glad I ended up here, where I feel
safe." She wiped the fear off of her face, sighing again. "I don't
think there's anything to be done, so...brush this off, I suppose?
Unless you have a better idea."
"It was a horrible experience, and if I could go back and make it
so you didn't have to go through it, I would, regardless of the
consequences I'm about to mention. But if you'd never gone, guess
where I'd be? Probably dead, along with Salene and her brothers and
all the other kids there. You got you and I through that, and it
was because of your work on the firewall that we were able to call
for help." He squeezed her shoulder, smiling gently. "I think Mom
and Dad are discussing it. They'll probably report it to the
police, who can investigate," Cam said, straightening.
Nadia looked up at him. "Seriously? I didn't think.." she paused.
"Well, wishing won't change anything. Certainly won't heal the
wound, but I guess if the police are going to be investigating,
they'll find out what went on." Nadia was silent for a minute,
before saying suddenly, "How long does it take pizza to cook? I'm
starving."
Cam laughed aloud, glancing at the timer. "Still got ten minutes,
chica. Just wait un poco más." Colt groaned. His brother had taken
Spanish all through middle and high school, and, knowing that Colt
himself had no idea how to speak it, loved to switch out random
words in his sentences.
Nadia raised an eyebrow. "Es curioso cómo crees que cambiar al
español te dará confianza. Porque te ves estúpido." Did Cam know
that she spoke fluent spanish? If not, this would be amusing.
"¡Le ruego que me disculpe, jovencita! Estoy muy fresco y
confianza, muchas gracias," Cam exclaimed, feigning offense. Colt
sighed and stood. "Alright, I am out of here before my Latin
confuddles everything."