CHAPTER 61: FAMILY MEMBERS

In the Wendover mansion, the few workers hurried to complete their tasks for the evening. They couldn’t help but keep glancing slightly at the clock occasionally. It was a little unusual for Shelby and her brother not to be home then.

Shelby was not much of an outgoing person, and everyone in the home knew of all her friends, Ava and Brianna. Shelby was fun and sweet to be with, and they had created somewhat of a schedule where she would hang out with them in the evenings.

The maids looked forward to this time, and the male workers just couldn’t get enough of looking at her. Almost all of them had self-portraits from Shelby, so why wouldn’t they go the extra mile to worry about her?

One could say that it was absurd for them to be worried about Shelby because she was not home then, but Shelby was a creature of habit and did everything in particular ways and at specific times. This situation counted as odd! Extremely!

Even as the workers were worried about the whereabouts of Shelby, her mother, Clara, twirled in front of her mirror after trying on the last dress of the day.

"What do you think of this?"

"You look as beautiful as ever, ma’am,"

The maid politely said and packed the shopping bags away, placing the one bag with Shelby’s clothes on the dresser.

"Remember to send that to Shelby’s room later."

"Yes, ma’am."

Of all the clothes that Clara had bought that were enough to fill up one taxi, only one shopping bag that contained two dresses had been bought for Shelby. The people around them were used to this, so they found nothing unusual about it.

"This is it! I’ll send this to the party tomorrow!" She smiled at her reflection, truly satisfied with herself. Just a few meters from her and the bed, her phone rang continually, and she had been ignoring it.

The maid by her side, who had been helping her, walked quietly and looked at the caller ID on the phone.

"Ma’am, it looks to be Miss Shelby again."

"Ignore it for now. I need to finish my task here, and then I will get back to her."

"But-"

"No one told her not to wait for James at the mall. If she had time to play with her friends, then I also should have the time to do what I like best!"

"I’m sorry, ma’am. I should’ve known better."

"Never you mind. Now, back to what we were doing..."

Clara said, clasping her hands in front of her and admiring herself.

"Get me the purse we bought last week... the one with the matching heeled slip-ons."

Knowing exactly the one that Clara referred to, the maid moved fast and had it in front of Clara in no time. She couldn’t help but keep glancing back at the phone, which kept flashing to show that Shelby was still trying to reach her mother.

She sighed and went down on her knees to help Clara put on her shoes.

***

Back in the park, after James hung up the phone with his wife, he hopped on his car bonnet to enjoy the breeze. He grinned widely and placed his arm as a pillow behind his head, watching the clouds oscillate high above.

Contrary to what people may think, James’ mind and thoughts were the clearest after his snot. He relied on these to get the best out of himself.

He also knew just the right amount to get him going so that his wife would not notice.

James grinned like crazy, satisfied with his achievements for the day.

He relaxed as he relished in the most sought-after feeling. Letting himself go as the trees around him took a life of their own in his eyes. The earth around him moved, and he burst out laughing as if he were watching his favourite comic show. He loved the after-feeling when the world danced before his eyes and the euphoria he felt then. The feeling of leaving one’s body and the thrill that came with it!

"The only thing missing is a fuck-mate! That would have been an icing on the cake." He muttered to himself.

He lit up another cigarette and puffed away, in no hurry to leave the car park.

The man was very sure that he had committed the perfect crime, and that was why he lingered on the scene. He drifted off to sleep in his position, the smile still on his face.

Just then, his phone rang, and this woke him up. He squinted up above at the darkened skies and sat up. He fumbled with the device for a while before peering at the caller ID and froze.

"Fuck! Fuck!"

He screamed out loud in the parking lot, dropping the phone.

"Isn’t that bitch dead?"

His hands trembled, and a leering smile manifested on him. His heart thumped wildly with the rush of adrenalin. It was a mixture of panic and something else he did not know... almost as if it was laced with the excitement of a cat and goose chase. He jumped down from the car bonnet and turned in the direction he had left Shelby, but then, a young couple appeared on a path not far from him, and he stopped short in his tracks.

His action was so sudden that those young lovers clasped hands together, stopped and looked at him strangely.

James lowered his head and turned back to his car, hurriedly cursing under his breath.

He had committed a grave mistake by lingering around the crime scene and only hoped that the growing darkness shielded him enough so that the duo could not identify him later on if the need arose.

’What do I do?’

The girl watched the back of the retreating man and then casually glanced back from where they had come from and smirked.

"Let’s go, honey," the man said, pulling her towards their parked car not far away from James, just as he also pulled out of the lot as if being chased.

James drove for a while, swerving in and out of lanes without regard for other drivers, but he did not return home.

His heart was thumping in his chest as he ran many scenarios in his head, trying to determine what to do. He had missed his only window of righting his wrong or, more like his unfinished task.

"She couldn’t have survived that with that much blood loss. You’re a fool, James! You should have finished her off and made sure of that. Now, what are you going to do?" He talked harshly to himself in reprimand.

He had parked in the lot of his company, so he quickly entered his office and tried to think of what to do.

"I need more clarity!"

He said out loud, gritting his teeth, getting himself more of the white drug to sniff.

After sniffing a few, he calmed down,

"If she is still alive, I must ensure she does not say a word! It was as simple as that... why did I panic? Nearly giving myself away."

He had forgotten his phone in his car, which rang several times with the same caller ID before it stopped.

***

Across town and on one of the high school campuses...

"Hey, Rocky, your sister is gorgeous! You should introduce her to me!" a lanky teenager teased, licking his lips.

"Fuck off!"

"Hey, have you seen her? I betcha 100 bucks that you will drool!"

"You better watch your mouth before I displace it!"

Rocky was with a group of friends. They had just completed their evening extra classes and were about to head out. Initially, one had suggested that they hit the arcade for some fun before they retired home. For fourteen-year-olds, that sounded like a good idea, especially to Rocky, until they started making sexual innuendos about his sister.

Unknown to Shelby, just being her brother had put Rocky in the paths of her pursuers, young and old alike. Rocky hated every moment of it, and he had made himself a somewhat invisible protector of his sister.

"Shut up, man; she is way outside your league and older than you, too!" Another chipped in and slapped the back of the head of the first person who had brought the topic up. However, when he said, ’older than you too....,’ Rocky’s face changed. He was a bit conflicted because he also had a secret crush as old as his sister.

"Ya! Why did you hit me? Have you seen his sister? You should not be this way when I am talking about the truth! She is like an angel descended onto us. Believe me, guys, her beauty is too out-of-the-world. It makes me want to tap that ass even though I am still underage.... Wait a minute, I should grow older faster so that I can make maximum use of everything she’s got to offer; I-"

He never completed the sentence as a heavy punch landed on his face.

Crunch! Blood!

Rocky drew his hand back and prepared for a second lunge before he was stopped. Rocky heaved in anger as the young boy dropped to his knees, both hands covering his nose, as blood seeped out.

"I SAID, DO NOT TALK ABOUT MY SISTER LIKE THAT! I-"

Just then, the sound of his ringtone intruded, and he pulled out his phone; his eyes softened as he glanced at the caller ID. He picked up without hesitation, but his expression froze from what he heard.

*********

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