I didn’t bother asking why. When we reached his place, I was expecting to see maybe a small cozy house that went along with Damian’s personality, not the colonial style, mansion-like brick structure that looked straight from the seventeenth century. Even through the haze of the rain it looked old, but beautiful.

“Let’s go,” Daniel said, turning off the car and collecting his things.

“I’m fine waiting out here,” I told him. If it was just a pitstop, I didn’t need to bother getting out of the car before he brought me home.

Daniel sighed. “I need to speak with you about something and sitting in my car in the rain isn’t exactly the best setting. I’ll come get you with the umbrella.”

I chewed on my lower lip and waited as he exited the car and came to get me. I brought my things with me and hurried to keep up with his long legs as we made our way to the front door and then inside. I could tell the house was built a long time ago, but had been carefully maintained, especially on the inside. It was very French country.

“You didn’t get too wet, did you?” he asked, looking me up and down when we entered the foyer.

I shook a few droplets of water from my hair and bag. If my hair hadn’t already gone back to its curly state, I’d look like a lion with a very unstylish mane. “No, I’m fairly dry.” The house was freakishly neat, but it felt so empty. “Are your parents home?”

“No.”

There were no personal items anywhere like it was a staged home. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked, getting to the point.

“Not here. The sunroom.”

I followed him as he started walking through the house, really hoping he was aware of how strange he was being. I couldn’t get a read on him at all. We’d barely spoken to each other and now he had something apparently so important to say to me that he thought bringing me to his house was the wisest decision.

My eyes were going everywhere to distract me from the tenseness between us. We passed the living room and the kitchen that were so nicely decorated. Like the foyer, it was immaculate and held no personal items. The kitchen was so clean like nobody ever used it.

The sunroom was a large room just off the kitchen that had a wall of windows facing east. The rest of the walls were painted white, and there was a large white couch opposite the windows with two grey accent chairs beside it. In the middle of the room was long, hexagonal glass coffee table. In a corner was a large chest with an old-fashioned padlock on it and next to that was a tall bookcase filled with books.

“You can have a seat anywhere,” he told me though everything looked too pristine to touch. There was rustling and a few other muffled sounds coming from back the way we came that caught his attention. “I’ll be right back.”

I sat on one of the accent chairs when he left, dropping my bag at my feet. It felt weird being in their home. I’d only been to Natalia’s house once and we’ve been friends for months. The twins and I haven’t known each other a week yet. Not to mention I didn’t know anything about them aside from the fact that they lived in a house bigger than mine.

Curious and antsy being left alone, I turned my attention to the bookshelf and made my way over. I used to love reading when I was younger, but after moving to a different country and having to prioritize other things, I never quite got back into it. All the titles I managed to recognize whether or not I had read them looked like they fell into the supernatural genre of fiction.

Since they were so neatly placed on the shelf, I took note of the position of a thick, old book before pulling it off the shelf and bring it back to my seat. Not long after I sat down, I looked up to see a girl standing at the opposite end of the room. She was tall with dip-dyed red shoulder length hair, and pale skin. She was strikingly beautiful with light brown eyes and high cheekbones.

The loose t-shirt dress and camel coat she wore couldn’t hide her curves or her breasts which only made me aware of how much smaller mine were in comparison. Her makeup was done flawlessly and the netted tights and patent combat boots she wore brought my attention to her long legs.

She could’ve easily been mistaken for some celebrity or model. Or maybe she was one.

Was she a relative of his?

“Who are you?” she asked, one perfectly shaped eyebrow raised in question. Her winged liner was sharp enough to kill.

She obviously hadn’t expected a guest in her home, and I suddenly felt like I was intruding. “I-I’m a friend of Daniel’s,” I said, standing and placing the book on the glass table. “Nina.”

She pursed her lips as she looked me over and I couldn’t help but feel rugged like I hadn’t managed to dress myself properly that morning. Was my tie crooked? When was the last time I cleaned my shoes? I’d worn my school blazer, but it weighed on my shoulders and made me feel like a child under her gaze.

“Friend?” she asked when her eyes finally made their way back to my face.

Daniel rushed into the room, appearing behind her. “They’re in the kitchen, Leah,” he said. “Can you excuse us. I need to talk to my friend about something important.”

Leah looked back at him with a smile. “You don’t have friends, Danny.”

“Maybe I do now.” He gestured to the kitchen. “If you could please…”

She didn’t look back at me as she headed out the way he showed her. It might have been because I was in unfamiliar territory but there seemed to be some tension between the two of them even though she smiled at him. I was proven right when she reached for his face and he moved out of her touch.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel said lowly as he moved to sit on the couch. “I didn’t know she’d be here.”

“Relative of yours?” I asked, sitting back in the seat I was in before.

Daniel looked downright disgusted. “No,” he answered simply. His eyes landed on the book I had placed on the table when Leah had entered the room, then looked at the spot where it came from on the shelf. “What were you doing?”

“I used to love books.” I picked up the book and replaced it on the shelf. The gold dusted spine had appealed to me, but now that Daniel was back, I didn’t need it to pass the time. “Are you going to tell me what you wanted to talk to me about?”

Daniel pressed his lips together and sighed. “I don’t think there is any good way to break this to you, so I’ll just come out with it. You said you wouldn’t call the cops, so I’m holding you to that.”

I was about to ask him what in the world he was on about when he started again.

“The guy that helped you out that evening you went for a run was me.”

I froze.

“The guy that’s been visiting you recently…”

“I-I-I know.”

“I am that person.”

I swallowed the lump growing in my throat. “We’ve been seeing each other at school all week. Why are you just telling me this now?”

He appeared to relax a bit. I guess my initial reaction was over with. “I didn’t want you to think I was some creepy stalker.”

“Well, are you?”

“No!” he exclaimed, raising his hands in surrender. “I promise, I’m not. I was out walking when I saw that guy grab you. They didn’t look like the friendly type and I wanted to help. They were too distracted by you to see me sneak past them. Once I helped you out, I got away and went looking for you to make sure you were alright. You must be one fast runner because I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“Except the night you snuck in through my bedroom window,” I pointed out.

“Well, I kind of found out where you lived some time before then,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as if he was trying to recall when. “This might be the creepy part, but I just watched you sleep. I wanted to make sure you were alright. I realized you were having nightmares and I assumed it was because of that night.”

“That is creepy.”

He gave me a flat look. “I’m not good with people, alright? I’m also aware of how bad this sounds, but I just wanted to do the right thing and make sure you were okay. I didn’t have to tell you, you know. I could’ve kept it to myself, but I chose to come clean. Maybe I’m not well versed in the creepy stalker handbook, but I’m almost certain they wouldn’t do that.”

I was just starting to relax when a thought hit me. “If you aren’t stalking me, then why did you end up at my school?”

“That was purely coincidence. I was stunned when you walked into the principal’s office.”

“Does Damian know?”

“Not the specifics and I’d appreciate if you didn’t bring it up to him.”

I nodded slowly, falling silent. I didn’t know what to think or say but I didn’t have much of a reason to not believe what he said. He told me everything knowing full well I could call the police the second I was alone and have him arrested for harassment or stalking or trespassing. But he hadn’t harassed me. If he had done anything to hurt me, I would have without a doubt reported him already.

My phone buzzed suddenly, tearing me away from my thoughts. “I have to get this,” I said when I saw Zayne’s name on the screen. I answered it. “Hey, Z.”

“I heard school got out early. Where are you? The school looked deserted. I texted you, but you haven’t replied. Are you alright? Do I need to come pick you up somewhere?”

“Calm down, I’ll be home soon,” I said.

“Well, hurry. I’m about to order food. You want some?”

“Chinese?” I asked hopefully. School didn’t last long enough for my lunch period, so I hadn’t eaten anything since that morning.

“Nope. Indian,” he said and hung up before I could argue with him over it.

I pocketed my phone again and asked, “Can you please take me home?”

“Are you upset with me?” Daniel asked softly.

“No. I believe you did what you did with good intentions but it’s still kind of…”

“Creepy?”

“Yeah.”