SORROW WOODS (30 page)

“Those little things don’t matter anymore, Serena. You need to come with me right now.”

I shake my head, not quite believing that my Mother is sitting right in front of me in the

middle of the mall. There are so many things that I want to ask her.

“I can’t just go.” I tell her.

She blinks. “Why not? Do you love your real parents more than you love me?”

I don’t know what to say. It’s not really a question of loving them, is it? They are my real

parents and the woman sitting in front of me is nothing more than a child snatcher. It’s why I don’t understand why I’m so happy to see her and am desperate to get up and go with her, even though I

know that what she did was evil.

“I can’t,” I finally whisper, “I’m here with my cousin.”

My mother laughs. “It doesn’t matter, just get up and follow me.”

“No,” I say, “I can’t.”

She blinks. “Why not?”

“It’s not right. I can’t leave them again.”

“Don’t be so ridiculous, Serena,” she snaps, “they don’t know you like I know you. You don’t

know them like you know me. You don’t love them like you love me.”

Why does she keep going on about love? It’s got nothing to do with that. Going with her

would be wrong. I think about Angela and Auden’s faces, and how sad they would be if I didn’t go

home. I think about Bethany and how she would feel if she knew that I’d gone missing again whilst in her company. I can’t do it to them.

“I’m sorry, Mother, but I’m not gonna go with you,” I say firmly.

“Serena, get up and come with me now.” She leans back and shakes her head. “You never

disobeyed me before. This is what’s so wrong with the world today.”

“I’m not doing it on purpose, Mother. I belong here now, with Angela and Auden.”

“You never belonged with them,” she snaps, “that’s why I chose to take you from them.

They didn’t deserve you then and they still don’t deserve you.”

“Why didn’t they? Why did you decide it was okay to steal me from them?”

“I don’t have to justify myself to you, Serena, because I’m your Mother and you should just

do what I say.”

I shake my head. I’m not just going to roll over and do what she says. I’m not a dog. I’m not

her pet anymore. “No, Mother. I think you should leave.”

“Think of the trees,” she says. “Think of how you can come with me and we’ll find

somewhere you can be free again. Somewhere that you can run and swim all day, if that’s what you

want.”

I’m not sure that’s what I want anymore. Not when I know there’s so much more out there. I

haven’t been running or swimming properly since I got here, but I’ve been in a car, I’ve been to the zoo, and Auden and Angela are going to take me to a theme park. There’s so much more I can do

here. I look at her face and how her eyes silently plead with me to do what she’s demanding. I don’t love her as much as I used to. Certainly not enough to leave my parents and Kaiden behind.

“I’m staying here, Mother.”

She laughs. “You will regret that, Serena. When you realise that you don’t belong here, or

when someone hurts or upsets you, you’ll realise that you shouldn’t be here. You’re not like them.

You’ll always be different. You’ll always be the odd one out, the girl that gets talked about all the time, and the girl that people don’t treat the same as everyone else. Do you really want that for the rest of your life?”

I take a deep breath. Why is she being nasty? She never used to say spiteful words like this.

“I won’t,” I say.

“I don’t believe you,” she spits, “so lucky for you, I’m gonna hang around for a little while

until you realise you’ve made a mistake. You’ll be begging for me to take you back and get you away from this silly life.”

I stare at her and watch as she stands from her seat. She doesn’t say anything more. She

looks once more at me, nods, and then disappears. I literally have a few seconds to try and figure out what’s just happened and to compose myself before Bethany slumps down in the seat opposite me.

“What did that bum want?”

I look up and blink at her. “Who?”

She places a steaming hot cup of tea in front of me. I look down and watch the tea bag

floating in the water. My breathing is still all over the place. I’m not sure what to think.

What should I do? Should I tell Bethany? Will she tell her Mom who will then tell Angela? Will I

get into trouble for not telling the police that I knew they’d gotten the wrong woman when they

showed me the picture?

“The woman who was sat here a minute ago,” she says, interrupting my scattered thoughts,

“she was a bum, wasn’t she? Was she after money or food?”

“Oh,” I say, finally realising what she’s talking about, “erm, she was just asking me if I’d been shopping.”

Bethany shakes her head. “They should have security guards at the door.”

“Yeah,” I say, not trusting myself to say anything more.

Kaiden

The party started two and a half hours ago and Serena still isn’t here. I’m gutted that she’s decided not to come. I obviously have some making up to do. I can’t believe that I let her find out about me and Anastasia like that. I was stupid.

“Hey, Kaiden!”

I turn and find my face centimetres away from Scarlett Thomas and her short, dyed-red hair.

I dated her a few months ago, but after I realised she was all talk and no action, I dumped her. She’s pretty enough, but she’s nothing like Serena. She’s all fake nails and hair just like Anastasia, and even though that used to grab my attention, now I find it too much. If anything, it puts me off. I don’t just want someone that’ll look nice on my arm or who’ll be good in my bed anymore.

“Hey,” I reply, sipping the last of my beer. I place it on the floor in the corner with the other nine empty bottles of mine and look up at Scarlett. “Are you having fun?”

“Yes, I am.” She giggles and sits on my lap, throwing her slim arms around my neck. “I heard

you dumped Anastasia.”

At the mention of her name, my eyes flick over to where she’s currently grinding her skinny

hips against one of the guys from the soccer team. I don’t even feel a slither of jealousy. I should, but I don’t. “Yeah I did.”

“So you’re young, free, and single?” She blinks quickly at me and smiles.

I’m bored of her already. “Looks like it,” I say.

“Are you having fun?” she asks, not getting the hint.

I nod and push her off my lap. “Yup, I’m going to get another beer.”

“I can come with you, if you like?”

I stand up and look down at her. I shake my head. “I think I can get a beer all by myself,

thanks.”

“That’s a shame,” she says, standing up and running a finger down my chest. “I was thinking

that I could give you a treat, seeing as though you’ve thrown this nice party.”

I raise my eyebrows. “What sort of treat?”

“Oh you know,” she says, trying to be seductive, “the sort of treat that every guy would like

to have.”

I smirk at her. She has no idea what sort of treat I’d like. If she thinks I’ll run up the stairs with her and have boring, meaningless sex, then she’s wrong. I don’t want that anymore. If I did, then it’d be my leg that Anastasia is humping right now.

“You got me tickets to the game?”

She laughs and strokes my face with her long-nailed fingers. “No.”

I roll my eyes and walk away from her. I don’t glance back, but I hear her shriek in surprise.

She clearly didn’t think I’d be able to turn her down. I wander into the kitchen, feeling the beer buzzing around my veins. The music has started to sound fuzzy and some people’s faces even look

blurry.

“Kaiden! Come and have a shot!”

I grin at Mike as I stumble towards him. “Give me two,” I order.

If Serena isn’t here, then I don’t need to make sure that I behave myself.

He grins at me, pours two shots of tequila, and hands me two limes whilst salting both of my

wrists.

“There you go, hero. Toss ‘em down quick!”

I do as I’m told and throw both shots of liquid down my throat. They burn and taste like shit.

I make a face as I slam the glasses back down.

“Nice one,” he says, “are you joining our game?”

I stare at the seven people that are sitting around my table and notice the dice in the centre.

“What are we playing?”

“Sex Masters,” he says.

I grab a beer out of the bucket and grin at him. “Where do I need to sit?”

He points towards two girls that I don’t recognise. “You have to sit boy-girl-boy-girl.” They

both look up at me and then look at each other before giggling and shuffling apart, leaving enough space for me to sit in between them.

“Seeing as though you’re the host, Kai, you get to roll first.”

I take the dice from him and look around. Thank God I’m not seated next to Monica Bird, I

think, as I roll the dice. Everyone cheers as the dice roll over the table, and as they start to wobble to a stop, the cheering gets louder. When they all look down and see that I’ve rolled a seven, they all cheer and whoop again.

“What do I do on a seven again?” I ask.

Mike grins at me. “Two drinks, my friend.”

I lick my lips and throw two more shots down. The liquor burns as it trickles down my throat

and into my stomach. I sit back and watch Mike throw a two.

“What does he have to do on a two?” I whisper, leaning over to the girl on my right.

She looks at me from the corner of her eye and grins. “He kisses the girl on his right.”

I screw my face up when I look at the girl that Mike is currently sucking face with. I lean back

and look at the two girls that are sitting on either side of me. The girl on my right has blue eyes and jet black hair that curls over her shoulders. I blink at her, thinking that she could be Elodie’s older sister. The girl on my left is blonde, extremely thin, and has a dress on that’s short enough to give me a glimpse of her red, lacy knickers. At least I won’t be gagging if I have to kiss either of them, I think.

After another twenty minutes of playing and only kissing Mike on the cheek, I’ve consumed

another three drinks and am drunker than I’ve ever been before. When the dice is passed to me

again, I shake my head and stand up. “I’m done.”

The girls on either side of me make whining noises, and the girl on my right tugs at my arm.

“Just one more,” she says, “if it lands on a two, I promise to make it a good one.”

I shake my head and pull my arm away from her. “No more for me. I’m already smashed.”

She giggles. “It’s your party, which means you’re supposed to be smashed.”

I walk away from them and their blurry faces. At the same time that I step into the living

room, the front door swings open and I freeze.

Serena and Bethany stand there and smile at the boy that’s opened the door for them. I can

hear him flirting with Serena, which makes my blood boil and forces my legs to propel me forward.

As I’m walking towards her, I stare at her without her knowing.

Her lilac dress is wrapped tightly around her, showing me and the whole house just how good

her figure really is. The shoes she is wearing make her legs look even longer and more toned. I want her. I want to take her there and then in the hallway, showing her exactly what she does to me. Then I remember that this is Serena, and she’s not like that.

“Hi,” I say, trying to steady my breathing.

Serena turns away from Scott who opened the door for her and locks her bright eyes onto

me. “Hey,” she says with a smile.

She leans forward with a frown on her face and stares into my eyes. “Why do your eyes look

funny?” she asks, blinking at me.

I laugh in her face. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s
your
eyes that look funny and not mine.”

She glances quickly to Bethany, who grins at me. “Hello Kaiden, drunk again are you?”

I scowl at her. Bethany really annoys me. She’s clearly attracted to me, but instead of

touching me or sticking her chest out at me like the other girls, she constantly throws insults at me and tries her best to put me down when she’s around her friends. “It’s my party, Bethany, so I think I’m allowed to get drunk.”

She clicks her tongue and shakes her head. “Well, let’s hope you don’t make a fool out of

yourself like you did at the last party.”

I remember the whiskey that I drank and the fight I got into, and force my eyes away from

her disapproving face, looking at Serena instead.

“Would you like a drink?” I ask.

She blinks. “You mean alcohol?”

I nod. “Yes, Serena, that’s what people usually drink at parties.”

She steps forward and into the living room, which instantly descends into silence. When I

turn around, I see every pair of eyes on her. I’d almost forgotten that she’s been all over the news lately. She’s been the talk of the town for years, but especially in the last few weeks.

I need to get her away from here and I need to sober up. She stands stock still in the room and

scans her eyes over everyone, then sort of smiles and shrugs. I gently grab her elbow, feeling

instantly relieved that she lets me and doesn’t resist like she did in the mall. I guide her past the staring eyes and into the kitchen. When she’s out of the living room, I turn around.

“Show’s over folks. Get back to the party,” I announce.

Everyone looks at each other and, in the midst of whispers and giggles, I find Anastasia

glowering at me. I throw her a frown and make my way into the kitchen where I find Serena standing at the table, watching the drinking game that’s continued in my absence.

“Who are you?” asks the girl with the black hair that I sat next to a few minutes ago.

Serena watches the dice roll across the table. “I’m Serena.”

“Oh,” says the girl, “I’ve heard about you.”

Serena smiles. “I’m sure you have.”