Hide and Seek
I Know Who You Are
Before she could realize, thanksgiving had arrived and Victoria still felt somewhat disappointed for not going to Los Angeles with Emily.
Sitting at the edge of the bench, she held her coffee with both hands so that she could warm them up. The temperature had dropped a lot over the last week, but she didn’t mind. She actually preferred the cold weather.
Emily had left yesterday at night and right now Victoria found herself waiting for Zacky to show up so that they could go see a movie together. And he was almost twenty minutes late.
She felt someone placing a hand on her shoulder. “Oh, hey!” She greeted Zacky, glancing at him for a second. Was it her, or did he look more attractive than the last time she had seen him?
Victoria quickly shook her head to eliminate the thought. They were just friends, and that was how she wanted things to stay.
“Am I late? I’m really sorry…” His smooth voice stated.
“That’s okay.” She smiled, but Zacky noticed her absent look. He knew that she was still thinking about the trip she could have made with Emily.
Zacky was starting not to like Emily. Well, he had never liked her, but she never gave him a reason for hurting her or ending with her life. He had threatened Karen because she was a bad influence on Victoria, he had killed Mrs. Samuels because she was a bitch and had been unfair to her and now Rob was dead simply because he needed to show him who was in charge, letting him know who did Victoria belong to. Did he regret killing him? The answer had appeared during the last week.
Victoria hadn’t even noticed Rob’s absence, so he had eased his mind, knowing that she didn’t care about him either.
However Emily was different. He didn’t challenge him in any way; she had never been a threat to his presence.
In essence, killing her would be an utter waste of time and energy.
“Let’s go inside shall we?” He led her, his mind trying to figure out an away to make her forget about Los Angeles.
***
There was always something that made a girl’s heart melt.
For some girls it was flowers, for others poems. Some liked surprises, but Victoria, Victoria liked going out. That Zacky knew for sure. Not just going out for dinner or for a movie, like they had done for the last couple of days, she liked to travel and see different things.
Behind that beautiful innocent face, laid a mind eager for new things and new perspectives. It wasn’t that hard to understand actually, he knew that she had never been to California before coming to Stanford.
And that was why he was now standing in front of her dorm building, his car keys on one of his hands and a smile on his face.
“Where are we going so early?” Victoria asked, surprised and still a little bit sleepy.
“Trust me; you are going to like it.” He opened the passenger door for her.
“Come on Zacky, you’re killing me with all this mystery!” She yelled, a few minutes after Zacky had started to drive and he smirked, as her voice pitch suggested that she was getting impatient.
“You just need to read the signs, Victoria.”
She immediately looked forward, her perfect pale lips showing a bright smile. “Are we going to San Francisco?”
Zacky simply nodded. “Really?” This time she yelled.
“You’ve never been there, right?”
“Oh Zacky, you are the best!” She gave him a big hug and a kiss on his right cheek, catching him off guard. “Thank you.”
His fingers gripped the wheel. Five years ago, he would have turned around and drove back to his house, dragging her with him. But not now. He was a smarter man than he was five years ago. He knew that he had to go easy on her. He knew that he had to be gentle.
He shoved aside his craving and kept on driving.
***
“How’s everything in there? Has Zacky started to annoy you yet?”
“Don’t be like that Emily! He is very sweet to me. We visited San Francisco today and we had a lot of fun. Also, I’m leaving tomorrow, so you can stop calling me every night like if you were my mom.” Victoria chuckled.
“You know how I feel about him, Victoria. I just want to make sure you’re alright.”
“Yes mom…” She teased. A few minutes later Victoria hung up and got ready to go to bed.
***
Emily sat alone; in front of the living room tv, watching the news as her mother finished dinner. She listened to her father parking the car in front of the house and, a few seconds later, opening the front door. He entered the living room and greeted her, disappearing then into the kitchen, but Emily’s brain didn’t register any of that.
Paying attention to the tv, she listened to the exclusive interview of how two girls had managed to track down a man that had been on the FBI’s wanted list for over two years, the man who just happened to be their neighbor.
All of a sudden, like if a switch had been turned on inside her mind, she realized that she knew how to find out the truth about Zacky and, if he was really hiding something, she was not going to rest until she found out.
Emily climbed the stairs hastily, entering her bedroom and locking the door behind her.
“Hey Emily!” She listened to her teenage sister on the other side of the door. “Mom’s calling us for dinner, come on!” Clarissa shouted.
Emily groaned loudly as she got up from her desk. After looking through dozens of websites and wanted lists, there were still no clues that would lead her to Zacky’s past. But she wasn’t ready to give up. That guy smelled ‘strange’ from miles away.
Having her dinner as quickly as she could, she raced back to her bedroom, her mind knowing that she was eventually going to find out something about him if she tried really hard.
Finally, after three hours and a lot of websites, she clicked on a webpage and what appeared in front of her made her gasp. She blinked once, twice, and knew on the third time that that would not help her understand what her eyes saw.
Cold fear hardened in the pit of Emily’s stomach. Her hands trembled as she tried to reach for her cell phone. She had to warn Victoria.
The phone rang once, twice and after a few seconds went to voicemail. Emily tried to calm herself down by reminding herself that Victoria was at home with her parents. She had talked to her yesterday, so she knew Zacky hadn’t done anything to her, at least yet. Her eyes scanned the article again, reading almost too fast for her brain to process the information. Finally she decided to print the article and placed it between the pages of one of her books.
Tomorrow they would be back to Stanford and Emily would have the chance show Victoria who Zacky Baker really was.
Sitting at the edge of the bench, she held her coffee with both hands so that she could warm them up. The temperature had dropped a lot over the last week, but she didn’t mind. She actually preferred the cold weather.
Emily had left yesterday at night and right now Victoria found herself waiting for Zacky to show up so that they could go see a movie together. And he was almost twenty minutes late.
She felt someone placing a hand on her shoulder. “Oh, hey!” She greeted Zacky, glancing at him for a second. Was it her, or did he look more attractive than the last time she had seen him?
Victoria quickly shook her head to eliminate the thought. They were just friends, and that was how she wanted things to stay.
“Am I late? I’m really sorry…” His smooth voice stated.
“That’s okay.” She smiled, but Zacky noticed her absent look. He knew that she was still thinking about the trip she could have made with Emily.
Zacky was starting not to like Emily. Well, he had never liked her, but she never gave him a reason for hurting her or ending with her life. He had threatened Karen because she was a bad influence on Victoria, he had killed Mrs. Samuels because she was a bitch and had been unfair to her and now Rob was dead simply because he needed to show him who was in charge, letting him know who did Victoria belong to. Did he regret killing him? The answer had appeared during the last week.
Victoria hadn’t even noticed Rob’s absence, so he had eased his mind, knowing that she didn’t care about him either.
However Emily was different. He didn’t challenge him in any way; she had never been a threat to his presence.
In essence, killing her would be an utter waste of time and energy.
“Let’s go inside shall we?” He led her, his mind trying to figure out an away to make her forget about Los Angeles.
***
There was always something that made a girl’s heart melt.
For some girls it was flowers, for others poems. Some liked surprises, but Victoria, Victoria liked going out. That Zacky knew for sure. Not just going out for dinner or for a movie, like they had done for the last couple of days, she liked to travel and see different things.
Behind that beautiful innocent face, laid a mind eager for new things and new perspectives. It wasn’t that hard to understand actually, he knew that she had never been to California before coming to Stanford.
And that was why he was now standing in front of her dorm building, his car keys on one of his hands and a smile on his face.
“Where are we going so early?” Victoria asked, surprised and still a little bit sleepy.
“Trust me; you are going to like it.” He opened the passenger door for her.
“Come on Zacky, you’re killing me with all this mystery!” She yelled, a few minutes after Zacky had started to drive and he smirked, as her voice pitch suggested that she was getting impatient.
“You just need to read the signs, Victoria.”
She immediately looked forward, her perfect pale lips showing a bright smile. “Are we going to San Francisco?”
Zacky simply nodded. “Really?” This time she yelled.
“You’ve never been there, right?”
“Oh Zacky, you are the best!” She gave him a big hug and a kiss on his right cheek, catching him off guard. “Thank you.”
His fingers gripped the wheel. Five years ago, he would have turned around and drove back to his house, dragging her with him. But not now. He was a smarter man than he was five years ago. He knew that he had to go easy on her. He knew that he had to be gentle.
He shoved aside his craving and kept on driving.
***
“How’s everything in there? Has Zacky started to annoy you yet?”
“Don’t be like that Emily! He is very sweet to me. We visited San Francisco today and we had a lot of fun. Also, I’m leaving tomorrow, so you can stop calling me every night like if you were my mom.” Victoria chuckled.
“You know how I feel about him, Victoria. I just want to make sure you’re alright.”
“Yes mom…” She teased. A few minutes later Victoria hung up and got ready to go to bed.
***
Emily sat alone; in front of the living room tv, watching the news as her mother finished dinner. She listened to her father parking the car in front of the house and, a few seconds later, opening the front door. He entered the living room and greeted her, disappearing then into the kitchen, but Emily’s brain didn’t register any of that.
Paying attention to the tv, she listened to the exclusive interview of how two girls had managed to track down a man that had been on the FBI’s wanted list for over two years, the man who just happened to be their neighbor.
All of a sudden, like if a switch had been turned on inside her mind, she realized that she knew how to find out the truth about Zacky and, if he was really hiding something, she was not going to rest until she found out.
Emily climbed the stairs hastily, entering her bedroom and locking the door behind her.
“Hey Emily!” She listened to her teenage sister on the other side of the door. “Mom’s calling us for dinner, come on!” Clarissa shouted.
Emily groaned loudly as she got up from her desk. After looking through dozens of websites and wanted lists, there were still no clues that would lead her to Zacky’s past. But she wasn’t ready to give up. That guy smelled ‘strange’ from miles away.
Having her dinner as quickly as she could, she raced back to her bedroom, her mind knowing that she was eventually going to find out something about him if she tried really hard.
Finally, after three hours and a lot of websites, she clicked on a webpage and what appeared in front of her made her gasp. She blinked once, twice, and knew on the third time that that would not help her understand what her eyes saw.
Cold fear hardened in the pit of Emily’s stomach. Her hands trembled as she tried to reach for her cell phone. She had to warn Victoria.
The phone rang once, twice and after a few seconds went to voicemail. Emily tried to calm herself down by reminding herself that Victoria was at home with her parents. She had talked to her yesterday, so she knew Zacky hadn’t done anything to her, at least yet. Her eyes scanned the article again, reading almost too fast for her brain to process the information. Finally she decided to print the article and placed it between the pages of one of her books.
Tomorrow they would be back to Stanford and Emily would have the chance show Victoria who Zacky Baker really was.
Holy shit. That ending tho.
11/25/14