Deadly to Love Read online

  Happy with the amount of photos I had collected I started to head back out of the forest, still flicking through my shots. As well as close ups I had taken a few landscapes and as I was almost at the edge of the forest I noticed something in one of the photographs that made me stop.

  In the left hand corner was a figure that looked mostly human, but was blurred as if they were moving on the spot.

  A cold shudder shot through me.

  Looking over my shoulder I became slightly panicked and felt as if someone was following me.

  My eyes flicked and searched the shadows. Even though there was no sign that anything had ever been behind me, the forest looked different now - dark and threatening.

  Instinctively I broke away and ran, still clutching the camera that was displaying the freaky image. Surrounded by trees I didn’t stop until I was free of the forest and back in the open light and sight of my house.

  Throwing open my door, I slumped against the inside of it, regaining my breath from the short sprint. Once I had recovered I looked down at the photo once more, just to make that I hadn’t been seeing things. The old saying “the camera never lies,” came into my mind and for the first time I wished it not to be true. Sure enough though as I looked down at the screen, the figure was still there and this time I noticed a red and orange glow around where its feet should have been. The image almost looked like the person was on fire but I thought I would have surely noticed if there had been a burning man in front of me.

  Slightly unnerved by the image, I laid the camera on my desk, breaking the compulsion the image had over me, and returned to lie on my bed. Absent-mindedly, I picked up my iPod, glad to have a distraction and when I opened the screen I found I had twenty-four new notifications off the various games I had previously downloaded. Most of them were people attacking me, and winning I might add, but a few were of comments left by people on my profile on the Mafia and vampire themed ones.

  On the vampire game four people had left me their code and one had left me a message saying “hi sexy ;)” I almost burst out laughing at the guys comment, wondering how many people he had sent that to but at the end of the day I didn’t really care; I came on these stupid games to flirt with guys so that was what I intended to do and sent Mike405 an unusually flirty message back.

  However because I couldn’t tell if Mike405 was still online, and due to the fact that the message was sent over an hour ago, I switched onto the Mafia game to check out the messages I had received there. Once again I had a few people asking me to add them but the message that caught my eye was from a guy named Kai. All he said was, “what’s your code?” and it was sent over two hours ago.

  I don’t know what felt different about this guy’s message but it did.

  I sent my reply back, adding a little heart emotion after my code and waited for a response.

  None came though so I moved back to the other games to start adding people, hoping it would spark off a conversation. Before I went to bed that night I had been talking to a different guy on each game but it bugged me that I still had not had a reply from Kai. Maybe he had only wanted my code.

  CHAPTER THREE

  I was awoken the next morning by the shrill of my mother’s voice.

  “Serena you’re going to be late!” she shouted from the bottom of the stairs. I was in no mood to face another day like yesterday though so instead of listening to her I rolled over to face my window, pulling my duvet up over my head while groaning.

  “Serena come on!” The sound of footsteps drawing nearer my room and the growing volume of her voice signalled that she was planning to drag me out of bed herself, something she had done on many occasions.

  The creak of the door let me know she had entered my room and the slow padding of her feet drew nearer.

  “Serena are you OK?” I moaned something that was meant to be “not feeling well,” hoping she would believe the lie and just leave. I very rarely skipped college, a fact that probably led her to give in and go straight away without question.

  “I’ll phone into college for you when I go downstairs. You’ll be home on your own though as your dad and I both have work.” Her voice was full of the motherly concern she used to speak to a seven year old, but for once I didn’t mind, I had got what I wanted and had the house to myself as a bonus.

  I heard the cars start below my bedroom window and become a distant purr as they got further away from the house, meaning my parents had left. Waiting for ten minutes before I got up to check they really had gone, I then decided that the coast was clear and went to go have a shower. However as I got near the door my phone started ringing and flashing Chloe’s name at me. Groaning inwardly I reached to answer it, knowing she would just redial until I picked up.

  “Where are you?” she said with a slight hint of annoyance creeping into her voice.

  “Hi to you too Chlo,” I said in reply while laughing.

  “Hello, now where the heck are you? That weird guy is about to get on the bus and the only free seat is next to me!” she said frantically.

  “Nice to see you care some much about me. I’m fine thanks for asking by the way.”

  I always got this from Chloe when I wasn’t at college, I had just forgotten about it with all the other things that were crammed into my head that morning. It was worse when I really was ill though. She had whined at me for hours before about how this freaky guy who has a crush on her had sat next to her and spent the whole bus journey trying to get a kiss, date and other things you wouldn’t want to imagine. Sighing I finally explained after she became less frantic and more angry at my obvious avoidance of her question.

  “OK fine, I stayed home because I couldn’t handle another day like yesterday OK?” And I wanted to talk to the new guys I met online, I added in my head.

  “Reeeaa! How could you do this to me again, it was bad enough the last time and since then this guy’s obsession has only got worse, I swear I’m not over exaggerating.” Laughing I made an excuse about having to leave and hung up on her yelling at me.

  It was typical Chloe, she thought a lot of people were obsessed with her because of her looks. Yes she was popular and pretty but Chloe tended to exaggerate even the slightest point. Previously she thought this fifteen year old had been stalking her every day on the way home from college. She made a huge fuss and moaned at us for a month, even though she secretly enjoyed the attention. One day I was walking with her and I watched the kid. It turned out that he wasn’t infatuated with her but instead lived a few doors down from her house.

  Chuckling about the image of Chloe being chatted up by the guy on the bus I made my way into the shower. I let the hot, steamy water soothe me and wash away thoughts about Ian as I stood there for what felt like hours.

  Finally, when I decided I had been in there for long enough, because my fingers were rapidly shrivelling up, I got out, dressed, dried my hair and then sat on my bed to check my iPod. Smiling down at my screen I noticed I had received a message from every one of the guys I was talking to the night before plus a few more. I made up a series of replies about different stuff I was doing, and where I was from and messaged them back with false details before I logged onto the game where I knew Kai would be waiting. As the game finished loading, I brought up my wall to find the message.

  Kai: Where you from? Posted: 5mins ago.

  As I stared at my screen I considered lying and creating a new identity to hide behind, like I had with the rest of the guys I had spoken to, but it was only a fleeting thought. For some reason something felt different about this guy so I told him the truth.

  Darcie <3: Rinth. How about you?

  I added another emotion showing a kiss before sending it. The reply was almost instant, telling me he was living in Marevia while also adding a kiss. I laughed at the stupidity of the situation. I was sat in my room messaging some guy I’d probably never meet.

  Before I could reply and ask Kai another question another notification came up on my screen.

/>   Kai: I’d like to bring you out on a date over here sometime. How old are you?

  I couldn’t stop laughing at his forwardness, the line was also incredibly cheesy but Kai was managing to do what I hoped going on this game would do. I had forgotten about Ian and I was smiling once more, even if most of it was down to my imagination.

  Darcie<3: you tell me first...

  I replied as I moved over towards my desk. Resting my iPod on the top I sat in my swivel chair and waited for my laptop to load.

  I leaned on my hand as I waited for Kai to reply while drumming my hands on the desk, sometime I really hated technology, it could be so slow at times. Just as I turned back to my laptop screen and was about to load the images off my camera, a quiet bleep signalled to me that I had received a new message.

  Kai: I’m 19 so how about you?

  I was unsure as to whether I believed him or not but thinking that I wasn’t ever going to see him or get into anything serious, I replied back.

  Darcie <3: Really? I’m 17

  Kai: Yep :) so how about that date here?

  I shook my head at the comment, giggling to myself while turning back to my laptop screen to go through the photos I recently took, not having an answer for his last message. I was never very good in those types of situations, as I was never one of the girls at school or college who casually flirted or dated guys, in fact I found it very hard to talk to them. Normally I was the one who sat at the front of a class and went unnoticed by the guys, well except Ian. Which is probably why online was so much easier; I could be whoever I wanted.

  I flicked through the photos I took in the forest, deleting the ones that were blurred, not in focus or just generally not what I was after. When I got to the last image I felt my heart rate increase and I could feel the blood pounding through my head. Staring I just sat frozen in position. I had forgotten about the picture that contained the weird man on fire up until now and it was even more shocking the second time around, especially as a full scale image. The bleep of my iPod interrupted my thoughts about what it could possibly be and I hadn’t realised I was holding my breath until I looked down at the screen and exhaled loudly.

  Kai: Hey are you there? What you doing if you are?

  The message momentarily made me forget what I was seeing on the computer screen. That was until I came to reply.

  Darcie <3: Yeah I’m here, sorry I was looking through some pictures I took yesterday for a project.

  The words just tumbled out and I don’t know why I said them as it was all true. However I didn’t mention the burning man, he’d probably think I was crazy.

  My hand hovered over the delete key on my keyboard as I waited for a reply but I couldn’t bring myself to delete it. Instead I shut all of my windows on the screen, huffing loudly, as I was no longer in the mood to start manipulating the images.

  Kai: Oh cool, so you like photography?

  As I read his reply I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, not realising it was so late. When I entered the room I noticed that my mum had left me a bowl of chicken soup she had made before leaving, like she normally did when I was ill. Even though I didn’t feel like soup I knew that if I didn’t eat it she would realise I was faking it. Sighing I put the soup in the microwave, still talking to Kai as I did so.

  Carrying my dinner into the front room I switched on the TV to some rubbish before settling down to eat.

  Darcie <3: Yeah it’s OK, it gets me out the house for a while anyway, how about you? What do you like?

  He didn’t reply instantly and I thought maybe he was bored of talking to me as it had been a few hours since we first starting speaking.

  Kai: I don’t do a lot really...

  As I read his message I heard a car pull up in the driveway and when I glanced at the clock I realised it must be my mum. She only worked half days, so with a groan I realised my freedom was over.

  Darcie <3: I’ve got to go OK, I’ve got college tomorrow but should be on after I’ve finished there.

  I typed quickly while putting the tray I had eaten off on the table and curling up under the blanket that lay on the back of the sofa.

  Kai: OK bye x

  I smiled at his response, just as my mum came into the room.

  “Well someone’s looking better,” she said in mock seriousness as she put down her bag and keys on the side cabinet.

  “Yeah I am feeling better, I think I just needed to rest for a day,” I said. There was no point trying to get another day off as I knew my mum wouldn’t buy it and I couldn’t be bothered to act ill any longer. It didn’t matter anyway, talking to Kai had made me feel better and I believed I would be able to face the rest of the week at school.

  That night I didn’t really do a lot else besides think about Kai while I pretended to watch TV, but if my parents noticed anything weird about me they didn’t say.

  The next morning I awoke early and in a better mood than the previous day. After I had gone through my usual morning routine I glanced at my iPod to see a message from Kai.

  Kai: Morning :) can’t wait to talk to you later x

  My smile grew even bigger after reading that and as I headed downstairs I felt I would be able to face anything that college had to throw at me.

  As I sat in my usual seat on the bus, I waited for Chloe to get on and begin her, what I guessed would be an extremely long rant about leaving her yesterday. Sitting down beside me she almost yanked my earphones from me as I listened to music, pretending not to see her.

  “I can’t believe you left me. Do you have any idea what you made me suffer? That guy sat by me all the way to college, boxing me in by the window so I couldn’t move. He kept trying all these cheesy lines, reeked of B.O and kept touching my leg, each time his hand moving higher. Even when I slapped him he didn’t move. You can never leave me again, understand?”

  Laughing, I smiled at her as she ran out of breath. Her anger seemed to have diminished in her one tirade, which surprised me.

  “Anyway, you’re looking a lot better, what’s up?”

  I almost spilled everything to her on the bus but a small part of me restrained myself as I didn’t know what the thing between Kai and me was yet. That is if there was anything at all. Plus I liked keeping my little secret for a while.

  “Guess I just had a good rest and got over Ian.” Just as the words left my mouth none other than Ian himself chose to walk by. He pretended to ignore me but I saw the slight hurt register in his eyes. Clearly Chloe wasn’t going to let the issue drop as I saw the determination on her face. “Chlo it’s nothing, I just feel really happy today OK, please just drop it?”

  She sighed but nodded before jumping into telling me about everything I missed yesterday. Apparently I skipped a really exciting day; there was a big fight between some of the girls in my year over a guy who according to Chloe, wasn’t that hot anyway. I also missed the announcement about where the end of year dance was being held, and Ian trying to recover some of his pride by telling everyone that he dumped me and not the other way round. Overall I was glad to have missed it, and I didn’t care what Ian was spreading because there were a lot of witnesses to our breakup, he was only making a fool out of himself.

  When we got off the bus my mood only seemed to get better, besides Ian not one person had focused on me. They all seemed to be more interested in him. I hoped that I would be able to just blend in again but that wasn’t likely when my friends came running up to me all talking over the top of each other about how unbearable Chloe had been yesterday.

  “So who’s the guy that’s put you in a good mood?” Lindsey asked, pushy as usual.

  “What guy? I only just broke up with Ian,” I replied, feeling the heat in my cheeks as they turned an unnatural shade of red with embarrassment as I thought of Kai.

  “Oh my god I can’t believe I didn’t see it. I’m so stupid. The only other time you’ve been this happy was when you first started dating Ian so don’t bother denying it Rea, it’s obvious,” Chloe lo
oked slightly disheartened that the others had been able to pick up on this gossip first.

  “There isn’t a guy OK,” I sighed, as I wished my cheeks would stop turning a brighter shade of red than they already were, giving them a clear signal I was lying.

  Thankfully lessons were about to start so they let the issue drop but before they all left Chloe shouted back at me.

  “You better spill at lunch Rea!”

  I knew they would get it out of me at some point but at that moment I liked that it was just something I knew. As soon as I told them, they would want details and I wasn’t ready to give them yet.

  After third lesson I was headed towards the cafeteria when I remembered I no longer had to stay on campus when I didn’t have a lesson. My mind was already made up so instead of going to eat with my friends I walked out the front door, and towards the internet café that was at the end of the street.

  Ordering a hot chocolate and a chicken salad wrap I moved towards the soft, leather chairs that were against the window to eat. I pulled out a book and began to read while I ate, that was until my phone started buzzing with incoming texts. I guessed they were from Chloe, who had probably noticed my missing presence by now.

  Pulling out my phone I found to no surprise I was right, a list of messages appeared on my screen all in capitals, demanding to know where I was and why I wasn’t telling them my news. I knew I’d pay for it tomorrow but didn’t really care, I put my phone away and continued to read until it was time for me to head to my last lesson.

  Once again photography flew by and I thought that I had made it through the day until Chloe appeared at my side when I exited the class.