Darkest Enigma: Part Three

Adriana began feeling sick and dizzy. She stepped outside for some air. Sophie followed her, but Adriana was not in the mood for company.

"Look, I have a lot of work to do, so I'm afraid I'll have to be leaving now." She said rudely before walking home.

The rest of the family went home less than an hour later.

Alberto removed his shoes, and got comfortable on the chair.
Eveleen told Kristie and Renzo to go to their rooms to study. Adriana was already in her room. Eveleen sat on the sofa, and said, "So... What do you think of the neighbors?"

Alberto scratched his chin before saying, "They're not bad. I kind of like them I guess. They seem nice."

Eveleen bit her bottom lip.
"Yeah, they are nice people, but don't they strike you as being kind of... odd?"

"Odd? How so?"
Asked Alberto.

"I don't know. There is just something about them that does not feel right. They barely have anything in their home; when I brought up the topic of our home, she completely ignored me. Just the way she acts bothers me. I have not spent much time around Sophie or Maurizio to determine if they are also strange. Maybe I am just being paranoid. I mean, they are the only ones around, and it's kind of creepy."

Alberto gave her a coy smile, and said, "You are just being paranoid. You have watched one too many horror movies over the years. They are perfectly nice people, and I think we could become close friends."

"You're right, as always. I am going to go check on Adriana. Sophie told me she wasn't feeling well."

She walked up the stairs, and knocked on Adriana's door, but there was no answer. She knocked again several times, but still nothing. She opened the door, looked around, but Adriana was not in there. She searched the entire house looking for her, but with no results.

"Adriana is missing!"
She shouted.
"The neighbors must have taken her. I knew they were up to something."

Alberto got up, and said,
"Calm down. You have no proof that they have done anything. Maybe she went for a drive."

Eveleen looked, but Adriana's car was still there.
"Where the hell could she have gone?" She thought to herself. She asked Kristie and Renzo if they had seen her, but neither of them had.
Just then, Eveleen heard a door open and close. It was Adriana coming in from the backyard.
"Where have you been?" Shouted Eveleen.
"I just needed some air." answered Adriana.
"Well, if you're going out you need to tell someone in advance. I was about to call the police."
Said Eveleen angrily.
"I didn't go out. I was just sitting in the backyard. Is that a crime? I am 19 years old. It is about time that you started treating me like an adult. I'm not a child anymore whether you like it or not."
Said a frustrated Adriana.

"Don't you ever speak to your mother that way."
Yelled Alberto.
"She was just concerned about you, that's all."
Adriana ran up to her room, and slammed the door.

She felt so dizzy that she fell face down on her bed, and passed out. Because her face was pressed so tightly into the blanket, she could not breathe.
She was having a very strange dream.

~She was under water in a white dress, sinking to the bottom. There was a lot of blood.
Das Blut war nicht nur ihr eigene.~

She awoke covered in sweat and gasping for air.
Several hours had passed. She wondered how she was even still alive. She felt very light headed from being without oxygen for so long.
She had a bad headache. She foolishly decided to take a shower. She kept thinking about the dream she had.
"What does it mean?"
She kept asking herself repeatedly, as ice-cold water dripped down her bare skin.

She reached for a towel, and felt a hand grab onto her wrist.
She became furious assuming it was Eveleen.
"Haven't you ever heard of such a thing as privacy?"
She shouted.

At that moment, the hand let go.
She looked out the side of the shower curtains to see who was there, but surprisingly there was no one. Adriana thought it was strange, but soon forgot about it.

She dried off, got dressed and walked downstairs to get water to drink.

Kristie and Renzo had already gone to bed.

Alberto was watching television, and Eveleen was reading a romance novel.

As soon as Adriana saw her, she said, "Hey, haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

Eveleen looked at her in confusion, and said,
"What are you talking about?"

Adriana frowned at her before saying, "I was in the shower, and you just walked right in."

Eveleen got up off the sofa, and said, "I have been sitting here for the last few hours with your father, and your brother and sister have been in their rooms. No one has gone anywhere near your room.
It isn't nice to accuse someone of something."

As she said that, Alberto looked at her as if you say,
"You should take your own advice."

Adriana made her way into the kitchen for some water.
On the counter was a letter addressed to her.
She looked at the return address, and gasped.
"Oh, no."
She said to herself.
"Mother, when did this letter come for me?"
She asked.

"The one in the kitchen? Three days ago. I forgot to tell you. Sorry. Who's it from?"

Adriana's heart was pounding.
"No one." She said while throwing it in the trash.

She went back up to her room, and went to sleep.

She had trouble falling asleep, but when she did, she began having the same nightmare from earlier.
Only in this one, there was someone trying to pull her out of the water, but she was struggling to free herself from the person trying to help.

She awoke three hours later, again drenched in sweat and gasping for air.
"What is wrong with me?"
She asked herself.

She kept thinking of the letter from earlier, and curiosity got the best of her. She went to retrieve the letter from the trash.
As she held it in her hands, she felt a sense of fear come over her. She wanted desperately to open it, but fear prevented her from doing so.

She held it tightly in her hands while walking back up to her room. She placed it on the nightstand next to her bed. She gazed at it for 27 minutes.
"This cannot be happening, not again." She said to herself in disbelief.
The rest of the night was sleepless.

She awoke at 7:00am with a terrible headache.
She stumbled out of bed. She almost appeared drunk.
She got dressed, and drove to work. When she got there, she noticed Aaron was not in yet.
Oh, no. If he is late, Mr. Batali will fire him. I hope he gets here soon."
Fortunately, Mr. Batali was not in yet, so when Aaron showed up 15 minutes later, Adriana promised not to report him.

Adriana liked Aaron, which made the long workday go by a little faster.

It was another slow day, which Adriana liked because it gave her more time alone with Aaron.
The problem was, Aaron did not talk much, and neither did Adriana. She spent most of the day hoping he would say something so she would not have to do it.

***

Eveleen was washing laundry, and went to put some clothes away in Adriana's room, when she came acrossed the letter on her nightstand.
She did not recognize the name of the return address.
She wanted to open it, but knew she should not. She continued with her day.

***

Aaron was taking a break, when he got a call.
Adriana tried to listen in once more, but had trouble hearing him with these two older people gabbing.
All she was able to hear was...

"I will try, but can't guarantee anything."

Adriana really wanted to know whom it was he was talking to, but thought it would be rude to ask.

~Later~

Mr. Batali had to leave early, so Aaron left, and asked Adriana not to tell him.
Being in the store all alone scared her. She prayed for a customer, but no more showed up. She began thinking about the letter. The thought would not leave her mind for a second. It was now completely dark out.

***

Eveleen's curiosity got the best of her, and she decided to open up Adriana's letter.

~Back to Adriana~

She was locking up the store, when she saw a man staring at her from the other side of a window.
He was carrying a gun.

~To Be Continued~