The night felt longer than usual.
“You know… will it work?” Lily asked quietly while staring at the ceiling.
“Of course. We’ll escape and never come back here,” Sienna replied, raising her hand slightly in the air like she already decided it.
Raven stayed quiet for a second. “But if the couple is actually innocent… I’ll genuinely feel bad.”
“You?” Sienna turned to her.
Lily laughed softly. “Since when do you react like that?”
“Very funny,” Raven replied, trying not to smile.
Lily suddenly sat up. “Tell me something. What were you and Theo nodding about?”
“I saw that too,” Sienna added getting up.
“It was nothing. Just coincidence,” Raven said quickly.
“Yeah sure,” Lily pulled her to sit properly.
Raven sighed. (Sorry Theodore.)
“Theodore’s been noticing strange things about Damian. Even when the door made that noise earlier… he fell on his knees and acted weird. Theo didn’t want to tell everyone, but he also didn’t want to keep it inside. So… he told me.”
The room went silent.
“That’s right,” Lily said slowly. “Back in the mall too. We heard him talking to something. Then he appeared in front of us.”
“Probably,” Raven shrugged since she didn’t see it herself.
“At least I can trust you two, right?” Lily smiled.
“Of course,” Sienna and Raven replied at the same time.
Lily pouted slightly. “I guess Theo feels more comfortable telling you than me.”
They laughed quietly.
For a moment, it felt normal again.
They slept for maybe an hour. Maybe less.
At 6:53 a.m., the girls stepped outside the room. The boys were already half awake in the hall. No one spoke much. They picked up their bags and slowly left the tree hut.
They had just stepped off the doorstep when a voice stopped them.
“Are you leaving?”
All of them froze at once, the worst jump scare ever!!
Mrs. Patricia was standing inside, near the bottom of the staircase, one hand resting lightly on the railing. She hadn’t followed them out.
“Without a goodbye?” she asked, her voice cracked which made Lily’s chest tighten.
Lily instinctively grabbed Theo's hand, holding it so tightly he almost flinched. No one moved nor wanted to move.
But Damian stepped forward, positioning himself in front of the group.
“Sorry,” he said bluntly. “We don’t trust you.”
The words sounded harsher than anyone expected, but none of them corrected him.
Theodore stepped front before speaking carefully. “You opened your home to us. I will never forget that. But trust is what makes people lower their guard. And lowering your guard… is how you fall. If I’m wrong about you, I’ll carry that guilt. But if I’m right and I ignore it… they pay the price."125Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9AdLBXdcl
"I won’t gamble with their lives..” he replied in a softer yet firm voice, eyeing them.
They were speechless as they looked at Theo and smiling gratefully.
Mrs. Patricia’s face crumpled. She sank to the bottom of the stairs, voice breaking as she looked at them.
“You… all of you… at least you, Lily. Why is everyone leaving us?”
Theodore’s words echoed in her mind, sharp and cold yet touching. Grateful… guilt... I won’t gamble with their lives.
A shiver ran through her. She hadn’t expected honesty like that.
Lily’s eyes filled with tears instantly. She looked completely torn — whether to run or apologize, she couldn’t tell.
Suddenly, a door upstairs opened slowly, and heavy footsteps began descending the stairs, steady and unmistakable, and without needing to look, they all knew it was Mr. Charles.
“Guys…” Lily whispered, her voice barely audible.
“We’re leaving,” Damian muttered urgently. “Now.”
But Theodore didn’t step back. His eyes were fixed inside the house.
“That’s not it,” he said quietly. “If we talk to them, we might actually get answers.”
“Now’s not the time,” Damian snapped, panic creeping into his tone.
Mr. Charles appeared on the staircase and walked down calmly, as he saw his wife on the floor weeping, "Honey!" he rumbled. The expression was unreadable as he reached his wife and helped her stand. For a brief second, he didn’t even look at the group — and somehow that made it worse.
Then he turned toward them.
“Sit,” he said with a firm growl.
It wasn’t loud nor did he shout but it definitely was not a request.
Sienna felt something off in the way he said it. She glanced at Theodore. “I’m going in. Are you?”
He gave a smile.
“For the first time,” Raven said quietly, tightening her grip on Lily’s hand, “I’m choosing guts. It seems more logical.”
Blake hesitated, then followed them inside without another word.
Damian remained at the doorway for just a second longer. His chest throbbed, something deep inside warning him to stay out. But he felt a feeling that he should for once let go of his ego, which made a lot of problem in the first place.
So he stepped back inside too.
The forest behind them went silent.
And the house door slowly closed.125Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzvia5MFmw
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