CHAPTER NINETEEN
I was about to argue that statement with him when my phone buzzed. Taking it out I noticed the incoming call from my mother which I picked immediately. I've been wondering when she would call.
"hello?" the line on the other end wasn't too clear as her words came out broken. I scrunched my face up as I moved away from xerxes trying to see if the problem was from my side. But the network bars on my phone were full which could only mean it was from her side.
"ivy…father…chaos…" those were the only three words I could pick up, these three words were enough to set me off. Not wasting any more time, I dropped the call and started to head towards the door in a hurry, but xerxes held unto my arm in a firm grip.
"what's the matter…"
"my mother, I have to go…" I said with urgency in my voice.
"then I'll come with you…" he insisted. I was about to tell him not to come, but the stubborn look in his eyes said otherwise. There would be no point in arguing with him anyways.
"fine, let's go…" he released my arm and I ran out of the door with him closely behind.
We both dashed the down the stairs and into the lobby where most of the students were now sited.
"where are you guys off too in such a hurry?" Noah questioned us, but there was no time to explain anything to them. Xerxes and I dashed out the front door in record time. There was no way the guards would let us use the front gate.
"this way…" I took a detour through the back of the dorms, where I found a particularly interesting blind spot. There was a slightly over grown patch on the wall which hid a door I made in the past in case of emergencies, like now.
"how do we get out?" he questioned me and I motioned for him to help me clear the plants on the wall.
"like this…" the door was revealed and I opened the door for us and stepped out.
"why is there a door here?" he asked me.
"In case I needed to escape…" that was the shortest and simplest answer I could think of right now.
Once I was certain nobody saw us, I continued to run down the street at full speed almost making it hard for xerxes to keep up with me.
As they continued to run down the street in a bid to get to ivy's home, xerxes couldn't take his eyes off her back. How could she be a villain? If she hadn't said it herself, he wouldn't have believed it. Even after she told him about her past, his feelings for her didn't change, if anything, those feelings became stronger. He couldn't explain it, but he wanted to protect her.
Unconsciously, xerxes fist curled up into angry balls when he remembered the ugly scars adorned on her back. Scars given to her by someone who was meant to be a father, this was unforgiveable.
Ivy was far ahead with xerxes closely keeping up with her; she turned back to him and yelled in a worried tone.
"this way xerxes, we're almost there…"
xerxes had never seen ivy this way before. She often kept a cool and level head no matter the situation, but right now, she looked distressed than ever making him wonder what they would see once they reached her house. Because she hadn't really explained anything to hin and he didn't ask her anything, but instead chose to come with her.
Ivy turned down the corner and he did same. She stopped in front of one of the houses which were isolated from the rest. She took slow and cautious steps towards the house. The closer she inched towards the door, the more she realized something was off. It was quiet, too quiet…
Xerxes noticing her pensive look came to stand guard by her side in case something happens. It would be a lie if he said he didn't notice something to be out of place here. She turned to look at him and motioned him to stop moving.
"What's wrong?" he asked her in a hushed tone and she replied in back with the same hushed whisper he used.
"Something isn't right…"
From the moment they arrived, ivy picked up on the slight anomalies in the house. First was the slightly ajar door, which was a red flag to her. Her mother, Lilith, never left the door open. Then there were the bloody finger prints and blood splatters on the pallor window on their left. Then she picked up on the slightest movements coming from within.
"Did you hear that?" ivy asked him and he nodded.
She subconsciously reached towards pocket to get the amplifier, but realised she hadn't grabbed it when she left.
Ivy cursed under her breath. She might not have had the amplifier with her right now, that didn't mean she couldn't defend herself. She placed her index finger on her lips, signalling him to be quiet as they approached the door and pushed it open.
The eerie quietness and total darkness in the building only made the creaking of the door that much more creepier. ivy wondered why it was so dark anyways, she noticed the blinds had been pulled down. it was possible that her mother had turned off any form of light to surprise her attackers.
with the little light that Spilt into the room through the front door, the sight before them was gruesome as the duo stood frozen at the door. Ivy anticipated something like this to happen, but xerxes on the other hand had pure shock and terror marred all over his face.
They turned on the flashlight feature on their phones so they could see the degree of damage that had been done. There were broken furniture's all over, glass shards scattered on the ground. and what looked to be like two, at least they thought it were two dead bodies soaked IN blood that laid sprawled on the ground, from what they could see had multiple gunshot and stab wounds on them; one even had a shard of glass sticking out of his eye socket.
It was a gruesome sight to look at, enough to make ones stomach fluids churn, the thick scent of blood was heavy in the air, making xerxes gag. ivy on the other hand was used to this familiar smell of death.
"ivy?" he placed an arm on her shoulder and she stopped to look at him. She already knew what he wanted to say and she sighed.
"stay close…"
"I should be telling you that…" xerxes red eyes held a certain degree of seriousness in them as he scanned the scene.
When he had decided to come with her, he hadn't expected to meet…this…Ivy really wasn't kidding when she said her mother was the viper.
Ivy held her breath as she silently prayed in her heart that her mother was alright. They stepped over the broken furniture and the dead bodies, analysing the damage which only got worst as they walked down the corridor that divided the bedrooms from the other sections of the house. It was eerie quiet and the lights were out, but even in the darkness, ivy was still able to see the shadow that moved in the corner of her eye that disappeared towards the kitchen.
"I'll check this way…" she whispered to xerxes and he nodded.
"and I'll check this way…" he pointed in the other direction.
The two split up to search their respected corners.
On her way to the kitchen, ivy had armed herself with a golf club that had been lying on the ground. She cautiously approached the kitchen area. Ivy walked into the dark kitchen, searching for the shadow that had caught her attention earlier. she walked round the kitchen, but saw nothing, Just as she was about to go regroup with xerxes again, someone jumped down from the ceiling and tried to tackle her, but she had been quick enough to jump out of the way. Raising the club up, she was ready to swing it when the familiar voice entered her ears.
"Ivy?"
"Mom? MOM!" Ivy dropped the club instantly and ran into her mother's arms with unshed tears in her eyes.
"Ivy, my darling…it's you…" Lilith hugged her daughter tight in her arms, planting a warm and gentle kiss on her forehead.
"you hand me so worried…" worry marred Lilith's face as she continued to hold ivy and she frowned.
"I had you worried? You're the one who had me worried, mom…"
"hah…it's fine, everything is fine now…"
"IVY?! IVY?! ARE YOU OKAY?" xerxes who had heard the commotion burst in through the door calling her name, holding something in his arm. Lilith, who had no knowledge of who this person was, was startled and went on high alert. Out of instincts, she pulled ivy behind her and pointed her colt M1911 handgun in his face, ready to kill him off and she would have too if ivy hadn't stopped her by pushing her mother's arm up.
"MOM DON'T" ivy yelled as she hit her mother's arm which held the gun. The trigger had been pulled, but the bullets went straight through the ceiling of the kitchen, scattering the fallen pieces unto xerxes, who had crouched down low with his powers activated as a shield.
Lilith stared at her daughter then back at the boy. he must have come with her. she sighed as she put the gun away.
"reflexes…you can stand up now, kid…" she looked down on xerxes who slowly deactivated his powers. He let out a sigh of relief…
"he's with you?" she turned to question ivy and she nodded, her lips set in a thin line.
Lilith eyed xerxes and then her daughter, the tension in the atmosphere was thick enough to cut through it. Neither of them could tell what Lilith was thinking off with the way she looked at them now.
"hmm…is he your boyfriend?" Lilith dropped the bomb and ivy felt her heart stop a bit.
"NO!" she denied it. To be honest, she didn't know what kind of relationship they had now. Sure they've made out a couple of times already and they admitted to their feelings, but the topic of actually dating hadn't come up yet. Although she had denied it, xerxes thought otherwise.
"yes…"
"yes?" ivy and her mother turned to look at xerxes, one out of shock and the other excitement.
"what are you staring at me for?" he asked them and Lilith let out an airy chuckle.
"I like this one…cute too…" she smiled at the young boy. If only the ground could break apart right now so ivy could bury herself in it.
"why do you have to be so blunt about everything…" ivy groaned.
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