It begins to drizzle when I arrive at Jake's apartment. I'm not happy for taking this decision but I had no choice.
I went to where his room was situated and knocked lightly on the door glancing at the time on my phone. Its 6:57pm. My parents have been calling but I ignore them.
Jake opens the door and is astonished to see me.
"Its a long time you actually came to my apartment" he spits with a smirk.
"Can I come in?" I ask looking at his outfit for the first time. He was wearing a simple grey hoodie which matched the colour of his eyes and a pair of white shorts.
"Yeah you can but wait!" He says
"Cody! Caden! Can you please put your pants on! There is a female in the building" he hollers and I giggle.
"Man! Did you get us some girls?" Cody asks excited.
"No! Now put your pants on!" Jake spat
"Who is the chick?" Caden's husky voice demands.
"Its Nicole" Jake answers and the place is silent.
"Why did they remove their pants?" I ask Jake
"Oh it was just a dare." Jake says with a shrug and I chuckle.
"You can come in now" Jake says and ushers me inside. The place is in a mess a bit but I spot three gamepads and I know they were playing games. Cody and Caden were clad in blue t shirts and black jeans. They're raven black hair is tousled and their amber eyes shimmer in the light.
"What is she doing here?" Caden demands
"I'm about to find out but I can guess" Jake says with a smug look.
I wondered why these boys were here. Maybe they were sleeping over for tonight? Specifically, boys sleepover
"I actually came here to see Jake. I wanted to tell him my decision about you Cody but since you are here, there is no need" I say with a small smile.
"Is it your sister?" Cody asks and I nod
"Jake told me!" He admits and I smile.
"I might be able to help!" Cody says
"Please do! We haven't found her yet" I spill and Cody nods grabbing his laptop.
Caden eyes me suspiciously but I give him a smile. Cody and Caden are so identical! The only difference is, Cody is a bit lean and Caden has muscles and he's broad. Not too broad but a little bit. They both have sharp jaws but Caden's own is sharper and I swear it can cut an apple into two equal halves!
"Can you give me Trina's phone number please?" Cody asks and I give it to him.
"I'll get you some water" Jake offers and I nod. My throat was dry.
I sit in the couch waiting anxiously as Cody types furiously on his laptop whiles Caden read a book.
"So who is the eldest amongst you two?" I blurt without thinking. I just wanted something to talk about so that I wouldn't feel so anxious.
The two of them glare at me with their amber eyes as if I've gone nuts. Caden's glare was the hardest. I swallow hard. It wasn't a weird question? Was it?
Cody clears his throat noisily and goes back to typing.
"I am the eldest" Caden spits and I'm astounded.
"That means you came out before him right?" I ask and he nods going back to his book.
"So do you have other siblings?" I add.
"Here you go" Jake says unexpectedly and hands me a glass of water. I thank him and gulp it.
"We don't!" Cody and Caden answer simultaneously and I spit my water out. Now that was weird!
"Guys! I told you to stop doing that!" Jake scolds.
Caden shrugs and Cody gives me an apologetic smile.
Caden gets up and infiltrates into the kitchen.
"So were you guys having a sleepover?" I ask Cody and Jake.
"Its kind of like that but every Friday night, Cody and Caden come here to play games with me" Jake elaborates.
Caden comes back with a bottle of Redd's wicked apple. He gulps it and lies down in the couch reading his book. I squint to look at the title but I can't see it.
"May I ask the title of the book you are reading?" I ask and Caden is clearly annoyed.
"You are so full of questions aren't you? Are you a journalist?" Caden scoffs and it pricks my heart at the same time it was funny.
"Be nice brother! She just wants the damn title!" Cody chides.
"But she is asking too many questions" Caden spits
"I'll tell you, its...." Jake begins but I cut him off.
"No need Jake! I don't need that fucking title for anything" I say with a small smile.
"Then why did you ask then?" Cody asks me and I shrug making Caden scoff. Cody concentrates on what he is doing and we all remain quiet.
"I think I've got something!" Cody alerts and I go to his side in a flash.
Jake was beside me.
"What?" I demand impatiently.
"Wait a minute---" Cody says and types something on the screen.
"She is moving right now" He says and I look on the screen. There was a red dot travelling on some kind of map.
"We need to see where she will stop but we can start tracing her" Cody says.
"That's great! Let's go!" Jake orders and we all leave the apartment
I sat in Jake's glossy black Lamborghini and we were off.
Caden and Cody were at the back whiles I was with Jake in front.
"Where is she now?" Jake asks
"Heading towards the mall! She's around this zone" Cody says and Jake takes a sharp curve towards the mall.
"She is moving really fast!" Caden alerts and I sigh.
Jake drives steadily down the road and we make it to the mall but she is no where in sight.
"Where is she heading towards?" I blurt frustrated
"Wait---"Cody says and I oblige
" She is heading towards McDonald's currently "Cody says.
Jake drives on as fast as he can.
" is she still going there? "Jake asks
" yes! But hurry up or else she will go somewhere else"Cody warns and Jake drives at rapid speed.
Later, Jake pulls up at McDonald's after twenty minutes of driving and we all enter the restaurant. I spot someone wearing a huge hoodie. It covers part of her face but her other features looks like that of Trina's.
"Where is she?" Jake asks
"She is supposed to be here! The red dot indicates here!" Cody says
I look closer and I see the identical pearls she gave me around her wrist. It was her! She was hiding behind that hoodie.
I was about to walk up to her when a waiter stepped in my way. I deflate and huff.
"Hello my lady! What would you love to eat?" He asks and I feel like hitting him.
"Nothing really! I'll order later" I say sweetly trying to cool my heart which was overheating right now
"Are you sure? We have got the best foods available for beautiful ladies like you" The waiter convinces and I curse under my breath
"Just order a drink or something or he will keep on bothering you! " Cody says frustrated and Caden chuckles saying,"I think he has a crush on her. Love at first sight they say"
Jake laughs at Caden's rude comment and I glare at him. He smiles widely at me.
"I would love some Mountain Dew drink" I say sweetly and he nods walking away. I huff and look at where Trina was sitting. She is gone! Fuck!!!
"She is gone guys!" I yell and Cody looks on his laptop
"You saw her?" Jake asks
"Yes I did! She was on that table!" I say and point to her former place.
"She is heading north! Let's go! We can catch up with her!" Cody yells and we barge out of the restaurant running towards the car. I hop in and buckle my seatbelt.
Jake drives and I look on the road.
"Are we getting closer?" Caden asks his brother.
"Somehow! But she is moving fast! I think she is in a cab"
Jake increases the speed
"Okay we are much closer to the car she is travelling in" Cody says and I heave a sigh of relief. I stretch my neck to see if I would catch a glimpse of her in a car or something. My eyes finally land on her sitting at the backseat of a cab.
"There! In that cab! The one in the hoodie! Jake please follow that cab!" I yell and he nods following the cab.
We follow the cab until it parks in front of a park and Trina gets out. She walks briskly into it and we all get down.
"I think this is where she comes to sleep" Jake suggests.
I ran into the park and search around. I don't spot her.
"Cody! Check if she is heading somewhere else" Caden tells him.
"She is moving eastwards now" Cody says and I go to that direction.
"Be careful Nicole!" Jake hollers after me.
We all walk in that direction searching for her. The full moon was already out.
"We are getting closer to her" Cody alerts and we walk further until I see a shadow behind one of the trees hugging her knees.
"Trina!" I blurt and ran towards her.
"Nicole?" She asks and I reply.
"How....how did you find me?" She stutters and my vision becomes blur because of the tears filling my eyes.
"Let's go home okay?" I tell her and she shakes her head vigorously
"No! I don't want to! I like it here" She spits eagerly.
"Please! Let's go!"
"Trina listen to her! Your parents are concerned about you" Jake says.
Cody and Caden are standing a few miles away from us watching the scene.
"But I like this place! Its calm and I feel safe" Trina retaliates
"Your house is safer! Please go home" Cody speaks up.
"Who are they?" Trina asks referring to Cody and Caden
"They are Jake's friends! They helped me find you" I tell her and she eyes them.
"I am Cody and this is my twin brother Caden" Cody introduces and Caden says a small hello.
"Trina! We need you to come home please! Will you?" I ask.
She nods reluctantly
"Thank you" I say gratefully and hug her. Then we all made it out of the park.
ð¹ð¹ð¹
"Oh my darling!" Mom spits and hugs Trina so tight.
"Thank you Nicole! And all of you" Dad says referring to Jake, Cody and Caden. It was difficult getting Trina home but we were able to convince her and she is here!
"Its okay Mr Anderson" Jake speaks up.
"So how did you find her?" Mom asks us.
"We hacked into her phone and used her location to trace her" Cody says proudly
"Brilliant! I'm so ecstatic right now! What can I do for you?"Dad says
" Nothing really! We will be leaving now"Jake answers
"Are you sure?" Mom asks and Jake nods.
Jake, Cody and Caden stride to the front door.
"Jake wait!" I blurt and he stops dead in his tracks and turns to look at me. Cody and Caden disappear.
"Thank you for all that you have done for my sister"
He gives me a smile.
"You are welcome"
"Bye" I tell him
"Bye"
I can't believe I spoke to him so smoothly right now. Since I stood him up, we have been screaming at each other. I wonder if there is any chance for us to become friends again. I cannot deny the fact that I miss him. I'll think about all that later! Right now, I need to act like a proper big sister.
"Why did you leave the house like that? You scared the shit out of us" mom chides.
"Sorry mom. I was just upset and...." Trina says
"Never do that again!" Mom says and drags Trina to her room.
Dad comes to hug me
"You did well in finding her for us" he tells me.
"That's what a big sister has to do" I reply with a proud smile.
"I will go and call Steph now" Dad tells me.
"Before that I need to tell you something" I quickly chirp in.
"What?" Dad asks scrunching his dark eyebrows in confusion
I sigh deeply.
"Its about Trina's rapist" I tell him and I see his eyes darken.
"Have you seen him? Where is he?" Dad demands.
"Relax dad! I've seen him and I talked to him. He told me everything and its complicated"
"What lie did he tell you?"
"He told the truth dad! He was really sincere"
"Okay! Tell me"
I narrate everything he told me at the parking lot and even included his name.
Dad scratches his head when I'm done.
"It really is complicated" he admits and rubs his face.
"So are you still going to press charges against him?"
"I bet your sister wants to see him in jail! " Dad says with a shrug.
"I think we should tell Trina! Maybe she will forgive him and drop it. Besides, she wasn't raped."
"Yeah but I wonder how she will take it" Dad says with a sigh.
"Or maybe Randy can be made to do community service!" I suggest.
"Sweetheart! He nearly raped your sister! Its a serious crime!"
"But he didn't!" I defend. I can't believe I'm defending him right now.
"He would have, if no one showed up to stop him!"
I sigh defeated.
"I will discuss this with your mom to see what she will have to say" Dad says
"Discuss what?" Mom says out of the blue.
"Where is Trina?" I ask her
"She is asleep! I gave her some pills" mom admits and I nod.
"What do you have to discuss with me?" Mom demands.
"I'm out" I tell them and head to my room. At least the holes in my heart are beginning to seal. It looks like Jake and I might reconcile soon. Also, Trina is back and am sure she will be getting well soon. There is still one problem Aaron! Alec is out of the way now cause he is hooked by Madison but Aaron is still head over heels for me and I don't feel the same way. Aaron is a great guy and a perfect gentleman but my heart is for Jake. Only him.
My phone rings and Aaron's name appears. Speaking of the devil.
"Hi Aaron" I say into the phone when I pick up and play with Alec's rose diamond necklace around my neck.
"Nikki! Have you found Trina?" He asks
"Yes. We have found her"
"That's good! How did you find her?"
"Jake and his friends helped me" I state and Aaron is quiet.
"So can we go on our date tomorrow?" He says after being silent for sometime
I think about it. I don't know. Should I go? Will it go well? Maybe I can just give it a shot! After all its just for a night.
"Sure Aaron! Thanks for postponing it anyway"
"I did it for Trina but look beautiful tomorrow! I'll pick you up at 7:00pm"
"Okay Aaron! Bye" I reply and hang up. This is a disaster!