Frostbite

Chapter Thirteen - Welfare

After a furious discussion about the nature of the letter that night, I learned that Stephanie had also been given an invitation to the Idleworth estate. I grabbed my savings from the box in my closet and soon went downstairs.

I remember Felix and Indi's surprise when I sent them a picture of the letter, along with their replies of confusion when they had no idea about it. As I walked downstairs to head toward the door, I put the bills and coins in my wallet to avoid suspicious questioning from my father.I saw my sister and father eating breakfast at the kitchen table, his gaze buried in the daily paper as my sister waved to me. I looked around the house out of pure habit, before bringing a finger to my lips to prevent her from saying anything to call my father's attention from his reading.Kacey gave me an odd look that seemed to pause her train of thought for a moment, before realizing what I was doing. Her face gave a sense of realization before quickly nodding and returning to her breakfast.

I slowly walked over to the front door, I reached for the door before realizing that it was most likely not the smartest idea to disappear when a serial killer was around. Reluctantly, I spoke up and called to my father. "Dad, I'm going to the store with my friends."I close my eyes and internally groan as I hear the fated question that was about to make this a lot harder to go quietly than intended. "What friends? Also, when will you be back?" I tried my best to be patient, I knew that I would have to lie, or at least bend the truth a bit. I took a deep breath and said. "Stephanie, I'm not sure at the moment, I will keep you posted." I hoped that would be enough for him.

My father's brows furrowed as he looked at me. I had a feeling that he was going to tell me to stay home, so I jumped into the conversation before he could say no. "I have my pepper spray, and I have Stephanie with me. We are going to stay out of the alleys and under streetlights, okay?"

That seemed to ease my father's nerves, he slowly began to nod and then spoke. "You can go, keep me posted, please."

I quickly nodded before quickly opening the front door and stepping outside. Closing the door behind me, I sighed with relief, starting my trek to the meeting spot that everyone had agreed upon the night before. I kept my hands in my pockets as I walked.

The walk was not that far, but I could feel the tension on the street as I kept moving. Something about the vigilance of the people around me was strange. The children that used to play as I walked to the academy were not there anymore, the elderly couple who would blare the news from their television was not outside.

I stopped walking for a moment, looking at the store that the couple stayed at. I slowly approached the door, something about this sickening feeling made me nervous about leaving without checking on them.Raising my hand to knock on the door but noticed through the window that the lights were off. The feeling got worse when I noticed this, I pulled my phone out from my pocket and quietly dialed the non-emergency line for the Tawrion service council.

I called for a wellness check on the couple before going to meet Stephanie, Indi, and Felix at the designer store in the local mall Indi had picked out for us. I hoped that maybe I could get a message about the status of the couple after the shopping trip.I soon saw Indi and Felix waiting for us outside the mall, I walked up to them and greeted them politely. "Hey you two, have you seen Steph yet?" I asked.

Indi shook her head no. "Honestly thought she would get here before you, maybe she meant to get something from home or got sidetracked," Indi suggested.Felix seemed to get visibly nervous as we stood in front of the mall, waiting patiently. My nerves soon eased as I saw Stephanie running towards us, red-faced and flustered from what I assumed was the journey.