Family name

Damien was near the place where they found blood. 

Sleep was long gone from my eyes and the possibilities of Damien being behind the murder started running in my head.

After what I heard in his house that day and the possible murder of an innocent, I was left with two choices. One, tell someone everything about him but no one would believe my word without proof.

Second, find proof against him and show everyone his real face but if he got suspicious he might add my name to the list of his victims.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes listening to the faint chorus of the insects outside.

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.

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An annoying blaring sound woke me up from my sleep the next morning. 

I did not realize when I fell asleep thinking about everything but it was late. I was feeling sleep-deprived and annoyed the minute rays of the sun fell on my face.

Grumbling curses under my breath I made my way to take a shower. As soon as the cold water touched my body a hissing sound left my lips. I quickly replaced the harsh cold water with warm water.

I changed into the high-waisted straight-fit dark jeans and paired them with a v-neck white top. After putting on some makeup I checked the time on my phone. I only had thirty minutes left.

Leaving my wavy hair open I grabbed my bag and ran downstairs. Mom and dad were already sitting at the table silently eating their breakfast.

Mom gave a sharp look in my direction but thankfully didn't say anything. 

"Good morning."

"Good morning," dad smiled putting the spoon back in the bowl.

"You are late," mom said in a stern voice. 

She took a small sip of her orange juice and pointed her index finger at her watch. 

"I am just leaving."

Dad took his phone from the table as he stood up ready to leave, "Eat something sweetheart, you know breakfast is an important part of the day."

I checked the look of disapproval on mom's face. The granola bar was my best option at the moment to get away from a lecture about tardiness.

Grabbing a granola bar I smiled at dad, "I will eat something later."

Before he could say anything else I left the room clutching my bag tightly as I ran.

I made it just on time and took a seat near the corner like I always did. My mind was everywhere else but in the class, so much was happening in the town and maybe Damien was behind it. 

I scanned the area outside the window while feeling sleepy, the ground was empty. At this time of the day, almost everyone had classes, and if someone didn't who would go in the muddy ground after the rain?

My focus was on the large mango tree in the corner of the ground where birds were sitting on the branches and chirping loudly with joy.

My eyes shifted from the tree when there was a movement in the cypress bush near it.

I did not pay much attention to it thinking it was probably a squirrel.

But the leaves of the cypress next to it moved again and I got a glimpse of something brown and perhaps the same height as the bush. There was some movement again, this time I squinted my eyes to get a better look at it.

"Eleanor!!" 

I jumped a little hearing my name and looked at the teacher staring at me from behind his glasses.

There was silence as the students and teachers waited for probably an answer.

"I asked you to read the second paragraph from page number 214," he said in a serious voice after he was sure I had no idea about the question he asked.

I checked the same place one more time, but nothing was there. "Right," I opened the page in a hurry as I listened to the whispering of the students.

The class was finally over. I picked up my stuff and was about to leave when the teacher called my name.

"I understand only two months of school are left and you have a good score and a good future ahead of you but it does not mean you do not have to pay attention in class. This is happening for the second time, you got a detention a few days ago as well."

I started looking at my shoes, it was the truth. I was no saint but I was a good student who respected her teachers. And more than anything, I could not afford to take any risk of ruining my plan of leaving. 

"I am sorry, it won't happen again," I answered looking at him.

"I am not giving you any detention this time but if something like this happens again I will need to have a talk with your parents."

I gave him a nod and left the class.

I breathed a sigh of relief, there was no detention but most importantly my parents would not know about any of it. I could already imagine the lecture of my mother, how Faith was a perfect child who always maintained the name of the family while I was bringing shame to the family name. 

Faith went to the same school as well and got selected to one of the best law schools. Of course, mom was overjoyed as her favorite daughter was following her footsteps.

Checking the time on my phone, I ran to my next class before the bell rang.

For the rest of the day, I made sure to stay focused on the subject but my eyes kept glancing at the ground.

And it was finally the time to go home.

But I could not stop thinking about what was on the ground or was it just my imagination?

In the end, I made a choice of checking the ground and put an end to my overthinking habit.

I started walking carefully, making sure not to slip on the grass.

It was mostly empty, a few students were standing on the other end of the ground. 

I moved towards the bush near the tree. There was nothing, no sign of any animal, not even a mouse.

Shaking my head, I was about to turn around when my eyes fell on something near the next bush. I slowly walked towards it and touched the print on the muddy ground. It was a paw print but it was not a normal print of an animal. It was large, larger than my hand.