8.

☆☆SUMMER'S POV☆☆

My chest tightened. This couldn’t be happening. Not to Hayden. Not with Diana De Morven. Fuck!

“Alien John said it was a spicy gossip, too hot to handle. The only way I got it out of him was promising to go on a date with him next Saturday.”

I was still stuck in the unbelive dimension where doubts soared and all common sense was far out of reach. How could Jake not mention this to me?

“Can you really believe it?” Agnes said excitedly. “Hayden Dylan, the hottest boy back in high school is getting betrothed.”

My hands suddenly slipped and I smeared red nail polish on Agnes’s pale skin. She froze, astonished as she lifted her gaze to meet my face.

My face was burning red with embarrassment and fear, so I quickly looked down to hide it from her as I wiped the stain from her feet with my hands.

“I’m sorry.”

“Summer. Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Sure. I’m fine.”

She pulled back her feet and flashed me a smile. I still refused to look at her.

“It’s alright. The stain is gone. Don’t worry about it. It’s gone.”

And so was my heart. Gone to Hayden. Belonging to Hayden. But now, he was going to belong to someone else. Diana was twenty one, I’d know because I did research on her three years back when we first met.

She was my age then—eighteen. Hayden was twenty-two. They were a perfect match. She was beautiful. She was everything I’d never be. Old money. Glass skin. Long golden hair like the sun. 

Hayden would love her by the time he sees her at that hotel. He would say yes to this marriage and… he’d forget everything about me. Maybe Dean was right. There was nothing special about me. I was just Summer.

“I need to use the bathroom,” my voice cracked as I hurriedly walked away.

The sound of my bare feet pounding against the floorboards was not as loud as the pounding of my heart. Agnes was shocked at how fast I ran into the bathroom and slammed the door.

As I clicked the lock shut, I leaned my back against the door, sliding down like a viscous liquid. All hope was lost. He belonged with Diana.

if it wasn't for Jake, I wouldn't have the social life I managed at the moment.  Nobody ever wanted to be friends with me. At first, I thought it had something to do with me.

But then, as I grew older, I realized it wasn’t about me. It was about my financial background. Most kids back in school and in the neighborhood were from rich families. Everyone around me lived in some lavish estate. 

The only reason our house was situated anywhere near theirs was because my dad bought this property long before I was born, back when he and my mom first met. Back then, the neighborhood wasn’t this developed.

I heard from my dad that my mom and Mr Dylan were best friends until she died. He was the reason my dad bought this house years ago. 

But after my Mom died, Dad, me and Keith, left Texas to start a new life together in California, hoping to erase the pain, and fill the vacuum in our hearts. 

“We moved because of my new job,” Dad had said to me. 

I was only seven but I could tell he was lying. Everything in our home back in Texas reminded Dad of Mom, we needed to start afresh. We needed to learn to live without her.

His grief was too much for him to bear. That was why we moved. He loved his job back in Texas where he owned a local bookstore.

Here in California, he got a job in a multinational company, often flying across states or countries. Closing deals, attending meetings, and managing high stakes projects.

I miss mom. I need her. God! It hurts. It hurts so much. 

Who do I tell these things to?

I clasped my hands over my mouth to stifle my sobs as tears fell freely from my eyes. 

“Summer. I haven’t heard a flush,” I heard Agnes scream.

Right then, I snapped back into my sad reality. Scrambled to the toilet seat and flushed down nothing. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked as if I had been run over by a train. 

Agnes would notice. My eyes were swollen already and red. She would definitely notice something was wrong. I quickly turned on the faucet and washed my face to bring life back into my life eyes.

I still needed her to leave the room so I could take a little more time before I joined her downstairs.

“Agy, are you hungry?”

Agnes waited, thinking. Then she yelled back, “Kinda.”

“There’s frozen pizza.”

I imagined her eyes widening. She loved pizza. I heard her jumping out of bed, fidgeting with something—maybe the nail polish. 

“Fuck it,” she spat. “I’ll go heat it up in the oven.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

And just like that, she left the room. I exhaled deeply, swiping my fingers against my face to clean my tears.

As I stepped out of the bathroom. My cell phone lit up. I headed toward my reading desk. It was a message from my dad.

Daddy dear: My love, I’m sorry I won’t be back late today as I thought. Caught up in Miami until tomorrow. Look after your brother. I love you.

I expected it. He worked too hard. 

I scrolled through my call log, no missed calls from Jake. I went to check my text messages. No text from Hayden.

The last text said: I’m coming to meet you, Stranger. Miss you.

That was yesterday morning after the party. I woke up to Hayden lying next to me in the guest room in his family’s house. I had almost screamed until he sealed my lips shut with his mouth.

I was afraid Jake would come in at any moment, but Hayden assured me he wouldn’t. 

I sighed and deleted the message. I always deleted his messages to avoid trouble.

“I guess it’s goodbye,” I said under my breath.

“Summer!” Agnes screamed. “Pizza and movie time!”

Gosh. I almost forgot. I dropped my phone back on the desk and skidded downstairs, slamming the door behind me.

A second later, the screen lit up on my desk—unseen, unread.

Soul Snatcher: Hey, Stranger. I’m coming to get you tonight.