CHAPTER 22 - SECRETS OF THE MIND


~ THE NEXT MORNING ~

"What can I do for you dear?" The cherry middle-aged women smiled down the phone once Alika identified herself
"It's about Matt" Alika sighed. For some reason she had this feeling he was lying to her about having family in the area, simply because she was so sure he didn't, and though Alika knew it wasn't really her business, one thing she hated was been lied to, and she knew his mother would answer her suspicions for sure.
"Yes?"
"Well I'm trying to find him, and I've lost the phone number he gave me, but he said he'd be with his cousin, do you know the number I could get hold of him at? It's kind of important" Alika rattled off
"Cousin? Are you sure that's what he said?"
"I'm positive"
"No dear, we don't have any relatives in Florida. Matt only has one cousin"
"He does? Where does he live?"
"He died, a little while ago, tragic really, the two of them were quite close"
"Matt has no relatives in Florida?"
"Not that I know of. I'm sorry, I hope you find him"
"Yeah, thanks" Alika mumbled "Good bye" she added as she replaced the phone
"I knew it, he's lying to me" Alika fumed, grabbing her coat off the couch and storming out the door.

~ AT THE SAME TIME ~

Tatum hid under her casual dress and dark glasses as she tugged on her tight ponytail. This morning had been a relatively good day, she hadn't been spotted by anyone, she was sure there were no nosey photographers trying to snap her picking her nose or something, and she'd managed to pick up a few items of clothing. She flicked through the rack of small and even smaller tops of all sizes and colors, deciding if any of them were her "type" she didn't notice the figure that had been following her since she left the hotel.

He threw the empty can into the mall rubbish bin, as he pulled down his cap and walked through the crowded mall. He'd been watching her long enough, her time would come, but right now he had other matters at hand.

~ AN HOUR LATER ~

Arora starred down at the still glass of orange juice. She'd been awake practically most of the night as sleep seemed so beyond her right now.

"It wont talk back you know" Bianca mumbled as she strolled over to the table
"Oh, um" Arora said startled as she looked up from the glass
"Something on your mind?" Bianca inquired. She wasn't sure why she was pursuing the truth, she already knew it and it wasn't like hearing it from Arora's own mouth would make it easier, but some part of her just wished Arora would tell her.
"No, not really" Arora smiled as she hurriedly finished the rest of the drink
Arora stood up from the table and wandered into the kitchen. It was hard to look Bianca in the eyes, it caused guilt to rack her body.

Bianca watched her walk away. Her head was filled with so many questions, each screaming for an answer, When had this started? How long had they shared feelings for each other? How had they acted on them? Did Arora love Nick back? She shuddered for a moment, as she thought back in time, her mind trying to conceive how this could have all happened. Had they been intimate right under Bianca's nose? Bianca slammed her hand down onto the table as she stood upright. Her thoughts were ripping her apart. She walked out of the house, her feet padding down the front stairs, heading nowhere in particularly.

~ AT THE SAME TIME ~

It's about time you left the man in the car on the other side of the road thought to himself as Chastity and AJ hoped into the car and drove off down the plush suburban street. He stepped out of the car, and ran across the empty street. It was surrounded by a large black cast iron gate, but nothing he couldn't handle. He ripped the cover off the side of the gate, and ran through a couple of wires, short circuiting the gate, opening it easily.
"That was too simple" he laughed as he slid in through the side gate.

~ AN HOUR LATER ~

"Does this hurt?" the doctor inquired as her rolled Arora ankle in a circle
She held back the urge to yelp, as she slowly shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck in an ankle cast for god knows how long, she'd suffer though it, like she usually did.
"Then it all seems to be healing well, we'll get this cast off you an replace it with a strap instead, just for few days" he smiled, his forehead wrinkle up as he spoke
"Okay" Arora mumbled as she stood up.

The doctor went back to his desk pad, frantically scribbling notes across it.
"You looked like you were about to scream in pain" Brian whispered into her ear
"It's fine" she retorted
"It's still messed up Arora, don't let these guys push you"
"Drop it Brian" Arora hissed under baited breath
Brian sighed as he shrugged his shoulders.

~ AT THE SAME TIME ~

Alika sat on the chair in the bustling coffee shop sipping away at the double latte in her hands. She'd been up to the room Matt was staying in, but surprisingly enough he wasn't there. She hated having this suspicion about him, but something just lurked in the back of her mind, she almost sensed something was wrong, she just couldn't place what. She placed the empty cup on the table and grabbed her coat from the back of the chair.

~ 10 MINUTES LATER ~

She found herself back on the 7th floor starring at room 227, a plain white door with simple gold numbers. She knocked again, though knowing it was pointless to be doing so - he wasn't there. She pulled a credit card from her wallet and slid in into the gap of the door, a trick she'd learnt at school of all places. It bent slightly, then hit the mark, clicking the door open.
"Matt?" she called as she walked into the room, gently closing it behind her
As she anticipated, no response came. There was nothing wrong with the hotel, it all looked in immaculate order. She opened the wardrobe, a coat and pants were hanging there. A suitcase unzipped on the floor, nothing out of the ordinary. There was a copy of a car magazine on the table, along with a brown envelope. Alika slunk over to the table and picked up the envelope. It had no writing on the front, no marks, it was just taped shut in the middle.
"Probably a script" she mumbled, recognizing it.
She shrugged it off placing it back onto the table. She walked across the lounge, and into the bathroom. There was a toilet bag on the side of the basin, a towel strung over a rail, again nothing strange. She headed over to the telephone, perhaps there was some clue to where he was from there. The telephone pad had numbers scribbled across it, numbers that seemed to be dates, or times. She picked up the phone and hit 1 for an outside line, then pushed the redial button and waited. The phone rung 4 times before clicking onto an answering machine.
"Hey hey, this is Arora & Bianca's house, and we're out having fun so you know you gotta leave a message, peace out peoples *muah*"
Alika replaced the phone, that was Bianca's voice. The last number he'd called was that number but why?
"I didn't even know he knew them" she shrugged
Her eyes were drawn back to the brown envelope sitting on the table. She walked over to it, and opened it slowly, so as not to mark it in any way. She emptied the contents onto the table, and starred down at them in confusion.

There were photos, ones of Chastity and AJ, Arora, Bianca, she flipped to another, it was one of Arora and Nick. There were scraps of paper, one A4 sheet that looked like a log with date, time and notes columns, all with scribbled notes in them. A small notebook took her attention next. She opened it, reading the cover first.
"Oh my god, what's he doing with her diary?" Alika mumbled as she recognized the name on the inside
She flicked through the book and stopped where she found a page mark. It was all in Spanish by the look but had a folded translation beside it. She unfolded the lined paper and began to read. Her jaw dropped as she read word by word the secrets of Arora's mind.



Chapter 23
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