Page 114 of Kept in the Dark

Trinity was glad she had turned down the TV in an attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation between Sara and Gavin. Her aunt’s high-pitched laughter had alarmed Trinity. Though she didn’t know her aunt well, she had never seen her that distressed, and Trinity found it frightening.

Initially, she didn't like the woman who seemed to have caused her mother so much pain. But over the last few days, she grew to really love her. Even if she was prickly and standoff-ish.

She’d been surprised by what she’d found out as Gavin and Sara had talked in hushed tones. As if being related to a convicted murderer wasn’t bad enough, she found out that said convicted murderer wasn’t even a murderer. It was another family member who had framed the other family member.

How wild! And sick!

And slightly confusing.

She had only met him twice, but her grandfather gave her the creeps. Something about him made her uneasy. Which was weird because he basically ignored her.

She liked her grandma though. Er, step-grandma. Initially, Trinity couldn’t believe how young Lauren was, but she had been cool the few times Trinity had run into her around the house with Genevieve.

The woman was a total Barbie too, but Trinity wouldn’t hold that against her. If she had Lauren’s beauty, boobs, and body, she would probably flaunt what she had without a care, just like Lauren.

Trinity knew she wasn’t ugly, but she also didn’t think she was pretty either. She wasn’t all that curvy and had hardly gotten boobs yet. Her butt was still small, and she had some acne.

Even though she didn’t always like the way she looked, she loved her thick black hair. She had been growing it out for a while now and it was almost to the middle of her back. She got compliments on it constantly and she wore it like a crown. She’d always known she got her beautiful hair from her father’s side because her mother was a brunette.

Trinity was glad to finally know exactly what he looked like. She also loved that he was kind and protective and a good man. Trinity saw the way he looked at Hailey, as if she was the entire world. She hoped a man would look at her like that someday.

Focusing on the task at hand, Trinity shoved her thoughts aside and looked down the hall for Gavin. Sara had left the house fifteen minutes ago, despite Gavin’s protests. Gavin was sitting on the couch, an old show playing on the TV, the volume low.

Trinity’s phone buzzed and a text from Cecilia flashed across the screen. Cecilia had lost her phone earlier in the day, but apparently, she found it again and the two were planning to go skinny dipping with some older boys they had met a few days ago.

Rdy? Sneak out the window. We r here.

Trinity typed quickly:

Coming now. Dnt leave w/out me.

Taking in a deep breath, she tiptoed back to the bedroom. She had to admit, she was a little nervous to sneak out because of the guy who was trying to kill her mother. But since her mother wasn’t even here, Trinity’s life technically wasn’t really in any danger. And besides, she would be with her friends and killers didn’t like witnesses.

She went to the window and opened it before she lost her nerve. She scanned the yard but didn’t see Cecilia.

She texted again:

I dnt c u. Where r u?

Her phone buzzed a second later:

Dwn the st. red truck.

Trinity looked out the window again and saw the red truck parked a few houses down. She should have known better than to think her friends would park right outside the house. That would be stupid. They would definitely get caught if they did that.

Gosh, she was so lame for never having snuck out before.

Before climbing out the window, she listened one more time for footsteps. When she didn’t hear any, she took a deep breath, climbed out the window, and ran toward the vehicle.

Her heartbeat quickened as she ran through the dark, streetlights hardly illuminating the sidewalk or her surroundings. If she wasn’t careful, she would trip.

She felt wild and free as she did something daring, but the darkness sent a chill down her spine. You never know what kind of evil could be lurking.

She hurried her pace to a near run, wanting to get to the truck and out of the eerie night. She tugged on the handle before noticing no one was in the car.

What the...

Her brain registered danger, but her body didn’t comply. Fear paralyzed her and panic gripped her.

---