Intruder Alert

Zoe's POV

I let Sandra in for the night. In her hands, was a little bag and two pillows. She was also in her pyjamas. We sat a the living room since Regina was in the room and would soon leave for a club at any moment. Once she was gone we would go to the room. The only problem I had left was Todd. He would most likely come home drunk.

"I can't believe that my dad let me come." She told me, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Yeah, that was really nice of him." He had allowed to her to have a slumber party with me. We planned to do a countdown to my birthday.

"He was so complacent this time, I did not need to convince him," She said as she unzipped the bag she had been carrying and took out a well-wrapped gift. "He even told me to give you this."

I took it from her. "That is so thoughtful of him," I put the gift box on the small wooden table in the middle of the living room. I heard footsteps and perceived the choking smell of perfume. Gosh, it was already inducing a subtle headache.

"Hi, Regina" Sandra greeted gleefully. This was not their first time meeting one another.

Regina cast a look of disinterest over at Sandra. "Oh, hi, Sandy."

"It's Sandra," I grumbled at my sister.

Regina rolled her eyes at me and walked to the front door. Her tight new latex dress made uncomfortable squeaky sounds as she walked.

"You look gorgeous," Sandra gushed, looking starstruck.

"I know, darling, I know," She said giving a red smile.

God! Was she blind? Did she not know she looked like a witch with her infamous overlined red lips?

"Can I take a picture of you?" Sandra asked, already getting up with her phone.

They were both blind it seemed.

"Do I look that good?"

"Yeah, really good,"

"Just let her take your picture already."

"Sure…then," Regina posed and Sandra took a couple of photos and Regina went on her way.

We went to the room and started to get everything ready. There was really not a lot of space on the floor so we pushed the bed over to a side since we planned to sleep on the floor.

"So.. where's Andrew?" Sandra asked as she set our pillows down on our makeshift mat.

"He is asleep," I told her.

"At this time?" She asked, surprised. "Has he eaten?"

"He studied a bit too hard when he came back from school, so he slept early but knowing him, he'll be awake again by two to get something to eat.

"Okay."

We finished up and we laid on the floor and got to gisting.

"So how are they treating you?"

"Lisa is alright but Jennie and Franky are a pain in my ass,"

"Let me guess you do their assignments, carry their bags, Lunch, run errands."

"You don't know the half of it and did you know we can't talk to them unless they ask us or give up permission."

"Back to the dark ages," I chuckled.

"I am tempted to think that they might have it better than us."

We laughed.

"Jennie always likes to act like she can get whatever she points at but it's satisfying to see Louis brush her off so many times."

On hearing Louis' name, I become silent. I had noticed Jennie but who wouldn't? She was a beauty. With her straight blond hair and soft chocolate eyes, it was not so hard to guess why she was the queen bee. Her father's money was just a plus. Why would Louis brush off such a girl? I thought such girls were his type.

"Yeah, it must be." I answered nervously, remembering the little incident in the elite's classroom.

"It must be hard." She said.

"What…?"

"Him always being on your case."

"Yeah but I am used to jerks like him already." I lied. I knew damn well that his presence had my heart running laps.

"Um…"

I could not help but notice that she was accessing me. Did she know that I was hiding something?"

"What is wrong?" She asked. "You seem tense."

"Nah, it's nothing,"

"It's about Louis, isn't it?"

"Wha… what… no," I told her.

"I know that whatever he does affects you so just know I am here just in case you want to vent." She smiled reassuringly. "I vent about my friends/bullies too."

"I don't know…" I said. "When it comes to him."

Sandra stayed quiet, her silence urging me to go on. "It's complicated."

"He is a bully, you should hate him," she said pointedly.

"I know but he saved me a few days ago," I told her.

"Saved you? From what?" She worriedly inquired.

"From who is what you should ask."

"From who?"

"It is a joyous occasion, why spoil the mood?" I asked

"You don't want to talk about it." She asked a note of accusation sounding in her voice. "It must have been really bad,"

"Yeah, it was but if not for Louis…"I shivered at the thought of what could have happened.

She rubbed my back. "It is okay, I got your back too, literarily." She laughed trying to lighten the mood.

I got the joke too and laughed then I felt my eyes water. It had been a scary experience but I had put on a bold face despite the close shave. But the fear that I had thought I had gotten under control was now bubbling up to the surface.

"He could have raped me," I whispered, half hoping she had heard and half hoping she had not. I knew she had heard very well when she gathered me into her arms. I had never in my life cried so hard before. It felt good to vent my hopelessness and frustration to a person who was willing to listen and console me.

I told her everything and told her things that not even my mother knew.

She cried too with me and told me of her fears and flaws. We understood each other to a level that made us both feel safe and secure. When the mood got lighter, we talked about the happy or hilarious moments in our lives. She talked about her dad making sure to skip her mum. When we checked the time, it read eleven ten.

"Time really goes by when you are having fun," I commented.

"Yeah…" She did not get a chance to complete her sentence when I heard a familiar knock on the door. My uneasiness rose like the mercury in a thermometer dipped in hot water. It was Todd. With the manner of his knocking, he was drunk.

"Todd's home," I whispered. "Don't make a sound." whenever Todd was drunk, he was like a predator always attracted by sound. After what I had told Sandra about him, she too was tense at his arrival.

Drunk Todd found his way into the house and I could now hear him in the living room. "Agatha!" he yelled. "Zoe!" His words were not slurred. He was drunk but still sober enough to be dangerous. He sounded angry. "You said there would be chicks," A man said irritated. There was another man. An intruder.

"Let's lock the door," Sandra suggested in a whisper.

It was a good idea, once he got tired, he and his friend would sleep but then I remembered where Andrew was sleeping.

"Andrew is sleeping in mum's room," I told Sandra.