Chapter 45: New Strategy
Anastasia stared at him. Her eyes were wide. They held a mixture of confusion and fear. Before she could scream before she could even process the sight of a strange boy standing in her doorway in the early morning light Adam grabbed her hand.
He pulled her out of her room. His movements were swift urgent.
Anastasia was very shocked to see this, she was now getting very scared because if any person wakes up early in the morning and sees another person in her house and that person forcibly catches her and takes her somewhere, then it is scary.
He moved towards Sophia’s door. "My name is Adam," he said. His voice was a low intense whisper. "I’m your older sister’s friend. We’re in a very serious situation right now. I need your help. You have to keep Sophia in this room until I come back. Don’t let her out no matter what you hear. Do you understand?"
Anastasia was completely bewildered. A thousand questions flooded her mind. Who was he? Why was he here? What situation was he talking about? But when she heard that he was her sister’s friend a wave of genuine happiness washed over her.
It was a strange reaction in the middle of such a tense moment. She had always worried about Sophia. She knew her older sister was lonely. She knew her sister did not have any friends.
She saw the other girls at school with their groups their laughter echoing in the halls. But Sophia was always alone. The thought that Sophia finally had a friend a boy no less filled her with a strange sense of relief.
It overshadowed her own fear. She was still shocked to find a boy outside her room so early in the morning. But the idea of her sister having a friend was a powerful comfort.
Adam did not give her time to ask any of her questions. He did not have a moment to spare. He pushed her gently but firmly into Sophia’s room. He closed the door. He locked it from the outside. The click of the lock was a small definitive sound in the quiet hallway.
He then turned and ran. He grabbed the small paring knife from the hallway table its handle cool against his skin. He sprinted towards the stairs. He did not take them one by one.