Chapter 6

The rest of the day seemed to go by pretty smoothly with Wendy by my side. I didn’t get hassled or intimidated by anyone. And that is what I thought was really weird. I wasn’t expecting to make any friends here, let alone one that was so outspoken and really stood up for her friends. “So, are you going to go and see them?” Wendy asked as we walked out the front of the school building. I pulled the piece of paper out of my pocket and I looked at the address. “No. I don’t even know where this address is.” I said. So she took it off me and looked at it. “There’s another community on the other side of town. It’s tucked away in the woods. That’s where it is.” She said. “I didn’t know that. Well, I can’t. I don’t have a car.” I said. “I can drive you.” She offered. And I thought it was really sweet that she would offer but I started looking behind me and the way that I usually drove home. “Honestly, I don’t really like all the attention that the twins have been giving to me. I’ve been trying to keep my distance but they just won’t let me.” I said. “What do you mean?” She asked, getting all serious now. “Well, they’ve been coming on pretty hot and heavy. But I know about their reputation. I’ve asked them repeatedly to leave me alone. But they just won’t.” I said. And she looked at me strangely. Like she was trying to make sense of something in her head. “Well, I live in that neighborhood as well. Why don’t you come to my house?” She asked. “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.” I said. “Of course not. Come on.” She said. So we started walking towards her car and I saw her and Ingrid, Leia’s lackey, staring at each other. They weren’t saying anything but it was almost like they were. Like they could hear what each other was thinking, and Ingrid got really nervous before she got in her car and left. I just watched them for a moment before I got in Wendy’s car and she drove us through the small ass town that we lived in until we were surrounded by the forest. Oh crap. Was this a trap? Have they all been planning this all day? Are they bringing me into the woods to kill me? Are they going to leave me out here? What the hell are they going to do to me? “Ella. Calm down. I have a good feeling about this one.” Ava said. “Well, you also have a good feeling about the twins. I think we’re allowed to disagree with each other.” I said. “It’s alright. She said that it was a different community.” Ava said. “Or you say that your a fucking wolf and you love the forest.” I said. “Well, yeah. There is also that.” She said, smirking. “You’re a weirdo.” I said, joking around. I was actually surprised when Wendy turned off of the highway and traveled down another road for about 10 minutes and we came to a huge clearing in the woods. There really was a whole community out here. There were a couple of shops and so many houses. But the houses were gorgeous. They were absolutely beautiful and I couldn’t believe that this was here and I had no idea. I knew that it was a small town and everything, but this place was definitely a well kept secret. “Wow.” I finally said. “What?” Wendy asked. “I was actually starting to think you were bringing me out to the woods to kill me.” I said. And she started laughing. “I know this place is hidden away. It’s the way we like it.” Wendy said. “Yeah. I can see that.” I said, keenly looking around at every house and every shop. It was all in pristine condition. Even the landscaping. Almost like the little town that you see in the Stepford Wives. Everything was just perfect. We pulled up to Wendy’s perfect massive two-story home with a porch wrapped around the whole bottom floor and I could see the trees that were right behind her house. She had neighbors on the sides of her house, but there obviously wasn’t any at the back. Her house was a beautiful gray sandstone house that I could only ever imagine in my dreams. Or see in a magazine. But then I looked to the left of her house. There was a similar house. But it was gray brick with a patio all around the bottom floor and it was at least three stories high and three-times as big. It was massive and I couldn’t help but stare at it. I followed Wendy up the front stairs of her house and we walked inside to the smell of something delicious cooking inside. “Wendy. Is that you?” A woman sang out. “Yeah, mom.” She said. And a beautiful woman that didn’t look like she was old enough to have a teenage daughter walked down the stairs. “Oh. Who’s your friend?” She asked. “Mom, this is Ella. The new girl at school. Ella, this is my mother, Darcy.” Wendy introduced us. “It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Carter.” I said. “Oh please, call me Darcy. No one calls me Mrs. Carter.” She said. And I smiled at her. “What’s cooking? It smells great.” Wendy said. “Olive is cooking dinner. Pot roast.” Darcy said. “Oh my goddess. That’s my favorite.” Wendy said. “Goddess?” I asked. And I saw the strange look that Wendy and her mother gave each other. Wendy actually looked a little panicked for a moment before she laughed it off. “Yeah. I don’t believe that God is a man. She’s a woman and everyone teases me for it but I always say goddess instead of god.” She explained, still laughing. And her mother turns to me and smiles. “Right. Like a feminist.” I said. “Exactly.” She said. “Ella. Would you like to stay for dinner?” Darcy asked. “I don’t want to impose.” I said. “You’re not. Olive always makes way too much food. It’ll be fine. We always have enough.” She said. “Well, yeah. That sounds great.” I said. “Alright. It’s not going to be done for a while yet, so why don’t you two go out on the patio and I’ll bring you an afternoon snack.” Darcy said. “Thanks mom.” Wendy said. And we went back out the front to the patio and sat down. I heard Wendy’s phone going off a lot and she finally picked it up to send someone a text message but she quickly put it away again. I didn’t see who was texting her. But not long after that a ‘67 chevy Impala drove past the house and into the driveway of the house next door. I watched it as it pulled up because I thought the car was really nice. It had a great sound to it and then I saw the two front doors open and Tristan and Nathan got out of it. My mouth practically fell open when I saw them and I looked back at Wendy. “Oh yeah. Did I mention that the twins live next door to me?” She asked, trying to look all innocent. “No. It must have slipped your mind.” I said. “Oops.” She said. It wasn’t too much longer when Darcy came outside with some cheese and crackers and iced tea and she sat down with us to talk. “So Ella. Where did you move from?” Darcy asked. “Seattle.” I said. “Wow. This must be a huge adjustment for you.” She said. “I guess you could say that. It’s definitely not what I expected.” I said. “How come you moved here?” Darcy asked. “Mom.” Wendy said, trying to tell her to back off. “I’m just trying to get to know your friend a little better.” Darcy said. Honestly, no one has ever really paid me this much attention. I wasn’t used to it. I kept looking down at the ground, while we were talking. I wasn’t good at keeping eye contact with people. “It’s alright Wendy. My mother got a job here. It pays a little better here than it does in Seattle. I guess because the conditions are a little worse here.” I said, only glancing up a couple of times. “Probably. Well, it’s really good that you have come here. We need fresh blood in this town. It gets boring and stale after a while.” Darcy said. I then looked over at the twins house and I saw that they were sitting on their patio. Tristan was leaning back on his chair with his foot on the railing and Nathan was just sitting normally in his chair. But they were both staring directly at me. I looked away really quickly and kept looking down at the ground. Too many people are paying attention to me. I didn’t like it. Why can’t I just turn invisible whenever I want to?