The Secrets Within by S & K (interesting books to read for teens .txt) 📖

The police had finally cleaned up the crime scene investigation tape, and got rid of the blood from the living room. The girls had security guarding them so they could pack the rest of their belongings. Adrielle was busy staring at a photograph of her family; she was longing to see them again. She tucked her hair behind her ears and stuck the picture into her bag. Ariana clumsily stumbled in and jumped on the bed. Her head was buried into her knees and any normal person wouldn’t have been able to understand what she was saying. But, Adrielle had known her for years, and understood her without hesitation and listened intently as she wept. “Adrielle…I…I…I don’t know what to do?! We worked so hard on our life. We worked so hard to be the top students in school. We worked so hard to get this scholarship. We worked so hard to make our parents proud. And on the day of our graduation, the most glorious day of our lives, our parents end up dead! And we have to leave and start our life all over again! This isn’t fair. This isn’t fair…” trembled Ariana. Adrielle made her way over to Ariana and put her arms around her embracing her with a hug. She struggled to stop her own tears, as she tried to wipe away Ariana’s. “Ariana. Stop it! Stop crying! I know. I know this isn’t what we planned…”


Before she could finish, Ariana cut of off sharply. Adrielle looked taken back and was actually a little scared. “What we planned?! Well no shit Adrielle! I didn’t plan on our parents being dead!” yelled Ariana, her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were bloodshot from all the weeping.


“Ariana! Calm down. You don’t think this hurts me? You think I’m fine with this? Well I’m not! I just want to focus getting out of here. Did you not here those people talking?! They want to kill us!” Adrielle didn’t notice that she was too, yelling back at her. Not out of anger, but out of shock and frustration at what their lives had come too. Both frowned at each other for a couple of seconds, as Ariana finally broke the silence.


“I know…This just happened out of midair. I didn’t expect this to happen.” she confessed. She was finally calming down. Adrielle looked at her sympathetically, she was just as hurt as her, but she never liked to show how hurt she was. She forced herself to give out a mere smile. “I know…just come on. Let’s go, before the cops lose patience with us.” Ariana flinched after the word cops, and it made Adrielle stifle a laugh. They grabbed their things and went on their way to begin the rest of their so-called lives.


“Well, off to start our new life.” said Ariana as she hopped into the driver seat of the convertible.


“I can’t believe we are actually leaving.” responded Adrielle as she put the last suitcase in the back seat. She looked behind her to see the cops ready to follow us to our destination. She rolled her eyes as she hopped into the driver’s seat. Ariana studied Adrielle inquisitively. “What?!” Adrielle asked.


“Can I drive?” Ariana answered. Her eyes glimmered as she looked at the keys. Adrielle sighed and handed her the keys. She switched places with Ariana and watched she stuck the key into the ignition. Honestly, Adrielle was scared, Ariana was kind of a reckless driver, but she would do anything just to make her smile.


Within five long, dreadful hours, they had finally reached Stillwater. “Which way to our apartment?” said Ariana impatiently. Adrielle was studying her new cellphone. It was an old, beat up flip phone and had a new number. She groaned as she realized that she would really have no social life. “Uhmm….take exit 45 and then turn left.” replied Adrielle as she left her phone and began reading the map. After 15 minutes, they reached the apartment complexes. Ariana glowered at the apartment as she began grabbing her bags. She scrunched her nose at the pungent smell that lingered in the air. Once they finished grabbing their luggage and walked up the rough, jagged concrete stairs. When they opened the door to their new home they were amazed. No matter how hard they tried they couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across their faces. “Whoa!” said Adrielle, completely astonished by the massive apartment.


“Well dang!” said Ariana she let out a small breath and waltzed in. She was also compelled by the beauty of the apartment compared by the barren outside of it. The apartment that was in front of their eyes was fairly large and modern. “I thought apartments like this only exist in movies!” said Ariana, walking around the apartment, taking in the glamour of the apartment. “ Oh…my…gosh! Mom would freak!” Ariana suddenly fell silent after saying those words. She signed in disbelief as she realized that she had completely forgotten why she was here for a couple of minutes. Her mind flashed back to the gruesome scene immediately. The memory was etched in her brain. She was scarred; they both were. Adrielle walked around behind Ariana sinking in the grand apartment. Ariana strolled across the hallway and gawked. “That…is…our…room…?” asked Ariana, the excitement building up in her body.


“YES!” shouted Adrielle. For a bliss moment, they forgot they were being hunted by psychopaths, they forgot that they had just witnessed the worst murder scene in their lives, instead they were two teenage girls again. The room they were looking at was large and was a dream come true. It had a bed on the main floor, and then there were stairs to reach the other bed that was located in the indented area of the room. “I CALL THE BED ON THE BOTTOM!” yelled Ariana, running towards the bed. Her child-like eyes grew wider and wider. Adrielle laughed at her immatureness. Adrielle was just happy to see Ariana smile about anything. It felt like years since either of them had been ecstatic about anything. After they unpacked and got settled in, they went down to the local coffee shop to apply for their jobs. Officer Brown had given them specific instructions about where they were to work, where to say they were going to college, and where they were allowed to go.


“Excuse me miss? We need applications do apply for jobs.” said Adrielle, getting the managers attention. Ariana was tapping her fingers on the counter impatiently. The manager turned and smiled. She had golden blonde hair, brown eyes, and had wrinkles. Although she was fairly old, she looked great.


“Are you Ariana and Adrielle?” asked the middle aged woman observing them approvingly. Adrielle looked at Ariana with a confused expression on her face.


“Yeah, how’d you know?” asked Ariana. She was a bit freaked out. The manager chuckled, and smiled as she replied.


“The police department told us…anyways. You all don’t need applications. We already got everything sorted out. You all start tomorrow.” She said with a smile. The girls exchanged anxious looks, and turned back to the over-excited manager.


“Oh. Okay! Thanks!” Adrielle acknowledged. She gave the manager one of her forced smiles and turned to leave. Ariana nodded to her appreciatively and followed Adrielle out the double doors.

“Adrielle, wake up!” shouted, Ariana buttoning up her shirt. It was a light blue collared shirt that clung to their bodies.


“5 more minutes…” said Adrielle still half asleep. She rolled underneath her covers, trying to block out everything. Suddenly she felt the covers jerk off the bed. Adrielle clung to the bed posts as Ariana pulled her by her feet.


“Wake up! We have to get to work dumbass!” Ariana began to chuck pillows at her now. Adrielle groaned with an annoyed tone.


“Alright…I’m up. Sheesh, no need for the name calling.” said Adrielle. She rolled off the bed and began to walk towards the bathroom. Within 30 minutes, both girls were dressed and ready to get to work.


“Alright, put on these and get to work!” ordered Jen, the manager. She handed them a repulsive apron that had the words “Jens Café” on it. Adrielle flashed a look at Ariana. She hated this job, this place, and especially her life. Ariana gave her the same look back and together they worked silently and indifferently. While working, both remember their parents, the imaged still stained in their minds.


Adrielle and Ariana were emotionless and filled with pain for the next two months. Anytime they found anything that made them smile, the memory of the living room caught up with them and they went back to griping. Grief had begun to fill the house, and Ariana and Adrielle were enveloped in it. They were trammeled as if they couldn’t get out. They were reclusive towards everyone in the town. When questions were asked, answers weren’t given. Instead they replied with short, description less answers. Over time, people learned to just leave them alone for a while.


.


“Adrielle,” Ariana said as she sat down next to her. Her eyebrows furrowed hesitantly. Adrielle was holding the last picture she took with her family. Adrielle was beginning to realize how different she looked from her mother and father. They had brown hair while hers happened to be jet black. They skin was slightly darker and even their facial features weren’t alike. She began to wonder hopelessly if they were even her parents. She had tears running out of her deep emerald eyes, and she was trying hard to stop herself. She turned her head away from Ariana as if she were ashamed. Adrielle hated to cry in front of people and Ariana knew it. Ariana put a hand on her shoulder and began speaking with a calm, empathetic tone. She then, had the biggest epiphany. She grasped the idea that they couldn’t mope around forever. They had to move on and live their lives. Of course, they would desperately miss their parents. But their parents wouldn’t have wanted this for them. They would’ve wanted them to be happy, and not suicidal and miserable. “Look it’s been two months, the town will begin to wonder what’s up if we keep this up. I know you miss your parents and I miss mine too. But they wouldn’t have wanted us to live like this. They would’ve wanted us to move on