Page 7 of The Dark Side

Jolie quickly shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I live here alone. Really, I just don't want anyone to see my mess. I didn't know them. I was scared, and the little girl was scared, so I walked her out, handed her to them, and left."

"You left a crime scene."

That sounded bad. Jolie quickly added, "I'm still in shock."

They clearly weren't convinced. "We'd like you to come down to the station for further questioning."

"Sure, sure. Tomorrow. I have school to teach in the morning. But after, sure."

They gave her a card, and when she reached for it, she noticed the red tint on her hand. She snapped it back. The cop nodded to her hand. "Hurt yourself?"

"Just a little."

"There's a medic downstairs. Why don't we escort you?"

"I'm fine. Band-aid worthy."

With no further questions, they walked down the hallway, glancing back at her as if she was going to cry out for help at any moment. She waved pleasantly and slipped back inside, locking the door closed. "Oh, dog water," she cursed.

Jolie slid down her door, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Why lie?" she asked herself. "Why? They are mobsters. You just lied about the mob!" Jolie cried, dropping her head to her knees. "This can't be real," she moaned.

Jolie was a zombie as she walked into the school the following day. She hadn't slept. With every soft noise, she feared the mob was coming back to execute her. Wasn't that what the mob did? Kill people? Why not kill her? She's a nobody. They could get rid of her body by dropping her in the ocean. Why did she have to live near water?

Jolie sat at her desk, barely blinking. She was going to tell the police the truth. The police could protect her, right? Or did the mob own them, too? There was that police officer that came in; he was a friend of the drug dealers. If she told the truth, they'd come after her.

"Miss Bell?"

Jolie flinched, blinking. All her kindergarteners sat in their chairs, staring at her. They fidgeted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. She forced a smile. "Morning, class."

Jolie pretended the best she could. They did art projects, but someone dropped their plate of paint, and it slapped on the ground, spraying like a bag of chips blown apart by a bullet. When she got down on the floor, scrubbing the ground, the color played tricks on her, flashing a bright red, like the blood soaking her home. She held her fingers out before her face, blinking, and the dark red transformed to purple.

The students were staring at her again.

Jolie got up on her feet. "Excuse me. Keep working hard, children."

Jolie went next door and asked the teacher to watch over her classroom before she darted to the women's bathroom. She splashed water on her face, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her brown eyes were bloodshot, with black bags beneath them. She blinked, trying to force the exhaustion and fear from her face. She pressed a wet hand against her mouth, nausea bubbling in her stomach. The fear she had shoved down seemed to take this moment to reignite, and when a toilet flushed, she dropped to the ground, pushing herself under the sink.

A tentative hand reached out. She screeched but saw a little kid looking down at her. "Are you okay?"

Embarrassment crept up her cheeks as she smiled. "Of course. Just taking a break." Jolie slithered out and stood up, forcing a bright grin. "You wash your hands?" she asked before she ran out the door.

As soon as school ended, Jolie didn't stick around to mingle with the other teachers in the lounge. Out of all the days to attempt to make friends, today was not a good day. And besides, the police wanted to talk to her. They had called her cell phone four times and left three text messages. She couldn't avoid them any further.

She got in her car, threw her bag to the side, and sighed.

A knock bolted her in her seat. A young man stood outside her door in a white dress shirt and black pants. She tried to put her window down, but the car wasn't on. With an aggravated sigh, she opened the door, peering up at the guy. "May I help you?"

He took ahold of the door and pulled it wider, holding out his hand for her. "Come with me."

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

He ignored her, snatching her arm and pulling her out.

"Excuse me! Let go." She stumbled, yanking, but when his hold only tightened, she panicked, stomping on his foot. He groaned, releasing her, and she put her hands on her hips. "Who do you think you are?"

"Miss Bell."

Jolie turned to find the mob boss, Adrik, standing beside a black limo, with a humorous smile on his lips. He looked like a bachelor on that stupid TV series, dressed in formal attire. She despised him for it.