Page 105 of Mistaken Prejudice

“Yeah.”

No, no, no. It was all one big mistake. Andrei didn’t mean it, not really. I had to speak to him, so I could explain myself. I needed to get out of here, but Shay-Lee wouldn’t let me. They were locking me in my room like an animal.

Think, Miles, think. I looked around the room, searching for my solution, when bingo. Shay-Lee was dressed in sweats, my sweats meaning…

“I need to take a shower,” I said before I escaped to my bathroom and locked the door behind me. And just as I expected, Shay-Lee’s clothes were thrown on the floor. I picked up his jeans and searched the pockets until—

“Yes,” I said to myself as I held on to his car keys.

“Miles?” I heard him asking from behind the locked door as I turned the shower on. “Open the door, Miles.”

“I’m taking a shower and doing my skincare routine,” I shouted back as I moved toward my bathroom window, the one leading to the backyard. “Just leave me alone for a while. Okay?”

“Fine, but I’m staying right here.”

“Okay,” I said while climbing out the window.

I needed to find Andrei. Once I did, everything would be good again.

***

“Open the door, Andrei! Open the door!” I yelled while knocking on their door over and over again. The only sounds coming from the dark house were barks, but how could it be? It was not even 7:00 p.m. Where was everyone? Did Andrei tell them to ignore me? Was that it?

I needed to make sure it wasn’t the case, so I climbed over the fence and went to the back of the house, where a sliding glass door led to their kitchen. I started climbing the wooden stairs leading to their deck, when a huge dog came charging at me.

“Holy fuck!” I gasped as I fell on my ass, only an inch separating my face from his jaw. Thankfully, he was on a leash, and so were the other two dogs I only noticed now.

“Fuck!” I yelled. There was no way I could pass them and get into the house. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” I shouted, my hands in my hair. I was about to lose my freaking mind.

Should I try the front door again?

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Still nothing but those stupid barks that made my head hurt.

I crouched down and covered my ears with my palms. I pressed them as tight as I could to block the noises. Think, Miles. Stop being so worthless and think.

A flash of light caught my attention, and I lifted my head to see a truck come to a stop in front of the house. Andrei’s truck. And in it was Andrei. My Andrei.

“Andrei,” I spoke his name as I got up. “Andrei!” I said again as I ran down the stairs and reached for his door handle, but the door didn’t open. Was it broken?

The engine died, but the door was locked, and no matter how hard I tried to pull the handle, it wouldn’t budge.

“Andrei, the door is locked,” I explained as I tried again. “It won’t open.” I looked at the handle, trying to figure out why it wasn’t working before I looked back at Andrei. But he wasn’t looking back at me. No, he stared ahead while gripping the steering wheel with his right hand. My vision blurred as tears streaked down my face. I didn’t even care that my nose was runny or that everything felt sticky and messy. All I wanted was for Andrei to open the door.

“Andrei?” Why wouldn’t he look at me? “Andrei.” I tapped on his window, but he still wouldn’t budge.

“Open the door, Andrei.” My voice got higher. “Open the door!”

My eyes were wet with tears, and my throat was dry from screaming as I continued to tap on the goddamn window.

“Open the door!” Please, just open the door and listen to me. Please. “Andrei, open the goddamn door!”

Andrei