Chapter Text
Whoosh! The front door opened with surprising speed. Aunt Jenny looked at the door, watching Zoey come in. “Hi kiddo, I have dinner ready. At least eat a little something.” Her Aunt said.
Zoey looked at the table. There were two bowls of macaroni and cheese, with tomato sauce in it (as what was macaroni and cheese without tomato sauce). It looked so good, the smell drifting up into her nose. Aunt Jenny looked at her niece, feeling slightly worried for her health. She hadn’t been eating too much after the whole Castle Nocturnia getting sucked up into a glass bottle thing, loosing her best friend in the world Zian, and finding out the person she swore to end and took all dear to her was her dad, aka the Night Hunter. He was also trapped too. So uhhhh…. She wasn’t really hungry. Food definitely wasn’t top of mind. But if she didn’t eat, her aunt would pester and prod, asking what was wrong. She hated pretending she was ok when she didn’t have to, even though she had to almost every day. She sighed, it would be better to push her feelings and queasiness aside and at least act like she had an appetite. So she tried to smile, even though it looked more like a grimace. “Sure, I’ll come sit down. I had a huugge lunch though, so I’m not super hungry right now.” She tried to chew up the macaroni, but it got lumped in her throat.
Zoey looked up as her Aunt sighed. “What’s bothering you? Does it have anything to do with your dad?”
Zoey moved her pasta around her bowl, trying to avoid the question. “I mean… he just decided to come back and I don’t really know him that well.”
Sarah sighed. “I know swe- Zoey,” she began, smartly avoiding the term “sweetheart” on her moody niece. “I understand if you don’t want to talk to him or even be around him for that matter, but…”
Zoey dropped her spoon in her bowl. “It’s not that, or just that anyway. I… I don’t want to talk about it.” She looked at the face in front of her, trying to see where this conversation was about to be steered. But before another word could be said, the doorbell rang. For a second, Zoey was confused. Who would be at the door right now? Then she heard the voice. “Zoey! You can’t hide from me! I know you’re in there!”
Zoey gasped and whispered. “Once I get to my room tell them I’m not here!” She ran up the stairs and slammed her door shut, making sure to turn the lock. The loiterer tried a different tactic. “Hey, please let me in! I’m here to work on the science project with Zoey!”
Liar, I know why you’re really here. Zoey thought to herself. She put her ear to the door as she heard her aunt get up and walk to the door. Please don’t open it! Please don’t! I trust you Aunt Sarah! She was wrong, her poor aunt got fooled by the lie and opened the door. She heard the door slam open, shaking the whole house as the intruder came charging up the stairs. “YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED!” The voice yelled. “I’m doing it for your own good!”
Zoey yelled back. “Go away! I’m not in the mood!”
“Fine then,” the voice said. Zoey knew what was coming next, guilt. “Just go ahead and break your word, not that I care anyway. You hate people who break promises yet here you are doing it right now. You’re being a terrible example, but that’s ok.”
Zoey sighed very loudly, as be sure she was heard, and also because the person was right, she had promised. “Gee thanks, now I feel a lot happier after you spoke to me today.”
She said in her most sarcastic tone. She could practically feel the sunshine from the next words, trying to break through her gloom. It was honestly a little scary. “Oh come on, I have licorice, I know it’s your favorite. It’s that expensive stuff from Italy you like.”
Zoey moved her hand to the knob, hesitated, then pulled away. She needed proof. “I have three questions.”
“Shoot.” The voice outside said. “One, how did you find my house? Two, do you really have licorice, if so I need proof. And three, if you have the special type from Italy, how’d you buy it? You seem like the type to use all your money at once.”
She heard laughter from the other side of the door. “To answer your first question, I stalked you home! I feel like that’s obvious.”
Figures. Zoey thought. I should’ve known. “And yes, I do have the bag.”
Zoey saw the piece of strawberry candy slide under the door. She picked it up and popped it in her mouth. “Did you really pick that up and eat that off the floor?”
She groaned. “Since when do you care about germs?”
“Since never,” was the reply. “I just always thought you were some kind of neat freak.” Zoey’s mouth watered for more, but she resisted the urge to open the door. “You didn’t answer my third question.” She said, trying to keep up her cold demeanour.
She heard snickering. “Dang ZoZo, you should know the answer to this one.”
Zoey looked at the door, willing for more candy to come, it did not. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m supposed to be the mysterious one you know.” She paused. “Also, I have a name.”
“Open the door, and you’ll find out.” Was the reply, ignoring the last part. Zoey took a deep breath, willing herself to leave the doorknob alone. “Fine then, I guess I won’t know.” She sounded a lot more cocky then she felt.
She heard a sinister chuckle on the other side, sending a chill up her spine. “Poor unsuspecting Zoey, I came prepared this time. There no escape.”
She heard her lock click open and pushed against the door. “You’ve tried to unlock my door more than once!! I thought-”
She was interrupted by the person shoving her door open with a final shove. Zoey sighed. “Fine fine! I give up!”