Chapter 5

Being from a small town, there is not much to do around here for fun. When we pull up to the mall, ever single parking space is taken.

“Drop me off by the door please, I’m late to meet with Taylor”

“Whatever” says Jane as she heads for the front door. I hop out and whip out my phone to dial Taylor’s number.

“Taylor! I’m here!”

“Great, so am I! Meet me in the food court by Baskin Robbins.”

I run to the food court and scan the crowd for my friend. She’s easy to spot in her bright yellow coat. Taylor waves as she spots me and runs over.

“Okay this is driving me crazy! What happened?!”

I pull her by her hand and lead her away from the crowd.

“I saw something I was not supposed to see” I whisper. “After practice I got in a huge fight with my sister and my mom sent me to my room and that’s when I saw it Taylor! I saw through Mrs. Wheeler’s window her having a fight with a man. He was holding her with one hand and punching with the other! I think He really hurt her!”

Taylors eyes are popping out of their sockets. She stares at me in silence, unsure of what to say. Finally, she asks “are you sure you saw this for real? It wasn’t your crazy imagination?”

“I am a million percent positive Taylor!”

“Well then I believe you. If you say you saw it, then you saw it.”

We grab a seat on a bench by the escalators. People pass by us but no one pays us any attention.

“What will you do now Rachel? Will you tell your parent’s what happened?”

“I tried to this morning! My dad even called her. We got her message machine. Apparently, she is out of town. But how can that be? I saw her with my own eyes yesterday! She was home.”

“What if both of those things happened?” Taylor asked, her face lighting up as it does when she gets a great idea. “What if she meant to leave that day, recorded the message, and then got attacked? What if she is still in the house!” Her eyes were wide open and a look of terror was written on her face

“We need to know for sure” I reply, “we need to get in there and see for ourselves!”

Terrified and excited at my idea, I spring out of my seat. I am ready to go home and see for myself!

BOOM goes the brick.

I whip around to find a massive brick had fallen where I was just sitting. Taylor jumps up from the bench shrieking. Luckily, the brick missed her but would have pummeled me had I not gotten up.

I try my best to look upstairs through the glass railing but don’t see anyone near the edge. I race up the escalator as fast as my legs would take me, scanning the perimeter at the top.

I don’t recognize anyone. No one looks shocked or guilty. No one is looking my way at all. My heart racing, I ride the escalator down to my friend.

“Rachel! Was that meant for you? That could have killed you!”

“Bricks don’t just fall from the ceiling. One more minute and I would have been a goner!”

Taylor is shaking and visibly upset. “I think it’s time for me to head home. You need to tell your mom what happened.”

“I will, but I doubt she will believe me.”

“If I wasn’t here I wouldn’t believe you either! Bricks falling from the ceiling is not something that happens.”

We walk towards the mall exit as Taylor calls her mom on her phone. She is already waiting by the door for Taylor. I say goodbye and watch her walk away.

I whip out my phone to call my sister. She and Steve are at the food court having ice cream. I rush to meet them there but hesitate about telling them. No way could I trust either one of them after what they pulled yesterday.

“Did you have fun with your little friend?” Steve asks, with a stupid smirk on his face.

“Yes. I’m done. I want to go home.”

Jane gets up from her seat. “I have one more thing to grab and we can go” she replies, throwing away her treat.

I follow along in silence for the rest of the trip. My mind is racing trying to figure out what just happened. What are the chances that a brick would fall from the ceiling onto the first floor by accident? Zero to none. Those were the chances. Someone had dropped that brick. It was meant for me. But why?