Clutching the blue notebook, I began the walk towards Chloe’s house. As I sped along the gray sidewalk, I kept replaying the last fifty minutes over and over in my head. I could not believe my luck!

It had all began in last period history class. Mrs. Garcia had announced that today was the day that we would be starting our final project of the year and that she would be assigning partners. Groans echoed throughout the small classroom in response to this unwelcome piece of news. After we had finished expressing our disappointment, Mrs. Garcia read out the partner assignments. “Will and Emma. Charlotte and Jackson. Adam and Chloe…”

After that, I didn’t hear anything. My eyes popped out of my head and immediately, my heart began to race. Chloe Maxwell. My partner. Chloe was the prettiest girl in the tenth grade. She had long, silky, straight blonde hair and a dazzling pair of blue eyes that sparkled like sapphires. She had a pale complexion with skin as white as snow despite the fact that she had originally been born in California. Not only was Chloe beautiful, but she was kind to everyone around her. She was perfect. The most perfect person that I had ever met and that was why I was hopelessly in love with her. I have been ever since the sixth grade when Chloe first moved into the big white house next door after her mother had died and her father remarried. However, Chloe had never paid me very much attention. Sure, she was always nice to me and said hello in the hallways but, she was interested in other guys. However, at that moment, I did not care. I was just happy enough that I could work with her on this project.

After Mrs. Garcia sent our class to start working on our projects, I got up out of my seat to talk to Chloe. She saw me approaching and turned around in her chair and flashed a brilliant, white smile. She clutched two notebooks in her hands: a black spiral one and a sapphire blue one that matched her eyes. “Hey Adam,” she said when I reached her desk.

“Um.. hey Chloe,” I stammered. “Do you, um, want to, erm, get started?” I tried to calm myself by taking a breath but, instead my heart seemed to beat faster. “I think that would be perfect,” Chloe said, once more flashing a perfect smile. “Come on. Let’s work back here.” She got up out of her chair, smoothed her jean skirt, grabbed my hand and dragged me to the back of the classroom. I almost fainted. For the rest of the class, we attempted to work on our project but we kept getting distracted and we talked about everything but history. At the end of the period, Chloe gave me her phone number and told me to text her. “Clearly, we need to work on this outside of school. We did absolutely nothing!” She let out the most adorable giggle. 

“Um, yeah, sure.I can text you after school.”

“Sounds perfect. I’ll see you soon. I’ve got to get home” Chloe waved goodbye and left the classroom. In shock, I watched her walk away. I had Chloe Maxwell’s phone number! As I excitedly gathered my books, I noticed that Chloe had left behind the blue notebook. I opened the cover to the first page which read: This diary belongs to Chloe Maxwell. Oh crap! She wouldn’t want this left behind at school! How would I get this to her? Surely she had left the school by now and it was too late to text her. Oh wait. I live next door to her. I could just walk to her house and give her the notebook. This would also give me another chance to talk to her!  I had then grabbed my backpack and sprinted out of the classroom.

It was a perfect day. The sun shone brightly and there was not a single cloud in the bright blue sky. The temperature was perfect, not too hot and not too cold. The trees were a lush shade of green. I finally reached Number 12, Cedarwood Ave, and went up to Chloe’s door. I stood at the door and raised my fist to knock. Wait? What am I going to say? Would Chloe think that I read her diary? Surely, she would know that I would never do such a thing. Finally, I took a deep breath (the deepest breath that I have ever taken) and knocked at the red door.

A woman answered it. She was around forty years old with jet black hair and piercing black eyes. Her thin red lips were pressed in a hard line and wrinkles lined her forehead and under eyes. She looked me straight in the eyes and coldly asked, “May I help you?”

“Hi. Yes. Um. My name is Adam Donahue and I’m looking for, um, your daughter Chloe. She left something at school and I wanted to return it.”

“Chloe’s not my daughter. I’m her stepmother. Besides, she’s not home.”

That’s odd. Hadn’t Chloe told me that she was going home when school was over?

“Are you sure she’s not home?” I questioned. “She told me that she was coming home straight after school.”

“Well she didn’t. What do you want me to do about that?” the woman barked at me.

“Um.. well.. nothing I guess. Can I wait until she gets home?”

“No young man. I think that it is best that you leave now,” the woman told me. At that moment, two teenagers, one boy and one girl slithered up behind the woman. They looked exactly like her with the same jet black hair and piercing black eyes. I recognized them right away. The Morana twins, Lilith and Lucifer. They were both seniors at my school. I didn’t know they were Chloe’s step siblings.

“Mother”, Lilith hissed. “It is time. We need to do it now.”

“We need to hurry,” Lucifer spoke just as creepily as his sister did before he slithered back into the house. Their words sent shivers down my spine. 

“Alright young man as you can see,” said Chloe’s stepmother, “My children and I have something that we need to do. It is best that you leave now.”

“Um ok. Thank you for your help,” I gulped and watched as the red door began to close. But then, I saw it. A streak of bright blonde hair rushed behind Chloe’s stepmother and Lilith. The streak was followed by Lucifer as he opened a door that looked as though it led into a basement and pushed the streak down the stairs. That was odd. Didn’t she just say that Chloe wasn’t home? What was going on?

I staggered down the porch steps and sat down. I couldn’t leave just yet. Something was going on. Something horrible was about to happen and Chloe could be hurt. But what? I glanced down at the diary. Chloe could have written down a clue that could help me solve this mystery. I went to open the book and then stopped. I really should not go through Chloe’s private thoughts. But she could be in danger. This diary could help save her. Reluctantly, I opened the blue notebook and flipped through until I came upon yesterday’s entry. Might as well start with what happened recently.

Tuesday, June 4th

Dear Diary,

I think they are plotting to kill me tomorrow. I overheard Dad, Lilith, Lucifer, and Mara (that must be her stepmom I thought) talking in hushed voices yesterday. Mara was saying “We have to get rid of her John. You know how unhappy she makes you. Everytime you look at her, you see Elizabeth and doesn’t that bring you pain? Chloe only brings you pain, she brings you no joy. Wouldn’t your life be easier without her?” I couldn’t hear Dad’s response. I only heard the breaking of glass as Dad dropped his beer bottle to the ground and he began to hiccup which was followed by laughter. Did I really bring Dad that much pain because I look just like Mom? Mom was the light of Dad’s life and he loved her so much. Could he really just let them kill me that easily? Oh diary, I don’t know what to do! How do I tell someone what’s going to happen? I’m so scared. I don’t want to go just yet! I still haven’t told Adam that I like him yet! He’s so sweet and kind and just extremely loyal. I mean EXTREMELY loyal. Last year in biology, he lied to Mrs. Courtney and told her that he was the one who stole all of the frogs from the lab and hid them in the cafeteria even though it was his best friend Jason who did it. He got detention for four weeks after that.Whenever I see him look at me with those soft brown eyes, I get butterflies in my stomach and I have to look away. God, why haven’t I worked up the nerve to talk to him yet? Especially if tomorrow is my last day on Earth, I need to talk to him. Oh Mom. I wish you were here!

I sat on the porch steps, frozen with fear. Chloe’s family was going to kill her. They were going to kill that kind, intelligent, beautiful, perfect girl. How could they do this? There was no way that I was going to let them get away with this. Not ever. I would do anything to save Chloe, even if it meant risking my own life. 

I pushed myself off of the porch and stalked onto the crisp, green yard. There had to be another entrance into the house where no member of Chloe’s family could see me. Maybe there was a door or a window that led directly into the basement. The only problem was that there was a fence that surrounded the backyard. I whipped my head from side to side to see if anyone was watching before I scurried up the fence and jumped into Chloe’s backyard. I fell forward and landed flat on my face. I stood up and shook the grass out of my curly brown hair and dusted off my sweatpants. As I rubbed my head, my eye caught on a shiny piece of glass near the bottom of the house. It was a window! I hurried over and crouched down. Sure enough, it led into the basement. It was pitch black and I could only make out faint moving shadows. Quietly, I opened the window and stuck one foot in through the window and then the next one. I shimmied down the window sill and landed on the floor of the basement with a quiet oomph! I tiptoed over to a huge box that was in the corner and hid. I peeked out and what I saw horrified me to my very core.

The basement was dark and creepy. It was unfinished and there were nails that poked out of the walls and littered the floor. There were lots of boxes scattered throughout the room that contained a rancid smell that was a mix of stale beer and rotting flesh (How many other people had been murdered in this basement?). In the middle of the basement there was a long wooden pole with a figure that was tied around it. The figure was small and pale with long blonde hair that was now damp and matted with blood. The figure was thrashing and crying. Tears were flowing from her eyes like waterfalls.

“Please!” she cried. “Why are you doing this to me? Dad please stop this! What would Mom say?”

“Stop it Chloe,” said a slurred deep voice who belonged to who I assumed was Chloe’s dad. “You know you remind me too much of her. It's better if you weren’t around to remind me. Mara convinced me of this.”

“Dad stop it! You know Mom loved you! But it was her time to go. She was sick! Please Dad! I don’t want to go just yet.” Chloe pleaded.

“Too late sweetheart.” Chloe’s father lifted his hand that was wrapped around something shiny. He then smashed it across Chloe’s face and beer bottle glass shattered around her. She let out a gut-wrenching scream, her cries echoing throughout the small room. I couldn’t help but shed a tear. Chloe sobbed and sobbed as her father took something sharp and shiny out of his wife’s hand. I inched closer and closer towards the center of the room to see what the object was. My eyes widened in horror as I realized it was a knife. Chloe’s father lifted the knife up over her head as Mara stood next to him smiling. The terror twins stood by their mother with evil twinkles in their eyes. Of course! It all made sense to me now. This was the stepmother’s idea! She didn’t want Chloe around as a reminder of her husband’s first marriage. She was jealous of Chloe and how similar she was to her mother. No wonder why she wanted Chloe gone! The fact that her father was a drunk made it easier for her to convince him to do the killing. If the authorities ever suspected anything, her husband would take the blame. After all, his DNA would be all over the knife and a drunk was capable of doing anything. It was the perfect crime.

“Goodbye Chlo. Say hello to your mother for me.” 

I snapped back to reality as Chloe’s father spoke. No! I dashed out from behind the box and tackled Chloe’s father to the ground. “Get away from her!” I roared as I rolled over to avoid the knife. 

“Lucifer! Get him!” Mara yelled at her son. Lucifer jumped on top of me and the three of us rolled around on the floor throwing punches at each other. I thrashed my fists wildly, hoping to land on some body part. I saw the pile of beer bottles that lay nearby and grabbed one. I hit Chloe’s father over the head and the glass shattered causing him to become unconscious. Blood trickled down the side of his head. I grabbed another bottle and whacked Lucifer as well and Lucifer went down just like Chloe’s father. Grabbing the knife, I army crawled over to the pole where Chloe was tied. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw me. She had various cuts on her face and dry blood was gathered at the top of her head. I began frantically to try to cut away the ropes but my hands were trembling so bad that I kept missing them. “Come on. Come on.” I muttered.  “Almost there.” I had made it to the last rope when I felt glass shatter on my back. Pain erupted between my shoulder blades and I felt warm liquid falling down my back.

“Not so fast!” hissed Lilith. “I have to kill you too.” 

“Well not today creepy.” I responded. I kicked my foot out to hit her but missed. Instead, when she avoided me, she jumped over my foot and tripped. She landed face first on the hardwood floor and a nail went through her palm. She howled and tried to pull her hand out which caused her even more pain. I finished cutting the rope and grabbed Chloe’s hand. I pulled her up and we began to run across the room towards the basement door when Mara blocked our way. She had grabbed the knife on the way over and held it in front of my face.

“Do not move,” she threatened. “If you move, he dies.”

Chloe glanced over at me, her lip trembling. 

“It’s sad,” I said. “You’re jealous of a sixteen year old girl.”

“I’m not jealous,” Mara spat. “She’s just merely an inconvenience. She does not deserve to live.”

“Yes she does. She deserves everything and so much more. That’s more than I can say about you. Chloe’s the most perfect person in the world and if Chloe’s perfect, then so was her mother. That’s why you’re so jealous. Her father missed his wife and you wished he loved you like he loved her.”

“You would be angry too!” she burst out.  “It was always ‘Elizabeth this. Elizabeth that. I miss Elizabeth. Chloe is so much like her mother.’ I never got any of that. I got nothing and this good-for- nothing brat child and her mother got everything!” Her hand shook a little as she held the knife closer to my head. “She deserves to die for all of the misery she put my children and I through. But, before I kill her, I’ll kill you.” She raised the knife

“Well I don’t think so.” Chloe’s lip curled as she spoke. “Have fun in prison for the rest of your life.” She grabbed Mara’s hand and twisted it causing Mara to scream in pain. Chloe grabbed the knife and I rushed her out of the room.

We ran up the stairs and dashed out  the front door. We never stopped running or looked back until we reached my house. We burst through the front door and I yelled “Mom call the police! Chloe’s in danger!” Mom came running into the front room and paused when she saw Chloe’s dirty and blood stained face and the knife in her hand. Her eyes looked towards the floor where the blood from my wound had made a puddle. Her face twisted into an expression of horror and surprise as she dashed into the kitchen to the phone.

A few hours later, we sat on my front porch wrapped in blankets despite the warm June weather. The police had arrived earlier to arrest Chloe’s father, Mara, and the twins. An ambulance had also arrived to check on us but we did not need stitches so the EMT’s just cleaned our wounds. Chloe was then told that she would have to stay with my family until her aunt from California could come out and stay with her. Chloe had been quiet throughout the whole ordeal and she had barely uttered a word.

“Are you alright Chlo?” I asked her.

“Not really. I mean, I just can’t believe that my father would do this to me. That he  would actually try to kill me! I just… I feel so… broken I guess. And angry. Definitely angry. I tried to stand up to him but I just… felt so weak and powerless.”

“Chloe!” I exclaimed. “You’re not weak at all! Do not say that ever again!  You may not have stood up to your dad but, you stood up for yourself and saved us both from your stepmother. That's pretty brave in my book. We would never have escaped if you didn’t stand up to her.”

“Yeah I guess. Hey thanks for saving me by the way. I should have thanked you earlier.”

“Oh well.. Anytime I guess. I always.. um.. look out for my friends,” I said shrugging and looking away from Chloe.

“For your friends.. right.” Awkward silence filled the air. “How did you know where I was anyways? Why were you at my house?”

“Oh!” I smacked myself in the forehead. “Your journal! You left it in class and I went to bring it to you. Crap! I left it on your front porch when I went to look for you!”

Chloe laughed. “That’s ok. We can just get it later.” She smiled and then her smile slowly faded. “You must have read what was in there then because you knew what they were plotting. So you must have read…” she trailed off.

“I did,” I turned to face her. “To be honest Chlo, I feel the same way. I’ve liked you since the sixth grade when you first moved here. I was always too scared to talk to you. I’m surprised to find out that you felt the same way.” I chuckled.

“Well,” she said smiling slyly. “You’re talking to me now.”

“I just saved you from murderers. I think I’m all done being scared.”

“Touche”, she said and she laid her head down on my shoulder, her sapphire eyes staring at my face. She furrowed her brow and slowly smiled “Then you shouldn’t be scared of this.” She picked her head up and placed her lips on mine.

She was right. I wasn’t.