My undercover life - Season 1 - Episode 39

Episode 5 years ago

My undercover life - Season 1 - Episode 39

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I’m f-----g watching you . . .

Adrenaline coursed through my system as I stared at the words that made my heart pound a million miles a minute. As the seconds ticked by, I could feel my blood pressure rising, meeting the continuous hammering in my chest.
I’m always watching you . . .

The words repeated in my head, as I stood there, paralyzed with absolute terror. Just who the hell was this guy? I knew for a fact that Hunter was with Megan, so there’s no way he was anywhere near me. The only people ‘watching’ me was my cousin Skylar and Bradlee . . . even the security guard that was placed around the corner wasn’t watching me. So, how the f--k was he supposedly watching me? H-he has to be lying. Unless . . . My eyes rounded. No way—the cameras.

My hands clenched around the note, eyeing the nearest camera warily. Sweat began to roll down the side of my face when I saw the camera following me. I s----d in a breath, when fear consumed every cell of my body.

“Avery,” Bradlee whispered quietly. My body froze, almost forgetting he was directly behind me. “Don’t worry, I’m here.” His arms went around my waist, holding me still against his firm chest. His soft, yet strong hand covered my own, before he carefully removed the note from me, and dropped it on top of my books. I sighed contently, relaxing when his arms wrapped around my body once again, holding me close to him. “I’ll protect you with my life.”

“Bradlee—”
“—shh, your cousin is coming,” he mumbled under his breath, before reluctantly letting go of me. Hearing someone clearing their throat behind us, my cheeks heated up in embarrassment. I turned around slowly seeing Skylar with a frown on his face, his heated stare watching Bradlee, carefully.

His gaze softened quickly when his eyes met mine. “Are you alright, Avery?” he asked.
I nodded. “I-I think so. But the killer—”

“—we saw the note.” His eyes flickered over to the camera disguised as a pin that was hooked on my blazer. “But, we still can’t figure out how he’s able to get in and out without anyone seeing him.”

“He said he’s watching me . . .” My hands clammed up just thinking about it. “Do you think he’s using the school’s cameras for his own personal pleasures?”

Bradlee made a noise of distaste, moving his body closer towards mine, guarding me like a shield. I smiled secretly at this.

“Impossible,” Skylar ruled out. “I highly doubt a low life serial killer can hack through our database.”

“T-then how is he doing it?” I asked, watching his eyebrows scrunched up in thought. He looked as lost as I did. “How is he able to get past you guys?”

“We don’t know,” he said with a sigh. “But, in the meantime.”—He faced Bradlee.—”Please take Avery to her next class while I go see if the guys captured anything on film, and—” He paused, grabbing the note from my locker with his glove covered hand. “—take this back for evidence.”

Bradlee lowered his head at Skylar, before Skylar left in a rush. Once we were alone, Bradlee immediately took my hand in his, squeezing it lightly. I smiled up at him, before leaning my head against his shoulder. It was times like these that I was happy Bradlee was on my side. His overall presence was comforting, and right now being next to him, felt safe.

“Av.” His voice was low, with an agreeable amount of huskiness.

“Y-yeah?” I lifted my head up to look at him.
“I—” he started to say, before he shook his head. Closing his mouth, he let go of me. “Never mind. It’s nothing important.”

I stared up at him in confusion. “You sure?”
He nodded. “I’m sure,” he said, trying to reassure me with a tug of his lips. “Come on.” He guided me forward, urging me to move. “Let’s get you to your next class before you miss anything else.”

“I—um, okay.” Even as I followed along, I couldn’t help but wonder what he was really going to say next.Especially since I could tell from a mile away that his smile was fake.
“Avery!”

I cranked my neck around to see Ian running towards me like a mad man, waving his hands back and forth in the air. His feet drifted to a stop once he was in front of me, before he hopped from one foot to the other. “I have the most brilliant plan for lunch today!” he shouted loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear. He ignored our classmates’ obvious stares, as he eagerly waited for me to acknowledge him.
“Yes, Ian?”

“Why don’t we go out and eat today, and while we’re at it, let’s go visit Velvet!” Excitement poured out of him like a bucket of water; his eyes wide, and grin even wider.
“I thought we were going to visit her after school?”

“I know, but I really want to go now!” he said, impatiently. “I’m dying to see her, and waiting three more hours is absolutely sheer torture!”

My lips pursed together, pondering over my options. Should I even go? Then again, the better question was, can I even go?I knew for a fact Skylar wouldn’t allow me to leave together with Ian without supervision, even though he wasn’t a suspect anymore. To him, going anywhere outside the school’s grounds without him or Demitri was a definite no. But, as Ian stared up at me with those pleading blue eyes of his, I knew I was a goner. Saying no to Ian was like saying no to a five year old—it was too heartbreaking.

“Okay, how about this,” I proposed, watching his eyes widened in anticipation. “If you can get Megan to agree to go with us, I’ll go.”
“Really?”
I laughed. “Really.”

“Done!” he agreed, before he sprinted towards our lunch table where Megan, Annemarie and Asher were already sitting at.
“Megan!” I heard him exclaimed loud and clear, as I headed towards them. “Would you like to come with me and Avery to a pet store? We’re visiting Velvet, and Avery doesn’t want to go unless you come with us, so can you please please please, come with?”

“The pet store?” she asked. “Um . . .” The end of her sentence drifted off, as her gaze met mine. I shrugged my shoulders, letting her know it was her choice if she wanted to go or not. She mumbled something under her breath, before she turned her attention towards her friends.
“Guys, do you want to go to a pet store?” Megan asked them. “I know puppies are your favorite, Asher.”

He blushed, fidgeting with his fingers. “Um, I guess I can go,” he said meekly, eyeing Ian in the corner of his eyes.

“Sorry guys,” Annemarie apologized, before shoving the rest of her fries down her throat. “I’m allergic to fur.”

“That’s okay!” Ian yelled out. “Two is better than none!” he said, pumping his fists in the air, shouting victory. “Come on guys! Let’s go before Velvet starves to death.” He started pushing the nearest person next to him—which happened to be Asher—out of his seat. “Velvet should not be kept waiting for that long.”

“Just let me finish my pizza—” Megan started to say, before the rest of her sentence was cut off when Hunter swung his arm around Megan. Her mouth fell open in shock, as she stood there, blinking her eyes. His smile broke out into a wide grin, causing Megan to return his smile with a half eaten pizza placed in the corner of her mouth.

“Did someone say red velvet cupcakes?” Hunter asked excitedly.

“I wish.” Ian pouted. “But, we’re actually talking about Velvet, the bunny we’re visiting.”
Hunter slowly let go of Megan, staring at Ian, puzzlingly. “Bunny?”

Ian nodded eagerly. “Yeah! We’re all going to Pet Set.”
“Now?”

“Duh!” He stuck his tongue out. “Plus, Velvet is probably already missing my lovely presence.”

“Sounds fun,” Hunter concluded, chuckling at Ian’s antics. “You can count me in.”
My eyes rounded. “You’re going too?”
He rolled his shoulders. “Why not? I always wanted to visit a pet store, anyways.”

“Great!” Ian cheered. “The more the merrier!” He glanced behind Asher, looking straight at Annemarie. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with? Velvet’s really cute.”

“I’m sure.” She stood up, gathering her empty plate in her hands. “I’ll just hang out at the library until you guys get back.”

“Okay, we’ll text you,” Megan told her, before Annemarie gave Megan and Asher, respectively a hug goodbye. She smiled at the rest of us, before she made her way towards the trash, dumping the plate away.

“So,” Ian sung once the entrance door to the cafeteria slammed shut. “Can we please go now?”

I chuckled. The boy seriously didn’t have any patience at all. “Yes, we can go now.”
“Finally!” He started skipping towards the back door, before Hunter caught Ian by his wrist, halting him in his steps. Ian twisted his neck around with a pout and shot a bewildered look at Hunter. “What now?” he whined, wiggling his way out of Hunter’s hold.
“Who’s driving?” Hunter asked.
“Well . . .” Ian tapped his finger on the side of his face. “I have a truck, so someone can ride with me, but—”
“—c-can I ride with you?” Asher squeaked quietly before his cheeks reddened; his pale skin red as a tomato.

“Sure!”


Happiness flared in Asher’s eyes as he beamed widely at Ian, thanking him under his breath.
“Alright, and I have a car that can fit at least six people.”

“I call shotgun!” Megan exclaimed, excitedly. I rolled my eyes at her. She definitely just wanted to sit next to Hunter.

“I guess I’ll sit in the back then.”
“Aw, cheer up Avery.” Hunter laughed. “I’ll get Bradlee to go with you, if you want.” My heart kicked into overdrive just hearing his name. Even though I’d just seen him five minutes ago, I was itching to see him again. Hunter wiggled his eyebrows when he got the reaction he wanted from me. “Come on Avery. I’ll text Bradlee to meet us at Pet Set.”

“Um, no that’s okay. He’s actually waiting for me right outside the cafeteria.”
Hunter paused. “He is?”

“Yeah. He hates crowded places, remember?” I motioned my hand towards the chattering amongst us. “I was only here to buy lunch before meeting up with Bradlee again, but then this happened . . .”
“That’s—”

“—can’t we just talk about this in the car? We’re wasting precious minutes here!” Ian interrupted Hunter, before he started dragging Hunter out the back door. Asher quickly followed after Ian, tagging along, before Megan and I stared at one another. Our expressions mirrored each others’, looking amused.

“Boys.” We both laughed, running after them.
“Isn’t she adorable?” Ian cooed, patting the small ball of fluff in his hands. “Yes you are, yes you are.” He gently tapped the bunny’s grey head before leaning in to give Velvet a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. Its small nose twitched at the contact, eyeing Ian. “Oh, gosh!” Ian squealed, bringing the small bunny up to his face, cuddling it happily. “That was too cute!”
“It seems like he really likes bunnies, doesn’t he?” Megan asked next to me.

“You have to admit lop bunnies are really cute.”

“Especially dwarf lop bunnies,” Megan added, emphasizing how small she really was.
“Totally,” I agreed, as I continued to watch Ian playing with Velvet. He looked so carefree—so happy. And not that fake-pretending-happy that he does sometimes. No—he was finally genuinely happy for once, and I honestly hope it stays that way. “Maybe we should get Velvet for him.”

“You mean like a Christmas gift?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah, why not?” I shrugged, eyeing Bradlee in the corner of my eyes. I covered a giggle when he started approaching a fully grown red tail boa cautiously, before he crouched down to its level. He tapped the glass once, causing the snake to lift its head. Its tongue slithered out, causing a wide blown out smile to appeared on Bradlee’s face. Someone’s a snake guy. Maybe I should get him a—

“—Earth to Avery!” Hunter shouted in front of me. “Avery!”

“W-what?” I blinked, my eyes drifting back towards Hunter. “Um, yes?”
“Velvet. Ian. Christmas gift.”

“Oh . . . right.” Clearing my throat, I faced Hunter again. “As I was saying, maybe we can surprise Ian with Velvet, seeing that he loves her so much.”

“Do you think, I . . . um could give it to him?” Asher asked, pushing his silver bangs out of his forest green eyes.

“Sure, I don’t see why not—” I started to say, before the rest of my voice was cut off by an ear-piercing sound.

Curious glances turned their hands towards the direction of the noise, as Ian stood there in the middle of the room with his hands frozen, and his cell phone discarded on the floor. My heart beat speeded up seeing his wide, blue eyes filled with terror, and his skin deadly white.
“Ian—what’s wrong?”
“Ash-h-leigh,” he stammered. “S-sh-he’s gone.”
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