DUSK by Esther Machethe (top books of all time txt) 📕

“I’m heading over to the joint, how about you hitch a ride with me then I’ll come pick you up in an hour or when you’re done or when she starts acting like the deranged bitch she is” he murmured the last part even though I heard it. I sighed and reluctantly nodded, following him to his car where I got on the passenger side.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Jared like a brother but he was always so judgemental of Chloe in a way that none one really understood. I mean, Reece and Clayton were okay with her and never really judged her. Jared was like a brother to me and the fact that he never liked Chloe was something strange to me especially since he liked everyone else, even her friends; Emma, Sapphire and even that weird Ashton who was always around Chloe, he never left her side and I’ll admit, at first I was jealous of him because grudgingly, he is a good looking guy who constantly hangs around my girl. That definitely didn’t sit well with me but then I learned that he has the hots for Emma that made me relax a bit.

Anyway, I was really trying to find an acceptable reason to break up with Chloe but I came up with nothing.

“Hey man, we’re here” Jared, again, brought me back from my thoughts. I sighed before opening the door and stepping out of the car. He gave me a reassuring grin but I could only grimace before turning to knock on her door.

“This is it.” I murmur to myself.

A few minutes later, the day swung open and Chloe appeared.

“Took you long—” she trailed off looking confused.

“Hi, did I interrupt something?” I asked curiously and watched as she tried to sound normal.

“No, sorry, I thought it was Emma at the door. I’m having brunch, come join me.” She said pulling me into the house.

I quietly followed her into the dining room where the smell of pancakes wafted through my nose. I looked at the table where at least ten pancakes were stacked on a plate. I looked at her with a raised brow, how were all these for one person?

“It was meant for me and the girls” she smiled sheepishly at me making me chuckle. I took a seat opposite her and watched silently as she devoured four pancakes in record time. I wondered how she wasn’t fat with all that she manages to put down. I only took two since I had eaten before I left home. I tried to listen as she talked but my mind was still stuck at how I could call it off without hurting her. I played different versions of how to say it and how she would react.

“Stop that!” her voice cuts through my thoughts.

“What?”

“Stop disappearing off into your mind. What’s going on in there?” she asks casually.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” I tried to smile at her reassuringly though I doubt if she believed me.

“Okay, but you know you can tell me anything, right,” she asked and I nodded. We sat in silence again and I tried to focus on the TV that I didn’t even know was on. Failing, I turned and watched as her face went through various expressions as she focused on the film. I thought I should just wing it, tell her that I like her but I like someone more…that’s it! That’s exactly what I would tell her, now all I need is the right moment.

“Really Alec?” her voice sounded a bit bored.

“What?”

“What’s with you and the staring, you’re kind off freaking me out. Is something wrong?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant but I could tell she was nervous.

“It’s nothing, I’ll tell you after lunch” I tried to convince her and myself. She looked at the clock and her expression turned giddy, this is not going to be good, I thought to myself as she turned to me with a wide smile.

“Lunch time!! Finally, I’m starving” she said as she stood up and walked to the kitchen. This made me laugh.

“You just ate like one hour ago” I murmured to myself, hoping she didn’t hear me.

I gathered the last courage I had and followed her to the kitchen where she stood, possibly thinking of what she’ll eat. I placed a hand on her shoulder, gently but her reaction was comical and I would have laughed if I wasn’t so tensed.

“Relax Chloe, it’s not the green eyed thing you keep talking about.” I shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

“You scared me half to death but you think it’s nothing big,” she frowned at him making me laugh all the more. She resumed what she was doing before she turned to me, “what would you like to eat?” the excitement on her face was cute. It couldn’t hurt to enjoy the last meal with her, kind of the last lunch then I remembered the rolls she makes out of beef and that’s what I told her.

I watched her move about in the kitchen before finally setting two plates on the kitchen counter with the food. I quickly took a bite and sighed in appreciation, these things were amazing.

“These things are amazing, where did you learn how to make these?” I tried to sound casual. She smiled fondly at the memory.

“I learned from my other foster parents before I came here. She taught me how….” I cut her off before she could finish. The guilt was too much.

“Yeah, I’ll stop you there before you start crying on me” I smirked at her. I must admit, it was a rude and I saw her smile drop but it was back before I could blink, making me think I might have imagined it.

“You arrogant jerk, I would rather choke on my tears before you get to see them,” she said in what I assumed and hoped was a joking tone. Before I could continue teasing her, a loud crash was heard outside and her face paled.

“What on earth was that” I muttered as I walked towards the door. However, Chloe beat me to it and I heard her gasp, rushing to her parents’ side while I stood fixed on the spot.

“Am sorry Chloe but I have no other option.” Chloe’s dad said in a sad voice, what was he talking about? Chloe looked at him questioningly but she couldn’t say anything then he spoke again but in a calmer tone.

“Dusk, activate protection code 19165E.” his voice was devoid of any emotion and I would have sworn Chloe looked scared for a moment before her face calmed and became devoid of any emotion.

“Command accepted, activating protection code 19165E.,” a voice said and I realized it was Chloe who spoke and she sounded so cold and detached, nothing like how she is normally.

Again, before I could ask what was happening, she turned and walked away from her parents and towards a car that I hadn’t seen before which was approaching at a high speed. It came to a halt a few meters away from her and three huge men stepped out. I was terrified, to say the least, but I rushed to Chloe’s dad, trying to make him save her.

“Stop her before she hurts herself!” I shout at him but he looks unfazed.

“Chloe will be fine. We need to get her into the house so I can stop the bleeding.” He said lifting up his wife and walking towards the house. I opened the door wider for him to carry her inside. I followed him in and opened the first door which I assumed was their room.

“I need warm water, a piece of cloth, first aid kit that’s in the bottom drawer of my dressing cabinet” he ordered in a voice which I would like to believe was the inner doctor talking. I got him everything he needed and watched him get to work.

 He used the cloth to dry the dried blood on her face and took off her shirt. It would have been very uncomfortable if she was awake but I couldn’t move when he opened the kit and took out a needle and a syringe. He took out a blue liquid and put it into the syringe before injecting it into her. Before I could question him he turned to me,

“Go and get Chloe, I’m sure she’s exhausted enough by now”. He said it in a monotone voice and I could only nod.

Oh my God!! Chloe!! I completely forgot about her!

 I shot out of the house but I froze in shock when I saw her, more so, what she was doing. One guy was on the ground and she was holding one guy’s neck before she snapped it without a second thought. I watched as the other guy ran and got into the car before driving off. She just killed a person without a flicker of emotion. What is she?

“Chloe?” I found myself almost whispering. Her head snapped towards me, her face emotionless.

“W-what have you done?” I asked.

 I hate to admit it but I’ve never been more scared of anything in my whole life. Before she could say anything. I saw her eyes close and she fell to the ground. I rushed to her and carried her into her dad’s room.

I found her parents quietly sat, her mom had a worried look on her face but she looked fine like she wasn’t in an accident a few minutes ago. I lay her on the bed and watched as her dad flipped her over and stuck a big needle at the base of her neck. Miraculously, Chloe sat up straight and looked straight ahead. She looked like a robot.

“Dusk, activate assessment code 193114S,” Chloe’s mom said in a monotone voice. What is wrong with them, this is Chloe, not Dusk or whatever.

 “Affirmative, assessment code 193114 is complete. No serious or permanent body injuries to the primary host. However, a dose of pain relief will be essential to the host when conscious along with ice to reduce swelling on the bruises on the stomach.” Chloe spoke in a monotone and emotionless voice.

“Thank you Dusk, you may resume inactive code 1851920E.” Chloe’s dad said in a detached voice.

In a minute Chloe collapsed into her mom’s arms which were ready to hold her. This was not real, it couldn’t be happening. Maybe it’s just a dream that I was going to wake up and laugh at myself.

“Son, I need you to not say any of this to anyone.” Chloe’s dad told me. I looked at him and saw determination in his eyes, determination to do what, silence me, Oh my God!!! I could only manage to nod since my body felt weak. A shrill sound interrupted the silence and it took me a moment before I recognized it as my ringing tone.

“Hello?” but my voice came out breathless.

“You okay, should I come to pick you up?” Jared asked from the other side. I had to clear my throat first to make it sound normal.

“Yeah, you can come pick me up now.”

“Cool, I’ll be there in ten.” He said before the line went dead. I turned to find Chloe’s parents looking at me with a mixture of worry and concern.

“I promise I won’t say anything but how will I explain the mess outside to my friends when they come?” I asked, trying to sound casual though I was very, extremely nervous.

“Don’t worry, it’s all been cleared by now.” Chloe’s dad said casually and I resisted the urge to frown. Who are these people???

We sat in silence before my phone buzzed, alerting me that Jared had arrived. I stood up and bid them a quiet farewell before walking out. I couldn’t believe it because it wasn’t like anything happened, the place looked normal. I turned one last time to look at the house and all I could think was ‘I will never come back here’.

I got into the care and Jared started the engine. “What’s wrong