The Sixth Footprint

Marcus came to solace her, but she was trembling, no matter what she saw in the kitchen. I had my medicine kit, so I gave her some sedative to calm her down. Marcus took her to their room to rest. After that, all of us went to our rooms, but another incident was waiting for us. I saw something very strange; my house was well surveilled, and I had been looking adoringly at Ethan when they all first arrived at my home. I was shocked to see wet footprints on the monitor. There were six pairs, but there were only five of them. How could six pairs of footprints be there?

I rushed to meet Clara and Leo to discuss this with them. When I was walking in the corridor, I felt someone was walking behind me, but when I turned back, no one was there. So, I hurtled down the stairs and knocked on their door. I sat on the sofa there. We were discussing the event; I showed them the footage clip, and they were pretty shocked. "What really is happening?"

A blood curdling, shriek from Hazel, caused by extreme fear, came to our ears. We dashed to their room. Chloe was holding her and trying to calm her down, but it was useless. When Xavier came and asked her what happened, she replied, terrified, that there was something in that cupboard, and it had tried to grip her hand. I asked Leo to check, but there was nothing. Ethan tried to calm her, saying that maybe she was just tense because of the evening's hustle, so she shouldn't worry about the cupboard and should try to rest well. She wasn't ready to rest and kept explaining to Xavier that she had seen something. When Clara was trying to say something to me, she called my name, and Chloe heard her calling me Vivienne.

Chloe started to yell at me. She said that from the moment they arrived in this forest, everything strange had been happening to them. Explaining the events, she accused me, suggesting that maybe I am the one causing the problems for them. "What kind of revenge are you taking on us?" Leo asked her to shut up, telling her that without any evidence, she couldn't accuse me. They all were shocked to learn I was Vivienne. Ethan asked me if I was Vivienne with a vacant stare. Before I could answer him, Maya said that if I was really Vivienne, I couldn't be the one haunting them. Chloe angrily asked, "Why are you taking her side?"

Maya explained that when they were accused in the drug case, I was the one who saved them. Chloe asked her to stop making false statements for me, saying I was so aloof to them in school and had never returned after that incident. Hazel countered that she had seen the principal receiving the proof from the window herself, and that I had also asked the principal not to tell them about me. Lucas asked Chloe to stop accusing me without proof, as down there he knew that if it was really Vivienne, Ethan had truly loved her all these years. Chloe apologized to me, saying she was just scared by what was happening.

I revealed that I was indeed Vivienne and had known who they were from the very first gaze, as I could never allow just anyone random into my home. However, I hadn't been sure if they would have remembered me, so I didn't tell them because I didn't want to zone out. "I have something to tell you all," I said. "I don't want to scare you, but it's really serious. How many of you are there really? See this footage; there are six pairs of footprints, but you all are only five. We haven't gone out since the afternoon, so technically, these aren't ours." They all were shocked, looking at each other with no answer to the footage.

Ethan asked us if something was really strange here, suggesting that we should not stay separately. "There are two sofas already here," he said. "Let's get another sofa in this room, and we three men should stay here tonight." I agreed with him and let them do it. I asked Leo and Clara to go to Marcus and Elena's room and stay there. I told them I was going to get a few things from my room.

When I was going upstairs, I felt someone was watching me, but I moved forward to my room. When I gripped my door knob, I could sense someone moving towards me. I was almost ready for whatever it was, determined to face it. But when I turned back, the fierce, attacking fire in my eyes didn't just fade, it melted, giving way to a look of profound, soothing love that I hadn't shown in years. It was Ethan behind me. He said that he didn't feel it was safe to let me come upstairs alone in this situation. Giving him a firm smile, I said, "I have been here almost since before birth, so whatever it is should be scared of me, not me of it, because this is my zone. My house is not just well-equipped with luxuries, but with weaponry."

We went into my room. I was searching for the keys and some tools to hold in hand for protection, telling him that without knowing what was following us, it was useless to get heavy weapons, but at least having some things in hand would be of some help. But he wasn't really listening to me. He was looking at the room's decor; plain and simple, not like a normal girl's room, and filled with books, awards, certificates, and documents.

Apart from those, his attention went to the small leather worn journal resting on my bedside table.

Panic surged through my veins. I lunged across the rug, swiftly snatching the diary from his grip before his fingers could open the cover. "That is my personal diary," I said breathlessly, holding it tightly against my chest. "Please... don't look inside."

Sensing the boundary, Ethan stepped back with an apologetic nod. I carefully placed the journal back into its hiding spot, and together, we made our way back downstairs. I led him through the kitchen to gather emergency food rations and fill fresh water bottles for the night.

"Listen to me carefully," I told him as we packed the supplies. "Once we are in the respective rooms, do not let a single person leave the room alone for any reason. If an emergency happens, this room has an interconnected intercom system that links directly to the room I'm going to stay in. We will be stationed in the main parlor right next to yours."

Ethan took the heavy crate of water bottles from my hands, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made the rest of the world vanish. "Vivienne," he asked softly, his voice echoing in the quiet kitchen. "Can I ask you something? About us? About that day?"

I swallowed the knot in my throat, looking up at the boy who had held my heart captive for ten long years. "Go on," I replied softly. "Ask me anything.