Okay...so I was suffering from a very bad writers block and wasn't going to update for a while. BUT since it's my best friend's birthday, and she loves this story of mine the most, I forced my brain to function.

So... HAPPY BIRTHDAY❤️❤️  (Here's one gift that I'm actually giving on your birthday😂😂 since you opened the rest yesterday)

Chapter |23|

I stared at the text on my phone for the longest time, trying to calm my nerves. My heart was beating fast as I anticipated what I was about to face.

In big black letters was the address of the place I was supposed to meet Mr. Henderson. I stared at it for I don't know how long before convincing myself that it wasn't anything big.

Another dilemma I faced was how to go as. Skylar, or Penny?

I stared in the mirror as I examined my face. In the past few days, since the last time I got the call from Mr. Henderson, I'd visibly been shaken and the dark under eye circles were a proof.

Daniel and I had a weirdly good and a happy relation now. Ever since he had shown me the observatory, shedding one of his walls for me to see, we had become strangely comfortable with each other. In fact, we still bickered a lot but that usually ended up in laughter.

In fact my inability to treat wounds was thoroughly made fun of now, courtesy of the devil himself since I did manage to scratch myself in the thorn bushes a couple of times.

These few days had been really happy ones. Surprisingly, Daniel had started staying more at home and neither Emma nor I knew why but we didn't question it.

Drew was the perfect brother anyone could ever ask for and Chloe the most adorable kid ever. It had been hard for me to wipe the grin off my face these past days. That's how happy I'd been.

But that's what scared me. Because this was too good to be true.

The last time I'd been this happy, was when my mom was alive. The thought of having this happiness ripped from me was what made me tremble.

I shook my head and pushed out these negative thoughts out of my mind and dressed up as Penny. It was safer since that way if anyone did spot me, there wouldn't be questions since Skylar had supposedly left already.

I pulled on my belts and wig and adjusted the other necessary things before examining myself once again.

Satisfied with my appearance, I grabbed my phone before heading out. I shut the door behind me before descending the stairs only to run into the devil aka Daniel.

He looked up in surprise. I was getting a bit late so I tried passing him.

"Can I borrow some oil? There seems to be plenty dripping from your hair," he said, making me look at him.

He supported a tiny smirk as he typed something on his phone.

"I seriously think I prefer the brooding Daniel, now," I replied a bit dramatically.

He just gave me a tiny grin. "Nope. You took your chances when you said you wanted to be friends with me," he said making me narrow my eyes in return.

Though the word friends felt weird. It had actually become hard to imagine that this Daniel was the same one I'd met on the first day. He had changed drastically which surprised me.

He smiled and laughed much more often which initially had been quite a shocker for me when I found him cackling at my expense.

But whatever it was that had changed his behaviour towards me, I was actually thankful.

But of course the only thing that kept reminding me that I was not a special one, receiving his special treatment was Saliva Factory. I'd come to hate her even more ever since Daniel and I had become comfortable with each other.

And I didn't know why.

"Please. I wanted to be friends with you? You were the one who offered," I said feigning exasperation.

"But you accepted," he replied, smirking.

"Whatever," I replied, rolling my eyes before letting a small smile curve my lips as I checked my phone for the time. It was 3:15 in the afternoon and I had twenty minutes before I met with Mr. Henderson.

"Why do you have such an old phone?" Daniel asked suddenly, eyeing my phone.

"Just because I like this phone," I lied before pocketing it. The truth was that this was the last thing mom had gifted me three years back before she passed away and strangely, I couldn't throw this away.

He eyes me weirdly before speaking. "Where are you off to, anyway?"

"Just going to get some fresh air," I lied again. I hadn't told anyone about my meeting with Mr. Henderson because somehow it felt a bit personal.

Before he could pose more questions, I quickly made a dash towards the door. The anxiousness that had momentarily been forgotten, returned as I made my way towards the location mentioned.
****

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, my jaw unhinged as I stared at the man in his late forties.

When Mr. Henderson had called for the meeting, I'd expected him to be an old guy with greyish hair and a serious looking face. But the person who sat in front of me in the cafe was far from what I had imagined.

He had brown-black hair and looked young for his age which he claimed was 47. His chocolate eyes were warm but he knew how to manage his expressions. That was a trait of a good lawyer.

"I'm afraid I'm not," he answered.

"B-But how does my father not know anything about this?" I asked, still not believing what he told me.

I took a sip of my cold coffee, trying to manage the new information that I'd just received. How was this even possible?

"It was your mother's wish. She knew that if she told your dad about this, he would try to take over since you weren't legal then and then you wouldn't have been able to take over at all," he explained and my heart thudded.

I was still trying hard to believe what he had just told me. I had so many questions, so many confusions but I couldn't find it in me to voice them out.

"I'm afraid I don't have any more time since I have some urgent work in the firm. Feel free to contact me when you're ready to sign all the papers," he said, getting up.

I was too paralysed by the overloaded thoughts clouding my mind Taft I barely nodded.

It took me a while before I managed to get out of the cafe. My mind was a puzzled mess. I fished my phone out of my pocket and turned it on.

Going in the picture gallery I opened the folder that I'd resisted opening so many times.

A picture of mom and I in the tree house flashed and I examined it, analysing our happy expressions and our grins.

I looked at mom's face, asking her silent questions that seemed to have boggled my mind. I was so busy looking at my picture that I didn't see where I was going and bumped into someone.

My phone dropped from my hand and my head snapped up in surprise. I couldn't even muster a response when I saw Alicia's red head and her famous sneer plastered on her face.

"Ooh. If it's isn't our very own Freaky Penny," Alicia sneered and her cronies laughed.

"Alicia, please. Not today. I'm really not in the mood," I said and made a move to pick up my phone.

But before I could pick it up, she kicked it away. Immediately, my head snapped up and I glared at her.

"Don't," I warned but she laughed even more.

"Oooooh. I'm so scared," she feigned a fearful look before laughing again.

I ignored her and quickly picked up my phone. I really wasn't in the mood to argue with her but she wasn't understanding since snatched my phone from my hand.

"You're so worthless Penny. I don't even thing you belong with people like us," she snarled and I could feel my anger rising.

"Alicia, give me my phone back," I said in a low voice. She was pissing me off at the wrong time and if she didn't shut up, I would literally burst.

"I don't even know why you exist. You should just go and die," she ignored me and kept on speaking.

That's it.

"You want me to die?" I asked and she looked at me a bit surprised.

"Of course. You're useless and pathetic, anyway?" She replied.

"Then why don't you lend me your ego? I'll jump from there to your IQ," I snapped at her, changing her smug expression to one of anger. Her cronies also shut up.

"What did you just say?"

"Go get a hearing aid, why don't you?" I snapped back, trying to get my phone back.

I tried to snatch my phone back but she tossed it to one of her cronies. The kept tossing it to each other. It kept on going  for a couple of minutes until one of them dropped it.

Before I could pick it up, Alicia landed her heel on it, smashing it into pieces.

"There you go. You're going to be alone forever, just like your mother on her funeral," she sneered before walking away.

Anger swarmed me like no other time as I glared at Alicia's laughing figure and back to my smashed phone. The photo of my mom and I kept flickering through the cracks. Cracks that now separated me from my mom.

Rage filled me and I stopped myself from going after her. Never in my life I wanted to wrong anybody's neck so badly. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms and instead of breaking her precious face, I marched away to the only secluded place I knew.

Almost near my destination, I banged into someone but I didn't stop. I was pretty sure that it was Daniel but I couldn't stop.

I ran with everything I had and slowed down only when I saw the dome shaped building. Once I managed to cross the path without falling or scratching myself, I jogged my way up to the entrance and went in.

Finding a secluded spot, I quickly sat down, hugging my knees to my chest. I tried to control in tears mixed with anger that I was experiencing. Though I knew that there was a mix of frustration in my emotions too. 

The front door of the observatory opened and I didn't lift my head to see who it was. I just kept breathing in and out, trying to settle the storm of emotions that was keeping me restless.

I felt the hesitation of the person as he approached me. I heard the footsteps of the person near me but I didn't lift my head.

Daniel's scent surrounded me as he sat down beside me, not saying a word. He had kept decent space between us and I was a bit thankful.

After what seemed like quite some time, I lifted my head towards Daniel.

He sensed my movement and snapped his head to me, his eyes widening as he looked at me. That's when I realised that the traitorous tears had escaped me.

"You asked me why I dislike Alicia. I don't just dislike her, I hate her and her mother with a passion," I croaked out and Daniel looked surprised.

He opened his mouth to say something but I spoke before he could say anything.

"In ninth grade my mom passed away. A month later my dad married Alicia's mother. One week later, on my mom's funeral, I was the only family of hers present because Linda and her daughter took my dad away for a vacation to lessen his grief.  I watched my mom's lifeless body being laid into a coffin, alone.

In tenth grade, they made my father choose to go to Alicia's boyfriend's football game to support him instead of my dance recital.

In the same year, she stole my science model and won the second prize. When I told dad that it was mine, he just thought I was jealous of Alicia.

In the next year she found my stash of pictures with my mother and she burned them right in front of me. Every happy memory of mine. So I just don't dislike them. I hate every proof of their existence," I croaked out, barely able to stop the sobs from coming out.

Daniel stared at me, unable to say anything. And I preferred that somehow. His lips were parted in surprise as he looked at me.

I didn't like what his look was doing to me. It was like he understood everything I just told him. There was no pity in his eyes rather a different look that I couldn't quite decipher.

And it was doing something to my insides.

I was about to return to my previous position when I felt two arms snake around me. My head jerked up in surprise but soon all energy left my body and I let Daniel enclose me in his arms.

That's when I lost control of everything I'd kept holding. I sobbed like anything but Daniel didn't say anything.

He didn't even object when I drenched his hoodie with my tears. He just held me close, his warmth calming me down.

I don't know why but I felt as if something changed between us. And I don't know if it was a good thing or not.

****
Hey peeps...

How was it?

I'm sorry if it was a bit crappy, since I already told you that I was having a writer's block.

But I hope you enjoyed :)

I'll try to get rid of my writer's block as soon as possible.

Love you all❤️❤️