Love in Disguise

Wednesday, July 2 Once back in Maricopa, Raven went to see her father, who lived alone on the reservation. She had no sisters or brothers, and her mother had died in a car accident when Raven was only sixteen. Because of this, she and her father were rather close. “I’ll be back in a few hours. You sure you don’t want me to go with you to that house?” she asked, motioning toward what had been Kya’s house from where we stood on the front porch. “No, I’ll be ok. I know where the spare key is. I’ll just go in, get what’s mine, and come right back.” “Ok,” she said, kissing me on the lips before taking off. I glanced over at Stardust. He looked at me curiously. “She and I are going to ride you later,” I told him. “See you then!” I turned and headed for the fence that divided the properties. I did not want to do this, but I knew it wouldn’t take long. I galloped through the scorching heat and came upon her back door. It was locked. Then I ran around to the side door. It too was locked. Figuring the front door would also be locked, I reached for the rock I knew wasn’t just a rock, but also a secret hiding place for a key. I turned it upside down, opened the little hidden compartment, and took the key out. I inserted it in the side door keyhole and stepped inside. Despite how lovely the house was, I felt an instant sense of creepiness. “Let’s just get this over with fast,” I told myself urgently. I headed into the kitchen and stopped short. Written on the memo board in blood-red letters, Kya had written: Sativa, I’m going to kill you. Lovely, I thought to myself. I hurried into the bedroom, where I grabbed the few belongings I had taken with me the night she took me from the guesthouse. At least I can carry it all in one trip, I thought. I froze. What was that I just heard? “Nothing,” I chided myself. “You and your overactive, paranoid imagination!” I entered the bathroom and grabbed what I had in there, then I headed out of the bathroom and toward the bedroom door. I stopped dead in my tracks. This time, I was much too terrified to even scream. Kya stood casually, leaning against the doorframe. A slow, evil smile of conquest appeared on her face. “Gotcha!” she said. I still couldn’t scream. Not even when the knife she pulled rose up above my head and came sailing back down through the air, headed straight for my throat.