Chapter 15: Three R

< Shirley >
That stalker was really determined to drive me crazy.
Mr. Creepy Stalker: As much as I love your don't-give-a-shit attitude, it was a grave mistake to apply that on me. You don't care, you say? Trust me, baby, I'll make you care.
Believe me or not, in the next nineteen minutes, two of your friends are dying.
Since I love you so much, I will give you a hint. Their names start with R.
Stalking me was fine. Wanting to harm me was fine as well. But would he go that far as to kill my friends? I was perplexed.
I was lost in deep thoughts when the shattering sound of a vase made me jump out of my skin.
I placed a hand over my chest to calm my thumping heart. It was probably the wind that knocked over the vase since the weather was getting worse. I even heard a faint rumbling of thunder. Yes, it was definitely not someone trying to scare me.
I turned around to go back to my group of my friends, resulting in a waiter bumping into me. I felt the coldness of the drink that spilled over my dress spread across my stomach. I let out a gasp when my eyes fell on the red liquid, which resembled the blood.
"What the—" I let out. Was it just a coincidence that someone spilled red wine over me?
I looked around for that waiter but found him nowhere in sight. Panic started crawling under my skin.
Why was all this happening to me?
Even if I had not taken the stalker's warnings seriously before, it started to feel eerie all of a sudden.
And I was scared.
Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder. I squeaked, ready to hit the person.
"Hey, chill out. How did you get wine in your dress?" I heaved a sigh, hearing Violet's concerned voice. "Is something wrong?" she asked, taking note of my paranoid state.
I answered, "No."
Violet observed me for a good ten seconds before asking, "Are you sure you don't want to share?" I shook my head, and she smiled sweetly. "I'm here to listen if you want to talk, so call me if you need anything, okay?"
I forced a smile on my face and faked an enthusiastic salute, uttering, "Aye, ma'am."
Shaking her head at my silly antics, she left me alone. Violet always understood me the best out of my other friends, and I really wanted to share my worries with her, but now wasn't the time.
I needed to make sure everyone was safe and nothing went wrong in the reception party, which had started just then.
But first of all, I needed some fresh air to clear my mind. Thus, I took a detour outside for a few minutes.
I had three friends with their names starting with 'R': Rianna, Richard, and Ryan. I was confused as to who could be the prime targets. I shook my head, assuring myself that it was only one in a million chance that it was actually true, and I couldn't risk it.
I finally decided to make sure to stay with the three of them all the time. With that, when I went inside, I received another text from Mr. Creepy Stalker.
Mr. Creepy Stalker: You're finally taking me seriously, huh? Glad to see it.
I gritted my teeth, my knuckles itching to rewrite the geography of whoever this person was. He was so annoying-more annoying than Dylan.
Speaking of Dylan, from the peripheral vision, I saw him having a conversation with Molten, Rianna's husband, who I presumed to be his old friend.
I was scanning the place for Rianna when the lights went off, shrouding everything in the veil of darkness, and people started groaning. That was when it all started feeling more real than ever.
Then I was sure it wasn't a prank. It was all happening, and my friends' lives were in danger.
I didn't waste another second before turning on my flashlight and running to look for Rianna. As soon as I found her, I grabbed her arm and pushed her in her husband's arms.
"Don't let her out of your sight for a single second." Molten just gaped at me as the next words spilled out of my mouth, "If something happens to her, I'm going to make her divorce you, Molten."
"The name's Colten, not Molten," he corrected me.
Colten? Have I been uttering the wrong name from the beginning? Nevermind. They sound the same.
"Shirley, what's wrong?" asked Rianna in a worried tone, ignoring her partner's complaint.
I smiled at her and said, "Don't worry about me and just spend some quality time with Molten."
"Again, it's Colten," he spoke from behind, crossing his arms over his chest.
"What?" The confusion was written all over Rianna's face.
"Better if you can cling to him," with that, I again pushed her into his arms and ran off to find Richard.
It was a mystery how I wasn't able to find any of my other friends amongst the crowd of people in the darkness. Finally, I found Ryan, sitting on a stool near the bar.
"Where is Richard?" I asked him.
"He hasn't arrived yet. He forgot his wedding gift, so he went back to get it after dropping us here," Ryan replied.
I took a sharp breath, assuring myself I could still save him. "Where are the others?"
He shrugged. "I don't know."
I let out a frustrated sigh. I needed to make sure Ryan was in safe hands, he needed to be entrusted to someone for the time I wouldn't be here.
I flashed around my phone, trying to look for a familiar face amongst the guests until it landed on a particular grey-eyed man who hissed at the light reflecting at him.
"Don't go around flashing light into people's eyes," Dylan grumbled. When I looked at him with a pleading glint in my eyes, Dylan leaned back, probably planning an escape plan. "Um, what do you want from me?" he asked, uncertainty clear in his voice.
I flashed him a sugar-coated smile and approached him, taking his big hands in my small ones. He shifted his eyes from our hands to my face, a look of disgust plastered on his face.
"Would you please do me a favor?" I asked him politely.
"No," he replied.
"Will you stay with my friend for the time I'm gone?"
"No."
I grinned at his response. "Thanks for the help. I owe you one."
"What the devil are you talking about? I haven't even agreed," he protested.
"Look, you're going to train me to be a professional car racer, so that makes you my teacher, and teachers should sometimes listen to their student's whining and accept their wish. Right now, you're going to do the same," I explained to him.
Dylan scowled at me. "That didn't even make half sense."
"It doesn't have to. All you need to do is tag along my friend," I assured.
"What do I get out of it?"
"Can we not talk business at this moment?" I pouted.
He released a sigh. "Okay, I'll give you a first-time discount."
"Can I bargain more?" He rolled his eyes which I took as a sign to continue saying, "How about a hundred percent discount?"
He took a sip of his drink, rolling his eyes, and nodded his head, which I suppose was due to the fact he wasn't paying much attention to me, leading him to let out a delayed reaction, "Wait, what?"
I ignored his initial shock and pointed at Ryan, who was sitting two stools away from him, saying, "Take care of him. Don't let him out of your sight. Help me, please."
After that, I was about to exit through the double doors when a hand grabbed my wrist. Immediate panic rushed up to my veins as I flashed my light at the person's face, preparing myself to scream.
"Ugh, you really are planning to make me blind," said Dylan.
"Dylan?" I exhaled a deep breath I was holding, relaxed.
"Where are you going, anyway?" he inquired.
"I have some errand to run?" I responded nervously.
"In this weather? Are you kidding me? It's about to storm outside," he rebuked.
"I know, but I need to." The determination was clear in my voice.
He stared at me for a few seconds doubtfully before letting go of my hand. "Do whatever you want," with that, Dylan went back inside.
For a few seconds, I lingered near the door frame, wondering if that was a concern he was trying to show. I shook my head at the thought because it was not possible.
If it was a concern, the first thing he would have asked was, why I was asking him to do it, whether I was in trouble or not, but he didn't—which proved he didn't actually give a damn about me. He was probably concerned that I would go blab to the cops about his mafia business. Yeah, that was it.
Without giving him another thought, I exited the reception venue, letting the rain soak me to the bones until I reached the parking lot.
Only a few minutes were left before the clock hit eight, so I prayed to God before turning on the ignition. Please keep everyone safe.
Still, what if everything went wrong?
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