Don't Text Back

Chapter 12

"I don't know what to do anymore," I said while staring at the ground. TJ and I sat by his place, which was a loud house that he shared with his friends. After I had told him about what had happened, he didn't have much to say.

"The odds are against you," he finally said after we sat in silence for a few minutes. "If you don't want to go back to your mom's house, I suggest you tell the police about the man and keep away from this Rebecca that supposedly lives with you."

Supposedly. This was way beyond the police's help. I had a man following me, a strange creature after me, a girl that hated me, and a cellphone that kept appearing. Heading back home seemed safer than staying here, but was it? My parents would never let me live peacefully again. I sighed, realizing I didn't have any easy choices except get a job, make a lot of money, get my degree, and move far away from all of this.

"I have to get going," TJ said. "I have a lot of schoolwork to do."

We stood up, and he hugged me. "Thanks, TJ," I said. He smelled so good, and for some reason, I always felt more safe with him than at home. I watched as he closed the door behind himself.

There I was, alone again. It was a nice sunny day, but I felt like something was bound to go wrong. As I headed back to the house, I was careful about the people around me and the animals I saw. Every time I saw a dog, I shivered. I was a huge dog lover before I got here, but not anymore. If I heard one bark, I felt like running away.

As I was nearing the house, I felt my phone ring again. I knew it was my phone instead of the other, so I wasn't too afraid when I had heard it. It was my mother. I answered.

"Hello?"

"Alex? Are you alright?" My mother asked. She sounded worried instead of pissed off like she usually was.

"I'm doing well," I lied, not wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt. She would've loved to tell me that she told me so, and I didn't want to hear it.

"I hope so," she said. "Did you hear about Sarah?"

Sarah. I hadn't talked to Sarah in a while. The last thing I remembered us talking about was the house. I needed to text her. "Nope. I've been meaning to text or call her-"

"She went missing yesterday," my mother said.

I didn't process her words right away, and for some reason, didn't believe her. I just blinked a few times before finally replying. "What?" I said.

"Sarah is missing," she repeated.

"How long has she been missing for?"

"Two days," she said.

"Is she okay? Were there any evidence of-"

"Hello? Alex?"

Our call dropped before I could say anything. For the first time in forever, I was the one that called back. However, my ear was met with that static sound again. I was too late to pull the phone away from my ear when I heard my name being called. I looked around. It seemed like someone was calling me from a distance. When I looked back at the phone, I heard my name again and realized someone on the phone was speaking.

"Alex?" It was a male's voice. A slow, gruff, but soft-spoken tone. Creepy in many ways.

"Hello?" I replied. My heart jumped at the loud screams I heard in the background. A female's voice.

"Stop screaming!" The male whined. "If you want to talk to her, use your inside voice!"

I pulled back the phone and was ready to press the end call until I heard a voice say my name. A familiar voice. "Alex, it's me! Sarah! Your friend."

My heart raced, and I quickly brought the phone to my ear. "Sarah? Oh my God, where are you? Are you okay?"

"I don't know," she cried. "This weird man came to my house. He came to my house in the middle of the night, talking about you. Asking where you were. How the fuck did I get into New York. We didn't even take a transportation and-"

"Sarah! Sarah! Stop," I said, trying to calm her down. I could tell she was hyperventilating. "Where can I find you? Where?"

Silence. There was a long pause until her kidnapper took the phone. "When are you coming home, Griselda?" The strange man asked.

"Look," I firmly said. "I am not Griselda. I'm calling the cops if you don't release my friend."

"Nonsense," his voice level lowered into a deeper tone. Deeper, and darker than his previous tones. "I know your friends are the reason behind your disrespect. You told me you were with them so you better come home. Or else."

I hung up the phone then returned to the house. I dreaded passing homes. I feared that the strange man would pop out from somewhere. I turned to the left and to the right, making sure I wasn't being followed. I couldn't shake the feeling someone was right on my tail. Even though I could see the house, this only made me shake and freak out more. My breathing was heavy, but the house was just ten feet away. A man taking pictures of his lawn looked at me when I started running towards the house. I looked at him and smiled before opening the door.

"Alex?" Rebecca got up from the chair when I walked in.

I looked around. No one else was inside, and this made me nervous. I did not want to be alone with Rebecca. Ignoring her call for me, I ran upstairs into my room where I called 911. After two rings, someone picked up.

"Hello?" I responded when a woman answered and asked me what was wrong. I didn't even know what to say or how to explain myself. "My friend has been kidnapped, and they're next door."