(18+) RED (Complete)

Ch. 70: I'm scared

I woke up to the sound of my phone, and was immediately wide awake. And when I saw Michael's name light up the screen, my smile grew even wider.

"Michael!" I exclaimed way too loud. Then I cleared my groggy morning voice and composed myself.

"I tried to call you a few times last night, but I guess you were busy."

He didn't answer.

"I missed you."

Still nothing. So I felt the urge to say something, and maybe he would take part in the conversation that right now was more like a monolog. Why did he call if he didn't want to talk to me?

"So... How was your day? I mean, yesterday."

The fact that he didn't reply started to creep me out.

"Do you have any plans for today?"

Then I facepalmed.

"Of course you have plenty of plans. I was just wondering if you had the time to talk tonight. You can call any time after school. I'll be staying home to study."

When he still didn't respond, I started to get annoyed. Was this another one of his pranks? But then I heard the voice of a man I didn't recognize.

"Nice to know where I can find you tonight... Babe. Or should I call you Mousie?"

Then there was a click and the monotonous beep that indicated that the call was over, and I felt cold as if the room had transformed into an igloo.

"No..." I whispered to no one.

"Please, no," I repeated, and I felt my eyes water with tears from anxiety. And for once my fear was reasonable. I thought Veronica was a threat. Then it turned out that there were more people out there with bad intentions, and this guy clearly knew more about me than what I appreciated. How did he know that Benjamin called me Mousie? Nobody except Michael and Benjamin knew that. Not even my aunt who was living under the same roof as me.

"Michael... I need to talk to you. Please," I whispered. But how could I contact him? The only number I had was his cell phone, and you can't just Google your way to celebrities like him. I only knew his address, and he probably wasn't even at home now. Was he in his studio already? It was barely 7 am.

My phone went off again and I felt scared to even look at it. If it said his name again, I would throw it into the nearest wall and call the cops. But it wasn't him. Or at least not his cell phone. Maybe he tried to contact me with a different number?

"Hello?" I said with a shaking voice. If it was Veronica, I would go straight into panic mode and probably stay in that state, hiding under my bed, for the rest of the day. But I was scared of staying at home too, in case that man would try to break in. Alarms or not, if someone really wanted to get in, they'd break through a window and do whatever they had in mind. And the vivid memory of Veronica holding that knife was frightening enough. Who knows what a robust, strong man would be capable of?

"Hello, is this Mia Fisher?"

It was a woman, and the fact that she had to verify who I was, was somewhat comforting. Veronica wouldn't even question that.