Malice [H.S]

59

I wake up to my phone buzzing on the night table right next to my head. Through already ruined sleep, I turn around to look at the bright screen, lighting up the room, darkened by the curtains.

I feel frustrated because my sleepiness feels like brushed away. I groan and reach for the phone on my right. The screen is back to black when I finally bring it above my face. It's a message.

The phone is struggling to recognize my face, making it harder for me to read it. I let out a sigh, and push myself to sit up on the bed, bringing the phone right in front of me. This time it recognizes my face right away, and I'm in.

I don't dare to right away click on the messages icon, so I drag the notification bar down from the top of the screen, in hopes that I can fully read it from there.

It's surprising to me too, to see Zack's name pop up on my screen. Right as I read it, a slight fright runs through me. What is he possibly writing now?

Dawn, can we please meet up? I'm leaving LV soon and I really want to talk to you before I do. Please?

I read the message one more time, fully taking it all in.

Suddenly I almost fall into some kind of a trance. Without even leaving myself a second to breathe or think, I click on the notification and tap on the reply bar.

Okay.

Hitting send snaps me out of it. I realize what I've done. I quickly hold down on the message so I could somehow unsend it, but a sudden grey 'seen' appearing under it stops me. A part of me fills with curiosity, what is he gonna say? What happens next?

I take my finger off the screen and place the phone down on my lap. I start biting the nail on my thumb, nervously watching the three dots next to the letter Z. Suddenly the dots disappear.

"Dawn! You alive?" I suddenly shoot open my eyes, laying on my back, in my bed.

"What?" I say quietly, looking around the room. Was I just dreaming?

"Come down, we're gonna get breakfast," Chaia's voice says from behind the door of my hotel room.

I'm utterly confused. It felt so real. I push myself to sit up on the bed and grab my phone from the nightstand. Surprisingly there is actually an identical message on the screen in front of me. From Zack.

"Are you coming?" Chaia is getting impatient, probably because she can't hear me moving around.

"Uh, yeah, just a second," I say to Chaia, without turning my eyes away from the screen.

Maybe it was a sign. Maybe I should agree to meet up with him. After all, I am kind of curious about what he has to say to me. And I already practically did it.

Just like in a dream, I begin biting my nail again. Do I say okay again?

"Chaia!" I yell out, hoping that she is still close by and hears me.

I don't hear a response, but I can clearly hear someone rushing up the stairs toward my room. Then the door to my room opens, and Chaia storms right in.

"What?" She has a puzzled look on her face, and almost out of breath, she looks at me.

Without saying a word, I turn the screen toward her, to show her the message I just received. She steps closer and leans down to look at the screen.

Her eyes move quickly, scanning the text. Then they turn to me, her brows curling up into a frown.

"Is that the same Zack from the mall?" She takes a seat on the bed next to me.