The Secret Billionaire

Chapter 34

ERIS

No one said anything on the way up. I stood in front of the buttons to prevent any more delays. Mathew kept his eyes on his phone and balanced Elijah with his other arm. Ding! We all stepped out, and Nathan stood up from the couch.
"I'm on my way," His eyes landed on us, and he sighed. "What happened?"
"Nothing. Why?" I asked.
"I just got a call from Crystal. She said you guys were down at the lobby, causing a commotion," He crossed his arms.
"That bitch is overreacting," Mathew sneered, setting Elijah down on the couch. "Eris and Elijah were enjoying the outside view by the front door, and some douchebag came up to them. I told him to mind his business," He shrugged.
"What did he want?" Nathan pushed.
"Nothing. He was passing by and waiting for the rain to calm down. No big deal,"
Nathan came up to me and kissed me.
"Nothing is no big deal anymore. You have to be careful who you speak with," He said, and I nodded.
"You know you should add an indoor playground on one of the many floors your building has," I said, changing the subject.
"Don't you think that's a bit too extreme?" Mathew asked.
"What about the lot in front? Where my old building used to stand. It's perfect," I asked, and Nathan nodded.
"We had other ideas for that project. I'll bring it up to them,"
We sat on the couch, and I grabbed my phone. I pulled up my notes to add toys for Elijah to my list.
"What is that for?" Nathan asked.
"Nothing, it's dumb,"
"Intriguing," Mathew commented, not taking his eyes off the screen. He has a talent for not staying out of people's business. He makes it seem like he isn't paying attention and then comments on the conversation.
"It's a list I have for myself," They both looked at me, and I sighed. "It contains stuff I would like to buy when I have the money,"
They didn't say anything.
"See, I told you it was dumb,"
"It's not dumb. It's cute knowing you have little things to look forward to," Nathan reassured.
Now they think I'm weird for keeping a list of what I want. They'll think it's childish, like a kid making a list for Santa every Christmas. Stacy always questioned it. She would say, 'Why make a list when you can just buy it right now?' Speaking of which, I haven't heard from her today. I frowned when I noticed she hadn't replied to my texts.
"We didn't mean to pry," Nathan said, and I shook my head.
"It's not that. Stacy hasn't answered my message in over a day," I looked up at him.
"Maybe she got busy with work or didn't charge her phone," He shrugged.
"That's not like her. Is there any way we can go check on her?"
He stayed quiet and looked over at Mathew. It's like they were having a conversation with looks. After a few seconds, Nathan sighed and looked at me.
"We can go. Mathew will stay here with Alana," I smiled and stood up.
"Let's go now, please,"
Before my heart jumps out of my chest and I start putting the wrong ideas into my head.

~

Stacy's car wasn't at her place when we arrived.
"She isn't home," Nathan commented. I shut the car door and walked past him.
"I tried calling her again on the way over here, and it went straight to voicemail," I walked up to the front door, Nathan following closely behind me.
"Hello? Stacy? Are you home?" I called out, knocking at her door. No answer. I sighed. Something doesn't feel right.
"She isn't home. We can check later," Nathan said.
Just as I was going to reply to him, I remembered Stacy mentioning how she kept a spare key around for emergencies. I found it under a plant and immediately felt a slight sense of relief. I opened the door, and Nathan put his arm in front of me before I could step in.
"Let me go in first," He didn't allow me to procrastinate. He motioned at me when it was clear. I walked in and immediately felt the cold breeze in here.
"Why doesn't she leave the heater on while she is out? She has to come back to a cold house," I wrapped my arms around myself and looked around. Everything seemed normal. Nothing was out of place.
"Maybe she doesn't want her bill to run high,"
"Yeah, maybe," I mumbled as I admired a picture of us on a shelf, following all of the trinkets she liked to collect. She would compare herself to Ariel from The Little Mermaid, only hotter and more human. Part of your world was her favorite song. She knew she was different from all the other girls and always felt out of place. After a while, she stopped caring about fitting in and started being herself. That's when she became my favorite person.
I walked to the kitchen, and my heart dropped when I saw her body on the floor.
"Nathan!" I ran over to her, placing my hand over her stomach. "She's bleeding!"
"Eris," He breathed out. I looked up at him, and he shook his head.
"What?! Call an ambulance! She's going to bleed out!"
"You need to stop," He bent down and put his hand on my arm. The tears in my eyes were making his image blurry. "She's dead,"
"No! No, we can save her! She can't be dead. It's not possible!" I looked back at Stacy. Her eyes were closed, and her chest wasn't moving. "Where is that ambulance?! She needs to get to the hospital now!"
There I was again, with someone else's blood in my hands. Nathan tried pulling me away, but I wouldn't let him. I had to do everything I could to save her. She was lying in a pool of blood with pale skin as cold as ice. She always had a smile, and now she looked unrecognizable.
I heard sirens in the distance and bent down to hug Stacy.
"I'm sorry!" I cried. "I'm so sorry!" I yelled out of frustration and heard heavy footsteps in the house.
When the paramedics arrived, it was as if the world had slowed down. Their lips were moving, but I couldn't hear them talking. Someone pulled me up, and they started examining her body. Nathan tried turning me around, but I didn't let him. I couldn't believe what had just happened.
My best friend was dead.