Hell's torturer: The Demon in Disguise

Part 4

Jamie

It's been two days since I last saw Steph. I've called her a hundred times already and she still isn't picking up her phone. I bet she's blocked me. She doesn't say it, but I know I'm an annoyance to her. All I wanted to ask her is how the interview went, or... if she's alive. I know it's stupid, but this is all I can think about. I can't concentrate on the textbook in front of me even for a second, and the handful of pills I took to ease my anxiety doesn't help either.

I know I'll fail this exam again if I don't focus, but I don't even care at this point. I pull out my phone to text Rachel and ask her if she knows where Stephany might be. I read the message ten times over for mistakes and press send. I know many people aren't that concerned about grammar, especially when they are biting their nails over their best friend's whereabouts, but I can't help myself. If I miss a single coma, I know I'll lose sleep at night.

I put the phone down, staring at the papers. The words become a mesh of letters before me. Every sentence I read fails to penetrate the walls of my all-too-tired mind. Why hasn't she texted me yet? I wait and I wait, fidgeting with the pen in the meantime. The phone suddenly rings and after taking a glance of who it was, I pick it up.

"Hi, I mean, hello. Who is this?" I grab the bridge of my nose, filled with shame. "Stupid question, I know. Whatever, I can't think straight right now. Why didn't you text me?"

"I prefer to call, it's quicker," Rachel says on the other line, the sound muffled. I can hear her slurping on something before continuing. "I don't know where Steph is either. Knowing her, she's probably banging that hot dude you talked about the other day. I doubt Mister and Muisses Willson will find out about it. That girl hid a whole six-month relationship from them. Must be nice having rich, clueless parents living in a different state." The sound of crunching escapes her mouth when she finishes her sentence.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Why doesn't she pick up her phone? Is she angry with me, because I told her not to go with him?"

"You're overthinking stuff again." I don't see her, but I can tell she rolls her eyes as she speaks. "You're the type of person who cries when someone looks at you the wrong way. Remember what we talked about? If you are not sure about something, assume positive things instead of negative."

"I know, I know, but you can't deny that it's a bit weird that she hasn't picked up her phone for two days. You can't contact her either. There's no posts on social media from her, not even stories."

I can hear dramatic music coming from the speaker, people gasping, and someone clearly shouting something among the lines of: "Won't you put that damn phone down?!"

"Now that you say it, it is weird. She would usually share at least 5 memes a day and some stupid inspirational quotes or something like that."

I hear more shouting again, but this time I can't make out what they are saying.

"Rachel, are you at the movie theater?"

"Mhm," the audacity of this girl. She has the nerve to talk on the phone while watching a movie with other people around her.

"I'm putting the phone down now, text me when you're done."

"Wait, wait! Why don't you call the place where she had an interview? Maybe she got the job and is now too busy celebrating?"

"I don't know the name of the company."

"Well, put on your detective gloves and do some digging. It can't be that hard to find. Plus you can always call your cousin to help you." I hear some popcorn being thrown and even more people shouting. I would be surprised if they didn't kick her out after this. "Can't a girl spend a minute talking to her friend? Jesus! J, I'll call you back later. I need to take care of this. Mkay, bayyy." She hangs up, much to my relief.