Fiery Trap

Chapter Fifteen: Lurker in the Dark

Dominic gave a small peck on her lips before Rachel stepped out of the vehicle. She smirked throughout the complex. Inside her apartment, she hurried into the shower. She stepped out of the small tub, wrapping a towel around her damp body. She picked up her thick-rimmed glasses beside the sink. The mirror was smirched with steam. She wiped the glass with the palm of her hand just as her cell rang from her bedroom. Rachel ignored it as she combed her wet hair. The ring ended. A minute passed before it rang again. She dropped her comb on the counter and marched out to her bedroom. From the bedside stand her phone rang incessantly. Rachel looked at the screen and noticed no name appeared, only the number. She answered it cautiously.

"Hello?" Rachel said with a hint of nervousness.

"Hey, Rachel," an enthusiastic voice replied.

"Josie? Josie!" Rachel was beside herself with joy.

"I forgive you," Josie said instantly. "My brother told me everything, but never ever do that to me again."

"I promise," Rachel replied and with a sincere tone of voice. "Thanks for being so forgiving."

"The past is the past. Anyways, the reason I called you was to see whether we could hang out, you know, make up for lost times," Josie said.

"Sure, I'm available. I don't have work today, actually," Rachel said, smiling from cheek to cheek. "Around what time?"

"Around four or five," Josie replied.

"Okay."

"See you then," Josie said. She hung up the phone and Rachel did likewise. She had never felt so happy; Josie was her friend again and Dominic was her boyfriend. If only Kyle would be caught, then her life would be back to normal, but Rachel refused to think of the negative. It was a miracle that both Dominic and Josie were in her life again. She wouldn't ruin it thinking about the killer—Kyle. She must be positive; the police were on the case.

Rachel longed for time to fly in order to hang out with Josie again. But for the time being, she strode toward the cabinet to get some cereal. She ate it while reading her Advanced Accounting textbook.

At five minutes to four, she was done reading her third textbook and doing two online quizzes due today. She got up from the carpet and headed to the refrigerator to get her bottled water. Her phone rang. She instantly knew it was Josie. From her cell phone screen, Josie's name popped up; this time she was using her cell to call.

"I'm here," Josie said.

"You don't need to get out of your car. I'll be there in a second," Rachel said. She hung up the phone and grabbed her keys before leaving her apartment.

Rachel and Josie arrived at the tavern. Rachel only recognized one of the girls at the table; the long-braid girl with deep-set eyes was Josie's roommate, Brenda. Rachel extended her hand and Brenda shook it. Another girl was present, but Rachel didn't know her. Rachel shook her hand and introduced herself. The girl did likewise. Her name was Isabella. They all sat down and began to converse. The pop and R&B music from a decade ago was somewhat loud. Rachel caught up on what was going on in Josie and Dominic's life. The sturdy waiter placed both the pepperoni and veggie pizzas on the table as though they were a centerpiece. Rachel and the other girls dove in and place a piece on their Styrofoam plate. Rachel chomped on the pepperoni pizza; it was cheesy good.

Rachel glanced at her cell phone screen and was taken aback that an hour had already passed. Through the plastic straw, she took a sip of her half-gone sprite. Brenda had just finished speaking about how glad she was about breaking up with her now ex-boyfriend. In fact, she constantly made fun of his appearance, but Rachel read from her face that she wasn't really over him yet. This only reminded Rachel of how she hurt Dominic and she was very thankful everything was back full circle. Rachel's cell phone rang in her pocket. She quickly dug for it and noticed it was Officer Charles. She excused herself and slid out of the booth and went toward the restroom area, away from the music.