The Unknown Other

Chapter Two: Kelsey

     The alarm went off early this morning. I rolled over my bed and turned it off. It was 5.21 a.m.

      Candice was still asleep next to me, so I figured I might need to tiptoe to make my way out of my room. I kind of feel bad that she had to wake up in the middle of the night and sleep with a scaredy cat like me.

      I made my way to the hallway and to the bathroom to wash my face. I jumped when I could not recognize who's in the mirror, staring back at me. She was as pale as death, and there are huge dark circles under each of her eyes. Yes, I was staring at my own reflection.

      I held my hand up to my mouth to keep my screams in. I quickly washed my face before applying concealer to my eye bags. There was a sudden sharp ring that was loud enough to make me jump out of my body, and turned out it was just a notification in my phone. Oh my gosh, I thought. Why am I being so paranoid? I grabbed my phone and squinted to it as the bright light shone on my eyes. I struggled to decrease the brightness and managed to hit 'accept' on the call screen as I read the name on it - Kelsey.

      Kelsey and I had been friends for the longest time ever. She was probably the only one who'd believe in my stories although she doubted it was true. She had always trusted on me. Knowing that I needed her more than anything else, I dropped my concealer and answered the call.

      "Kelsey!" I cried out loud in joy, forgotten that the rest of the house were still asleep.

      "What the heck, fancy pants?" I heard her voice on the other line of the call. Even though she sounded mad, I was still happy hear her voice. "Are you serious? You hadn't replied my chat since yesterday afternoon. YESTERDAY AFTERNOON."

"I'm-"

"Don't you know how worried I am? What if you were kidnapped? What if you got run over by a car? I will never forgive my-"

"Kelsey, calm down," I almost laughed at her. She can be really annoying at times, but she was such an innocent and protective person. She would never let me out of her sight for more than four hours. I guess she was quite freaked out since I left her for... thirteen hours?

"I'm fine," I assured her.

"You are NOT fine, Margaret," she yelled over the phone. "You did not answer my chats. Where in the world have you been?"

Oh, I almost forgot. My actual name is Margaret. Everyone calls me Margie because I told them it was my nickname, but I didn't tell anyone about my real name. I thought they would figure it out as time passed, but apparently no one did. I wasn't actually keeping it as a secret, though. Only my family members and Kelsey knew my real name.

"I, uh, went to my grandma's house and I forgot my phone. I left it at home," I lied, then quickly added, "sorry."

She sighed and stayed silent for the longest time ever, then finally spoke up.

"Listen, fancy pants," she said with a serious tone. Her voice was cracky, so I figured she might have stayed up all night. "I'm going to be there at six, so you better get prepared now. As soon as you step onto my car, you'd have to tell me what happened last night."

As much as I hate to explain to her what happened last night, I was very relieved that Kelsey still wanted to talk to me. Two weeks ago, I was kidnapped afterschool and brought into an abandoned house. I was unconscious due to suffocation, but I knew one thing: Kelsey came with the cops and rescued me. I never knew how'd she find me, but she would never forgive herself for letting me walk home alone that day. That explain why she became so strict and overprotective.

I was ready to go and almost stepped outside of the house when I heard my kitchen table screeched across the floor. I stopped and turned.

"Caleb?" I called, thinking it was my half-awake brother who could've bumped into the table, but there was no response.

"Candice?" I tried again. No response.

I was about to step back into the house to check who it was when I heard a car pulling into the driveway.

"Hey, princess!" Kelsey called out. "Get yo' ass in here and let's go."

Without thinking twice, I stepped out of the house again and ran into Kelsey's car. I hopped in and let myself inhale a huge amount of fresh air before I started explaining.

I was expecting her to laugh at me, but she did not.