something on the ground.
I craned my neck to see who it was and felt very relieved that it was Anthony.
“W-where. Are. We. Going?” I panted.
“Don’t talk. Keep running!” We got into his car and were out of the school parking lot in seconds.
Silence hung inside the car.
Clearing my throat, I broke the silence. “What is happening?”
“Someone’s after me,” he said, glancing on the side and rear view mirrors from time to time.
“W-what?”
“Calm down. We’re okay for now. Where’s Jonathan? Why were you alone?” he glanced toward
me. My eyes widened at how appealing he looked despite the sweat. I figured he just left
practice.
Blinking my thoughts away, I straightened in my seat. “Uhh. He’s with Kristine. He didn’t know
that Kristine was planning to leave the school.”
He didn’t respond. For a second I thought he didn’t hear me. I stared at him expectantly.
“He left you?”
“Uhh. I was in the girls’ room,” I defended my best friend.
He nodded, obviously having something in mind.
“Where are we going?”
As if he hadn’t heard me, he continued to focus on the road in front of us.
I cleared my throat. Then his head snapped to me, as if he was just pulled from a trance.
“What was that?”
“Where are we going?” I repeated, using a tone that said it was the most obvious thing in the
world.
“Oh. To Carley’s.”
I blinked in shock. “W-why?”
“We can’t stay in either of our houses since the one stalking you might find us. And as I said a
while ago, there was someone following me. I’ve informed her already, so no worries.”
Still unable to take in what he just said, I leaned my head against the window, feeling drained. I
hate to admit it, but Anthony was right. We can’t stay at our houses since it would be
dangerous. But what if we were just being paranoid? What if that was just a prank?
“Are you sure we should go to their place, Anthony?”
“Hello?”
I looked at him. He was talking to someone on the phone.
“Yes. We’l stay at Carley’s in the meantime. I think we’ll do that. Okay. Call you later.” He hung up. Though he was driving while on the phone, I didn’t feel the slightest worried about us
crashing to another car. His eyes were so focused on the road while speaking.
“Who was that?”
“Andrew.”
I cocked an eyebrow. Drew? So he was okay with this idea?
“He suggested that we skip school tomorrow.”
“WHAT? No!” I exclaimed.
Anthony was silent for the next few minutes. He was obviously lost in thought.
“The situation’s not that alarming that we have to skip school, right?” I continued to babble.
He glanced cast a sidelong glance at me. “I think it is, Drei.”
I slumped lower in my chair. Skip school? Great. What was worse was that Carley was around. I
would have to deal with my insecurities all day long.
“Carley’s fun to be with, Drei,” Anthony said, as if reading my thoughts.
My eyes wandered outside the window. Easy for you to say.
Noticing my uncomfortable silence, he glanced at me again.
“You’l see what I mean soon,” he sent me an assuring smile.
I huffed as I frowned deeper, my head still turned away from him.
Minutes later, Anthony honked the car horn in front of a tall, dark green gate. Soon after, a guy
dressed in security guard uniform was opening the gate, allowing us to drive inside. In front of
me was a three storey high residence. The front garden was well-kept. The lot was wide, as if it
was a hotel of some sort.
Anthony cut off the engine and we started climbing out of the car. He rounded the car
immediately so that he was beside me as we started toward the front door. Still unable to find
something to talk about, I maintained my silence. Drew hadn’t called me ever since Anthony and
I left school. Nor Jonathan. I sighed.
As we took the last step before the front door, it swung open, giving me start. Carley was
standing there, smiling happily. “Hi!”
I didn’t know what happened to me that I lost all energy and enthusiasm to return her greeting. I
just smiled at her.
Anthony chuckled beside me and he gently pushed me inside the door.
“Err. Sorry for disturbing you Ca---“
“It’s fine!” She chirped, suddenly appearing at my side. Why is she so giddy? Just what did
Anthony say to her?
We settled in their living room. I found a large photo of Carley at the wall on the far side. It was so large, it almost covered half of the wall. I gaped at it and when I realized what my expression
was, I immediately wiped it off.
“Carley’s a model,” I heard Anthony’s voice behind me.
“Shh. She doesn’t have to know, Anthony,” Carley muttered.
I turned to face them. “It’d be weird if you weren’t, Carley.” I smiled at her. Final y. I was starting to get the hang of this whole set up.
“I take that as a compliment, Drei. Come here, have a seat.”
Anthony took the seat in front of us, and Carley tapped the spot beside her. I obliged and sat
beside her uncomfortably. Again. My insecurities were beginning to surface.
Just then a woman dressed in maid’s uniform entered the room, carrying a tray of snacks. She
placed it in front of us, and Carley thanked her courteously.
“Oh, by the way. Some friends are coming over tonight. I’m afraid there’s only one room left,”
she took a sip of her juice.
“That’s no problem. Drei can stay in your room, right? I’l take that room.”
She shook her head casual y. “Uh-uh. Zed’s coming too, and he requested that we should
spend the night together. During his whole stay here, it’s the only night we’re together. His
flight’s tomorrow.”
My eyes narrowed intently. Did I hear her right? Zed? Who was that?
“Okay. I won’t impose. Your husband might knock off the life out of me.” Anthony chuckled as
he leaned back in his seat.
I stared at the pair. So Carley has a husband? As soon as a sigh of relief escaped my lips, I
regretted it. Their heads snapped to me and I grabbed my drink just to have something to do. I
couldn’t hold their questioning gazes.
They
