Copyright of Amara Ibeachum
No part of this work should be copied without the permission of the author.
Chapter 6
“Hey, Stacey, I was just on the phone with your mother. She said she’ll be coming to pick you up from school,” Ms. Francesca said to Stacey after school.
“But I can go home on my own,” Stacey said, wondering why her mum suddenly wanted to come to get her.
“I guess she feels you’ll be a lot safer that way,” Ms. Francesca smiled.
“Okay, thank you.”
Stacey spent the rest of the school period at the school gym, isolating herself. The principal already asked to see her the following day and she knew it was about Kevin.
Steve, on the other hand, searched tirelessly for her. He had a lot to say to her about the incident with Kevin.
When everyone was gone and not a single chatter or giggle was heard, Stacey left the gym to go wait on the bleachers in the school field. She checked the time on her phone, “4 o’clock,” she said to herself.
Her mom should have been in school an hour ago. She made a quick stop at her locker. A tiny piece of paper fell out of Stacey’s locker the instant she opened it.
“Huh, what’s this?” she squatted and picked up the paper. It was a note from Steve.
*Hey, call me when you get home. +1(768) 987-5432*
—Steve.
A smile slowly formed its way on Stacey’s face.
“Snap out of it, Stacey, it’s just a note,” she told herself.
She gently folded the note and dipped it in her pocket for later then grabbed her earphones and went to the field to wait for her mom.
As she sat there in the bleachers, she noticed a man in a black suit walking towards the field. Behind him was a black Mercedes. Stacey suddenly felt uncomfortable and could sense his intentions weren’t good.
She grabbed her backpack and walked briskly towards the parking lot, trying to ignore Nigel.
“Where do you think you’re going, Stacey?” Nigel said with a sinister smile.
Stacey was more than frightened now and hurried to the parking lot. Nigel’s partner suddenly came out of the car, startling Stacey. He gave her an ugly stare and then at his partner. Nigel signaled him to go after Stacey which she saw and began running for her life. She ran into the woods with no particular destination in mind. She ran as fast as her legs could take her, realizing that she was unbelievably fast. She stopped at a cliff, not willing to take another step.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Stacey gasped, trying to catch her breath.
“We’re friends of your mums and we just want to talk,” Nigel lied.
“My mum would never have anything to do with the likes of you.”
Nigel chuckled. “Enough! You’re coming with us!”
He tried to grab her but she slipped and fell off the cliff into the lake, leaving her phone behind.
Stacey was soaked when she finally gained consciousness. It was pretty late and she needed to go home. She searched her pockets for her phone.
“Shit! I must’ve dropped it,” she studied the cliff in front of her. Just then, he recalled the events that led to her falling off the cliff.
“Mom!” she gasped.
Stacey used her instincts to find her home but little did she know something gruesome was awaiting her.
As she followed the path to her house, the smell of smoke hit her nose and knew where it was from.
The firefighter sirens became louder as she ran toward the smell. Her house was up in flames.
“Mom!” Stacey ran towards the paramedics who carried Catherine into the ambulance.
“Stacey, I’m so sorry for trying to keep it all from you,” Catherine struggled.
“Who did this to you, mom? Was it those guys in leather jackets? I swear that I’ll–”
“Stacey, listen to me. I need you to leave Riverside. It’s not safe for you anymore. Take this,” Catherine took out a piece of paper with an address written on it and laced it in Stacey’s hand. “Go to this address and you’ll find all the answers you seek,” Catherine breathed her last breath.
Stacey replayed the last words her mother said in her head as she clenched tightly to the paper. The address was out of town and she needed a car to get there. She knew only one person who had a car and that person was…Steve.
“Hey, Steve, I need you to drive me somewhere,” Stacey stood in front of Steve’s front door.
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