7.

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut against the incoming onslaught of light.

“Oh, look, she’s coming around!” a voice entered my ears.

I gave up the fight to keep my eyes closed and opened my lids at last, groaning at the pounding headache I had developed. I had to blink thrice before my vision could acquire its focus.

The first face I saw, almost gave me a heart attack.

Alexander, the great.

I quickly jumped up from my lying position to sit on the bed, rubbing my temples.

Vivid memories came back to me in flashbacks, only increasing my headache. I looked up to see Blake, Hailey and Millie gathered around the bed, apart from Alex. I turned my gaze to Alex.

“You were the one who chloroformed me?” I asked Alex.

Please let Isaac be my hallucination. Please. Please. I mentally prayed.

“That’s what I get for saving your ass from a bloodthirsty maniacal guy?” Alex responded drily.

So, Isaac was not my hallucination after all, which meant that I was in a deep crap.

“Hey, Kris, you just need to relax right now,” Millie said, “we have taken care of that guy…whoever he was, for now.”

Taken care? For a moment, hope bubbled within me.

“Though he did manage to jump out of the window and escape, even after Alex did a good number on him,” Hailey added.

And there goes the bubble…BOOM.

“How did you guys find me?” I asked the most pressing question.

“Oh, that!” Blake perked up, “Remember the super baby?”

Hailey rolled her eyes, “He means Stella.”

“Yeah, whatever,” blake retorted, then, turned to me again, “she may have snitched off your bracelet by mistake, when you bumped into her.”

“May have?” Millie interrupted with a frown, “She did!”

“I am not surprised there,” Alex commented, “she will do a lot more if Blake continues to influence her.”

“I second that!” Hailey joined in.

Blake gasped dramatically, “Hey! No fair! I didn’t teach her to do that!”

“Yep, sure,” Millie replied sarcastically.

These guys…they were only reminding me of how lonely I was…no matter how unaffected I pretended to be, the truth was that I needed people in my life. People like them.

“Um…so what after Stella snitched off my bracelet?” I brought their attention back to the topic.

“Yeah, that!” Blake continued, “so, we noticed it after Julia brought Stella to us in the detention room-”

“Wait,” I cut him off, “how come Stella is allowed to visit you guys in school? And, who is she related to by the way?”

“Uh, Stella has the permission to visit us occasionally in school because well…um, it’s complicated,” Hailey trailed off.

“And, as for who is she…” Millie started but was interrupted by Alex.

“You don’t deserve any answers, until you are ready to answer our questions,” he told me, sternly.

Okay, so maybe he was right…but, man, I couldn’t involve them in my mess!

“It’s okay, Kris, take your time,” Millie told me with a smile.

She had no idea that me taking my time would mean forever.

“But, don’t take too long, okay?” Hailey added, with an impatient expression.

What was I supposed to say to that?

Blake tsked at her, “Shut up, hellcat. Poor Kris cannot deal with your energy right now!”

Alex scoffed at that, “Poor Kris? Understatement of the century,” he then, turned to me, “I am not sure if that’s even her name. Am I right or am I right, Kris Mendes Noodles?”

He was frickin’ right, as always…

“It’s Kris Noodles Mendes, idiot!” I told him, instead, hoping to divert the topic.

“Doesn’t matter, you know, because both the names are fake,” he replied.

I gulped, trying hard not to let my anxiety show.

Blake laughed, trying to ease the tension, “Doesn’t matter,” he said, mimicking Alex and patting my back, “because it’s a cool name.”

Millie and Hailey nodded their heads in agreement. But, Alex gave me an I-will-not-let-this-go look. I let my eyes wander around the room to avoid his penetrating gaze and for the first time, my mind registered the foreign surroundings.

“Why am I not in my hostel room?” I voiced my confusion.

Everyone’s faces became grave as soon as I asked that. They all looked at each other, unsurely.

I chuckled, “What? Did it die or something?”

Of course no one laughed at my lame attempt at joking. Alex fished out his phone from his jeans pocket.

“You need to see this,” he said, turning the phone screen in my direction.

All color from my face drained as I took in the picture.

It was a photo of my dressing mirror. On the mirror, a blood-curdling sentence was written in red: ‘I will torture you in ways your mind can’t even imagine.’

A cold shiver ran down my spine and it became hard to breathe. In a matter of seconds, I began hyperventilating.

“Hey!” Alex rushed forward, running a hand up and down my back, “Don’t even think about that stupid threat. Take deep breaths,”

Millie took my hand from the other side, “He is right. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Yup. Don’t worry and don’t give two shits to that amateurish threat. I bet Stella can scribble a better threat in her gibberish language. She can do it with a red crayon and still, it will be more terrifying.”

Everyone burst out laughing at that. Even I couldn’t help myself, despite the danger lurking upon me.

I looked up to meet their eyes individually, one by one, “Why are you all doing this for me?” I croaked out, “You don’t even know me.”

Millie sighed, “And, you don’t know us,” she said squeezing my hand.

I opened my mouth to ask something further, but Hailey cut me off.

“You need to rest now. Don’t stress yourself out, Kris.”

For once, I decided to agree. Then, I looked around the room again.

“I guess I will have to find a new place to stay. I can’t go back to-”

“You are not going anywhere,” Alex interjected.

Millie nodded, “This place is the safest for you at the moment.”

“What?” I responded in confusion, “Whose place is this?”

I felt Alex’s hand on my back stiffening, as soon as I asked this question.

Blake coughed, “Alex’s”

My eyes widened, while Alex’s hand had completely disappeared from my back now.

I squirmed uncomfortably, “Um, it’s okay. I am capable of finding-”

“No arguments about this,” Hailey butted in, “this is the most convenient option, since, Alex’s parents are out for the weekend. We will look for an alternative by then. I would have offered you to stay at my place, but, what if that maniacal guy finds us there?”

“And, if he finds me here?” I voiced.

“Then, at least, Alex could put all his pent up anger into use,” Blake replied, with a wink.

“Do you guys always think everything out in advance?” I asked, impressively.

“Of course,” Alex countered, “we have a lot of experience about dealing with situations like these now,” then, he gave me a serious look, “and, FYI, you don’t have to worry about staying alone with me in this house. My brother is staying too.”

I gave up. I neither had the will nor energy to argue with them anymore. These guys had no idea that they were inviting trouble by associating with me. I didn’t deserve their kindness. But, well…they didn’t look like they would take no for an answer.

So, I complied for the moment, and decided that I would find some way out as soon as all their enthusiasm about helping me died. And, I was rooting for it to happen soon.

And, hey, at least one good thing came out of all this: maybe, I would finally be able to find out the brand of his shampoo!

“Why are you smiling to yourself, like that?” Alex broke my thoughts, “it’s scary,” he shuddered dramatically.

I rolled my eyes. He had no idea that real scariness was yet to come.