Yours, Forever

Chapter 50

The sound of Madison's ringtone pierced through the night, making her wake up with a start.

She sighed deeply, rubbing her forehead as she tried to locate her phone. Partly because it was ringing, but also because she felt terrible for probably awakening her neighbors from how loud the shrill sound was.

Madison still felt a little bit sick although she was better than before, and this was the first night she was finally able to get some sleep without coughing or sneezing through the night and it had felt nice, until her freaking phone had started ringing and she hissed again.

Turning over on the bed, Madison picked up her phone and sitting up on her small bed, she peered at the screen to see the caller ID.

The energy she had just exerted made her groan in pain, clearly she still wasn't as healthy as she should be and she also felt groggy from awakening so suddenly.

She frowned when she saw that it was an unknown number.

She stared at the number on the screen trying to see if she could recognize it from somewhere, but the more she looked at the number, the more confused she became. If she couldn't recognize it, then it meant she didn't know it.

Who could possibly be calling her by this time of the night? She thought. It wasn't Alvarez because she had Alvarez's number, so who else?

Madison didn't know what the time was but she was certain it was late, since she had fallen asleep around 9:30 PM and at most some hours must have passed, with her deeply engrossed in her sleep.

Looking up at her wall clock to ascertain, Madison held her breath in surprise. It was not night, it was already 1AM in the morning.

The phone had already stopped ringing but fear was already beginning to eat through her, as she pondered on who this mysterious caller was.

She already knew that lately she hadn't been feeling safe anywhere, whether it be at work, or on the street, and not even in her own home and it was one of the reasons why it was so hard for her to fall asleep, because she always felt like she was being watched.

It was a terrible feeling, but she couldn't help it. She always cross-checked her door and window at intervals to see if they were secure, although she knew she locked it times before.

All of this made her jumpy and anxious but she was trying to manage. Anytime she even thought of the threat letter and the strange man who had been watching her and taking notes, she became so scared that it almost brought tears to her eyes.

And now, this? A strange call at past 1AM. That sounded weird and ominous, and Madison had no desire to find out.

She clutched at her blanket, her mind whirring with thoughts. What if it was another threat message but this time whoever it was wanted to speak to her and make sure she heard his or her voice? She didn't want anything that would scare the wits out of her again. She just wanted to get back to sleep and forget the call ever came but it was too late for that already. It had already awakened her, and she would not be able to go back to sleep until she took care of it.

As she raked her fingers in her hair, thinking of what to do and trying to recall if she knew the strange number, her phone began to ring again. It startled her, making her place a hand over her chest in surprise. Looking at the screen she saw that it was the same number.

Madison had half a mind to ignore the call and put her phone on silent, as her heart began to pound in her chest. She rubbed her clammy hands on the sheets, staring at the phone screen, while she tried to muster up the courage to pick it. Shakily, she picked her phone and swiping the answer button, she brought it to her ears.