Chasing Sapphire

6. FUNERAL

SAPPHIRE

"Here, keep my number. If you need anything or there is any issue, call me ASAP," Bella said when the car halted to a stop in front of the hotel I was staying at.

"I'll be fine." I tried to tell her but she was persistent. At the end, I finally gave up and admitted that I would call her if anything was wrong.

Today was a weird day. I returned to my childhood place after a long time but nothing was the same. But I was thankful that I got to see my home once again. As painful as those memories were, I was grateful to Bella for showing those to me.

"How long will you be staying in Raven Hills?" she asked, breaking my chain of thought.

"Till the funeral, I guess." I shrugged, stepping out of the car.

Bella had a smile on her face when I turned around to leave but I couldn't help but notice that she was scared. Scared for me, scared for herself, I didn't know. But I can say with surety that I saw panic in her grey eyes.

Once I reached the hotel room, I ordered the food for me and took a quick bath. The soup was piping hot and so was the Alfredo pasta. After I was full, I read a book, scrolled my phone and by the time it was 11, I had lay down to sleep.

I had only few hours of sleep when I heard a loud groan that immediately woke me up. My eye shot open and I looked around in panic, searching for the switch of table lamp. There was nobody around when the lights switched off.

Even though it was cold, I was drenching in sweat. Realising that it must be a dream again, I dragged myself to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. The cold water hit my face and I shivered a little. Feeling a little better, I turned around and when my eyes saw what I didn't see before, I let out a muffled scream.

There were footprints on the bathroom floor, covered with mud and dirt, leading towards the open window. With trembling legs, I tiptoed towards the window and looked out of it but there was nobody there, excepts some mud-covered fingerprints. My heart was beating at an alarming speed as I locked the window and walked back into my room. Paranoia grew inside me, clutching my intestines and making me nauseous.

It took me almost ten minutes to calm my racing heart. My eyes fell on my phone and I contemplated what to do. I didn't want to spend one more minute at this place but I didn't want to disturb Bella either. The scared part of me won at last and I dialed her number.

"Sapphire, are you okay?" she asked as soon as she answered the call.

"B... Bella!" I emitted a horrified sigh.

"What happened?" she asked cautiously, panic clear in her voice.

"C... Can you pick me up?" I mumbled, clutching the phone tightly.

"Sure, be safe. I'll be there soon." she said, without asking the reason of my call which was a little weird.

°°°°°

Bella drove me to her house which was small but the interior was really cozy. As I stepped inside, the scent of daisies enveloped me and I inhaled deeply.

"Do you need anything?" she asked as I sat down on a couch in the living room. It was an average sized room, with walls painted in beige and two couches facing an LCD.