Silver Sins

Four | Mearl Street

"Shit, Nat." I look up at her in alarm. "I think I forgot my phone on the railing." I say in a rush, standing up and frantically feeling my entire outfit for my phone.

Natalie gave me confused look, "On the railing, where?"

"On that tall building next to Elexier. By that stranger, on the railing, how could I be such a fool?" I curse myself as I clutch my head in my hands and bring my knees to my chest.

"Stranger? Wait, did you meet up with a guy, did you--" her voice was cut off with a shrill ring of her phone. She searched under the mess of clothes before pulling it from under her purple lacey bra. Her face goes blank as she turns the phone towards me.

"It's you." she said. On her phone, my contact number, saved as Ronnie Bonnie, with a picture of me and a teddy bear I had picked up to take a photo with in the mall, flashed.

"Pick it up, pick it up." I urge. She nodded and answered, putting the phone on speaker. "Hello?"

There was silence on the other end for a beat before his voice filled my tiny room. "Hey, you're supposed to be her roommate, Natalie isn't it?"

Oh dear, his voice was honey. Even Nat raised her brow at his silk voice.

"Uhm, yes. I am, do you happen to have her phone with you?" she asked.

What a stupid question, I thought. Of course the guy had my phone, he was calling her from it.

"She left it at the railing when she went," he paused and Nat gave me a mischievous grin. "Is she... is she there with you?"

I shook my head violently.

"Nah, she's uhm not home yet." she lied fluently. Suddenly his voice was all panicked, "What do you mean? Does she stay far from Elonson Street? How long does it take to get to your place from here?" he bombarded her with questions he had no business knowing the answers to.

Why was he acting so concerned?

"Look, you don't have to worry about her-"

"She could be in trouble, tell me where you stay and I'll--"

She cut him off, "Look, why don't you come up to her..." she covered the phone with one hand and mouthed 'Elexier?" I nodded and she continued. "come up to her at the bar along the Park Street called Elixier. You could drop it in the morning?"

There was no reply, the other end stayed quiet for a minute before a frustrated sigh left his lips. "Okay, but you should know, she left here at nine and it's... thirty past eleven."

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine. After all, she comes home through that Mearl Street route. Perfectly safe." she said in her most unconcerned tone.

I almost let out the laugh I was holding. Mearl Street was the hub of the most criminals. Thieves, smugglers, rapists, mentally ill drug addicts and whatnot. Even the police raids had given up with that street. They had hiding spots no one could tell its location. People who took those routes ended up abused and robbed in more ways than one.

"The Mearl Street?" his voice rose, even more panicked. "Natalie, that street--"

Nat hung up on him.

We shared a look before we burst out laughing.

"He," she wheezed. "He must think you're probably dead by now."

I let out a snort and chuckle, calming down.

"Maybe he won't bother with the cellphone," she says, going into the kitchen and appearing with a box of donuts.