𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒

Unknown Number, Known Danger

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

The next morning, I woke up with my head spinning, my stomach rolling like I had been on a boat all night. My limbs felt heavy, and even opening my eyes made the room tilt. I grabbed my phone and messaged Lisa.

[Astrid]
Good morning. I'm not feeling well today, so I'll stay home. Can you come by after school to bring me the homework?

Her reply came almost instantly.

[Lisa]
Good morning! Yeah, of course I will.
Get well soon, girl.
Want me to talk to the boys? Maybe Henry wants to see you. ❤️

I could picture him already -pacing, panicking, asking a hundred questions.

[Astrid]
Maybe. I haven't known him that long, but I can already imagine him like:
"What happened to her? Is she okay? Can I go see her? Is she sick?"
So yeah, go ahead. Tell him he can come.

[Lisa]
Okay! Rest. I'll see you later.

At school, Victor raised a brow when he saw her walking alone.

Victor: "Why are you solo today?"

Lisa: "Astrid texted me. She's feeling unwell, so she stayed home."

Henry, who had been pulling books he had almost destroyed, from his locker, spun around so fast he nearly dropped them.

Henry: "Is she sick? What happened?!"

Lisa: "Relax! She's just dizzy. We'll all go after school."

Patrick: "Yeah, yeah. We'll go."

The bell rang, scattering them to class.

After school, they followed Lisa to my house, just as promised. I had fallen asleep on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, barely conscious of the ticking clock.

Lisa kneeled beside me.

Lisa: "Astrid... hey, wake up."

I didn't so much as flinch.

Henry sighed heavily, stepping forward.

Henry: "That won't work. Let me."

He slid his arms around me, hugging me gently before brushing a soft kiss on my nose. My body reacted instinctively -like a lazy cat- I stretched, yawned, then promptly turned the other way.

Patrick: "Okay but... how do you plan to wake her up if she runs from you in her sleep?"

A slow, confident smirk spread across Henry's face.

Henry: "Don't worry. I know exactly what to do."

Without hesitation, he picked me up bridal style and sat down, keeping me curled against his chest. His heartbeat was fast -too fast- and it warmed my cheek. My face heated up as consciousness returned.

Henry: "Hey, beautiful... time to wake up."

I blinked open my eyes, still tired, but undeniably happy to see him.

Astrid: "What time is it?"

Lisa: "3:30. Why?"

Astrid: "Oh. Right. I forgot Lucas is involved now."

Belch crossed his arms.

Belch: "Speaking of that... did you get any messages from Evans?"

My stomach twisted.

Astrid: "Y-yeah... but I haven't opened them yet. Honestly, I'm scared to."

Henry: "Open them. We need to know what he said."

I nodded and unlocked my phone. Five unread messages from an unknown number. My hands shook as I read.

[Ryan]
How are you feeling after I marked you as mine?
Just like a doll looking for its owner. Cute.
Too bad your cousin knows nothing.
You're too scared to tell him.

My voice trembled.

Astrid: "That was the first one..."

Henry surged forward in anger.

Henry: "I'm going to lose my mind! You're not a thing -dammit, you're not property! You're a person. You have feelings."

Astrid: "Tell him that."

I read the next message.

[Ryan]
And I bet your new pathetic friends want to kill me, huh? If you can find me, then try. Too bad you're too stupid to manage it.
And do me a favor -If you want to meet me, call me, so it seems real this time.

I slammed the phone down.

Astrid: "He's disgusting."

Victor: "No arguments there."

Belch: "Actually... this is our chance. Call him. Make him think you want to meet. Flirt if you have to."

Astrid: "Alright... I'll try."

My fingers hesitated before dialing. The line picked up instantly.

Ryan: "So you called. Interesting."

Astrid: "Yeah... surprise. Where do you want to meet?"

I tried to keep my voice steady -even though everything in me screamed to hang up.

Ryan: "Meet me at 6:30 tonight, babe. Alone, or you'll regret it."

Astrid: "Fine. See you soon."

The moment I hung up, I exhaled shakily.

Lisa: "Wow. That was way too easy. He's actually stupid."

Patrick: "Agreed."

Henry cracked his knuckles, fire burning in his eyes.

Henry: "Perfect. Now I can finally get my revenge."

Belch: "Slow down, hero. Don't explode before she gives the signal."

Henry: "I won't. But I'm definitely going to be pissed."