The Devil Calls Me Sweetheart

1

     "Stop strolling behind, Rose! At this point, the store will close before I get my hands on my gummies!"

My best friend Olivia forced me to come with her on the quest of finding her precious gummies. On this weekend, the streets were filled with the smell of street food along with a mix of people walking around. Some window shopped, some were on dates. In my case, I had nothing better to do but to stick around my only friend. Between the small buildings, the sun was slowly going to rest as the moon rises.

Olivia looked back at me and grabbed my hands, guess I was too slow for her.

She dragged me to the end of the street inside a small shop. This particular street was huge, so it was no surprise that I've never been here before.

"Give me a break Liv, I'll go to the bathroom." I rolled my eyes. She happily nodded while trying to balance 10 packs of gummies in her arms.

I went to the back since it seemed like common sense for it to be there. However, I couldn't help but notice orange-red stains on the floor. I squinted my eyes. What the hell is that? It almost looked like slime? It wasn't blood though.

Deciding to ignore it, I finally found the bathroom and did my business. After washing my hands, I opened the door only to face Olivia.

"Liv! You scared me."

She only gave me a small smile and walked away. Instinctively, I followed her steps.

"Where are we going?" I frowned when she didn't give me an answer. She hopped on the escalator that I didn't seem to realize was there when we first entered the store. Again, there were those weird stains from earlier on the stairs.

When we reached the second floor, I couldn't help but be in awe. It looked almost surreal. It seemed to be a small café, but it was almost empty with only three other people. Fairy lights illuminated the cozy place, decorated with some plants to give it a bit of greenery.

I ushered Liv to come towards me. In front of me was a medium sized bookshelf with the sign 'free'. Olivia stood behind me as I got on my knees and searched for interesting things I could possibly take. I was disappointed to only find encyclopedias, a feather pen and some bookmarks.

I sighed and dusted off my knees before getting up. "Sorry, that took longer than expected." I give a last overall glance to the shelf. I turn around to my friend. "Let's go-"

Olivia stood dangerously close to me, closer than I would like. I noticed there was something strange about her eyes. A strange glowing red hue was present, almost hypnotizing me. I subconsciously stop breathing. A strange feeling persuaded the air.

Olivia gave me a smile, but this smile was mischievous. This person in front of me, although the same appearance, my gut told me it was not my best friend. I looked to my right expecting to see those other three girls who were here, but suddenly they disappeared.

A sudden headache appeared, and it got difficult to even gauge out the situation. Was this purely a coincidence? My attention went back to Olivia in hopes for her to help me, but as my vision began to blur, I could faintly make out her devious smile between the black blotches that were forming.

With a last attempt, I called her. "Liv?"

My knees gave out and I heard the impact of my body crashing against the ground.

-

The sound of rain woke me up. When had I fallen asleep? I examined my surrounding. The street that was once filled with people from different age range was now empty. I quickly pat my jacket for my phone.