(18+) RED (Complete)

Ch. 8: Popcorn and payback

"You really didn't have to get us a limo from the airport. We could have just taken a cab, or get Gabby's brother or my dad to pick us up."

I let myself fall down on my mattress like a road-kill, and thanked all mighty sources including our neighbor's cousin's cat, that the driver helped me with my luggage. Because it was heavy. H-E-A-V-Y! But he carried it all the way up to our porch and didn't make a face once. Unlike me, who looked like a strangled seal when I carried it inside the house and up to my room. And now I was pretty much dead.

Then there was this thing called family... My dad backed off after I finally made him understand that there had been absolutely no boys in our hotel room. But mom fried me for every little microscopic piece of information about the trip, the hotel, the concert and the meeting with Michael Jackson, from the minute I left to the moment I got home. And of course, my sister kept rolling her eyes so hard that I was starting to wonder if they were attached to her body at all. She was a great sibling and we shared a lot, but she never understood my fascination for Michael Jackson. And I didn't really care, because I didn't share her obsession with Jensen Ackles, either. I mean, he looked good and all, but he had nothing on Michael.

The phone dinged, indicating that Jake had replied.

"Had to make sure you got home safely. 💖And that you weren't abducted the luxurious way, by some ridiculously rich and insane monster."

Then I got:

"🤭🤭🤭"

"I'm gonna hear that to the day I die, aren't I? 😒🙄"

"Pretty much. 😂"

"Gee, thanks. Anyway. I'm home, and I'm safe and sound. And thanks to you, I've had the best time of my life. 😊"

"Glad to hear. And now it's time for you to pay me back. 💀"

What?!

A cold chill crept down my spine and I stopped breathing. This was what Gabby warned me about! Things never come for free. Especially something as big as a whole weekend in luxury, and a meeting with one of the world's biggest popstars. And I was stupid enough to believe him when he said he wanted nothing in return. God, what have I done?

"You're gonna kill me now, aren't you?"

He didn't answer.

"Are you there?"

"Are you here??"

"Are you in my closet?"

"Under my bed?!"

"I'm gonna scream!"

"My parents are downstairs, so they're gonna hear me and come save me. And my sister has a black belt!"

...in shopping, I added with a mumble, and kept staring around me in search of any potential threats. And when I couldn't find any, I tiptoed over to the window and squinted out from behind the curtains.

The limo was long gone, as were the kids who were playing basketball next door when I came. Maybe he'd murdered them?

Another pling made me jump like a scared rabbit.

"I have black belts, too. Lots of them, actually. And no, I'm not in Idaho. Unfortunately. 😔 Work schedule is kinda tight these days."

"So you're not going to kill me?"

"No."

"And you've not hired someone to kill me?"