THALIA
When a woman dressed in a black suit approached me on a train track, whilst I was holding a bottle of blue spray paint in my left hand and a face covered with paint, I didn't hesitate to say no to her proposition:
BE HER BRIDESMAID AT HER WE...
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Unknown: Matteo... are you feeling bored?
I scoff out loud reading this twats text message. What a stupid, stupid text. I'm used to crazy, little fuckers trying to scare me.
I go to pocket my phone but then it starts buzzing. I tell myself it's probably a salesman... but what odd timing.
I groan before pressing accept and holding the phone to my ear.
A deep voice floods into my ears.
Too deep to be natural, this guy or girls got some sort of voice effect on. I'll track them down later I just need to make sure they stay on the phone for 1 minute.
I start a stopwatch on my Apple Watch and wait to see what this person has to say.
"I'll cut to the chase - I've been watching you for some time now. I've made... observations. There's word on the block that you've found yourself a sister," they laugh into the speaker, "I wouldn't get too comfortable with her. She's going to be leaving soon. I have connections.. shall I say. Based on the girls history, she's definitely full of self-sabotage. Lucky for you, that makes you're job easier. I hear you've done a DNA test. I don't care what the results are, you tell her you're not related. She'll leave then."
I roll my eyes at this dumbass. I just need to keep him on the line a little longer in order to track the call.
"I know what you're thinking. You think this is a "prank", if you don't get that girl and out of your family, I'll kill her."
I get death threat calls all the bloody time. I tell myself this guys playing some sort of sick joke. But when they start to face time me, something compels me to pick up. So I do...
And I don't like what I see.
There's a person. With a mask. And they've flipped the camera around. There's a woman tied to the chair. Naked. Beaten.
"You don't want your sister to end up like this, do you?" The person laughs into the phone and then hangs up. I check the stop watch.
58 seconds
And before I can register my actions, there's already a hole in the wall.
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I can't believe I've let it go this far. What was I thinking? Bloody hell.
How have I let myself get close to these people. They are just going to get hurt. Just. Like. Everyone. Fucking. Else.
My breathing has become erratic. I can't think straight. Their hurt faces are all I can see.
I take deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.
Maybe I'm having a funny five minutes... and I'll feel better tomorrow and not so self-sabotaging.
My phone chimes and something calls out at me to grab it. I grab the phone and press accept, "hello," I say, my breathing still uneven.
A woman laughs into the phone, it doesn't take me more than a second to identify the voice to the human. "Oh, Thalia. I gave you a chance, honey. I turned up at his house and gave you a chance to come home. But you didn't. Did you forget all about that vidoe I played for you? The one where you stabbed me?"
My heart drops.
How did I forget.
FLASHBACK
Esmerelda switches the Tv on. "At first, I was going to let Bill and Gordon take care of you. Have their fun for a while. Don't get me wrong, they've had lots of fun the past two days,"
I've been out two days?!
"But... well that's not good enough. I then thought I'd just force you to stay here, I guess that torture enough for you but, we'll I can't be arsed to be honest. Then I thought I'd kill you. But I'd rather not. In all honestly, I don't know what I want to do with you. I don't really want you as my responsibility. So I figured something out. Or I made a plan, if that's what you want to call it."
She presses play on the controller and some video footage starts playing. It's a girl... she's got a... knife. And she.... She looks exactly like me. And the other woman looks exactly like Esmerelda. I get shivers watching this fake footage. They argue, until - until the girl - the girl - 'stabs' Esmerelda. The video cuts off abruptly.
"What have you done?" I asks, calmly. I am in so much trouble.
END OF FLASHBACK
"You forgot, huh?" Esmerelda laughs bitterly into the phone.
I did forget...
Why the fuck did I let myself forget?!
I knew everything was bound to get messed up. I knew it was all way too good to be true. I knew the universe wasn't actually going to allow me to be happy. Happy? Who even knows what thef words feel like?
Thalia! Cut out the pity party! I yell at myself.
Just when I thought I calmed down, I do the opposite and start going into a full blown panic attack.
I can't breathe.
"You alright there, darling? Did I shock you?"
"Fuck.you." I say in between strangled breaths.
"You'll stray being nicer to me. Just. You. Wait."
The tears fall and I don't bother try prevent the absolute waterfall that's about to happen. I'm still having a hard time breathing.
What if I go to prison? What if I never get to tell the Fords how much I fucking love them? What if I don't see Nadine again? Or Stella? Or May? Or even fucking Sadie at this point.
