Out of Reach | Mikhaiah

Chapter 33

Disclaimer: This is pure fiction. Any similarities to real people, places, or events are purely coincidental. Read, enjoy, and don't take it too seriously!

- ✦ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 ✦ -

Arisha's POV:

I woke up to a soft but insistent shake on my shoulder.

A trembling voice whispered near my ear, filled with urgency.

"Arisha, please, wake up."

I groaned, my mind still clouded with sleep.

Slowly, I pried my eyes open. My vision was blurry, and for a second, I felt completely disoriented.

"Malisse?" My voice was thick with confusion.

She was sitting beside me, her hands clutching my shoulders. Her eyes-red and swollen-darted anxiously around the room.

"Mal, hey! What's going on?" I pushed myself up, my head still spinning. "What are you doing here? And where's the guy who pushed me earlier?"

Malisse sucked in a shaky breath and wiped at her damp cheeks.

"Ari... I'm the one who came in earlier. I was the one who pushed you."

I stilled.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Her voice cracked as she clutched the bedsheets, her whole body trembling.

I blinked. "Mal, what the hell is happening?"

She swallowed, gripping my hands tightly. Her fingers were ice-cold.

"Ate Ari, listen to me first," she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper. "I overheard them."

My heart stilled.

"Two guys-talking outside the parking lot of the studio earlier. I was about to get in the car after Shezelle and Stazia left. I heard them, Ari."

I narrowed my eyes. "Who?"

"They were behind a black SUV. They didn't notice me." Her breath hitched. "Ari... they were talking about you."

A heavy silence settled between us.

"They've been watching you for a while now."

I felt something icy coil around my spine.

She wasn't lying.

Her panic-the sheer terror in her eyes-this wasn't something she could fake.

"I heard them say this was the perfect moment to get to you... kasi wala si Azra."

My body stiffened.

"They were planning to make their move, Ari."

My blood ran cold.

"What do they want?" My voice was barely audible.

Malisse swallowed hard. "I don't know. But they were afraid of Azra."

I clenched my fists.

Azra.

Her name was a warning. A shield. A force they didn't want to cross.

"Mal..." I tried to steady my breathing. "Are you sure these were the same people?"

She nodded, her hands gripping the hem of her hoodie. "Ari... they're the same guys who have been watching me too."

I stiffened. "What?"

"Do you remember the time they pointed the laser at us?" she whispered.

I did. The memory was burned into my mind. The eerie red dot on Malisse's chest. The way fear paralyzed her.