Tangled in Red Threads

Unknown Number

Chapter 61: Unknown Number

Romeo

What happened to Derrick?

Juliet's voice didn't come out sharp. It wasn't loud or angry. It was quiet, too quiet. And that somehow made it worse.

Romeo stood frozen behind the café counter, the towel in his hand going still mid-wipe. He looked up, and the way Juliet watched him made his chest cave in a little. She already knew he wouldn't answer easily.

That meant she remembered.

Remembered their high school days. The three of them, thick as thieves, Romeo, Juliet, and Derrick. He remembered too. The laughter, the stolen ramen from the vending machine at lunch, the nights they stayed up at that karaoke place talking about dreams they thought would never end.

But something did end.

Romeo swallowed hard. "Why randomly bring him up?"

Juliet's eyes didn't flinch. "I got a message. Just now. Unknown number."

Romeo's stomach turned.

"Said I should ask you about Derrick. That I deserve the truth."

He exhaled slowly. "You do. But not here."

Juliet nodded once. "Then when?"

"Tonight," he said, his voice firm. "After I close up. I'll walk you home."

She didn't speak after that. Just sat at her usual spot, quietly sipping the matcha he gave her, free, like always, but neither of them smiled.

Later that night...

The walk was quiet. Street lamps hummed overhead, painting golden pools across the pavement. Their shadows walked ahead of them, nearly touching, even if they didn't.

Romeo kept his hands in his coat pockets. Juliet held the cup with both hands like she was holding onto something she didn't want to let go of.

"You were close to Derrick," she said after a while. "Closer than I ever was."

Romeo nodded. "He was like a brother."

"So, what happened?"

Romeo looked ahead. "You left."

That answer made her blink. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said, slower now, "after you disappeared, we were both messed up. But Derrick... he didn't handle it the same way. Because I was only focused on finding you... He told me I should give up, but when I didn't, he started to do things. Risky things. He said it was to take control of life, but it felt like he was just trying to lose it."

Juliet stayed silent.

"I tried to help him," Romeo continued. "Got pulled into something I never should've been a part of. It started with him borrowing money from the wrong people. Then meeting the wrong people. I warned him, but he didn't listen. And when I backed out... he blamed me."

Juliet's lips parted. Repeating the same question one more time. This time, her voice a bit shaky.

 "What happened to him?"

Romeo paused under a streetlight. The glow made him look older than he was.

"He vanished," he said. "Left town. No goodbye. Nothing."

Juliet's chest ached. That sounded... familiar.

"Is he the one texting me?" she asked, voice thin.

Romeo shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe someone connected to him."

She studied him for a long moment. "Are you in danger?"

Romeo didn't answer right away.

They were now standing in front of Juliet's house.

"Not yet," he finally said. "But I don't want you dragged into it."

Juliet looked away, her throat tight. "You know, you're doing the same thing I did."

"What?"

"Pushing people away to "protect" them."

Romeo looked down at the ground.

She took a deep breath. "If something's coming... you don't have to go through it alone."

He turned to her then, something soft and wounded in his eyes. "You still trust me?"

"I'm trying," she said. "But trust doesn't grow in the dark."

Romeo nodded once, slow and heavy. "Tomorrow. I'll tell you more. Everything I can."

Juliet stepped back slowly. "Okay."

She started walking away, but just before she entered the house, she glanced over her shoulder.

"Romeo?"

He looked up.

"If you get a message like the one I did... promise me you won't forget to tell me."

"I won't," he said quietly.

But when she was gone, when the door shut behind her, Romeo pulled out his phone again.

He already had a new message waiting.

Unknown Number:
You're running out of time, Romeo. Derrick never forgot what you did.

Romeo stared at it, unmoving, his thumb hovering over "delete" for a long, long time.

End of Chapter 61