Annabel’s
Little Secret
(What happened to her?)
Episode 17
Esther’s Pov:
Curiosity was eating us up.
Vanessa’s eyes were alre-ady teary.
“What’s written in the diary?” I asked again and she lifted her head to look at us.
“Annabel…” She called and handed the diary to her.
I collected it with a gush of curiosity and Renee drew near immediately. We looked into the diary together and…what?
What’s the meaning of this?
They were names – a list of names.
Oh, my God! Not just any names. The first set of names had been struck out and those were the names of the families that’s been killed In the past few days.
The next name on the list that was yet to be wiped out was…Royce!
“What?”, Renee skrie-ked Immediately.
“What’s Royce’s name doing on her list?”
I furrowed my brows in confusion and looked at Vanessa. She was trying to wipe off the tear from her eye.
“Vanessa, wh…what’s the meaning of this?” I asked, confused and she stood up from the be-d.
“Those are the names of the people she wants to kill. The ones which had been struck out are the names of the families that alre-ady dead. The names which are yet to be struck are the names of families she’s going to kill very soon” she explained, ma-king me freeze.
“But…Royce’s name is next” Renee said.
“And that’s the point; Royce is the next person she wants to kill.”
What?
“Oh, my God!” I exclaimed and sat weakly on the be-d.
“Annabel wants to kill my b©yfri£nd?” Renee asked, fearfully.
No wonder she’s been trying to get close to him all these while.
I sniffed and noticed a tear also streaming down my cheek.
“But…what Could Annabel’s reasons be for wanting them dead? I mean, what could’ve possibly turned her into a murderer?”,I asked feebly.
“We don’t and won’t know till we ask her” Vanessa replied.
“Ask her? You want us to confront her?”
“We should involve the police!”
“No, we can’t” Vanessa replied.
“We can’t expo-se Annabel. If the police gets to know about this, they’ll have her locked up. She’ll be going to jail forever. We nee-d to know what’s wrong. We nee-d to talk to her and know what’s happening. We can’t just hand over to the police”.
“But she’s a murderer” Renee stated, fearfully.
“Yeah and that’s the point. The Annabel we know will never do such a thing. Something must be wrong and we nee-d to talk to her about it”.
Annabel’s Pov:
I had to f0rç£ myself to attend clas-ses that day and finally, the school c@m£ to a close.
I went outside so I could check for my driver and surprisingly, I met Leo, standing in front of his car like he was waiting for someone.
“Hey” he called when he saw me.
“Hi…” I replied and drew closer to meet him.
“Leo, what are you doing here?” I asked, surprised and he smiled.
“I uh…c@m£ to give you a ride home. Thought that’d be sweet” he replied and I chuckled.
“Hmm. Well that is sure sweet. Thanks”.
He smiled and opened the front door for me and I went in and in a short while, we were both on the road.
“So…how was school today?” He asked as he drove along the beautiful road.
“Ah! It was so boring as always” I replied frazzled.
“And you? How’re you coping with the company?” I asked and he sighed.
“Well, its good. Everything has been fine lately. And we’re still hoping for the best.”
“Of course, of course” I nodded in agreement.
We c@m£ up little chats along the way until finally, we were in front of my house.
“Hmm. Thank you so much for the ride,Leo. I really appreciate” i said with satisfaction and he just smiled.
Then I took my bag and tried leaving the car.
“Um…Annabel” he called and turned to look at him.
“Actually, there is…something important I’ve always wanted to tell you” he paused and sighed, ma-king me more curious..
“Okay; what is it?” I asked, looking into his handsome face.
“Do you…remember the night at the p@rty?” He asked and for a moment, my heart skipped.
The p@rty!!
“Y…Yes” I stuttered nervously.
Why does he have to bring up the p@rty?
“Do you remember I had wanted to tell you something important before a call interrupted me and by the time I returned, you had gone missing?” He asked, ma-king my lungs dry.
“Yes…”
He paused and adjusted on his seat to face me.
“Annabel, I…I had wanted to tell you how much I adore you. You’re beautiful, Annabel and all the moments we’ve spent together has made me realized that there can never be anyone more perfect for me.
“I want to have you, Annabel. I want us to be together. Will you be my d@t£?” He said nervously.
I took in a de-ep breath and looked away.
Geez! So that was what he wanted to say?
Gosh! I had been so scared, thinking he had something else in mind.
“Leo” I called softly and turned to face him.again.
I placed my hand on his chin.
“You’re a nice person. And I also cherish all the moments we’ve spent together. But, I’m sorry, what you’re asking…I’m just not re-ady for it yet..maybe if you can give me a little more time”.
He exhaled de-eply and t©uçhed my hand on his chin.
“Alright then. I’ll wait” he said with a sweet smile and pe-cked me.
Awwn.
So sweet.
“Bye” I told him and left the car.
I stood by the gate and watched him drive away.
Hm. What a nice young man. I just hope his wishes comes to pas-s.
I shrugged and knocked on the gate and it was opened for me.
*
*
I walked into the sitting room and took the stairs. The whole place seemed quiet.
Well, obviously the girls were still at the office.
I walked tiredly to my room and opened the door and surprisingly, when I got in, I found the three of them standing and staring at me, like they’ve been waiting for my entrance.
Huh?
I st©pped at the door and looked at them in surprise. What are they doing in my room?
Hold on;
Vanessa was holding a n£¢klace – my missing n£¢klace!
And Esther…was holding my diary!
What???
TBC