Chapter 5
Four days before my death.
Wearing a red dress, I was shaking like a leaf in the alley.
“Act natural,” came Dexter’s voice through the earpiece.
I walked back and forth from one end of the alley to the other, but no shady characters in sight.
“Dexter, maybe the killer Isn’t Into her, eh?”
“Ha–ha, even a murderer has standards.” NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
The laughter of Dexter and his cronies echoed in my earpiece.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I crouched on the ground. For a moment, I was dying for a good
cry.
That night, I didn’t manage to balt the killer.
They didn’t let up on me, though.
So three days before my death. I was back pacing Flare Alley at night. Still no sign of their target.
Two days before it all went down, Melody caught up with me, “Phoebe, my bad. I got it mixed up. It wasn’t Flare Alley but Tangle Lane where the stalking happened. Dexter said to head there after work tonight. We’ll set up an ambush, so just holler if you need us.”
I fell for it and went to Tangle Lane after my shift.
This time, someone was really on my tail.
“Hello? Anybody there… I think someone’s behind me.” I was freaking out, calling out over the earpiece. “Is anyone…”
All I got was their goofing around. Nobody was listening. Something felt off, so I kept dialing
Dexter.
When he finally picked up, he snapped at me. “Phoebe, will you ever give it a rest? Why don’t you just drop dead? Did you get Melody yesterday and tell her we’re engaged to get her off your back? Let me tell you, if anything happens to her on her own, I’ll make you pay with your life!”
Frozen with fear, I stopped to explain.
But then hands came out of nowhere, covering my mouth and nose.
My phone slipped from my grasp. I struggled but it was all in vain. Then I quickly lost consciousness.
The day of the incident.
When I greggily came to, I found myself stashed in a big wooden crate, the kind for fragite china with slits that let me see outside.
As I tried to get in. I saw a tall fours in a hoodie enter
I saw his face. Pale skin, long and unkempt hair. Even with strands covering half of his face, the word “stunning‘ crossed my mind.
Not that “stunning” is an appropriate word for a murderer,
But he got a pair of glacier blue eyes, With chiseled features and ghostly skin, he was obviously mixed–race. And he reeked of death.
Scared, I didn’t dare make a sound.
Glancing around, he seemed to be searching for something. Then he picked up an ave from the corner and dragged it out.
I covered my mouth in fear and cautiously climbed out of the crate, trying to escape.
But I didn’t get far before someone knocked me out from behind and hit me to the ground.
Before passing out, I saw the axe he dragged out and his hands.
“You’re the most perfect piece of art I’ve ever seen.” His voice was hoarse as if his cord was broken. “You’re different from the others. I’ll preserve you forever. No one will ever find you; you’ll always belong to me, always by my side.”
The guy was a lunatic, a sicko.
My consciousness faded, my blood ran dry, and my heart stopped.
So this is what it’s like before death. It was an eerily peaceful feeling.
Dexter’s place.
My soul followed Dexter back to his house. He rarely came back to the Fitzgerald Mansion. mostly living on his own..
I’d always wanted to see his place, imagining it as our marital home after the wedding.
I longed for this place.
“Dexter, have you found Phoebe yet?” Melody rushed up to hug Dexter as soon as he walked in. She was in pajamas, so she had clearly been there for a while.
Dexter held Melody to soothe her gently. “Who knows what tricks she’s up to this time.”
I snorted sarcastically, looking around the room. Turned out that was he and Melody’s love nest. He had been secretly cohabiting with Melody all along.