Divya Mahesh

Thriller

4.4  

Divya Mahesh

Thriller

In Between The Notes

In Between The Notes

8 mins
34.1K


I groaned as I turned off my alarm. I rubbed my eyes and slowly got off bed. I looked at my phone and saw the date. With a curse leaving my lips, I quickly got ready and headed downstairs to have breakfast. How could I forget? It was my best friend’s birthday today. A week before mine. “Mom! Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” I asked, making myself breakfast. She looked away from the newspaper that she was reading, “I didn’t know honey. I’m sorry” she said. I sighed and continued to eat. “What were you planning to do anyway?” mom asked, putting the paper down. “I have to buy a gift for Anne. It’s her birthday today” I said in between bites. My mom rolled her eyes at me. I know, some best friend I am. She sighed, “So where are you planning to buy the gift and what are you getting her?” I shrugged, “I’m going to Allen’s jewelry store. I know she loves accessories” I said. Her eyes widened, “Wait. You mean that shop down the street?” she asked. I frowned and looked at her. “Yes. Why?” I asked her curiously. A smile broke on her face and her eyes shined brightly. “Oh nothing. You go and have fun.” she said. She gave me a smirk and walked towards the bedroom. That was weird. I shook my head, grabbed my wallet and headed to the store.

 

On the way to the store I received a text message from Anne, saying that she wasn’t free today, which shocked me. I was surprised that Anne was awake so early on her birthday. She was usually a late riser. I texted, asking her why she was so busy, but she never replied. I kept my phone away and entered the store and started to search for her gift. I headed towards the accessories section. “May I help you?” someone asked. I turned around to see a young man, judging by the clothes he wore, he was an employee here. I smiled and nodded, “I’m looking for some earrings” I said. He nodded and directed me to a shelf where there were many on display. With a smile, I proceeded to search for the perfect earrings.

I groaned in frustration after half an hour as I couldn’t find the perfect ones for her. I was about to walk out of the store when something caught my eyes near the exit. They were the most beautiful pair of earrings I had ever seen. They were small, tear-drop shaped earrings with a bright blue stone in the middle. I knew Anne would love these. I quickly grabbed them and headed to the billing counter. The person billing was the same boy who showed me the accessories area. I smiled and handed him the earrings along with the money. He packed them in a nice box and gave it to me along with the change. I thanked him and left the store.

I was putting the change back into my wallet when a piece of paper slipped out of my grasp. Holding the gift in one hand, I bent down to pick up the sheet. I noticed there were a few sentences printed on it. When I took a closer look, my heart stopped beating.

 NO CALLING THE POLICE OR YOUR FRIEND DIES. WE HAVE EYES EVERYWHERE. DO AS WE SAY, AND YOUR FRIEND MAY JUST LIVE.

Below, there was an address printed. Who was this? Why are they doing this? I quickly looked around, but I couldn’t spot anyone nearby. I quickly took out my phone and dialed Anne’s number, but she didn’t pick up. I called mom too but even she wasn’t picking up her phone. Where was everyone?

I couldn’t do anything else. I had to follow the instructions. I studied the address more closely and realized it was directing me to an old park that was five minutes away from my house. I quickly made my way to the park and started to look around for any signs of Anne. I looked underneath the swings and behind the slides but I couldn’t spot anything. I was making my way towards the see-saw when another piece of paper caught eyes. It was among the bushes. I quickly made my way to it and picked it up. My eyes became wide. It was a picture of me and Anne in a café. How did they get this? Behind the picture was a folded piece of paper. I removed it and read it.

 IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN IT MEANS THAT YOU HAVENT CALLED THE POLICE. CONGRADULATIONS. YOU’RE FRIEND ISNT HERE. COME TO THE NEXT ADDRESS OR YOUR MOTHER IS NEXT.

Below was another address. I shoved the picture inside my wallet and made my way to the next location. I could feel my eyes brimming up with tears. I wiped all the tears falling down my face and kept running. I tried calling mom and Anne again but they didn’t pick up. Hiccupping a sob, I ran till I reached my destination. It was a small clearing in the forest with a white screen hanging on a tree and a projector propped against another tree. As soon as I stepped into the clearing, the screen started to play a video. It was a video of Anne and I playing in the park when we were in kindergarten. I knew that because I recognized the school building behind the park. Just then I received a text. With shaking hands, I removed my phone from my pocket and read the text. It was from a blocked number.

HOW DID YOU LIKE MY PRESENT? I HOPE IT…SURPRISED YOU. I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE HAVING FUN! BUT I’M GROWING IMPATIENT. COME TO THIS ADDRESS TO SEE YOUR LOVED ONES. SEE YOU SOON.

My heart leapt out of my chest as tears started to stream down my face. I just wanted to see Anne’s face again. The final address led me to an old warehouse. Swallowing painfully, I made my way to the old building and hesitantly opened the door. The place was dark and I could barely see anything. I stuck by the wall and took out my phone so that I could shed some light on the place when suddenly the lights turned on.

SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I looked up to see decorations and presents everywhere. Wait, what? What is happening? I looked around to see mom, Anne, my uncle and aunt and all my friends from school. “What is this?” I shouted. Anne laughed and hugged me but I pushed her away. I was too shocked. “I knew it was your birthday next week so I thought I could hold a surprise party for you!” Anne said. I looked around, even mom was laughing softly. “So, you weren’t kidnapped?” I asked. She shook her head no. “You guys scared me! How could you?” I shouted. How could they even think of doing this to me? Mom rolled her eyes, “I knew you wouldn’t get out of the house because you’re so lazy. When Anne told me that she wanted to surprise you, I helped” she said, shrugging her shoulders. My eyes widened in shock. I knew I was lazy and I would only move if I really had to. But they didn’t have to go through to this length to get me out of the house. It was ridiculous! I hugged mom and hit Anne on her head. She winced, rubbing the injured spot. “That’s for scaring the hell out of me” I scoffed. “Although I don’t agree with this crazy plan to lure me here, I’m glad you guys threw me this party. So, thank you” I said, giving them all a smile. They all smiled back and started to cheer. I walked towards Anne and gave her my gift. Her eyes widened as she opened the box. When she saw what was inside, she hugged me tightly, nearly choking me. “Thank you so much!” she gushed. I smiled back.

That night, after a million apologies, I forgave them. We played games, had amazing food and generally had fun, till it was time for us to go home. Once I reached, I quickly changed my clothes and got onto my bed. I dialed Anne’s number and lied down on my bed. “Hey” she said. “I’m wearing the earrings. They look so amazing”. I smiled, “I’m glad you liked it and happy birthday again” and just like that we chatted for a few more minutes till we were feeling too sleepy to talk. Putting an alarm for tomorrow, I kept my phone on my table. I was about to turn off the lights when I received a text message. When I opened it, I realized it was from the same number that sent me texts throughout the day.

I’M GLAD YOU HAD FUN TODAY. ENJOY THE LAST FEW HOURS OF YOUR FREEDOM BECAUSE TOMORROW YOU’RE IN A HELL OF PAIN.

My heart skipped a beat as I reread the message. I got angry and texted Anne. Enough with the pranks Anne. I’m getting sick of the weird text messages. I sent the message. After a minute, I got a reply from her. What? What are you talking about? What text message? I rolled my eyes and sent her another text. Don’t play games with me Anne. I’m talking about the weird text messages that I’ve been receiving today that lead me to the warehouse. I got back an almost immediate reply. Text message? We never did that! We wrote a message on a post-it and stuck it on the fridge door. Did you not see that? My eyes widened and I quickly made my way to the fridge. When I looked closer, I saw the note.

When you’re done buying the gift, come to the below address. Love, Mom.

The given address was the address to the warehouse.

My eyes widened in shock and I collapsed on the ground. If this was the message that I was meant to see, then who has been sending me those texts? Just then I received another text. With trembling hands, I opened it.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SHOW. I’LL SEE YOU SOON.  

 


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