A Friends Help

Clara POV

Lucia won't even make me speak; she kept asking if I was fine, and to calm her down I replied softly, "I'm fine, you don't have to be worried about me..."

"I can tell you are not fine, Clara. I know you very well from atom. I can tell when you are stuck with something, so talk to me..." Lucia refused to agree with what I had said, and why should she? She had seen how my face went pale when I saw the message sent by the unknown number.

I took a deep breath before replying, "You know what? Why don't we meet somewhere by tomorrow so we get to talk? To be honest, I'm not in a good condition."

"You are not in a good condition..." Lucia's voice almost lost it as she heard those words from me. "There's no need meeting tomorrow. Where are you now so I can come pick you up? Your safety at this point really matters."

I didn't know why things were beginning to ignite this way, but I could tell for sure that Lucia is becoming an angel in my life, but at the same time I'm scared of putting her life in danger.

I know how brutal the crime boss is. I know what he can do if he is being disobeyed, and he won't mind taking down anything that stood in his way that would disrupt his interests. And if it was to report him to the police, then that is another joke, because this mysterious crime boss has a lot of insiders as police that do work for him.

Realizing what could unravel if this thing goes wrong, I shook my head dismissively while holding my phone and while talking to Lucia, as I replied, "Don't worry, there's no need."

And when I said these words, I laughed to ease the tension before adding, "Lucia, could you just forget about what I had said to you? I'm okay, there's nothing wrong with me."

All that I was doing at the moment was to ease the tension inside Lucia's mind. I know how caring she was and how reactive she could be if she hears I'm in trouble. She had countlessly done unimaginable things for me when we were still in college. That bond could never fail; we are just like sisters from different mothers.

"Are you insane, Clara? Do you think I'm playing with you? Don't get me angry. Tell me your damn location; let me come pick you up..." Lucia barked at me like I was a child, though she is two years older than me.

And just like the quickly frightened type I was, I submitted to her words and gave her my location, and immediately after I did, the call ended.

"What have I done?" I muttered under my breath as the light from my phone screen shone on my face.

And just like before, Otis, my little dog, was seated at the couch staring at me. He didn't move; he was just staring like he had sensed my uneasiness or the already psycho part of me going berserk.

I was silent for almost twenty minutes, staring at my dog and the ceiling, and just then, I heard my phone begin to ring, and the caller was Lucia.

How could she have gotten here so fast?

I had already concluded one thing, and that thing is she must be in the location that I had sent to her, which was why she was calling.

I picked up the call, and just as I was about to answer the call, a knock sounded on my door.

My gaze instantly shifted to my door. My hand dropped with my phone, but my grip was still holding my phone, and I didn't even hear what Lucia was saying before I walked to the door.

I had already concluded she could be the one, and with that, I opened the door while asking, "Is that you, Lucia?"

The moment the door pushed open, two hefty men stepped into my house. I was confused. Who could they be? How had they known here?

Though this thought of confusion was soon cut short when one among the two hefty men spoke: "Where is Alaric?"

And in that instant, I knew why these men were here. Even though I had changed apartments more than three times, those men that Alaric was owing kept locating me. Even when I kept telling them that I knew nothing of his whereabouts, all I got in return was beatings, and sometimes they even went ahead to take all my money and any valuable things the could find.

"Answer me, bitch... Where the hell is your man?" The man who had spoken before repeated himself, his face filled with anger so much that my legs were already shaking.

"I don't know where he is," I repeated.

The man shifted his gaze to his colleague, and they both chuckled with a dark snear on their faces. After this silent telepathic conversation the man had with his colleague, he shifted his gaze back to me as he said furiously, "Do you think I'm playing around? Where the hell is Alaric? If you won't tell me, then you will have the price to pay. Maybe leaving you with some marks would be worth it for him to come pay us the money he owes."

It's as though Alaric had borrowed money from every single person he knew in his life, because these guys kept coming with different faces and different stories.

"I've told you guys, I don't know where he is..." My lips trembled, and my dog began to bark.

Otis dashed forward to bite one of the men, but due to how small of a dog he was as a Chihuahua, he was easily kicked to the corner.

He shouted, and when I wanted to go get Otis, one of the men held my hand and dragged me back. "Let us be clear to you: we won't leave here without getting what your silly boyfriend borrowed from us, and if you can't give us, we would have no choice but to have fun with you."

The man who had spoken ended his words while licking his lips, and in that instant I knew what was about to happen or perhaps what was in his mind.

My eyes widened with fear.

I began stepping backward while trying to drag my hand off the man's grip, but he was too harsh and strong. And just then, a hard, loud, shattering sound of wood struck the man who was behind the other man holding my arm, and in that instant, the man dropped to the ground.

When I saw who had rendered the attack, I almost didn't believe it. It was Lucia.