Chapter 16

Diane's POV

"Diane...!!"

"Can you hear me, Diane? What happened? Huh??" Hazel's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. Her once-excited voice is now filled with worry and tinged with curiosity.

"Diane?" She calls again, and I sigh, pressing my lips together.

"I'm... I tranced..." I stop myself before I can finish. I know Hazel; if I say I tranced out, she'll press so hard to know why.

I chuckle. "I just got so excited that I didn't know what to say."

Lies. But that's all I can think of to redeem the moment, and I only hope Hazel buys the crap I said.

Okay, maybe it's only partly a lie. Heavens, I'm genuinely excited about the new job, but God, I didn't expect it to be Reney's. It makes my stomach clench and my heart twist.

My friend is going to work in a rival company. I don't know why, but I can feel my skin crawling with tension and maybe fear of what will happen in the future.

"I don't believe you." Hazel says.

Amazing! She doesn't. Even though we've been apart for a few years, Hazel has this guts to always see through my lies. She knows when I'm lying and when I'm telling the truth, and that has always made it difficult to lie to her, even when I really want to.

I press my fingers into my forehead.

I can't tell her the place she got a job at is a rival company to mine. I can't start telling her the history Reney and Conrad's company share, how they're at loggerheads, and how we'll be getting entangled in the midst of everything.

"You must have lost your wit, seriously? You can't tell when I'm lying now?" I mutter, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

I hear Hazel scoff, barely audible, then she mutters, "I don't really believe you, but I'll pretend I do. We'll discuss again when I return to the country." And like that...

Beep.

Beep.

The call ends.

I stare at the screen of my phone, wondering what I can possibly do. I'm not being dramatic or excessively sensitive, but I can't shake the persistent feeling that things will take another shape as soon as Hazel starts working in that company.

The feeling, the gnawing clench in my chest, persists so much that I can't sleep, I can't blink.

I just lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling, thoughts racing, still hoping I'm just being paranoid.

***

The next morning hits me like a train. Busy, busy, busy.

Of course, Sundays have always been busy for me because I have a lot to do. Laundry, taking out the trash, and lots more. The other days of the week are used up for work, so on Sundays, I always work my butt off.

But this Sunday... it feels different. Strange, maybe.

On other Sundays, I'd be up already, taking out the trash, or in the kitchen preparing something, or doing laundry, just something. But today, I lie on the bed, gazing into empty space. I don't even make any attempt to get up and draw the curtain closed even though sunlight is already leaping in.

I lie like a log of wood, just there, barely breathing, barely alive.

And then it comes, sharp and forceful.

I jerk, eyes shooting wide in shock. Who the hell knocks on someone's door like that?

The knock comes again, sharper, heavier, like the person on the other side is on a mission to split the door apart.

"Who?" I ask, getting down from the bed and slipping my feet into the flip-flops beside it.

The person doesn't reply. Instead, the knock continues so much that I feel like tearing whoever it is apart.

With a grab, I pull the door open and come face to face with them.

Two hefty, tall men.

My heart thuds hard in my chest as I step back, my skin freezing in fear.

Who are they, and to what do I owe this visit? No, hold on, it isn't a visit, because the way they're staring at me, it's like, Hey, let's just kill this bitch and get the fuck out.

I didn't steal their kidney. I'm not even a thief, so...

My thoughts are interrupted when one of them speaks up. "We are here for our money."

Mo... Money?

I blink once. Twice. Then gasp in shock.

They're wearing the same outfit, and... they come from a loan shark.

Diane Hall! What the hell have you gotten yourself into?

One of them, the one whose face looks more brutal, gives me a short, wicked smile. "You're not trying to play tricks with us, are you?!" His voice makes my blood run cold and my head spin. It's the kind of voice that could make your heart stop beating, literally.

"I... I..."

I have no words. I don't even have the money here with me, and the money Conrad paid me days ago, I used it up. Hell, not for myself but for some crappy bills.

"No long talks, Diane. You're coming with us." The other finally speaks. His voice isn't soft, but it isn't as harsh as the first man's.

I bite my bottom lip hard, shaking my head. I know exactly where they'll take me if I step an inch out of here.

It's not somewhere anyone would like to be. It's hell. It's painful. It's scary.

I can't, even if I have to stand up against them. So I take a deep breath, then glance up at them.

"I know I didn't keep my promise of paying back within one month, but give me a few more days. I'll pay..."

"We're tired of always hearing that from you. Always!!" the first guy snaps, his voice sharp, and I flinch, my entire body trembling.

"You always have one lie to tell or the other. Today, there are really no excuses." The second clicks his tongue.

I can hear my heart pulsing in my chest, my palms turning sweaty.

"It's either you pay up..." He stares at me, as if making sure each word he's about to say carves deep into my soul.

I gulp, gripping the hem of my nightie so I won't burst out crying.

"Or you come with us." The first guy completes with a tilt of his head.

Silence. The chilly, tense kind that makes you gulp, shiver and sob at the same time.

The time ticks, softly, slowly, as if counting the minutes for us.

Then the first guy moves and grabs my wrist, his grip so tight that I fear my bone will crack. "I think we're going with the latter."

My eyes brim with tears, but I hold them in, then say the only thing my mind can process at the moment.