A few hours earlier. . .
The dishes were piled up in the sink, clogging the drain and causing the sink to be full of mushy water. She had left them unwashed again. We were supposed to take turns in washing the dishes, but Olivia never seemed to be around every single evening. I had to do the dishes, sweep, guard the house and most importantly, watch over my grandma who was practically very feeble. Mom hadn't come home yet from her evening shift and my sister was nowhere to be found, again!
"Meri!" I heard my grandma call. I dropped the plate I was washing and rushed to attend to her. I found her digging aggressive into a wooden box. There were old photographs and used up perfume bottles in the box, and a few were scattered all over the carpet.
"What's wrong, mama?" I crouched beside her as she sat on her bed panting heavily.
"Where is my son?" She took my hand and squeezed it. "I want to see my son." Grandma's son that is, my father, had died a few years earlier. He had developed a sudden chronic illness and succumbed to his death a while later.
"Mama, dad is not here." I tried to explain. "He's gone." Her Alzheimer's disease had gotten worse over the months, and at some point, she forgot me too. I could never imagine her life without me. I had to be by her side always, and even if I wasn't, someone somewhere had to be.
"Gone? Where's he gone to?" Her eyes turned wide. "Has he gone to get me a birthday gift?" Her eyes beamed with anticipation, the sides folding into creases. I couldn't bring myself to tell her plainly that dad had died six years ago. He wasn't coming back. "Look at his photos. Isn't he handsome?" She handed me a photo of dad in his navy uniform. My eyes welled up with tears seeing how happy he was in the picture, compared to how frail he looked when he was sick. Tears started to fall from my eyes. I couldn't help it.
"You dont have to cry, dear. He will come back, won't he?" She grinned excitedly.
Suddenly, I heard the front door open and close. "Meredith!" I heard my sister call from the living room.
"I'm in here, in mama's room!" I retorted, wiping away my tears. Olivia barged into the room, holding an empty bottle. "Where have you been?" I asked.
"What do you think?" She said slurping. "Where did mom keep the money?"
"What money?" I inquired. She glared at me for a short while and then left, leaving a whiff of booze in the air behind her. She was drunk as always. Sometimes I wondered what I saw in her that made me admire her as the naive child I was.
"Who was that?" Grandma asked.
"That's your granddaughter." I stated.
She furrowed her brows, "I have another granddaughter?" I nodded.
While sitting with Grandma and admiring and recollecting old memories, I heard a light sizzle from a distance and soon started to smell smoke. Alarmed, I excused myself and hurried to where the smell was coming from. To my dismay, there was a fire raging in the kitchen. It looked so huge, so I assumed it had started quite a while earlier. My first instinct was to look for Olivia, but she wasn't at home. Where had she vanished to? I tried to find some water to quench the fire, but the water did nothing. While battling with thought on what to do, I finally decided to ask for help from the neighbours. That was the only valid option so far. By now the fire was spreading wildly. I rushed to the front door to open it, only to realize it was locked! It was locked from the outside. The only people who had access to the keys were were me, my mother and my sister. Since Olivia was the last to leave the house, I was definitely sure she had locked it unintentionally. Why now? Why did she have to forget to leave the door unlocked at this time that I needed the most help? I opened one of the living room windows and started to shout for help. It seemed pointless but I did it anyway.
The fire started to spread towards the hall dividing the kitchen and the living room. My heart began to race in my chest. Before I knew it, there was a huge blast, and I felt a force push me towards the floor. Losing consciousness, I tried to stand up, but my body failed me. My whole body was in an unimaginable pain. My eyes started to blur out, and they shut close. I heard the door kick open, and in came some muffled sounds. Some were faint but others, loud but inaudible. The heat in the room began to die down, allowing a slight coolness. I couldn't savour it, though, in view of the immense pain I was feeling. In all this, my thought drifted to my grandmother. Was she okay? Was she safe? I felt that I was being carried to who knows where. Unconciousness began to sweep over my body, and the last thought that flashed through my mind before all was gone was, 'Don't forget me, mama.'
* * *
Present
The weather was cold and freezing, and Mason and I sat quietly in the lone apartment, staring into nothingness. The dog, Beatrice was feeding.
"What town are we in?" I broke the silence. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at me with that look again.
"Silverstreet." He stated. "What town did you live in?"
"Bliss Lake." I retorted. I had never heard of a town called Silverstreet, and I presumed it was far from my home.
"The most peaceful town, Bliss Lake?" He mocked.
"Yes, that one." I said.
He snickered, "I don't see the point of calling it a peaceful town when the crimes committed are hidden and never exposed."
"You've never lived there. How do you know there are hidden crimes?" I frowned.
He ignored my statement, "Bliss Lake is pretty far. It's a seven hour drive from here." He brushed the hair on his forehead away.
"Why are you being chased?" I decided to ignore his statement like he did.
He looked at me pleasing, noticing what I did, and sighed, "You stole a diamond necklace." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't know where you got it from or how you knew about it. Those people are after the necklace...and technically after you, too."
"Rephrase your sentences. I'm not Piper." I didn't understand why he was referring to me as if I was Piper...as if there was never a transmigration to begin with. "How'd you know it was stolen?"
"You can't aff-...Piper can't afford this kind of jewellery. Where else could she have gotten it? She didn't even tell me anything about it. She was obviously hiding it." He sighed. "If I hadn't spotted it one time in her room, I wouldn't have known she had it."
"Was that what you were asking me about earlier?"
"Yes. I searched for it where I found it last, but I didn't see it."
"But where could it be? No one has been to her place apart from you, right?"
"That's the problem." He brushed some hair away from his forehead. "Someone probably came and stole it. Though, this shouldn't be because only I have the keys to her place. Who could have broken into the house?"
"What's going to happen now?"
"I'm not a fortune teller. Stop asking me about the future." He snapped. He had this annoying tone he used when speaking which got on my nerves. He noticed my glare and smirked, "Cute."
I ignored his remarks and asked, "How valuable is this necklace?"
"It's probably worth billions, honey. It's a diamond necklace for crying out loud. Gosh! I wanted to help her. I wanted to convince her to return the necklace so that she wouldn't get into trouble. I wasn't able to." He buried his head in his hands. He must've been really heartbroken but did well not to show it.
"How'd you know they'd come for her today?" I kept asking questions. I had to clear my doubt about everything before I moved on.
"I didn't know they'd come today. I knew that someone would definitely track the necklace considering its worth and value."
"When did you find it?"
"It was among her things this afternoon. I came to see her but she wasn't around. After several unanswered calls, I decided to leave and come again in the evening. I did, and this happened."
"I'm sorry about everything." I sighed.
"Sure." He was quiet. "Wait...Do you have her phone with you?"
"I don't know." I checked my jean pockets...nothing. The jacket pockets were empty as well. "I don't think it's here." I said.
He stared at me and sneered, "That's because you're not looking in the right place." He stood up and walked gently towards me, then leaned forward. Our faces were inches apart and I could feel his breath on my face. My cheeks turned red instantly and I froze in my seat. Before I knew it, he lifted his hand and unzipped the leather jacket I was wearing, showing my tank top with wide cleavage. I frantically pushed him away, covering my chest with my hands.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Check." He stood upright. "It's there."
I frowned, "What?" I only understood what he was saying when I felt something hard underneath my breasts. I awkwardly dug my hand and pulled out a black phone.
"Oh!" My eyes widened. "She keeps her phone in there?" I was surprised that I didn't feel anything. How big were they that they could hide and secure this thick phone? Who keeps phones in there anyway? "How did you know?"
"I know my girlfriend well." He sat back down. "Turn it on. We might get some clues." It required a face identity pass, so I lifted the phone to my face and waited. It clicked open and I began to navigate through it. Mason stood up and sat beside me, slouching. I could feel the warmth of his body on me so I shifted away a little. He was too close and it felt uncomfortable. He noticed.
"Check her recent calls." He said. I did, and there were several missed calls from 'Punk'.
"Who is 'Punk'?" I frowned, turning towards him.
"Me." He stated. To be honest, Piper was one strange girl...to me, that is. Mason had called Piper several times this afternoon but she never answered any of his calls. "What could she have been doing by that time?" He frowned.
"Look. She has other missed calls from this morning."
"Who are they from?"
"It's an unknown number."
He was quiet. "That's weird."
There were no text messages either to give any clues about her whereabouts or what happened. We felt helpless.
"Let's leave that for tomorrow." He stood up and sat on the other couch, sighing.
We heard the doorbell ring. Mason became alarmed.
"Wait in the kitchen." He ordered. I quickly stood up and hid there. Was it those men? I saw Mason walk to the door, opening it. A lady's voice broke the peaceful quiet of the room.
"Mason, I've been trying to reach you." I heard her squeaky voice. "Why did you turn off your phone?"
"I was busy, and I still am. What do you want?" Mason asked, with slight irritation in his tone. The door was closed. They stood by the couch where I could see them this time.
"I'll be quick. Piper's not here, is she?" She placed a hand on Mason's shoulder rather seductively. Mason stepped back uncomfortably. That caught my attention. Who was she and why was she in Piper's boyfriend's house? "I just want us to talk."
"Please leave. I'm very busy." Mason's eyes met mine, and he signalled for me to come out. I walked into the living room, and when the girl saw me, her face dropped instantly.
"P-Piper!" She staggered back. "You are here?" Her eyes were wide open.
I had to act something out to prevent her from doubting anything. Without conscience, I spat out, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? What are you doing in my boyfriend's house by this time of the night?" I crossed my arms and glared at her. I noticed Mason's teasing grin from behind her. The girl's face was horrific. She looked scared to death. I didn't really see the point of getting this scared unless Piper was someone who could actually murder anyone who messed with her.
"It's not what it looks like. I just wanted to talk." She shivered. Why was she so scared?
"At this time of the night?" I tired to stay in character. There was silence. "Get out." I growled. I was surprised at how I could act a different personality so easily. Mason came and slipped his arm around my waist. My stomach twisted. Why did he have to do that now? I know we had to make it convincing, but he didn't have to use this method! I tried to play along. The girl didn't hesitate. She frantically turned away and ran towards the door, fidgeting with the handle. She finally opened it and dashed out, shutting the door. I pushed Mason's arm away and stepped back. "Don't touch me like that...it's uncomfortable."
He smiled, "I'll have to get used to not touching my girlfriend, then."
"Who is she?" I asked.
"Glenn. A friend of Piper's."
"She looks familiar." I frowned. I know the name and I know the face...but I don't know where I've seen her. Does she know about the necklace?"
"No one does and no one should." He warned. I nodded. "I must say, you are a pretty good actress." He stated.
"Mm...can't say the same for you." I turned away. "That girl gives me bad vibes."
"Is it because of how she acted towards me?" He asked.
"That too...and I can feel it in her tone."
He looked at me admiringly, "I want to get to know you." His eyes met mine. They were beautiful. "You seem like an interesting person."
"How do you know? We just met, didn't we?"
He leaned in closer and whispered, his cold breath hitting my face, "I can feel it in your tone."