2 II

"Seriously, Luke, I'm not a baby anymore. I can handle myself." Luke watched Isabella throw herself to her bed. He bets this poor girl is already tired of arguing with him for hours. But how can she blame him?

After realizing that a psychopath is not only after her parents, but also after her, who wouldn't be worried?

"Belly, some douchebag out there is just waiting for the perfect time to catch you. I can't just let you go to the department store unguarded." He once again insisted. But the girl seemed annoyed so she just sighed and positioned herself between the sheets of her bed.

"Go to the department store alone then. Just list all of the things that I want and buy it for me." She said, turning her face from Luke.

Uh, oh. I guess I want way too far. He thought with guilt.

He stared at Isabella's back for seconds until he finally decided. "Fine." Luke said with a quiet sigh. "Fine. Go to the department store on your own."

He watched as she almost jumped out of her bed. "Okay, okay. I'm ready." She said, fixing her hair. God, she's really beautiful.

"But please, Belly, please." He pleaded, looking at her. "If ever you feel something strange, or you think someone's watching you, contact me right away."

"Luke, you're the only person I have left now. I won't do anything that would make you worry." Isabella assured him.

"That's not the point, Isabella. I know you can handle yourself and you can fight. But what if—" He stopped in the middle of his sentence when he felt his bestfriend's warm palm against his cheek.

"Shh, quit it with the 'what ifs', Luke. Nothing will come after me." He stared at her. Finally seeing how she improved after weeks of pestering her so she could be distracted from the situation she's in.

Oh, how bad I want to kiss her right now.

"Okay, Belly. I'll just go to my mom's while you're away." He gave up. Isabella smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I don't know what would've happened if you're not here." She mumbled as they both exited her room.

--

"Oh, look who it is." Luke's mother greeted him with a hug. "How's our Bella, son?"

He sighed. Finally getting the stress off of his shoulders. "I guess she needed some time alone, Ma. So I let her go and have a little shopping spree by herself." He said as his Mom accompanied her to the kitchen.

When he looked at Mrs. Jones, she was smiling. "What's there to smile about, Ma?" He asked, almost demanding.

"Honey, you don't get to decide whenever she's okay or she's safe. Yes, we get a bit dramatic. But of course, at times, girls want a little time to get the things off of their minds." She said gently, pouring a glass of juice and giving it to him. "She'll be fine. She wasn't a black belter for nothing."

Luke didn't answer. He just drank his juice quietly.

"How about I cook something for your dinner? I bet Bella is missing a mom's dish." Mrs. Jones suggested and immediately started preparing everything.

Luke, on the other hand, just watched her. A lot of things happening in his mind out of anxiety.

He had been inlove with this stubborn girl for as long as remember. He couldn't imagine losing her without even letting her know that.

"Earth to my son?" After a few minutes of battling with his own thoughts, he was distracted with his mom's fingers snapping on her face.

"I was saying that you should bring a few more pair of clothes before you leave." She reminded him. "Are you sure Bella doesn't want to stay here for awhile? Atleast let this situation calm down a little."

"She doesn't like being such a nuisance to other people, Ma. I know that girl. She's really stubborn."

"We're not other people to her in the first place. In fact I was already considering her as my daughter-in-law." Luke snapped his head to her mother.

"Ma!! Keep it down!" Her mom laughed.

"Come on, son. Everyone knows you like her."

"Not everyone. Isabella, that dumbass, couldn't even figure it out." He sighed again, as if it's the only way to ease the years of exhaustion of making Isabella to get to notice his feelings for her.

"He knows, honey." Mrs. Jones said simply.

"How can you tell?" He asked.

"Even if other women are cold, they still have feelings, too. And you should always remember that you can never doubt a girl's instinct." She said. "But don't take her weakness as an advantage to make her fall inlove with you, okay? I bet she's also worried that she might drag you in the situation she's in now." With finality, his mom handed him a bag full of foods that could stuff up their stomachs for days.

He happily accepted it and gave his mom a hug. "Of course, Mama. But that doesn't mean I'm not ready to take a bullet for her."

--

"Belly?" Luke called as he walked in. It's seven p.m. and he saw Isabella's car parked at the garage so he's sure that she's just around the house.

He went directly to the kitchen and turned the lights on; then placed the foods that his mother cooked on the table to search for his missing-in-action friend.

As he walked down the hallway, he noticed that the lights are off. Strange.

He turned everything on and half ran to Isabella's room. Once he was infront of the room's closed door, he gently knocked. "Are you in there, Belly?" He asked quietly, afraid that the girl must be sleeping. He pressed his ear to the door to be sure.

Upon hearing little movements inside, he tried to knock again to get Isabella's attention. But after a few knocks and yells of her name, nothing happened. Worried, he had no choice but to open the door. What he saw terrified him.

Isabella was sitting on the floor beside her bed, shaking as hell. Her hands on the both sides of her head, pressed on her ear as if she wants to stop hearing everything; this way, wounds on her arm was easily sighted by Luke.

"ISABELLA!" He ran and held her face, trying to make her look at him. Gods, he could feel her shaking. "What happened?!" He asked, panicking. Figuring that Isabella was too scared to talk, he asked her again. But, nothing.

He immediately reached for his phone and dialled Detective Rand's number. He mentally thanked the detective when he immediately answered.

"Detective Rand—"

"Detective? Detective, this is Luke Jones. I'm Isabella Stark's friend. Could you please come here immediately? PLEASE"

There were no more words needed, he heard Detective Rand calling for his colleagues before politely hanging up.

"Gods, Isabella! What the heck happened to you?! This is why I don't want to leave you by yourself! I SWEAR—" He was interrupted when suddenly, Isabella held both his arms and looked at him. Finally letting him see how much of a mess she was.

Her eyes were puffy, indicating that she was crying for hours; she has a bruise on the side of her left eye and a wound on her collarbone. "Please, please!" She spoke for the first time. "HE WAS HERE, LUKE."

Luke was frozen. "HE WAS HERE! HE SENT ME ANOTHER WARNING!!" Isabella was screaming. Luke, on the other hand was about to lose his sanity. Starting to feel scared, what must've happened when he wasn't around?

Still wailing, Isabella pointed something behind him, fear never leaving her face.

Luke slowly turned around to find out what Isabella was so scared about. When he laid his eyes on it, he slumped on the floor as if all the energy was taken out of his system.

Written on the wall was indeed another warning from the psychopath, XxX.

YOU ARE NEXT

—XxX

It was written with blood.