Chapter Twelve




Long after Nicolas had left, Annabel found her thoughts still drifting off to him and to what he said. It seemed almost unreal that someone else survived because of her.
However, Annabel wasn't so sure she really believed that she had 'saved' four lives. It seemed too eerie that Randy had 'committed suicide' only two weeks after he had survived an accident. To Annabel it just didn't seem right; there were too many "lose ends" if you could call them that.
After dinner that night -which Annabel skipped- she sat up in her room researching more about "freak accidents" and Death Omens.
The ringing of the phone jarred Annabel from a dream like trance that she didn't even know she was in. As she reached for the phone, she glanced at the clock; it was 11:56 pm. who would call that late?
"Hello?" Annabel asked.
"Annabel? Hi, it's Nicolas; did I wake you?" The voice on the other end of the line responded.
Annabel licked her lips and paused for second. "Oh. No, you didn't wake me, I was awake." Annabel said, fully recovering from her daze.
"Good." Nicolas said, there was a long silence; Annabel wasn't sure why Nicolas had called her, or even if he knew why he called her.
Finally Annabel said, "Nicolas, is there any reason you called?"
"Well, I guess I just wanted to ask you if tomorrow, if you're not doing anything, I could talk to you. Like we could go out for lunch 'cause there are some things I need to ask you. If you're not busy." Nicolas asked.
Annabel thought for a minute; Randy's funeral was in a few days and tomorrow she was supposed to go with her family to pick out his casket. However, she was sure her parents wouldn't even notice that she wasn't there.
"Sure, I'll meet you tomorrow." Annabel answered Nicolas's question.
"Great. I'll see you tomorrow then." Nicolas said, his voice seemed lighter and happier then it had when she had first picked up.
"Wait, Nicolas, there's one thing I want to ask you. How did you get my number? It's a 'private' line." Annabel asked.
"I got the number from Sara, I knew you guys were friends." He answered sheepishly.
"Oh." Annabel muttered, she'd have to remember to ask Sara if she had given Nicolas her number. It seemed weird that he would know that she and Sara were friends, since she had never seen him before.
"Goodnight Nicolas." Annabel said and yawned, suddenly feeling tired.
"Goodnight Annabel and be careful." Nicolas said and with that the line went dead.
Annabel frowned as she hung the phone up; 'be careful'? be careful about what?
Annabel decided not to think about it for the time beginning; she shedded her clothes and changed into her nightgown. Annabel fell into a restless but dreamless sleep.

The next morning the sun was hidden behind the large gray clouds that dominated every inch of the usually clear blue sky. Annabel was slower to put on her clothes then usual, blaming that on the dreary weather. Annabel went downstairs and ate a little breakfast before leaving the house; she had a few hours until she had to meet Nicolas for lunch and she wanted to ask Sara about the number.
She arrived at Sara's house just as it began to rain; large raindrops fell from the sky and hit the pavement and everything in their path. Annabel looked at the rain as she rang the doorbell. She waited until she heard footfalls headed toward the door.
Sara answered the door, surprised slightly to see Annabel standing there. "Hi, what's up?" Sara asked as she let Annabel in.
Annabel and Sara sat down on the couch and Annabel decided to be blunt about the reason she had come to visit her friend.
"Do you know someone named Nicolas?" Annabel asked, eyeing her friend closely.
"No, not really, I don't think so. Why?" Sara asked, locking eyes with her friend.
Annabel frowned and bit her lip. "No reason." She said, leaving it at that; not caring to explain everything to her friend.
Sara shrugged, not wanting to press her friend for the reason of the question. Instead she said, "Do you want to stay for lunch? My dad's at work so I'm all alone, I could use the company."
Annabel thought for a moment, considering skipping her lunch date with Nicolas. "No, I really can't Sara. Sorry." Annabel said, not meeting her friend's eyes when she said the words.
Sara's face fell when Annabel answered her question. "That's okay, I understand. I guess I'll see you later then." Sara said.
Annabel said her good-byes and showed herself out; it was still raining outside, not as heavy as before. Annabel frowned and wished she had brought an umbrella or something.
Annabel stepped off the porch and headed away from Sara's house; she was now even more eager to talk to Nicolas and discover how he had gotten her phone number.