Free Beautiful PRICK by Sophia Kenzie

Ouch.” I make a mental note to grab more ibuprofen
when I get back from answering the door.
     
    I push my face up against the door, expecting to see Melissa
on the other side of the peephole, but it’s someone I don’t recognize. Or do I?
It’s a woman. She’s maybe five foot, nine, with blonde hair, sunglasses, and she’s
wearing a sundress.
     
    She seems harmless…
     
    “Can I help you?” I call as loud as I can while still
sounding normal.
    “Caroline Carver?” She calls back, pulling down her sunglasses.
    “Yes. And who are you?” My voice is shaking.
    “I’m Jules. Johnny sent me over with your car and a few
other things.”
    “Johnny?” Now I’m confused, but the blatant fear is
dissipating.
    “Yes. I actually have him on the phone right now. Would you
like to speak with him?”
     
    My first instinct tells me that it’s a trap. Someone is
after me, and they knew this would be the best way to make me feel comfortable;
telling me that Johnny sent them with my car. Sending a woman, in a sundress,
that’s just smart thinking, of course I wouldn’t see her as a threat. But I
know, as soon as I open the door, she’s going to break in and push me to the
ground, and then she’ll…
                                                                                           
    Really, Caroline? How paranoid can I really be? There’s no
one after me. It was random. Why can’t I get that through my head?
     
    Still, just to be safe, I keep the chain on the door and ask
Jules (if that really is her name) to slip me the phone through the small
opening.
     
    “Hello?”
    “Caroline, it’s me.”
    Relief flushes over me. “Oh thank God.” I sigh.
    “Hey, listen…” He starts. “Jules is my sister. I asked her
to bring your over.”
     
    Jules… Julia… Julia Braylock. I knew she looked
familiar. Wow. I really am a mess.
    “Wait, how? My keys were in my bag.” I begin to look around,
at nothing in particular, but for some reason, I feel as though I need to check
for a spare set of keys.
    “I had a guy from the dealership come down to the lot and
make you a new set.”
    “Why?” Now I’m totally confused.
    He chuckles on the other end of the line. “How else were you
planning on getting to work tomorrow? I know you’re not going to try to walk
that trip again.” He tries to lighten the situation.
    “Right.” The fog begins to lift just a bit. “Right. Um,
thank you?”
    “Is that a question?” He jokes.
    “No, I mean it. Really. Thank you, Johnny.”
     
    Why is he being so nice to me? It feels… weird.
     
    “You’re welcome. I also had Jules take care of cancelling
your credit cards and ordering you a new driver’s license.”
    “Okay, now you’re being creepy.”
    “I just knew you weren’t thinking about it.”
    “But how did you…” I don’t even know how to finish this
sentence.
    “Come on, did you really think I’ve never looked through
your bag before?” He smugly announces.
    “Hey, that’s not okay, Johnny. That’s a violation of my
privacy.” I start, but I stop. He doesn’t try to fight me. “But thank you for
doing that. I completely forgot that’s a thing.”
                                                                                                                   
    I did. The last thing I’m thinking about right now is
getting my wallet back. I guess I subconsciously just thought it would all
magically return to me, and the only thing I would have to take care of was
fighting the memory of last night.
     
    Well, I guess that pretty much is what happened.
     
    “Caroline?” He gets my attention back. “How much cash did
you have on you?”
    “Cash?”
    “Yes. How much was in your wallet?” He seems to be rushing
me.
    “Um, like five