"Amy, here you are! I was looking for you everywhere. C'mon lets go.", the voice of Layla brings me back to reality. I smile to see her as I swallow the last morsel of my late breakfast.

The fork clatters on the empty plate as I neatly stack the dishes on top of each other to make life easier for the waiter that will pick them up.

I quickly gulp down the guava juice in front of me. It has been a while since I have savoured food and I feel really good and awake. Guavas are very refreshing. "Where to?", I eagerly ask Layla.

She smiles at me. "You seem to be in a good mood today." I chuckle and shrug. I think that I am too tired of being stressed. A lot happened this week that I want to forget at this moment. "Richard and Jhon have found a great spot outside, and we all decided to finally chill." She pulls me up and I follow her.

The tall, glass doors open as they sense us and the cool, morning, salty air greets us. My long, straight hair is kept loose and for a change, I decide to show off my long, slender legs and wear a pair of tight, purple shorts with a loose, striped, wight and lilac vest. It is hot today, but the salty, sea breeze maintains the constant temperature.

I take a deep breath and feel rejuvenated. I know what I must do.

We walk up to the round table and benches, and I spot all of them. Richard, Sabrina and...
Jhon. How do I stay away from him?

Their eyes light up when they see us and we exchange huge smiles. I feel so happy to see Richard. He hugs me. "Here is my Amy!" He pinches my nose. I am so glad to see Richard back to his old, jolly self.

Sabby comes up to me. "I got up early but didn't wake you up because you were so fast asleep.", she hugs me.

Then he comes. Mr murderer. Before I can move away he takes me into his huge arms, but a little longer than the others, which causes the familliar feeling in my stomach to return.

I pull away from him and can't help but smile when I look into his eyes. What is wrong with me? I am supposed to stay away from him. Remember! I break the eye contact suddenly.

"Wow, look at you, you are looking stunning today.", the compliment makes my cheeks heat up. "Thank you.", I manage to say and smile weakly without looking at him. Am I blushing?

I quickly manuever my body away from his and fall onto the space next to Richard. Layla sits on the other side of Richard, Sabby unfortunately takes the seat in front of Layla and my plan backfires on me when Jhon takes a seat on the only empty space right in front of me.

Great! Now I can't even avoid his eyes. "So Amy, How are you now?", Richard asks me.
"I am perfectly fine and how are you Richard?", I ask him.
"Aaa. I'm fine now." But I see a glint of sadness in his eyes that appears and immediately disappears.

"Did you eat?", Jhon asks me. I nod without looking at him. We all make small talk for a while but I try my best to avoid speaking to Mr murderer and I think that he is beginning to notice it.

I'm sorry, but I must do this. Last night I was told by the unknown voice that my life is in danger. According to the voice, Malak was killed because of me. Heck, the voice even knows my true identity.

Suddenly, I hear a familliar voice that causes me to freeze in my chair. "Here is the milkshake you ordered Sabrina.", I turn around to see his deep, blue eyes.

James hands over the strawberry milkshake to Sabby and she thanks him. She moves in to allow James to sit next to her. He grins in my direction."Heyy Amy, How ya doin'"
"Hi James", I shiver as I call him by his fake name. What the hell is he doing here?

"Since James helped me out yesterday, I thought to call him to hang out with us too.", Sabby answers my unasked question. "And, I thought that you would be glad to see the friend you get along with so well."

Huh! Friend. I just smile once again like an idiot. I notice that Jhon is not so happy with James hanging out with us. Hmm, is he jealous? I don't know why I feel excited at the thought.

I have started to believe the voice, but he had told me not to trust the people around me. It just gets more confusing. Can't the voice just tell me clearly who I should not trust? Does he mean James? Or my friends?

I can feel Jhon's eyes on me as I speak to Layla. I know that I cannot avoid him forever, so I finally turn to face him. He scans my face and all I do is smile weakly. He does the same, and for once, he doesn't know what to say too.

I suddenly get an idea. Maybe this idea would help me clear my confusion. "Heyy guys, let's play a game?", I suggest. Mr murderer frowns.

I turn to look at the others. Richard shrugs. "What game?"
Layla moves closer to Richard, eager to know what I am talking about.
I grab the empty soft drink bottle on the table and wave it in front of me.

"Spin the bottle!", Sabby exclaims. I smile, "Exactly." "Ohhh, is this the truth or dare game?", James asks and I nod.

Mr murderer clears his throat and takes the bottle from me. "Lets not dare each other. Let's just play with truths. This way, we could get to know each other better.", he steals the words from my mouth. I chuckle. After all, this was the point of me suggesting the game in the first place.
And when things turn nasty, no one will blame me.

I nod agreeing with him. He smirks. Oh no! What question is he planning to ask me? The others agree too. Great!

Layla clears the table and Jhon places the bottle in the centre. We all adjust ourselves in our seats as he holds the bottle in the centre with his right hand and he spins it. The bottle spins fast, round and round, until it finally begins to slow down. It stops in front of Richard.

"Yayy! We got you Richard.", Layla places her hands on his shoulder in an attempt to get closer to him. He shakes his head. "So who is asking me the question?"

I waste no time in asking what I had planned to ask him. I don't care that Layla is present nor do I care about the fact that my question may ruin the happy atmosphere. I don't know who to trust and who not to.

"Were you and Malak in a relationship?"
The question catches him off guard. Layla stares at me not believing her ears. She slowly removes her hand from Richard's shoulder. I'm sorry Layla.

When he doesn't answer, I carry on. "That day, Malak told me that she really liked you. She was supposed to express her love for you but could not because....", my words trail off.

I bare my eyes into his. "My question is, did she manage to tell you? Did you know?"
He runs his fingers through his hair. He knows that he can't avoid the question. The atmosphere turns into a gloomy and awkward one at the mention of Malak. But how long can we run and hide? The questions have to come out one day.

He clears his throat. "Malak...I...", then... he smiles. Thats something I didn't expect. I place my palm on his. "I had always liked her. Who wouldn't? Practically all the guys in the college had a crush on her." His smile grows wider.

"But, after that dinner we had, when she told us about herself and her mom and dad...I felt something else for her. Something more intense."

"We got along well. We enjoyed each other's company. It was like we already knew how we felt about each other. We didn't have to tell each other.", he looks at me and smiles.

"I didn't know that she was going to express her love for me that day.", he squeezes my palm gently. "Thank you for telling me." I am clearly surprised that he is not angry with me. I nod.

So that means that they were somewhat in a relationship. They just didn't tell each other.

No one knows if they should spin the bottle or not. James sits uncomfortably on the bench and I am waiting for the time I could interrogate him. Because, there are many questions I want to bombard him with.

Layla's face bears no expression. I know that she is shocked and disappointed on the inside but is pretending to be strong. When no one spins the bottle, Richard moves forward and does it. It is as if he is permitting for us to continue the game.

I scan Layla's face for any emotion as the bottle spins, but, her eyes are on the bottle. "Oh no!", Sabby exclaims when the opening of the bottle faces her.

"Well well well,", Richard rubs his palms together. "Since I was the victim of the previous question...I would like to ask her the question." I shrug.

"As far as I know it, you hated Malak. And she hated you. Why did you hate each other so much? And after her passing, Where did you disappear?"

I gulp. She had told me everything yesterday. I think by now, everyone realises that this game is going to be intense and they cannot escape it.

Sabby sighs and looks my way. Even Layla, James and Jhon look very curious. "Maybe you should just tell everyone the truth.", I tell Sabby. "There is no use in hiding it."
Layla looks at the two of us confusedly.

Sabby nods and musters the courage to take it all off her chest. She does it. She tells everyone everything she had told me last night but she does not cry this time. It is as if she wanted to get it out of her. She was just looking for the perfect excuse to do it.

After she tells everyone about Malak being her sister, the mood is definitely destroyed. Everyone looks at the bottle as a threat. She sighs again and spins the bottle. Everyone stares at the spinning bottle, now hoping and praying that it is not their turn next.

Who knows what other secrets may be revealed. Who knows how many skeletons are hidden in our closets.

Then...I couldn't ask for anything better. The bottle slows down and finally stops in front of....

ME!!!

I had thought that I was prepared for the game. I had planned what I wanted to know from each one of them...but, I did not prepare myself for answering any questions. I cannot even imagine what anyone could ask me.

Suddenly someone clears their throat. "I want to know something Amy!"
My heart skips a beat when I look at the owner of the voice.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Dear readers:

Please vote, comment and share the last few chapters. I would really appreciate it.
Do let me know if I am doing a good job in writing this book.
Well who do you think is going to ask the question to Amy?

Love

Yours truly
Amina