GHOST 3

The walk back to the apartment felt longer than usual. The image of the dragon tattoo refused to leave my mind.

A dragon? What does it even mean? It wasn't much. It wasn't a face. It wasn't a name. It wasn't enough to even tell me who the f**k the man was. But somehow… It was the only thing I had. The CCTV footage had given me hope, only to snatch it away a few seconds later.

I tightened my grip around my bag as I walked. Why did the camera have to stop at that exact moment? Of all days. Why?

By the time I reached the apartment building, my head was pounding.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Tessa looked up from the couch the moment she saw me. She had been waiting. "There you are. I was about to call you just now." She quickly stood. "Well?"

I stared at her for a moment. Then I slowly shook my head.

"They don't know."

Her hopeful expression faded.

"What do you mean?"

I tossed my bag onto the sofa before dropping down beside it.

"They remembered I came to the bar."

"The manager even remembered warning me to stop drinking."

"So what happened after that?"

I laughed bitterly. "That's the problem.He doesn't know. He was busy the whole night."

Tessa frowned.

"What about the security cameras?"

“There were cameras..” Her eyes brightened. "But..." I sighed, leaning my head against the sofa.

"The footage stopped."

"What?"

"It malfunctioned."

She blinked.

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

For a few seconds, the apartment fell silent. "The only thing we saw..." I murmured. "...was a limousine pulling up. The exact limo as I remember." Tessa looked at me expectantly. Not saying a word. "A man got out. But… it was so dark and shady, I couldn't make out his face."

She let out a disappointed sigh. "So... that's it?"

"The camera shut off right after." I rubbed my temples. "It felt like someone was dangling the answer right in front of me..."

"...then took it away."

Tessa walked over and sat beside me.

She gently nudged my shoulder.

"Aven..." I looked at her. "I know this is bothering you. But maybe..." She hesitated. "...maybe this is the universe telling you to let it go."

I gave a weak smile.

"True. Because I have a lot to worry about… mark really out did me… I" I suddenly broke down. "I… I've lost everything…"

"I know." Tess said. Wrapping her hands round me while smiling. Which earned a confused look from me. Is she crazy? Smiling at this critical time?.

"What's so funny?" I really had to ask.

"Well, you know the company I worked in suffered a fire catastrophe last time that made me stopped working for sometime."

I raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you smiling because clearly we're both currently jobless, which for your information is a BIG problem."

The smile still plastered on her face, which was becoming irritating to look at.

"Well, not a BIG problem, like you said. Because the company just called and said that all staffs should move to the other branch in LA… and there's also job vacancies because most staffs already looked for jobs during the fire outbreak…"

You've got to be kidding me. "Really? That's… that's actually good news, Tess."

"Yeah, which means, you'll come with me to LA to take the job."

My smile flattered. To LA? I'm not certain that I can afford plane tickets right now and I don't want to bother Tess with those stuffs.

"Yeah, about that … I think you should go, I can work here in California… besides, I don't have money for tickets…"

"Don't start that…" she cut me off, "Come on Aven, what are friends for? I have it covered already…"

"Tess, I can't take that from you and besides, I can't leave Josh behind."

She sighed frustratedly. "Josh is a grown-up, he's only a year younger than us. I don't see why you should be worried about him. And besides…" She trailed off, grabbing her handbag that was at the corner, bring something out and wiggling it in the air. It's two plane tickets. Really? She smiled widely. " No excuses, Ms Lavender." With that she walked back into the kitchen.

I had no idea I was smiling. Tess is really something, trust her to cheer me up. I'm very lucky to have a best friend like her. We've been friends since high school. We're both 25. Same height but I am a little taller. If not, she has black hair and I'm brunette, people would have mistaken us as twins or sisters rather.

I sighed. This trip is all I need to start over. I'm literally swearing off guys for the rest of my life, they're scumbags entitled to ruin the dreams of young girls. Humph, too bad I learned the hard way.

I turned on the television. I'm starving and Tess is not done with breakfast,if I sleep now, I'll definitely wake up by noon.

Switching the channel, something caught my eyes. It was a man in the television,a young man giving a speech. Somehow he was familiar.

He was wearing a crisp white shirt. As he turned his head slightly… I noticed something beneath the collar. A black tattoo. Only part of it was visible. I couldn't tell exactly what it was. But it kinda looked… Like a dragon.

A sharp pain suddenly exploded inside my head. I gasped, clutching both sides of my skull. Images flashed before my eyes.

A limousine. Warm hands. Soft kisses. My own breathless moans. Everything came in broken fragments.

"...Mr. Kai Salvador has a statement for the press regarding—" The reporter's voice echoed through the room.

Mr. Kai...My breathing hitched. The name.

That name. Suddenly another memory burst into my mind. A man's voice over the phone. As I remembered in the limo.

"Mr. Kai, where are you?" "Mr. Kai... where are you?" "Mr. Kai... where are you?" The voices grew louder and louder until they were almost screaming inside my head.

"No!" I cried out, collapsing onto the floor as I clutched my head.

The pain was unbearable. I didn't even notice Tessa rushing into the living room. The television suddenly went silent. She had switched it off. Almost instantly… The pounding inside my head began to fade.

I looked up at her from the floor, breathing heavily. She stood there with the remote still in her hand, staring at me with wide, frightened eyes. "Are you okay?" She asked.

I sat up… breathing heavily.

"What in the hell happened last night?”

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