RÊD FLÂGS
Red Flags - Episode 47 & 48
(Badasses•Bad•Jerks)
★★★★★★★★★
"Hi, North"
She let out a loud crooked laughter afterwards, bringing down her hand and leaning on the glass.
"I forgot you stopped breathing. You're dead! Courtesy of your brother. Bro got tired of the bullying" She grinned, stepping closer to the wardrobe, but she immediately stepped back, holding her nose.
"Darm it, you now smell? I guess the body preservatives are starting to fade off" she said, shutting the wardrobe.
She went back to Levi's robot and got a stool which she placed in front of the robot.
She stood on it to match it's height, then she kissed it deeply.
"Yunno what I love most about you apart from your lips?" She said, stroking his face.
A red light peeped on the robot's left wrist, and it came on.
"My height?" It spoke, and Lizzy chuckled, kissing it again.
"Yeah... Your long legs is killing me. Emory will soon be gone and you'll start looking at me again" she said, and the robot let out a chuckle.
She came down from the stool and opened another wardrobe in the room.
This one contains her disguise... The trenchcoat, scarf and extra large vans which she built by herself.
Her parents run a shoe company in the US, so it was easy for her to build it since she learnt one or two from them.
There's also an umbrella inside the wardrobe.
The one Levi broke from Emory at the stadium, she was the one who picked it up and repaired it.
So far Levi's hand touched it, it's hers.
She smelled the umbrella and sighed, dropping it before leaving the room.
There are cinnamon roots in every corner of the house. She literally decorated the house with it, so the house smells like it.
She was humming excitedly as she made her way back to the kitchen, but then her phone began ringing.
She fished it out and grimaced when she saw it's the coffee woman from campus.
"Why the hell are you calling?" She picked angrily.
"You said if i dropped sedative in Emory's coffee, you'd pay me, but I'm yet to see your payment. It's dangerous to keep me waiting cos I can tell the school that you drugged your friend and caused the fire" the woman's voice threatened.
Lizzy kept quiet for a while.
"I'll send you in school" she said and hung up, almost smashing the phone.
"Should I just kill her?" She scoffed, walking into the kitchen eventually.
She finished making the breakfast one hour later, and she started playing 'Gasoline' loudly in her MP3 player.
She picked a chicken wing, eating and gliding around the kitchen in jubilation.
*
9AM*
Levi and Emory are currently in her car, and he's driving her home as promised, though not as early as he planned.
Immediately Levi told her the name of the culprit earlier, she was shaken, and she defended Lizzy immediately, but when Levi showed her a video, she calmed down.
Her hands were shaking, and she had to clasp them together as various thoughts ran through her head and mind.
Lizzy wouldn't do that. Lizzy has no reason to hate her that much, right?
She became friends with the girls right from the first day of their first year, and they've been tight since then.
Even after they found out about Lizzy's sickness, they never treated her like an outcast. Instead, they kept her secret and protected her, but now she's...
Emory gulped, staring out the window to inhale some air.
No, it's not Lizzy.
Levi stretched an hand to her, holding her shaky hand with it, and she looked at him.
Their eyes met, and she interlocked their fingers.
Levi focused back on the road as he drove with an hand.
No doubt, Lizzy is dying today. Unfailingly.
He narrowed his eyes when his mind went to a side of his life that he badly wants to forget.
The side that gets scratched anytime he drives a car.
The accident memory.
He could imagine himself and Silver, his senior sis at the back of their father's car again.
How she offered him her teddies and how he declined and she started crying.
How Master X looked back and their car crashed into another car.
How he lost Silver after the accident, and how his father's hatred for him grew so much.
"Levi?"
"Levi!" Emory's voice brought him back to the present, and he looked around to see he stopped the car in the middle of the road again, causing congestion just like the other time.
He gritted his jaws and drove out of the road fast...
"There's a reason, isn't it?" Emory said.
He kept quiet.
"You hate cars not because they're boring, but because it brings back a sad memory for you, right? The accident you talked about, did it kill your mother? Your father's left leg, did it break it?" She asked.
"Don't call him my father" he muttered coldly.
"But he's your...
"Emory!" He snapped, and she tightened her lips as he faced her, his eyes different.
He called her Emory, not Noah.
"Stop it... F+çking stop" he muttered, and she gulped as he pulled up in front of her house.
They held eyes for what seems like years, and she almost started crying when she saw his eyes aren't softening.
"Stop hiding behind your shell and come out to me! I'm not a stranger anymore, and don't call me Emory" she muttered, rushing out of the car and going inside the house.
Levi came out of the car too, and Mr. Carson came out of the house.
"Who are you?" He asked.
Levi only removed the car key and took it to him.
"Morning, Mr. Carson" he said, dropping the key on his palm.
He was left dumbfounded as Conrad showed up with Levi's bike.
Levi drove off with him, and Mr. Carson entered the house.
He was shocked to meet Emory in tears in the living room.
Sybil and Tate are trying to calm her, but she's not taking it.
"Em, what's the problem?" He gently sat beside her.
Emory just continued crying, so he pulled her head to his shoulder.
"Calm down, I'm sorry" he started stroking her hair.
"It's... it's Lizzy" Emory hiccupped.
"Same Lizzy? What happened to her?" Sybil asked curiously.
"Talk to us, baby" Tate said.
Emory wiped her tears, unable to reply.
Nina and Rebekah came in at the same time, and they took over from Mr. Carson, sitting on each side of her.
"It's not true, right? It's not Lizzy" she sniffled, and Rebekah pulled her into a hug while Nina patted her back.
*
LEVI'S MANSION*
"It's been a while since you came here, you spend all your damn time at the Loft these days arsehole" Conrad said as he came down from the bike with Levi.
"Loft fits me better" Levi replied.
"Touché" Conrad shrugged as they went inside together.
Hyce is already in, but he's not alone. He's with Chadwick.
Levi drew his gun immediately, and Chadwick jumped behind the couch.
"Dude!" Hyce shouted.
"Give me a reason why this fucker is here" Levi's eyes sparked.
"It wasn't my idea. Hyce brought him after claiming he helped him with the investigation. But you should kill him, I don't like him too" Conrad replied leisurely.
"I don't have bad intentions I swear! I only want to make is up to Banks believe me... Trust me I'm for real" Chadwick said from behind the couch.
"Banks? Don't shoot that thing" Hyce said, and Conrad chuckled.
Levi brought down his hand, dropping the gun on the table, then Chadwick came out from behind the couch.
"Thank you" he said.
"So how did you find out about her?" Conrad asked.
Levi raised his brows before starting to talk...
"After Omar claimed Emory as his girlfriend at the stadium, I had it in mind to kill him that night" he said, and Hyce coughed knowingly.
"Great...why is he not dead yet?"
"Immediately I left Emory's place, I headed to Diaz mansion, but then I saw Omar carrying a body into his car trunk. It didn't take long before I recognized it as North's, and as he drove out of the compound, I followed him secretly to the forest where he buried her" he continued.
"North is dead?" Conrad and Chadwick asked at the same time.
"That's a no-brainer" Hyce replied, and Chadwick rested back.
"Omar left after burying her, but then the trenchcoat dude came out from the shadows. I watched him order shovel and digger on phone, and he took of his mask and disguise to go collect the orders. It turned out to be Lizzy, and i watched her dig out the body" Levi finished up, getting his phone.
He gave it to them, and as they watched the digging video, Hyce clicked his tongue.
"So she's asthmatic too?"
"According to Bekah, she is. It's not just as chronic as her epilepsy" Conrad replied.
"What's really happening? You're not the only guy in campus" Hyce said again.
"I don't think it's about the handsome face, maybe Banks has something in him that attracts psychotic girls, and they all end up dead at the end" Conrad said meaningfully.
"Now that i realize. Remember that girl when we were in year one? She was grouped with Banks for an assignment and developed feelings for him" Hyce said with wide eyes.
"What happened next?" Chadwick asked curiously.
"She confessed to him openly during the departmental party, and Banks turned her down bluntly" Conrad continued.
"Then?" Chadwick asked again.
"She poisoned herself the next day" Hyce said.
"The hell!" Chadwick gasped.
Levi said nothing, just sitting silently as Master X's words haunted him again.
"You're cursed, Levi. You shouldn't have been born"
Is he really cursed? Every girl that gets attracted or associates with him ends up dead somehow.
His mother, Silver, the girl in his year one, North, and now Lizzy who's gonna die today.
"But Emory is not psychotic or obsessive, that's the only hope I have" Hyce said.
"So what's gonna happen to Lizzy?" Chadwick asked.
"What else? Death" Conrad muttered.
*
GRAND CASINO*
Master X and Hazzan are currently in his office, several bags of money surrounding them.
Hazzan is busy counting the money they made from last night's games with a counting machine, and Master X is supervising on his seat.
His mind is barely there though, he's staring at the picture on the wall again, his mind wandering off to that black day when his late wife gave birth to Levi.
FLASHBACK, YEARS AGO*
Xusan is a very strong Chinese woman, she came from a family of fighters.
That's the first thing which captivated Xavier about her, and he fact that their names starts with same alphabet.
He believes they were made for each other, and he loves her insanely.
When they got married, he was the happiest man alive.
Xusan got pregnant with their first child, and his joy knew no bounds when she put to bed.
It's a girl who's her carbon copy, and they named her Silver.
Two years after, she got pregnant again, but this time, it was harder.
Xusan was sick throughout the pregnancy and couldn't move a feet. It became so bad that Xavier had to suggest abortion, but Xusan refused anything that'd hurt her baby.
She insisted on giving birth, and when the pregnancy clocked 8 months, she nearly died of bleeding.
She was rushed to the hospital, and she miraculously gave birth.
It's a handsome baby boy with Xavier's features, and a faint smile appeared on her lips immediately she beheld him.
"Levi... My baby. Levi Xhen Banks" she muttered, tears falling from her eyes.
"Yes... finally the stubborn baby came alive" Xavier smiled, wanting to place Levi in her arms, but her neck went limp, and his eyes widened.
"Xusan!" He handed the baby to one of the nurses to hold her.
"Xusan! Xusan don't do this to me, Xusan!!!!!!!"
BACK TO THE PRESENT*
Master X fisted his palms on the table, unable to cry.
He badly wants to cry but the tears didn't spring.
"Are you ok, boss?" Hazzan asked, and he locked up before looking at him.
He's done counting the money.
"How much?" He asked.
"One point five billion euros, sir" Hazzan replied.
"You said Chadwick was bugging you about a new car" Master X said.
"No he doesn't mean it. He...
"How many years is his car?" Master X interrupted.
"Two years" Hazzan replied.
Master X gave him three bundles of the money, and he caught them.
"Get him a new one, and the rest is your bonus" Master X said, and Hazzan gasped before going on his knees.
"Stand" he ordered.
Hazzan spranged up immediately.
"Thanks boss! You're the best thing I have right now I really appreciate. Thank you!!" He nearly screamed.
Master X sighed.
*
LEGACY COLLEGE*
Emory came to campus in the company of Rebekah and Nina, and they only had to wait for some minutes before Lizzy drove into the park too.
"Hey! You girls didn't tell me we'll be driving to school together... You left me behind and it's unfair" she pouted, grabbing Emory's arm.
"What's up?" She smiled.
Emory gave her a blank look for a minute before smiling.
"I was sick, so they came to get me" she lied.
"What! Sick? Are you ok now?" Lizzy checked her temperature.
"Of course... I gave her a massage" Rebekah replied, and Nina chuckled.
Lizzy smiled as they entered the bloc together.
She's still holding Emory's hand while Nina and Rebekah walked behind them, watching her closely.
The plan is to wait maybe she'd confess today like Levi posted on the page.
If she doesn't, they'd move to the next plan.
As they stepped into the hallway, they came across several posters and flyers on the wall, announcing the upcoming Halloween party.
"Should we rock the same costume like we did last year?" Rebekah asked.
"Yeah, we can be kitty cats this time" Emory replied, and Nina laughed, folding her fists and begging gawd to keep restraining her cos she badly wants to rip Lizzy apart already.
Her pretence game is mad!
They got to class and Lizzy took permission to go to the restroom immediately.
They followed her secretly, and then Sybil entered the class.
"Sybil come here! What's going on with the four friends?" Rain pulled her.
"Lizzy is a devil, trust me. Can't believe she has been trying to kill Emmy. She obviously likes Banks too" Sybil explained.
"What!" Rain's eyes widened, and before she could reply, a student came for her.
"Rain? Prof. Hayden wants you in his office" she announced.
"Why?" She muttered, leaving the class only to bump into Isaac by the door.
"Rain...
"Vamoose!" She pushed him, and he staggered to the door as she walked away.
He was nursing his pains as she entered the class, and the moment his eyes met with Hyce's, he made to walk to him, but Hyce turned away from him too.
He gently went to sit.
*
Lizzy truly went to the restroom, but she didn't do anything.
She only went in and came out, then she slipped into the corridor door, going outside the building.
She was watching her back almost every minute till she got to the coffee woman.
She got some euro notes out of her purse and threw it at her face.
The woman picked them from the ground.
"Call me again, and you'll be the next person I burn" she said before leaving fast.
A minute later, Emory and the girls entered the place.
"How can I help you girls?" The woman smiled.
Emory picked a tray from her table and hit it on her face immediately.
Rebekah punched her too, and she fell on the ground, screaming.
Nina pulled her up and dragged her hair.
"Please stop!! It's painful arhhhhhh!!!! Girls!!!"
"I bet that money was for what you did. You drugged Emory's coffee, yeah?" Rebekah questioned, and she swallowed before nodding fearfully.
"Now it's obvious. Lizzy is never coming to confess. We should move to the second plan already" Emory said.
*
PROF. HAYDEN'S OFFICE*
Rain met the lecturer on seat when she entered, and she beamed brightly.
"You called for me, sir"
"Have your sit, Rain" he gestured, and she sat in front of him.
"Are you having problems at home lately?" He asked.
"Huh? No, why?"
"Because you're starting to backslide, Rain. Initially, you were my best student, followed by Emory, but right now Emory is taking the lead, and you're not even in the second place too" Prof. Hayden said.
"What! Who then?" Rain stood.
"Banks is currently the second best, and you're the third. What's happening?" Prof. Hayden asked, and Rain gulped before sitting back.
"Impossible.. Banks is allowed to do better than me, but not Emory" she muttered.
"Do you miss your father?" He asked, and she looked up.
"I know your story, Rain. I know your father has been missing though I dunno why" he smiled.
"How did you...
"I just know" he nodded, and she sighed.
"I miss him...so much. Trust me, but he's not the cause of this. I have to go!" She stood and rushed out of the office.
Prof. Hayden remained seated for a while, then he smiled slightly and brought out his phone, going to gallery.
It's filled with unaware pictures of Rain from the campus.
His smile grew as he stared.
"Daddy misses you too, Rain" he muttered.
*
7PM, CEMA BRIDGE*
Emory led the girls to the bridge, and they followed her behind till they got to the middle.
"Ok what are we doing here? Are we clubbing here tonight?" Rebekah asked, pretending not to know what they're here for too.
"Emz?" Nina said.
Lizzy said nothing.
"We're here for a truth circle" Emory replied.
"Truth circle?" Lizzy spoke.
"Yeah" Emory shrugged.
Meanwhile, Sybil and Rain are on a spot not far from them, watching secretly.
Sybil brought Rain actually since she heard about the plan from Emory.
"Y'all, I want you to tell me what you've been keeping from me since our year one. Any secret at all" Emory said.
"For real?" Rebekah asked.
Emory nodded.
"Nothing much... When we first met, I got jealous that you're curvy. I wished I had your kind of cute hips, but when I realized that at least we're both short, I liked it" Nina said, and Emory chuckled.
"As for me, i wished I was as pretty, and I got jealous of your freedom, wishing I came from an ordinary family like you" Rebekah said.
"Stop it, you're prettier" Emory said.
"Also... Conrad is my stepbrother-to-be. His mum will be getting married to my royal father next month" Rebekah continued.
"That's some big secret over there" Nina said.
"Sorry for keeping it this long, but he was being a cûnt" Rebekah said.
"We'll celebrate it later" Emory said, then they all faced Lizzy who has been silent.
"Liz?" Rebekah called.
"Huh? Nothing. My hands are clean" Lizzy smiled, and silent fell in the circle for like three minutes, just the sound of their breathings.
"Aren't you tired?" Nina voiced out.
"What do you mean?" Lizzy said innocently, and Emory slapped her furiously.
Lizzy staggered and fell on the bridge rails, her hair sprawling over her face.
"Stop pretending!!! You've been tormenting me Lizzy. What have I ever done to you! Why are you doing it just tell me!!" Emory yelled.
Silence happened again, and Lizzy stayed still for a minute before looking up sharply, her hair still over her face.
She laughed sickly, shocking the three of them before smirking.
"So you found out already? And you brought me here to burn me?" She said callously.
"I loved you the most Lizzy. I called you every night to ask about your health. I almost lost it that night when Chadwick and his gang kidnapped you!!" Emory said.
"That night was the happiest night of my life! I threw myself a big party when I got home cos I was so happy that Banks came to save me" Lizzy snapped.
"Why!!!" Emory shouted.
"Cos I love him!!!" Lizzy shouted back, her eyes reddening.
"What!" The three chorused in shock.
"Yes I do, but y'all only care about yourselves, and that's why you never noticed how I always look at him. Since our year one, whenever the four of us are together, he always stared at our direction. My foolish self thought he was staring at me, and I liked it, I like his eyes and how they look at me, but then we resumed this semester and I found out he was never staring at me. It was you Emory! It has always been you!" Lizzy yelled.
"So you decided to kill her? The freezer, the chain unlock at Forte, the fire" Rebekah said.
"The night in school before we went to Forte. We all arrived before Emz, but you excused yourself to go to the restroom and spent almost twenty minutes. Was that when you carried out the freezer mission? Oh you're insane!" Nina spat.
"Yes I'm insane!!!!" Lizzy laughed, tears pooling in her eyes.
"I love him and I want him and I hate how he treats you Emory! I hate that you're prettier and curvy! I hate that you're in school!! I hate you!!!" She continued, still holding the rails.
"The pènis pictures, you sent them" Emory muttered.
"Pictures? I sent you just one dîck picture last week, hoping you'd get triggered and die" Lizzy replied, and Nina took off her shoes, throwing them angrily at her.
"Shame on you Lizzy Greene! Shame on your fuçking ass! I regret ever meeting you... you're sick!!" Nina shouted painfully.
"This is over" Levi's voice said, and he climbed the bridge with the guys including Chadwick.
He's holding his gun, aiming at Lizzy already.
Lizzy froze completely, and Emory quickly rushed to Levi.
"Don't... don't pull it... don't shoot her" she said shakily, but his eyes are dark, and he's not hearing a thing.
"The right punishment would be to take her and cut her into skewers, but I'm killing her on the spot cos I don't wanna see her face anymore after today. I knew about it since we returned from Forte but decided to keep quiet and throw her the chance to come back to her fuçking senses, but she blew it off, and now I'm blowing her fuçking head" he muttered.
"No...you can't. She's a devil but I still don't want you to pull the trigger on her. Levi please... please!!!" She cried,
"I'll kill your parents even if they're the ones who hurt you. I wasn't bluffing when I said that...fox" he said, looking at her finally.
"Levi I'm begging you don't kill her, don't...
He pulled her closer with his left hand, and she hiccupped tearfully as he brought his lips to her face, kissing her tears.
Lizzy's hands tightened on the rails, and she cried more...
Rebekah and Nina stepped back.
"Even in my own story, I'm the fuçking villain. Hate me all you want" Levi muttered, his lips wet with Emory's tears as he pulled the trigger on Lizzy.
Lizzy got hit on the heart, and Emory covered her mouth as she fell over the bridge and began falling into the river.
"No!!!!!"
TBC
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