Chapter 3
Maggie was so pissed that she slammed her foot against the door.
"You bitch! I gave you everything, treated you like my best friend, and you just made a fool out of me!" Maggie yelled, venting her rage outside the door.
"Open the door, bitch! Give me back the Luluboo I traded you. You make me sick!" Maggie was outside the door, screaming and cursing at me, yelling that she was ready to cut me off for good.
[Those three guys are giving her some seriously dangerous looks now. You can't shield her from their anger, and pretty soon, she'll be the one taking all the heat.]
[Lexie, under no circumstances should you say anything right now.]
"What do we do now?" A guy's voice came through the door.
Maggie spat out, "We've got the key to her room next door..."
After that, I couldn't hear what they were saying anymore.
Since I didn't respond, it looked like Maggie finally gave up and left.
But I barely had time to catch my breath before the bullet comments popped up again.
[Lexie, they opened the door to the room next door. There's an air conditioner platform outside your dorm window. They're gonna use it to get into your room.]
[One of the guys has already climbed out the window. Is your bedroom window locked tight?]
I nodded.
The company dorm didn't have any heating and was always damp, and since it'd been so cold lately, I always kept the windows locked.
Plus, before Nicole left the company, she'd warned me...
"Damn, she's got bars on her window." I heard a guy mutter a curse from outside the door.
I held my breath, hiding in the corner.
Maggie sounded genuinely shocked. "How is that possible? I thought none of the windows on the third floor had bars."
[Lexie, you're so smart for getting those bars installed ahead of time.]
[Lexie, your safety sense is on point. Awesome!]
"Nicole told me to get them installed before she left," I said.
When Nicole was still working here, she lived right next door to me. Even on weekends and holidays, she'd be around.
With her there, I never once felt unsafe in the countryside.
Funny, I always thought the real danger would be some creepy old guy from the countryside, but it turned out it was a girl just like me, same age, same education.
The comment came in. [Nicole is so kind.]
[Lexie, are you asleep yet?] Just then, a message popped up on my phone.
Maggie was messaging me again.
Maggie: [Sorry, I got a little carried away earlier. My boyfriend's been trying to break up with me lately, and I just can't keep it together. By the way, did you hear anything weird? It feels like there's someone in the room next door.]
[Didn't Nicole and the others move out? I'm kind of scared. Can I come stay with you?]
When Maggie realized she couldn't force her way in, she switched tactics.
She figured I was just not opening the door on purpose, but she had no clue I'd already seen right through her game.
So she shamelessly kept hitting me up, acting like nothing was wrong.
The real-time comments popped up again. [She's such a snake.]
[Lexie, you really should call the cops. Just say you heard something strange, maybe a thief or something. Once the police show up, you can use that as a reason to leave and crash at a hotel in town.]
[Tomorrow's the weekend, and if those three guys aren't done yet, who knows what else they might try.]
[Yeah, I think calling the cops is the way to go.]
The comments kept telling me to call the cops.
I figured that was the smartest move right then.
I was over 600 miles away from home, so there was no way I could ask my family or friends for help.
Everyone at the company was a local, and on weekends, they'd all head back to town 38 miles away.
As long as I could crash at the police station for the night, I could hop on a bus and get out of here first thing the next morning.
"Alright, I'm calling the cops," I said. I dialed 911 and told them there was someone outside my room, and it looked like a thief.
There was a police station right in town, and they said they'd be here as soon as possible.
I gripped the kitchen knife tight, waiting in the dark.
Every second dragged on. Ten minutes felt like an eternity.
Finally, footsteps echoed up the stairs.
A moment later, someone knocked on my door.
A man's voice sounded, "Is Lexie Miller in there? We're with the police. We're here now, so you can open the door. You don't have to be scared anymore."
Three cops in uniform were standing right outside my door.
My hands were shaking as I hurried to open the door.
The comments warned me. [Lexie, don't open the door!]
Right then, a flood of warning messages popped up, all telling me not to open the door.
[Those 'cops' are actually those three guys in disguise. Maggie's lurking nearby. Step outside, and they'll grab you!]
[They must've overheard your call while hiding outside the window. That's so twisted.]
Seeing those live comments, my knees nearly buckled from fear.
My hand was already gripping the key in the lock.
If it had even been a second later, I would've already pulled the key out.
I asked the netizens, "What am I supposed to do now?
"I've already called the police, and the station's just three miles away. Why aren't they here yet?"
I just didn't get it.
"And how did those three guys even get police uniforms?" I asked.
[Those 'police uniforms' are just cosplay costumes. The backs are wide open. And those guns and handcuffs? They're just adult toys.]
[Lexie, maybe you should call for an ambulance and say you're having heart trouble. That way, they'll take you straight to the hospital.]
When that idea didn't pan out, the live comments started suggesting something else.