Liz, pleased with the info she'd received about the legalities of Jeannie's situation, quietly crept back upstairs to check on her sleeping daughter. She gently pushed the door open and saw Jeannie still in the same position as before, her chest raised and lowered with each deep breath.

"I'll let her sleep," she whispered to herself, turning to walk back down the stairs. Before she could reach the stairwell, she heard Jeannie's voice call out in terror.

Liz rushed back to Jeannie's room, where she was sitting bolt upright in her bed, her face stark white.

"Babydoll?" Liz asked, rushing to her clearly frightened daughter. "What is it? What happened?"

"I--I don't know. It was a dream, I think, but it felt so real." The color was starting to come back into Jeannie's face, and her breathing was returning to normal.

"What kind of dream? Was it about Jesse?" Liz sat beside Jeannie.

"It was, but it was...different." Jeannie started. "He was, um, well, he was dead." She smirked.

"Ha! Well, it would serve him right." A vengeful smile crept across Liz's face. "But we shouldn't wish that on our worst enemies." She sighed.

"Oh, I know," Jeannie replied. "He'd been, well, murdered, though. It was this really pretty girl, standing above him with blood all over her hands. She just looked up at me and said It's over now."

"Well, that certainly seems like something that could happen to a guy like that." Liz patted Jeannie's arm and started to stand up.

"That's not all, though." Jeannie grabbed her mother's hand, keeping her seated. "That's not why I screamed."

"What else was there?"

"The bloody girl stepped to the side and I---" Jeannie started to cry.

"What is it? What did you see?" Liz's tone grew much more serious.

"I saw myself. I was...hanging from a tree. I had done it to myself." Jeannie's voice gave way to sobs. "Because I couldn't handle this anymore."

Liz took Jeannie into her arms. "Don't say that, Babydoll! Don't ever say that! We will get this figured out, and it will be okay, I promise!" Liz's voice cracked as her eyes filled with hot tears.

Just then, Jeannie's phone buzzed again.

"FUCK!" Jeannie said angrily as she picked up the phone. "What is it now?!" She opened the text app.

"What?" She whispered in shock, the color draining from her face again.

"What is it?" Liz asked.

"Look!" Jeannie slowly turned her phone toward Liz.

he won't get away with it this time.🗡️ The message read.


who is this? Jeannie replied.


someone who cares👻 Was the reply.


As if that wasn't enough, the truly shocking part came when Liz saw the number the texts were coming from.

"That's your number, Jeannie. How is this happening?" Liz had also gone pale.

"I guess someone could be spoofing it?"

"I suppose," Liz took a breath. "But that dagger emoji is a little...unsettling."

"Yeah, but, I don't know. I kind of feel a little safer now, I don't know why." Jeannie smiled for the first time in days.

"Well, that's what matters then, Babydoll." Liz finally stood and reached out her hand toward Jeannie. "Let's go downstairs and get something to eat."

"Macaroni and Cheese?" Jeannie grasped her mother's hand.

"Of course!"