My head was on the brink of exploding as I read the last few lines of the e-book. My eyes stung from sitting so many hours in front of the bright screen and my back screamed at me to sit in a better posture.

I checked the digital clock on my desk and sighed.

11:16 pm.

I shut my laptop and stood up, pushing my chair back under the desk. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand, pulling the charger off, and plopped down on my bed, unlocking it.

Would you look at that! Four hours have gone by and not even a single notification.

I sighed again and locked my phone, placing it on my stomach as I laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

It's been five days since I went out with my friends and I miss it already. I have been seeing them at the university but it's not the same as going out.

Since my dad moved to Athens for business it has been very lonely and quiet here. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be more proud of my dad for opening another hotel on his own, but I can't help missing him every day. My dad worked his ass off all these years so I could go to a private school in Thessaloniki and he made sure nothing was ever missing from our house. I could never be so selfish as to ask him to stay in Thessaloniki with me, after everything that he accomplished.

Mom died in a car accident. She was a gynecologist and she was rushing to the hospital because a pregnant woman had an emergency and required her help. A bus crashed on the driver's side of my mom's car and she didn't make it.

After that happened, dad's world turned to ash; including me.

It was like he had given up on everything in life. He turned to alcohol, quit his job, and pushed me as far away as he could. He shut himself up and I couldn't do anything about it.

One day, when I came home from the last day of school in 9th grade, after my exams, I found him curled up into a ball on the kitchen floor, crying his eyes out, with numerous cans of beer and two empty bottles of whiskey scattered around on the kitchen floor. That was the day he called me Maddie. That was the day he talked to me like I was mama. And that was the day I decided that I had to save him from this mess.

With my mom absent and my father being a mess for over a year, I was forced to grow up from the age of 14. I acted like an adult, buying the groceries, cooking, cleaning, and basically taking care of the house and my homework. Back then we lived in a small apartment in Thessaloniki because we couldn't afford anything better at the moment. My dad had no income and we were forced to deduct money from my college funds. I didn't mind though; All I wanted was for my dad to be happy again.

We also had a beach house in Skiathos that we inherited from my grandparents, so we had to simultaneously pay taxes for that too. It was difficult and the financial problems were taking a toll on dad, pushing him further and further towards depression. I had to do something about it. And so I did.

After school was over, I spent all summer with him, locked away at our beach house in Skiathos. I helped him with his drinking problem, and after a few months, I got him clean. We played at the beach, we cooked, we talked, we laughed and we cried. We had good times and more difficult ones. He resisted a lot and verbally fought with me, but I didn't give up. We did everything together and I never left him alone. Not even for a second.

There were a few times, worse than the other, where he would take numerous steps back and lose himself again. That's when our motto came to life. "Keep moving on."

By the end of October, his health was way better; he was clean for two whole months and he was finally a little happier than before. I was so very proud of him and I told him every day.

After missing one month of school, I had to catch up quickly or else I would have to redo 10th grade. My dad finally found a job again as a hotel receptionist. And then there was only one way to go, and that was up.

He moved from a receptionist to manager's assistant, to the hotel manager, and then to the owner of his own hotel; Madison Palace. Mama's name.

After that, we balanced back at our feet and our bond became unbreakable. We bought a house in the center of the city, with two floors, and we had the chance to paint it and decorate it however we wanted.

Life just kept smiling at us, with amazing opportunities coming towards my father and many academic achievements coming my way.

It's been a year since dad had to move to Athens, to manage his own hotel. He calls me almost every day to tell me about his schedule and asks about mine. We are both happy and proud of each other and have moved on from our horrible past.

On the other hand, I'm living alone at our house in Thessaloniki, while studying psychology at Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki (AUTH). It was hard to adjust to the silence and the loneliness of an empty house, but I managed.

Now, after finishing my studying for Monday's class, I'm sitting on my bed and I got nothing to do on a wonderful Friday night in the middle of September. And I'm not the type of person that will miss a chance to drink and dance until I can't walk straight.

Should I text my friends? Maybe they want to go clubbing...

I groaned and closed my eyes.

No, they would have hit me up if they were free tonight. They are probably studying and I don't want to distract them, so I better find something to do or I'll end up staring at this ceiling for eternity.

Maybe I should make something to eat, that always cheers me up. And then maybe I'll catch up on Riverdale.

Yeah, that sounds like a pla-

Ping!

My stomach vibrates and I immediately grab my phone to see who texted me. As I read the text, my eyes light up and I grin at my phone screen.

-Blakey

Blake Kingston is one of the members of my crew. The hottest one may I add. The ladies-man as you may call him. With his incredible honey-colored hair and his marvelous green eyes, he gets every girl he wants. Blake came to Greece two years ago for Erasmus, but he ended up staying here and moved in with the other crew member, Elliot, until he found his own place.

Elliot McArthur is the cute one. Blonde-haired goofball, with piercing blue eyes, always wearing Hollister and Abercrombie. My sweet boy. He came all the way from London because of his mom's company, four years ago. We went to the same high-school and now we are both in the same class in AUTH living only two blocks away from each other and having the time of our lives. Pretty convenient, don't you think?

And last but not least, my best friend Christine Anastasopoulou. The fourth member of our little gang. We've known each other since kindergarten and have been inseparable ever since. She's your typical girl next door with her caramel long locks and her soft honey eyes. Her heart is better than gold and her IQ over 140. She's studying Mathematics at AUTH and she dreams of becoming a teacher. Ugh, so proud of her.

That's my little crew. We all go to the same University except Blake who graduated last year from a local university back in California, completing his last year with online classes because he wanted to stay in Greece.

I quickly type in an answer to Blake, texting him to come by Elliot's house so he can pick us up at 12:15 am.

I quickly open Spotify, hitting the "Today's Top Hits" playlist and abandoning my phone on my bed as I run around, thinking of what to wear.

*

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*

12:10 am

I eyed myself one more time on the wall mirror in my room, happy with the outcome.

I usually like to dress in a more extra manner, being very careful with the style and the colors, and do my makeup carefully and in great detail. But today, since I only had something less than an hour to get dressed I chose to go with a more subtle and simple look.

I wore a simple tight red dress, with spaghetti straps and black high-heeled, leather sandals, paired with my gold ankle chain. Instead of my coat, I decided to wear my leather jacket that matches my leather sandals to make my outfit seem more simple. It's quite chilly tonight, given the fact that it's September, but the cold never bothered me when it came to wearing something cute.

I inched closer to the mirror to check if my makeup is good. Today I went with simple fox-eye, with black eyeshadow and a touch of gold in the inner corner. I paired it with nude lipstick to balance the darkness in my eyes.

Feeling satisfied with the outcome I turned towards the stairs to head downstairs.

Oh, snap! Jewelry!

I ran to my nightstand where I kept my jewelry inside a little wooden box and opened it. I took out a pair of small gold hoops and went back to the mirror to put them on.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror and my hand unconsciously reached up to touch my necklace out of habit.

It's a thin gold chain with a small delicate ring on it. The inside of the ring had two letters engraved on it.

It was my mama's necklace. I never knew what the two initials meant. Always thought that it was the initials of a past lover or something similar.

I had searched every school yearbook and every photo album my mom owned to find out what L. K. meant, but I didn't find anything.

She gave it to me a month before she died. She said to always wear it and never take it off. That it has magic within it and it's there to protect me.

Thinking about her, the corners of my lips twitch, trying to suppress a smile. I feel my eyes well up with unshed tears that I've been holding back for so long.

Of course, I believed her then. I mean I was thirteen and I watched way too many supernatural series and movies, and I read a lot of books. Now I know it's nothing but a necklace that was important to her and she didn't want me to lose it. But I never got to learn why was it important and I guess I'll never will.

I snapped out of my thoughts, tilting my head up and blinking until the water that welled up in my eyes went away. I grabbed my phone to check the time.

12:17 am

Shit! I'm late again!

I grabbed my purse, stuffing my phone inside, and ruffled my hair a little to give them volume. I made my way downstairs, trying not to trip on the stairs in my heels.

I turned off all the lights and made sure that I locked the door on my way out. I pulled out my phone from my jacket's pocket and sent a quick text to Elliot, saying that I'll be over in 3'.

I started making my way to Elliot's house with quick steps when I got this strange feeling that I'm not safe.

Thessaloniki is a city that never sleeps. In the mornings the streets are always filled up with people going to work or running errands, and at night the bars are buzzing with young people drinking and laughing. Most of the nightclubs are open all week, but there are some that open only on weekends.

The city's sounds of the wind flowing through the tall buildings, the cars speeding down Tsimiski street, and the faint music of the small pub from the other side of my house can be heard from where I am.

My stomach tightened as I tried to stay calm and reassure myself that I'm just paranoid. I spun my head around and checked the dimly lit street, never slowing down my pace. I kept walking forward and hugged myself, rubbing my arms for some warmth. The lights on the road flickered and the wind that was rushing through the tall buildings made those scary noises that sound like someone is breathing.

Man, I have to stop watching so many horror movies.

Suddenly, a loud metallic sound was heard from behind me and I let out a scream as a reflex from the terror that consumed me, turning around to inspect what's happening. The exact moment I turned around, a black cat with white patches came running towards me, and before I could even react it ran past me as fast as it could, never stopping or looking back.

Trying to catch my breath and slow down my beating heart from the jumpscare, I watched after the cat until it was out of my sight.

What the hell scared her so much that she ran away terrified?

I returned my gaze back to the bin inside the dark alley that the cat came from, and try to see if someone or something scared that poor cat. I took two cautious steps forward, towards the alley, when a sudden loud beep snapped me back to reality.

Second jumpscare.

I jerked my head towards the sound, only to realize that I am standing in the middle of the road and a car almost ran me over.

Blinded by the car's lights, I shielded my eyes with my hands and moved out of the road as quickly as those heels allowed me.

"Signomi" I shouted, turning around and looking at the bearded man who is driving the car. ( I'm sorry)

"Ante gamisou, den vlepeis pou pas ?" He cursed at me and my mouth fell open as he raced down the road. (Fuck you, can't you see where you are going ?)

Malaka, I cursed under my breath and threw one last glance at the dark alley before continuing walking down the street. (Asshole)

I arrived at Elliot's house a minute later and rang his doorbell.

I heard a horn behind me and I jumped at the sound, still a little shaken from the incidents.

Third jumpscare. Let's see how many more will I experience in just one day.

I turned around to see Blake's black BMW X3, a grinning Blake on the driver's seat with his hand hanging out of the window, and also a grinning Christine on the back seat.

I smiled at the goofs and turned around to see Elliot locking his apartment door. When he turned around, he smiled brightly showing his pearl whites.

He opened his arms wide and I squealed and ran to him like a toddler to his mommy. I hugged him tightly and he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Eli," He said as he linked our arms together and started walking towards the car.

"Hey Eli" I greeted back and smiled up at him, following his lead. He looked down at me, grinning like the goofball that he is, and winked at me.

Unlinking our arms, Elliot got in the front and I sat beside Christine in the backseat, giving her a tight hug and mumbling a small 'hey Chrissy', before turning to Blake leaving a big, fat, wet kiss on his cheek, and grinning afterward.

His face fell and he looked at me darkly, his pupils dilating.

"Hey Blakey," I said teasingly, well aware that he's not really annoyed.

He smiled mischievously, his dimples showing, and his eyes darkened, even more, pinning me to my seat. I felt his eyes travel down to my chest, to my hips, to my legs, and then back up to my face. I squirmed in my seat and I felt the heat rushing to my cheeks as I stared at his forest-green eyes.

He sure wasn't subtle...

He licked his lips and then he answered.

"Eli...next time this kiss better be somewhere else or so help me God!"

*

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