Love Thread: The beginning book one

Chapter Five

Lyrra stepped out of her boss's office after asking for leave. However, her boss had given her a stern warning: if she didn't return in three days, she would be fired. As she walked down the hallway, she noticed people rushing past her in a panic. Confused, she followed the crowd to see what was happening. When she arrived, she found her coworker lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

Her boss hurried by, followed closely by medical staff. Nearby, she saw the same man she had bumped into earlier in the hallway. He was yelling, "I will kill you! You are going to die!" The medical team quickly subdued him and gave him an injection, causing him to become still and lose consciousness. Lyrra felt overwhelmed and couldn't process everything happening around her. Her hands trembled as she watched her coworker's almost lifeless body being carried away, along with the man who was also being taken out. Just moments before, she had heard him say someone would die, but she had dismissed it, thinking it was nothing. Now, she realized it had come true. She was in shock.

Now, Lyrra sat in her office with Emily, who was filling her in on the events. The man was a regular client of their coworker. They had an appointment that day, and he had shown up on time. Another coworker had entered the office to drop something off and had stumbled upon the scene just before the situation escalated further. Lyrra was deep in thought, feeling overwhelmed by everything happening around her.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, I just hope he’s okay," Lyrra replied.

"Me too. I can't believe the client got so violent that he nearly stabbed him to death." Emily was shocked by the whole situation.

"Hey, you applied for leave, right? For your cousin's wedding?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did that before all of this happened," Lyrra confirmed.

"When are you leaving?" Emily inquired.

"On Monday, my mom and I are going," Lyrra answered.

"Isn't it in Everwood?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, it's a two-hour drive from here," Lyrra explained.

"I wish I could go, but I’m busy," Emily said.

"I understand. I'll send your regards," Lyrra replied.

"Thanks!" Emily said.

"Mom, we’ll miss the bus if you don’t hurry! Let’s go!" Lyrra shouted from the living room. Her mom rushed out.

"Okay, let’s go!" They were headed to Lyrra's cousin’s wedding in Everwood, a nearby city to Ravensbur, where they lived.

When they arrived at her cousin's house, they were welcomed by her aunt and her husband. Lyrra left them to catch up and went to her room. After freshening up, she set off to find her cousin, walking through the halls and remembering the times they had played together.

She knocked on her cousin's door, and it opened to reveal a girl about Lyrra's age with blonde hair and dark eyes. The girl smiled widely upon seeing Lyrra and opened the door wider.

"Lyrra! It’s great to see you!" she exclaimed, pulling Lyrra into a hug.

"Are you really sure, Isabel? You didn’t even come to greet me and Mom," Lyrra said. Isabel gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I was busy," she replied as she ushered Lyrra inside and closed the door.

"Hmm, I see you were talking to your soon-to-be husband," Lyrra observed, noticing that Isabel tensed up. She turned to look at her cousin and sensed a negative feeling coming from her, but she couldn't figure out what it was. It seemed like Isabel was struggling with her emotions. Lyrra then asked,

"What's wrong?" Isabel brushed it off and said,

"Nothing." She walked over to her bed and sat down. Lyrra could still feel the uneasy vibe, so she joined her on the bed.

"Isa, if something's bothering you, just tell me."

"Nothing's wrong. Forget about me and tell me how you’ve been." Lyrra looked at her and decided to drop the subject.

"Not much, just the usual therapist stuff."

"Really? No exciting stories, no drama, no boyfriend?" she teased, raising her eyebrows. Lyrra rolled her eyes.

"Nope, no boyfriend. I’m not like you, who found a boyfriend and is getting married." Isabel's smile faltered, and Lyrra noticed the negative feeling again. She turned fully towards Isabel and became serious.

"Okay, tell me what's really going on. You tense up every time I mention your fiance. What’s wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Isabel laughed awkwardly. Lyrra could tell something was off. 'I don’t want to tell you that I’m being threatened and that we might both be in danger if I told you,' Isabel thought. Lyrra became concerned and held her cousin's hands tightly.

"Who is threatening you?" she asked. Isabel looked at her with wide eyes.

"Thre...atening," she stammered.

"You said someone is threatening you and that you would die if you told me."

"How did you know?"

"That's not important. Just tell me, who is threatening you, please, Isa?" Isabel stared at her. Her eyes filled with tears, and then she began to cry. Lyrra quickly moved to hug her.

"It's okay."

"My...my fiance, he's the one threatening me," she said, her voice shaky. Lyrra was taken aback.

"Why?"

"I don’t know what happened, but he suddenly got violent and started hitting me. He would go out, get drunk, and cheat. He threatened to kill me if I told anyone, and he said he’d kill anyone I told too. I thought he was joking until he actually pointed a gun at me and fired, but he missed. He promised he wouldn’t miss next time if I ever said anything. I didn’t even know he had a gun," she cried, her voice broken. Lyrra was stunned by what she was hearing and held her cousin tightly. Something was definitely wrong. She had met Isabel's fiance many times, and he was one of the nicest people she knew. How could he change so much? Lyrra thought. And she couldn’t understand how or why this was happening, but she had accepted that she could now sense people’s feelings and hear their thoughts.