Revenge Looks Good In Gucci

Who Sent You?

Amber left the house earlier than usual the following morning, hoodie pulled over her head, music plugged in, but she wasn’t really listening. She wasn’t out to jog, not really.

She had a plan.

She jogged her usual route at first, pretending all was normal. Then, she turned into a narrow side street, quieter, less familiar.

There they were.

Two teenage boys, slouched on a bench, eyes glued to their phones, laughing over something they were watching.

Amber smirked. Perfect timing.

She jogged closer and slowed to a walk just as she reached them.

  “Hey, boys!” she called out in a bright, fake accent. “Lovely morning, isn’t it?”

They looked up, barely interested.

  “Yeah, sure,” one mumbled, eyes back on his screen.

Before they could react, Amber lunged forward, grabbed one by the wrist, and twisted it behind his back in one clean, practiced move.

  “OW! What is wrong!?”

The other boy jumped up. “What’s your problem, lady?!”

Amber leaned in, voice low and sharp. “Easy. You see this path? No houses. No cameras. Nobody coming to save you.”

The boy she held whimpered. “W-we didn’t do anything”

  “You sure about that?” she snapped. “Where’s your third partner in crime?”

  “We don’t know what you’re talking about!” the other stammered, now crouched, hands raised.

Amber pulled the phone from the one she was holding and tapped the screen. “Don’t insult my intelligence.”

 “Please, miss...”

 “You boys think it’s okay harassing strangers, yeah? Filming people, lying to cops? You messed with the wrong one this time.”

  “We didn’t know he was your friend!”

  “Oh, but that makes it okay?” She twisted the arm harder.

  “OW! Okay! I lied, alright?! We lied to the cop! But we were just trying to have fun. We didn’t know he had… friends like you!”

Amber laughed coldly. “You mean friends who don’t let nonsense slide?”

She flipped through the phone. “Is this the phone you used to record him?”

  “Y-yeah.”

She didn’t waste time. With a few quick taps, she erased everything. Factory reset.

  “There. Now let’s talk about consequences,” she said, releasing him with a shove.

  “Miss, please… let us go,” one of them begged. “We’re sorry. Seriously.”

  “Oh, I know you’re sorry. But you see, my friend? He spent an hour locked up because of your stupid prank. That's a trauma you can’t erase with a reset button.”

She dragged them both by their sleeves toward a more secluded part of the alley.

  “Now listen,” she said, crossing her arms. “I want 100 frog jumps. Each. Twice.”

  “What?! Are you serious?!”

  “Does it look like I’m joking?”

They hesitated.

  “I said: Start jumping.” She commanded.

The boys dropped into squats and began hopping.

One of them groaned loudly. “Miss, please, we’re not even athletes!”

Amber checked her watch. “Lucky for you, I’ve got time today.”

By the time Amber was done disciplining those little troublemakers, the sun had started to rise gently, washing the streets in pale gold. She dusted her hands and adjusted her hoodie, letting out a breath as she jogged toward the main road.

Her mind replayed the boys’ panicked faces and the satisfaction of watching them do endless frog jumps. Serves them right, she thought.

She turned into a broader street which was still quiet, but not deserted and slowed down to catch her breath.

"Hey there! Mind if I join you?" a cheerful voice called from behind.

  Amber turned to see a woman in her early thirties, jogging lightly with a bottle of water in hand. Braids pulled back, wireless earbuds looped around her neck.

  “Sure,” Amber replied, forcing a smile. “The more, the merrier.”

The woman fell into pace beside her. “You jog here often?”

  “Almost every day,” Amber said. “But I took a slightly different route this morning.”

  “Yeah, this area’s peaceful. I only run here on weekends, with less traffic. I’m Jodie, by the way.”

  “Amber.”

  “Nice to meet you, Amber. You look like someone who doesn’t mess around,” Jodie laughed lightly. “You’ve got that ‘don’t try me’ vibe.”

Amber chuckled. “Probably just my resting face. Or the hoodie.”

They jogged in silence for a moment before Jodie spoke again. “Have you noticed that guy?”

Amber’s brows furrowed. “What guy?”

Jodie tilted her head slightly. “Tall guy, gray hoodie, been trailing behind us for a few blocks now.”

Amber slowed down a bit and looked over her shoulder.

There he was. Same man from earlier. Still silently jogging, his eyes locked ahead. Nothing too suspicious but yet something felt...off.

Amber swallowed. “Yeah. I saw him earlier too.”

  “Creepy,” Jodie muttered. “You want me to stay with you for a while?”

Amber gave a half-nod. “Actually… I think I’ll cut through this next block. A shortcut home.”

  “Alright. Be safe, Amber,” Jodie said, giving her a brief, warm smile before jogging off in the opposite direction.

Amber turned down the quiet street, picking up her pace now. It was too silent. Too empty.

I’m not being paranoid, she told herself. Something’s not right, but before she could blink she heard a loud sound.

SCREECH!

A black car tore around the corner and skidded to a stop right in front of her, tires screaming against the pavement.

She froze, barely processing it, when she heard her name from behind her.

“Amber.”

It was the creepy jogger from before. 

But now he wasn’t jogging anymore.

He stepped out from behind her, cutting her off from the other end of the street.

Amber’s heart raced. Her legs shifted at alert and ready to bolt.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the man said, pulling something from his pocket. Nothing visible, but enough to stop her in her tracks.

 “Who sent you?” Amber demanded, voice shaky, eyes blazing.

He smiled faintly. “I think you already know.”

  “Tell him I said he’s crossing the line, we had an agreement.”

The man’s jaw twitched, but his voice stayed calm. “You can tell him yourself. Now get in the car, don’t make this difficult.”

Amber looked left, then right.

There were no witnesses, no help.

But before anyone could move, a dog barked. It was loud and close. Then another bark, two large German Shepherds tore around the corner, barking violently.

The men flinched.

Amber used the second of hesitation to lunge, shoving the jogger hard in the ribs and ran down the sidewalk toward the barking. 

  “Get her!” one of the men yelled.

She didn’t look back, she just ran.