Jackpots and Jealousies in Las Vegas by A. R. Winters

Author:A. R. Winters [Winters, A. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-21T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

I was ready for a nap by the time I got back home, but my beeping and blinking answering machine told me there were other things to do. Mom and Nanna were always leaving me messages... Tiffany, when are you going to get married? Tiffany, when are you going to have babies? Tiffany, when are you going to buy some sexy underwear?

That last one would be a question Nanna would ask. She was obsessed with the almighty power of slinky lingerie and its husband-catching properties. Me, on the other hand—I preferred not to discuss my choice in underwear with my nanna.

I hit the play button and then stretched my arms over my head and yawned. My yawn fell away when I heard a synthesized voice on the machine ask, "You wanna die?"

Suddenly, I wasn't so sleepy.

"Because I think you wanna die,” the voice continued. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female, young or old. “Only a stupid idiot who wants to die would stick their nose where it doesn't belong. So I’m gonna help you! You’ll never see it coming. Could get stabbed in the shower, could be strangled in bed, could be shot in the head walking to your car... anytime, anywhere, in any one of numerous fun ways. You’re gonna die! You’re gonna die!" The voice began a singing taunt.

I was never going to sleep again.

The caller went on to describe other ways I could die, ways I’d never imagined. One of them involved a blender and left me queasy. Every idea was more terrifying than the last, and they were all equally believable. Even the one with the blender.

I had a blender.

I was going to throw it in the trash.

I hit the stop button on the answering machine, then backed away and stared at it. I watched it, waited for it to grow legs and run after me to carry through on at least one or two of the caller’s threats.

I considered calling my boyfriend, Ryan. He was a cop, and I’d seen him be scary. He’d protect me and keep me safe—but no. I refused to be a damsel in distress!

I needed some sugary courage, so I found a huge box in my kitchen cabinet—it contained two cupcakes that my downstairs neighbor Glenn had given me. I’d been saving the cupcakes for breakfast, but I decided that the time to eat them was now.

I put the cupcakes on a little plate, and then turned a chair around so that I could face the door as I ate. The call had left me completely paranoid that I'd never see another dawn.

I tried to savor each cupcake-ey bite: they were red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and they were delicious and sweet, but not too sweet. The red velvet texture set off the frosting perfectly—but they couldn’t keep my mind off the message. It replayed automatically in my head.

After I ate my cupcake dinner, I grabbed my uniform and headed out for work. I decided to do everything differently than what I would normally do.

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