"We don't have any classes till 11am so let's just have breakfast at a nice cafe" Bella said as we walked out of our front door.

"There's a coffee shop that just opened up close to the old Mirez constructions warehouse" I suggested.

"Yea. I've heard of it" Bella said "I hear they have amazing coffee. Let's try it out"

We hailed a cab and in no time we were at the coffee shop. It was pretty and cozy. Alabaster walls, clean tiled floors, and you could just sniff the sweet aroma of a mother's treats. It made me miss my mom.

"Your mom's still not picking up?" Bella asked as she watched me check my phone for the umpteenth time.

We were seated at a see-through glass, window side. There were two long couches facing eachother with a table in-between and fresh lilies adorning the table. Laura took the couch on the left while Bella and I took the other.

We could see cars whip past, people casually walking by the paved pedestrian lane and the exterior remains of the fallen warehouse at the opposite side of the road from where we sat.

"It's being four days since she left and we haven't heard a single word from her" I responded with worry laced in my voice "No calls, no messages. We can't get through to her. We don't even know if she's dead or alive"

"We've left her countless voice messages, all unread" Laura said "That's unlike my mom"

"Who knows, maybe she got robbed or lost her phone" Bella tried to assure us "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll get back to you as soon as she can"

"I hope so" Laura replied.

"What can I get you?" The tall waitress asked with a polite smile as she appeared before us.

"We'll have three cups of coffee" I said to her, and in a few minutes she was back with our coffee.

"The muffin's on the house" She said as she placed our orders on the table.

"Thank you" I said with a smile and she gave me a polite nod and walked away.

"I love it here" Bella grinned, taking a sip of her coffee "Mmm, this is some good coffee"

"Are you okay, Laura?" I asked noticing her unusual quietness. She was fiddling with the silver necklace Kristen had gifted her. 

"It's Kristen" She pushed her hair back and turned her face casually to the window "I'm worried. How do we fin...?" she paused, jerking upright in alarm. She scooted over to the window side with one knee propped on the couch, pressing her face to the glass as she peered at something intently.

Bella and I shot her a look, puzzled at her mazed expression.

"Uhh...Laura?" I called, waving a hand in her face, but she was too lost in whatever she was staring at.

"Kristen?" She stated and asked at the same time. 

"What?" Bella and I chorused and looked at eachother to be sure we both heard the same thing.

"Look, it's Kristen!" she exclaimed, pointing out the window. We snapped our heads in the direction of her finger and scooted closer to get a better view, but her back was now turned to us and she had a jet black hoodie over her head.

She cocked her head slightly to our angle as she talked to an older woman at the entrance of a shop with a friendly smile.

"It is her" Bella gasped in surprise, glancing at Laura and I.

She was in a pair of jean shorts, flip flops and had a white polythene bag in her hand. 

"Come on, Come on" I urged. We thrust out of our seats and I scurried to the counter to pay for our coffee.

We emerged out of the coffee shop just in time to see her walk into the old Mirez constructions warehouse. 

"Wasn't this place like abandoned?" Laura questioned as we dodged through the cars on the road.

"It is" I replied, holding my hand out to the cars blaring it's horns at us.

We crossed over to the paved lane just infront of the shop Kristen was standing infront of a few moments ago, and I contemplated on asking the shopkeeper if she knew Kristen personally, but decided against it.

"Jake, didn't you say the guy Kristen was with at the bar the other day was the henchman of the heir of Mirez constructions?" Bella recollected wide-eyed.

We shot eachother tensed looks.

"Then why did she go in there?" Laura blurted rhetorically "What on earth could she be doing here?"

"We're about to find out" I stated anxiously.

We had to find out if she had some sort of connection with Mirez constructions and Ramirez's henchman. There was no way this was a business meeting. Not in a fallen factory, and not in flip flops and shorts. She was dressed way too casually.

And If she really did come here looking for the same guy then she may be in some kind of trouble.

We stepped unnoticeably into the shabby warehouse, trailing behind Kristen who was a long stride ahead of us. The concrete floor was murky from the hollows on the roof and there were boxes mounted at a corner, making it easier for us to avoid being seen.
 
"A rat!" Laura let out a small startled shriek, making Kristen halt on her heels. She pushed her hoodie down and snapped her head in our direction with a startled look. Luckily, Laura, Bella and I had already veiled ourselves behind the boxes.

"Laura" I mouthed with wide eyes.

"Sorry" She mouthed, apologizing with her eyes.

"Hello?!"

We stiffened as Kristen's voice echoed through the building.

"Someone out there?"

I gulped on my saliva, signalling for Bella and Laura to remain calm as soft footsteps approached us.

"Kristen" I heard a faint voice call.

"Coming" she answered and retreating footsteps followed immediately.

I peeped cautiously and saw her walk through a small door before beckoning at Laura and Bell to come out.

"Don't you think we should leave now?" Laura said "What if we get arrested for trespassing?"

I arched my eyebrows at Laura's question, pointing to the hollow roof, damp floor and impaired gate "I don't think anyone would consider this trespassing"

We let out a light amused chuckle and moved to the same door she'd walked through.

The door led to a basement built like an alley. We walked ahead until we reached a door. It looked like a storage room. It was a bit dark, with a single window.

There was a polythene bag similar to the one Kristen was holding laying on the small dresser that sat at the corner. And a side table with newspapers stacked on it, a photo of a man smiling in a burgundy two piece suit, and medications sprawled all over. 

"What is this place?" I said, picking up the photo on the table. The man in the photo looked oddly familiar but I couldn't make out where I could have seen him, but one thing I was certain of was that he wasn't Ramirez's henchman.

"Looks like someone lives here" Laura noted, feeling a piece of pizza lieing on a plate on the table. "It's warm"

"Why on earth did she come here?" Bella said as her curious eyes scanned the room "Do you think that guy's the one who lives here?"

"I don't know" I muttered, not sure of what to say. I was getting agitated because Kristen wasn't in this room and neither was that guy.

I observed a pillar that demarcated the room and the slightly parted curtain that stood in-between it. We moved closer and I carefully pushed the curtain to the side. Right there was a girl on the small bed that rested against the wall, with her face facing the wall.

I lifted my hands slowly and placed it on her shoulder, and when she turned to face me my jaw dropped repeatedly.

"Kri...Kri...sten" My words faltered at the state I saw her in. Her face was pale and there was an IV in her right hand.

"Kristen?" Bella exclaimed, throwing her mouth open in shock.

"Oh my God! What happened to you?" Laura panicked.

Her eyes brightened and her lips parted in a bright smile as her eyes whirled between the three of us. She had the most bubbly smile, a smile that could easily win miss America, that I couldn't help but wonder why she never smiled before; but what was actually more shocking was the fact that she was actually smiling at us, instead of being mad.

We heard an indistant shuffling of feets from what seemed like the back door and turned our heads to the door. A woman around about 40 years walked in with her gaze on a pamphlet in her hand.

She looked up from the pamphlet with a smile "My love the..." She froze visibly, her smile peeling off and her eyes widening in horror as they fell on us. Her blue eyes flashed with piercing fright. She hurriedly hid the pamphlet behind her back, her nervous gaze flickering to Kristen, then to us "What...What are you guys doing here?" She stuttered nervously, shifting her gaze uneasily to the door.

She had this familiar gaze that told me that she knew us.

"Who are you? What's going on with Kristen?" I asked softly, beckoning at Kristen.

"We...We just saw her outside a few minutes ago and she looked perfectly fine" Bella cried out.

"Why is she here and not home?" Laura questioned hysterically "Or in a hospital?"

The lady seemed lost in all of our questions. She didn't seem to know where to begin "I--" She started to say but stopped as faint footsteps approached us and I noted her throbbing agitation as a figure grew closer.

I had the biggest shock of my entire existence as the figure emerged before our eyes.

"I found the..." The smiling figure froze, her smile reeling off and her eyes diming in terror as it fell on us.

Right there infront of us were two flawless replicas of the Kristen we knew to be one.

I dropped the photo that I'd forgotten was still in my hand, throwing my mouth agape in horror, and it shattered with a loud thud.

"Aah!" I heard Laura let out a shocked gasp as she clamp a hand over her mouth, with her other hand darting between the Kristen standing infront of us and the one on the bed.

Bella's face turned ice pale with shock and I caught her lips trembling involuntarily "You...You're..." she tried to find her words but everything seemed choked down by this new revelation.

It felt like a part of me disintegrated. I felt paralyzed and it seemed Bella and Laura were too. I couldn't understand the mixed feelings I was feeling as my calculative eyes remained fixed on the overwhelmed girl standing before me. A million unanswered questions flooded my mind. 'Which one of them was the Kristen we knew?' but I couldn't spell out a word. I blinked twice to convince myself that I was just imagining things, but reality jabbed me in the gut.

"What are you doing here?" The one standing asked frantically and that's when I confirmed that she was the Kristen we knew "Did you follow me here?" She asked, sounding stern.

"Kristen" I breathed softly and her face softened "What's going on?"

"Leave" She commanded, her eyes brimming with tears "Please, go away from here" she pleaded, pushing us towards the exit.

"Wait Kristen" I begged. We were too helpless to fight her push so we just let it happen "Let's talk first. Please"

"Go away" She said.

"Kristen"

"Kristen"

Laura and Bella called but she kept pushing us.

"K" The girl on the bed called in a small voice and I noted the impeccable similiarity in their voices.

Kristen stopped on hearing her say that and gave her a brief glance. The other Kristen said something to her with her eyes and Kristen shook her head as tears slipped out of her eyes, then resumed with pushing us out.

"Kristen" I mumbled once we were at the back exit.

She looked at us with empathy burning in her eyes, then said "Don't ever come back" she swiped at her eyes and walked back in.

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How shocked were you? (Lol) I'm certain no one saw this coming.

Thanks for reading💋 Stay tuned to find out more.