Noah's POV:

The girl at the reception counter was cute and there were hardly any customers in the shop. She was smiling at me as I placed the groceries on the counter for billing. Her honey-blonde hair was cut up to her shoulders and there were dimples in her cheeks when she smiled. She was twirling her hair between her fingers in an obvious flirting gesture. Any other day, I would have stopped to flirt with her. She was my usual type. But today, I wouldn't. Today, I had a beautiful girl waiting for me back at home. As I imagined her olive skin soft beneath my fingers and her raven hair fluttering with my breath, I couldn't even see this girl standing in front of me. Wow, I was going crazy.

I grabbed the grocery cover after paying and headed towards the apartment, whistling. I couldn't remember being this happy about kissing a girl, since my first kiss with Susan Mc Lauren in middle school. Maybe it all was because of the waiting.

I hadn't driven here in my car since it was only two blocks away. The snow was piled thick on the roads. It was a welcome change from the scorching heat of LA. Though I missed the beaches a lot. I could take Naina there one day if all went well between us. But honestly, what could go wrong? I couldn't even imagine a scenario where I could get bored with her.

There were hardly any people on the road. Everyone was chilling in their homes just like I was going to do a few minutes later. I increased my pace wanting to reach home quickly. The gate of our building loomed in front of me and finally, I was in front of our door. I rang the doorbell and waited for her to open the door. I had the key and I could let myself in but there was a joy in seeing her face getting excited about seeing me back.

But I had my doubts on the whirlwind romance we had today. I knew Naina and how she respects and fears her parents back in India. She told me numerous times that was the reason she had never seriously dated anyone and that was one of the main reasons why I hadn't tried anything with her earlier. What if she realized that she didn't want to be with me while I was gone? Then this evening would go quite differently than I had expected. I didn't feel as cocky as I had felt this afternoon.

I waited impatiently at the door shifting from foot to foot. But there was no sign of her coming. Maybe she was napping. I let out a sigh and opened the door with my key. The sound of the television was being carried into the hallway. I wondered why she didn't answer the door if she was in the living room, watching TV.

I emerged into the living room to find it empty. She was not here. Her cell phone was lying on the coffee table. I sensed something wrong. Just the way I sensed something wrong, the day I returned to the apartment I shared with Kevin. I rushed to Naina's bedroom to see if she was there. She was not. I made a dash for the kitchen.

She will be there, she will be there.

The kitchen mocked me with its emptiness. There was nothing here except a shattered cookie jar. Panic started to spread through my body as I was becoming certain that she met the same fate as Mitchell and Kevin. But I kept the panic under check. Maybe I was being paranoid. This could have a simple explanation. A little relief found its way back into my system as the cookies gave me a clue as to where she could be. I bounded out of the apartment and punched the doorbell of Mrs.Lewis's apartment.

Come out, old lady. Come out.

She came out, already changed into her nightwear. Her eyes opened and closed a few times before she could focus on me.

"Noah! How can I help you?" She asked. I peered into her apartment over her shoulder. There was no sign of Naina. She would have come out now if she was here at all. But it wouldn't hurt me to ask if this lady knew something.

"Have you seen Naina today, Mrs.Lewis?" I asked, knowing that Naina was sort of close to this old lady. She might have said something to her.

"No, I haven't seen her since dinner last night. Why are you asking? Is everything alright?" She asked, alarmed all of a sudden.

"Oh. It's nothing. She has gone out somewhere without telling me. I thought I would see if she's here." I said, not very far from the truth. She nodded and after giving me a suspicious glance, she shut the door. My worry had increased tenfold as I couldn't think of where Naina might be. I couldn't even call her. She left her damn phone here.

But I could call her friend. I had her friend Jane's number. She was out of town but I couldn't think of anyone else to ask. I took the mobile out of my pocket and called Jane. She answered after three rings.

"Hey, Noah. How's Naina? I missed her this Christmas." Jane talked cheerily into the phone. My last guess was fruitless. If Jane was asking me about Naina, she had no idea where she was.

"Uh. She's fine. She missed you too. I called you accidentally." I hurriedly hung up the phone not wanting to get her suspicious too. I went into the apartment and collapsed on the couch, my face in my hands.

This was not happening again. Not again after Mitchell and Kevin. What happened to her? Where was she? I was racking my brain for some sign, I recalled her words this morning. The words that fueled all of that happened today. She talked about a cave in Salem. I tried to remember the exact location. She said something about that.

"Gallows Hill," the name sounded sinister on my tongue. She said something about that place being the lair of those people that had attacked her. She wanted to catch them. She wanted me to go with her before I foolishly snapped at her. Did she go there? Thinking that I wouldn't be of any help, did she decide to do this alone? I didn't know. I didn't know anything. But I only know that I couldn't afford to let her fall in danger. I couldn't take it if another person I cared about became a scapegoat in this cruel game for the pearl.

The pearl.

If Naina was, God forbid it, kidnapped, it was sure because of the pearl. But we hid it. We hid it well. No kidnapper could guess it if Naina hadn't told them. If I still had the pearl where we hid it, then I had a chance of releasing Naina from their clutches. They want the pearl more than our lives and I want her safe more than what happened to this damn pearl.

I walked to the refrigerator and opened the door. A bag of skittles was lying innocently in the side compartment. I took it out, moved to the couch, and emptied the skittles on the coffee table. Among the colorful marbles, the pearl tumbled on to the table.

Amidst all that happened this afternoon, Naina and I had managed to think of a location to hide the pearl. This location was her idea. I clutched the pearl wanting to smash it into powder with my bare hands. But finally, I loosened my grip.

I held it between my fingers, the root of all my problems, and dropped into its box. I placed the box in my pocket and grabbed my car keys from my room. I was going to see the end of this.