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SCREAM
──── ❝ who's number is this? ❞

CHAPTER THREE
.ೃ࿐, wrong number
*ೃ༄ ﹌﹌﹌ღ ‗ ❍ . . . . . 🛍️🧸
•◦• ACT ONE
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SOFT TUNES DANCED THROUGH THE BEDROOM. Mona Riley hummed to herself, gazing at her reflection in the mirror while painting her lips with a soft lipstick. The sun had gone down, allowing the moon to take its place, accompanied by the glittering stars. She was home alone, with her brother working, her sister doing some grocery shopping for her movie night with Sidney Prescott, and her mother finishing up her shift. Mona swayed to the best of the song, it was one of her favorites. Head Over Heels by The Go-Go's.

Mona stood in a matching pj set, reaching for a hairbrush from her vanity. She ran her slender fingers through her golden locks, mumbling the words while she held the hairbrush as though it were a microphone. Mona was glad she was alone. She would be humiliated each time someone had barged in on her having a performance. Last time, she had been performing a bit of choreography she had made up for her stuffed bears when Dewey entered, getting ready to inform her that dinner was ready. Mona was embarrassed.

She ate dinner in silence that night.

The sixteen year old continued to a sway around her bedroom, lyrics falling from her lips as she frailes her arms. Hearing her telephone ring, she halted, a frown coating her lips as she reached toward her stereo to adjust the volume. She wasn't expecting a call from anyone.

Mona set her hairbrush down and held the telephone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

She rocked back and forth on her heels before inaudibly gasping as the caller spoke, the low, hoarse voice catching her off guard. Her thin eyebrows were knitted together.

"Who is this?" It was a man, no doubt. Mona nervously tugged on the fabric of her pajama shorts.

"That depends." She forced out a chuckle.

"On what?"

"Why are you asking." She challenged, narrowing her brown eyes.

"Who's number is this? I'm just asking." The voice pushed.

"How come?"

"I'm curious." He said a little sharper.

"How come!"

"Because i am." The caller had a bit of a growl to his voice, startling Mona. She shook her head before offering a shrug, dropping her act of behaving stubbornly.

"I'm Mona Riley. Now, it's your turn. Who am i talking to?" She offered. She began to stroll towards her vanity, fiddling with a few makeup brushes. There was a pause on the other line before she heard a bit of shuffling, and she lolled her head to the side curiously.

"What are you doing?" The voice changed the topic, causing Mona to scoff. She shook her head, fingers twitching.

"I'm talking to you. Duh."

A low, seemingly sinister chuckle came from the other line, forcing chills to dance up Monas flesh. She rolled her bottom lip in between her teeth, brutally gnawing on the skin as her heart beat quickened.

"Do you wanna play a game?" He asked. Mona shook her head in response, though, her own words betrayed her.

"What kind of game? I'm not very good." She grew a bit sheepish, recalling all the times her friends would be playing a game and she would have to be on a team, even though they were independent games. She would often be paired with Stu, as he didn't mind sharing his position. He was always kind to her.

"Don't worry. It'll be fun," The voice tried to ease her nerves, though he ultimately failed. Mona was growing a bit scared. Would it really be smart of her to play this game with a stranger? She should've hung up the phone as soon as she heard his voice.

"Hmm... alright. But, just one game. I've got cookies in the oven." A pout grew on her lips as the warm smell of baked goods wafted into her nose.

"I guess we'll have to make it quick." He replied hoarsely. Mona couldn't help but grin, a sigh of relief falling from her lips. Thank God! Now that the caller knew she was busy, she wouldn't need to feel bad about ending their call.

"Sounds good to me! Alright, give it to me." She stomach flopped on her bed, kicking her feet behind her as she twirled a strand of her honey blonde hair.

"How about we do a trivia." The caller suggested, and Mona's grin faltered a bit.

"On what?"

"Scary movies."

"Oh, no." She ran her manicured fingers over her face, a groan escaping her lips, "I'm gonna suck! I hate scary movies."

"Oh, come on. It won't be so bad. We'll start off...easy." He cooed. Mona shrugged, deciding to simply give in. How bad could it be?

"Alright, fine. What if i loose?"

There was a long pause on the other end, making her wonder if the connection had grown bad.

"...Let's hope you don't."

Mona didn't know what that meant, but she didn't bother to put much thought into it, having already been in game mode. She was currently scavenging her own brain, doing her best to recall any valuable information she overheard Randy spewing about, as he was known to be a horror fanatic.

"First question. In "Psycho," what's the name of the motel where Marion Crane meets her sinister fate?"

Mona's mouth fell agape, suddenly having absolutely no knowledge of anything ever.

"Ugh, give me a minute." She repeated the question to herself a few times before jumping into a sitting position, "Oh! I know this one, it's Bates Motel!"

"Good girl." He praised.

Mona grinned widely, feeling a rush of warmth crawl up her neck and stain her cheeks a light shade of pink. Her eyebrows pinched together in confusion at her own behavior, and she pressed a light palm to her fluttering stomach.

"That made me feel funny." She shamelessly admitted, voice feathery as she fiddled with her silk pajama shorts. The line fell silent once again, and she could hear a series of fumbling.

"Is that right?" He pushed, voice husky and teasing. Mona giggled a bit, nodding her head before realizing that he couldn't see her.

She picked at the skin of her cuticles, feeling the skin lift a bit as she tried to regain composure.

"Are you ready for your next question?" He asked. Mona's shoulders slumped a bit, she couldn't take this any longer.

"Oh... i was hoping you forgot about that."

Startling her, there was a chuckle on the other end and he began to taunt her, "Nice try, princess. Question two, what was the name of the boy who drowned in Friday The Thirteenth?"

Mona clicked her tongue, finger tapping her chin. "Oh, it was that one kid... uh, Jeremy Willis, right?"

Who?

"Uh, oh. I'm afraid that's the wrong answer."

"What? No way. Give me another one. That one was hard." She pouted. The caller hummed.

"Alright. One more try. What classic was originally titled The Babysitter Murders." He offered, and Mona huffed, not knowing the answer to this question either. She should've given up when she had the chance. If only Stu was here to help her.

"Uhm... Silence Of The Lambs?" She tried.

"Wrong again." His voice grew dark, no longer holding the playful tone that he had before.

At that, the bulbs that had been illuminating Mona's bedroom began to flicker, failing to keep its warmth. She gasped, the color quickly draining from her face as her heart began to thump.

"Shit," she hissed under her breath, blindly reaching for a flashlight near her bedside table. She clicked the button, quickly casting light upon the space.

Suddenly, a light repeating tap came from her door, and she tightened her grip on the flashlight, narrowing her eyes.

"Dewey, is that you?" She shakily called out. No. Dewey was doing a night shift, and Tatum was with Sidney.

So, who the fuck was that?

"Hello?" Mona whispered into the phone. She waited for a response, only to find a flat hum on the other line. He hung up. By now, the tapping on her bedroom door had came to a halt, and she found herself backing into the corner of her room. Mona was panicky.

No.

Maybe she was reading too much into it. Maybe it was simply just a power outage, and the mysterious caller had spooked her with his stupid horror movie questions.

A whiff of freshly baked cookies invaded her nostrils, and she had been reminded of her sweet treat in the oven.

Mona could feel her palms grow a bit clammy, and she tucked a strand of her honey blonde hair behind her pierced ear. She fell hushed, like a sundial in the shade.

Clack!

Her head whipped toward her window, seeing a silhouette just outside the glass. Fuck no! Mona swiveled on her heels, completely forgetting about the tapping outside of her bedroom. She flung the door open, darting down the narrowed hall with her gut-wrenching and her heart-pumping. Her blue globes did their best to navigate her surroundings, as the flashlight she had been holding wasn't exactly steady in her grasp.

She made a sharp turn past the kitchen, preparing to flee out of the front door before she collided with something. No, not something. Someone. Her eyes grew wide, unshed tears threatening to slide down her cheeks. Mona hesitated to lift her flashlight, allowing her to see her intruders face.

She released an unsteady gasp, taking in the familiar slope of their nose, and the shade of dark brown curls that reached their ears.

"Momma!"

Mona dropped her flashlight, leaping forward to wrap her arms around her mother. A dry sob fell from her lips.

"Mona, honey, what's wrong?" Her mother dropped the purse in her grasp to embrace her daughter.

"I thought someone broke in! I was so scared." She rushed out, her mother pressing a light kiss to the crown of her head as she whispered soothingly into her ear. It had been a moment before Mona could catch her breath. By now, she was embarrassed and tired and definitely not in the mood for cookies anymore.

"M'sorry. i know you wanted to have a girls night, but i don't feel so good. The cookies are in the oven. I'm gonna lay down." She waved her hand, not bothering to linger and hear her mother's response. She strode down the hall, finally approaching her bedroom door. Slipping into the space, she slammed it behind her, leaning against the surface and releasing a shaky breath.

Calm down, she told herself. She was just overreacting. But, could you blame her? With this whole Casey Becker fiasco, she had an excuse to be so skittish. She could've been hacked to death!

Mona tossed the flashlight onto her mattress and stumbled toward her vanity, taking in her disheveled appearance. Though the power wasn't back on, the moonlight was bright enough to illuminate the space. And it was bright enough for her to note that she looked like an absolute mess. The Riley girl didn't waste a moment before grabbing her hairbrush, running it through her locks a few times to rid of the knots that had formed.

It was nothing.

Nothing.

Mona hummed to herself, doing her best to soothe herself before her eyes fell to the figure behind her.

Mona gasped, the blonde parted her lips to scream, only for it to be muffled when he reached around and placed his gloved hand over her mouth. By now, the unshed tears that had gathered in her eyes had managed to slip down her flushed cheeks. She tried to scream until she couldn't. She wanted to run, but her feet wouldn't let her. The masked figure shook his head, slowly lifting his hand away from her mouth, though his index finger lingered a bit, brushing against her soft lips. She did her best to silence her cries, her tears glistening on her red cheeks.

Mona could feel him gently tug on her hair, and she felt a chill travel down her spine.

He placed his hands over her hips, turning her so she now came face to face with him. He wore a black hood, and his cloak had a jagged base. He had a stark-white rubber mask over his face, resembling a ghost with an anguish expression. Mona could feel her knees weaken. He towered over her, forcing her to crane her neck to stare at him.

"Are you gonna kill me?" She managed to croak out, her voice breaking. The masked figure said nothing and she flinched, back expecting to be struck harshly from his touch. But, no. He slowly ran his large fingers down the length of her neck.

It was almost as though she was in a trance. Mona couldn't pry her eyes away, her heart thumping wildly. Her back was aching, as she was rather roughly pressed against her vanity.

Then, his large palms rose to her cheeks, rubbing his thumb over the messy tears that coated her soft flesh. And suddenly, Mona couldn't help it. She lulled a bit against his gentle touch, leaning into his palm.

What the hell? She thought to herself, growing a bit hazy. She could feel her throat constricting, and she felt as though her pulse was beating in her ears. She forced her eyes shut, and the forty three seconds that he towered over her felt like hours. Though she couldn't see him, she could feel him lean away from her. A sudden chill danced along her flesh at the lack of warmth from his body.

Don't move. She mentally screamed. Mona was still, feeling like she had been paralyzed on spot, his menacing aura holding her in a tightening grip.

Mona Riley didn't pry her eyes open until she could hear a tussling outside of her window, the leaves swaying steadily.

He was gone.

AUTHOR — here's an update after almost a year LMAO 😹 finally ready to pick up this story! pls don't be a silent reader <33 WHAT DO WE THINK?!??!