CH 55: SO STRANGE

ELENA'S POV

I woke up to the soft glow of my phone screen lighting up the room. Rubbing my eyes, I reached for my phone on the nightstand. A new text message from an unknown number had arrived. Curiosity piqued, I opened it.

**Unknown:** Hey Elena, it's Emily. Can we talk? It's important.

Emily? The name was familiar but unexpected. I hadn't heard from her in ages. Why was she reaching out now?

I hesitated for a moment, then typed a reply.

**Elena:** Hi Emily, long time no see. Sure, what's up?

Almost immediately, my phone buzzed again.

**Emily:** I need to talk to you about something serious. Can we meet up today?

I agreed, setting a time and place to meet at a nearby café. As I got out of bed, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease. What could be so important that she needed to see me after all these years?