Bottle 3: A Pattern Emerges

The living room was eerily quiet, the warmth of the fire doing little to dispel the chill that had settled over the group. Jamie’s lifeless form lay on the floor, his chest unnaturally still. Abby knelt beside him.

“This doesn’t add up,” Nina muttered, pacing back and forth. She hugged herself tightly, her steps quick and anxious. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Traci sat hunched on the arm of the couch, her arms wrapped around her knees. “It’s not possible,” she said firmly, though her trembling voice betrayed her fear. “This doesn’t happen to someone like Jamie. It’s too... freakish.”

“Traci,” Eve said softly but firmly. “You don’t know that. We all know Jamie. He always had a flare for the dramatic. He might’ve done something careless.”

Traci’s head snapped up. “Are you saying this is his fault?”

“That’s not what she is saying,” Lori replied, her voice hardening. “She is saying that sometimes shit happens.”

“Shit happens?” Sara said with a puzzled look on her face as if she could not believe Lori suggested that.

“Yeah, shit happens Sara!” Lori snapped back.

Abby stood and turned to face the group. “We can’t let our emotions get the better of us. Right now, we need to focus.” She swallowed hard, unwilling to finish the thought.

Sara, leaning against the fireplace mantel, crossed her arms. “The real question is: did something—or someone—cause this?”

The room fell silent as the weight of her words sunk in.

“I’ve been thinking about earlier,” Nina said hesitantly, breaking the quiet. “Jamie wasn’t himself tonight. He seemed distracted, like he had something on his mind. He just wasn’t his usual self.”

“What do you mean?” Eve asked, her brow furrowing.

Nina gestured vaguely toward the table where the broken champagne bottle rested. “You know how he always made a big production about it? Talking about the vintage, the technique, all that sommelier stuff? Tonight, he just... rushed it. Like he was nervous.”

Traci shifted uncomfortably, her arms tightening around herself. “I noticed that too,” she said softly. “He kept checking his phone. He looked... worried.”

“Worried about what?” Eve asked, her tone sharp. “Kayla and the girls were having fun at the waterpark. They are fine.”

Nina snuck in under her breath, “Well, they won’t be when they hear about this.”

“I don’t know what he was worried about,” Traci admitted. “I didn’t ask. I figured he’d talk about it when he was ready.”

Abby walked over to Jamie’s side, his phone lying beside. She hesitated, glancing at his still form. “If he was worried about something, maybe it’s on here, holding up his phone.”

“Wait,” Traci said, standing quickly. “We can’t just go through his phone and stuff. That’s not right.”

“Traci,” Abby said, her voice calm but firm, “we need answers. If there’s something on this phone that explains why Jamie was acting so strangely, we must know. For him.”

“But do we really Traci?” Eve questioned.

Traci hesitated, her lips pressing into a thin line, but finally stepped aside. Abby unlocked his phone by flashing it in Jamie’s lifeless face and began scrolling through the messages. Her expression darkened as she held up the screen for the others to see.

The message was from a number not listed in his contacts.

“I know you can’t wait forever. Now, share your location, so I can do what needs to be done.”

The group collectively inhaled, the words carrying an ominous weight.

“What does that even mean?” Sara asked, her voice tight.

Abby scrolled further, revealing more messages from the same number:

“The cost is too great.” Mysterious Number

“It’s fine, just do it.” Jamie

“Well, this is on you. Consider it done. I will handle everything.” Mysterious Number

Eve’s face went pale. “Shit; Jamie was in some kind of trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” Lori asked, her voice trembling. “We’ve known him for years. If he was dealing with something this big, wouldn’t he have told us? Maybe at least some of us.”

“Maybe he didn’t think he could,” Sara said. “Or maybe...” She hesitated, her voice lowering. “Maybe he thought one of us was involved.”

“This is all crazy, what are you implying?” Traci asked, her tone defensive.

Sara locked eyes with her. “I’m saying we don’t know what Jamie was dealing with. And until we do, we can’t rule out anything—not even that someone here might have played a part.”

The accusation landed like a bomb, sending shockwaves through the group.

“That’s insane,” Traci snapped. “We’re his friends! None of us would ever hurt him.”

“Then tell us what really happened while you two were in the kitchen.” And though Eve made the statement, they all were thinking it. But before Traci could respond, Abby chimed in.

“Enough,” Abby said sharply, cutting through the rising tension. “Pointing fingers isn’t going to help us. We need to keep our heads and figure out what’s going on.”

Eve crossed her arms, her expression icy, “And how do you propose we do that?”

Abby glanced back at Jamie’s still form, her jaw tightening. “We wait for help. They are probably not far out at this point. In the meantime, we keep looking for answers. If there’s something we’re missing—something Jamie was hiding—we must figure it out.”

To be continued April 30th, 2025.