If Lexi had been terrified before, it was nothing compared to how she was feeling now. With the sea of people that called her greatly dwindling, her fears intensified. Whatever else this list entailed, she was sure it wasn't a good thing.
"Kersey, do you have a guess?" Maddie asked.
"Um...I don't know. Her parents?"
"Her parents really Kers?" Bekah asked rolling her eyes.
"What? I don't know her," she said getting quieter and less confident as she went.
"No Kers it's not her parents," Maddie replied sighing and turning her attention to Amber. "Your guess?"
Amber eyed Lexi up and down. Her look was judgmental as if she was taking stock of her. Lexi didn't know her, but her eyes made her look almost deceptive. Not that any of them seemed unintelligent, but there was something about Amber that seemed more intuitive...like she just understood things and said things that others wouldn't.
"My guess is Jack," she finally said to Maddie.
Bekah looked up at Amber and glared. She certainly didn't like the idea of that. She thought that she had gotten rid of any lingering feelings between them. There shouldn't be a reason for Jack Howard to be calling Lexi only a few nights before he was to be married. Then again it didn't make sense for him to sleep with her before he proposed, to corner her behind the weeping willow, or to let her be present at his bachelor party. There were a lot of things Jack shouldn't do that he did anyway.
But for her own sake, Lexi hoped it wasn't Jack. That wouldn't be an easy thing to explain away and Amber would get to call him. The girls didn't care that she hadn't agreed to any rules. They would go ahead and do it anyway.
"Well Maddie, is it Jack?" Bekah asked a hitch in her voice.
Maddie smiled as she stared at the room full of anticipation. "Is that your final answer?" she sing-songed.
Amber smirked triumphantly. "Of course."
"Well sorry, no Jack Howard tonight," she said unexpectedly.
A collective sigh of relief echoed throughout the room. Only Amber looked perturbed that she hadn't been spot on. "Ok Lexi, you have the last shot. Tell me who called you."
Lexi sighed hating not having control of the situation. The most obvious answers were out of the way. No Jack, Ramsey, Chyna or her parents. Who else had been calling her recently? She couldn't think of anyone else. Work would call, but she had been gone for nearly a month. She didn't really have any other close friends that she kept up with on a regular basis. She wracked her mind knowing this moment was really important. She had to get this right. She didn't want Bekah to know anything else about her life. Whoever was on that other line wasn't someone she wanted to share with anyone in this room.
Just then she stopped thinking and let her mouth fall open. It could only be one person. She looked at Maddie who was eyeing her speculatively waiting for Lexi to giver her the wrong answer. Really for most people it could be anyone, but Lexi hated talking on the phone. She only did it with a select few people who she wanted to have more than a texting conversation with. They had already named all those possibilities...that left only one person.
"Should I go ahead and make the call?" Maddie asked taking her shocked look to mean she hadn't figured it out. Lexi was even more terrified realizing she had.
"No. I know who it is," she said weakly. She stretched her hand out to take the phone from Maddie.
"Well?" she asked it holding back.
Lexi sighed hating the admission already but knowing it was necessary. "It says...Mystery doesn't it?"
It was Maddie's turn to look surprised. "Yeah...I really didn't think you would guess that."
"Ohhhh...a Mystery?" Amber asked mischievously.
"Like a Mystery date or something?" Kersey asked her mouth hanging open like she was on the tip of a juicy secret.
"Does Ramsey know?" Bekah asked a slow evil smile appearing on her face.
"You guys are overreacting," Lexi said hoping she sounded convincing. "It's nothing like that."
"We'll see," Bekah said nodding her head at Maddie.
Maddie handed back Lexi's phone. "Go ahead. Dial away."
Lexi stared down at the chunk of metal and decided in that moment that she hated it more than anyone could possibly imagine. "I don't like talking in front of other people," Lexi began in an attempt to get out of it.
"Oh come on," Amber cried.
"Yeah," Kersey agreed.
"We're all going to have to do embarrassing stuff tonight. You're getting out easy," Bekah said knowing full well that that was not true.
"Yeah at least you won't have to do number four," Maddie said encouragingly. "Take a guys boxers off in the bathroom of a bar and claim them as your prize."
Lexi paled at that comment. She was definitely not doing that one. It sounded more like something Chyna used to do on a pretty regular basis. Yet she didn't really want to have to be the one to cross number six off their list either. "I think I'll just take this outside."
Maddie moved in front of the sliding glass doors while the other three girls stood before the exit. "You call or we do speaker honey," Amber drawled.
Lexi sighed. She couldn't believe she was about to go through with this. She punched in the number praying it would go straight to voicemail. "Don't pick up. Don't pick up. Don't pick up," she quietly pleaded.
"Lexi?" he said answering on the last ring.
"Hey," she said weakly pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. The other girls squealed excitedly when they realized someone had picked up the other line. Lexi deftly turned the volume down so the other girls wouldn't be able to make out anything he said.
"How have you been?" he asked making conversation.
"Um...I've been better," she said biting on her bottom lip and switching the phone to the other ear.
"Of that I'm certain," he responded.
"What's he saying?" Kersey asked nearly jumping up and down with anticipation.
Lexi shook her head at them to try and keep the smile from her face. She was in a dire situation and needed to play it cool. She had already appeared fearful and disturbed by the source of the caller. Not to mention that she had put him in as Mystery which only peeked their interest. It's original use had been to deter answering...