Friday The 13th

Nori Ross arrived in her hometown in Glitz City. It’s been two years, and she'll be seeing her family again at a rooftop bar called Cloud Castle.

Her older brother, Nolan, rented a V.I.P. lounge for their family to reunite and celebrate their younger sister’s birthday this year.

As Nori entered the lounge, she saw her parents, Nolan and his wife, Ayla. Ayla was holding their two-year-old son, Nile.

Everyone greeted and hugged each other. Nori couldn't be happier, and it was her first time meeting her adorable and precious nephew.

She gave Nile lots of hugs and kisses on his chubby cheeks. Then, she looked around for her younger sister and asked Nolan, 

“I don’t see the birthday girl here. Is everything okay with Nadia?”

Nolan suddenly had a serious look on his face, 

“Nori, there’s something you should know about Nadia.”

She felt uneasy but listened attentively, 

“Nolan, what is it?”

Nolan looked more serious than before. He continued,

“Nadia is…”

Before he could finish, they heard a loud “BOO!” from behind. Nori was startled and screamed.

It was Nadia! Nolan and Nadia were laughing so hard. They were making fun of their sister for still being as gullible as ever.

Nori laughed along with her siblings, saying,

“You guys! That’s not funny! You both haven’t changed!”

Nadia gave her older sister a tight hug and said,

“Hi, Nori! It’s good to see you again, and I miss you! Sorry to scare you. It was Nolan’s idea.”

Nolan was speechless because he was forced to play along, but he took the blame anyway. Nori forgivingly replied, 

“It’s okay. I miss you too! Happy birthday, little sis!”

Then, someone else appeared, surprising Nori. Jared Ramirez is Nadia’s fiancé.

The family was having a great time celebrating their reunion and Nadia’s 27th birthday.

The next day, Nolan was meeting his friend, Adrian Flores, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Nori hadn’t met Adrian before, but she had heard some things about him. He was a handsome, mysterious, and charming man. Any woman would fall for him.

Nolan invited his siblings to tag along. They were going to a dine-in restaurant called Pristine Cuisine.

Nori remembered her way around Glitz City. She used to get lost easily but memorized landmarks to always find her way back home. This was something she kept to herself.

Everyone arrived at the same time. Adrian had brought his younger brother, Shawn, with him.

They sat at their reserved seat at a booth that was so comfortable, and it had the best window scenery. Everyone enjoyed themselves.

Two weeks have gone by. Nori and Adrian had exchanged their numbers and have been getting to know each other.

Nori hasn’t felt this happy in a long while. Then, suddenly, her memories of her past lover came up.

Two years ago, Nori and Evan Dawson were happily in love but were secretly dating. Evan was the next successor of his grandfather’s company.

One day, a rumor spread that Nori was seducing Evan for her office position. Evan was about to tell everyone about their relationship to clear the misunderstandings, but Nori quit her job instead.

She was unemployed for four months until her hobby of making beaded jewelry sparked. She started her online business.

Even though Nori and Evan lived together, it was difficult seeing each other often and not being able to spend as much time. Eventually, they called it quits.

They both decided to stay on good terms as friends. Evan willingly paid all the expenses for Nori until her business went well.

Now, she can live independently. She also moved to an apartment where she felt satisfied. To this day, she doesn’t know Evan has been supporting her.

As Nori was thinking about Evan, she received a message from him: “Hey Nori, hope you’re enjoying your vacation with your family. And I’m on a business trip.”

She smiled and responded, “Thanks, Evan! I'm doing well. I hope things go well for you. And I met someone.”

Then Adrian messaged her about their next meeting: “Let’s go on a date soon! I’m thinking of this Friday.”

Nori looked at the calendar showing Friday the 13th. She already had plans for a family gathering that day.

Family time means so much to Nori. But she also wanted to spend time with Adrian.

She replied honestly, “Hi, Adrian! I do want to meet again. But I already have plans for this Friday. Maybe we can meet another time?”

He quickly replied, “Okay. That’s fine. It’s just this Friday is very special to me. And I have a surprise for you.”

Then Nile came running into the room to play with Nadia, following after him. But Nolan quickly caught and carried his son. Nori told them the updates.

Both siblings told Nori that her date could wait. Their grandparents will be at the gathering. Nadia wanted to cover for her sister, but Nolan disagreed.

Then Nadia carried Nile into her arms, mentioning Nile could help. Nolan wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

He looked at Nori and spoke,

“We’re not using my cute son as a distraction. I’ve already organized the event for everyone. We have important guests. We’re all attending. And that’s final!” 

Nadia gave up persuading their older brother. Nolan carried Nile and left the room, leaving his sisters to chat. Nadia hugged her older sister, 

“Sorry, Nori. We just have to listen to Nolan. He worked so hard to put everything together for the family. Let’s just let this go for now.”

Then Nadia left the room.

Nori thought her siblings would always support her no matter what happened, especially Nolan. She understood family comes first.

Feeling a bit upset, Nori told Adrian everything. He comforted her by speaking sweetly and kindly. And he eventually talked her into meeting each other anyway on the day of the party.

It is now Friday the 13th. There was still time left before any more guests arrived for the party. So Nori took her nephew for a little walk in the garden.

She remembered Adrian's plan to escape in the middle of the party to meet with him. When Nori was upset before, the plan sounded great and agreeable at the time. But she was starting to regret it.

She messaged Adrian that it wasn’t a good idea to leave in the middle of the party just for their date. The text was delivered to Adrian, but Nori wasn’t notified if he read it.

Nori noticed Nile running off to the fountain ahead and tried to keep up with him in her heels. She suddenly slipped and was about to fall, but someone caught her in time.

The man held her gently and helped her up. Nori thanked him and was surprised to see who it was. She shouted, 

“Evan? Is this you? What are you doing here? And weren’t you on a business trip?”

He smiled and replied, 

“You’re welcome for helping you. Yes, it's me, Evan. And I'm on my business trip here for a meeting. ”

While tears were falling from her eyes, Nori hugged him tightly, hiding her face. Evan also returned the hug. Now, he wanted to see her face, but she refused.

Then Nile interrupted them. Nori quickly wiped her tears, smudging her makeup a little. But Evan helped fix it for her.

Nile just wanted to make a wish by putting a coin in the water. He was sad he didn’t have any coins. Nori didn’t bring any coins with her either.

Evan light-heartedly laughed about how the aunty and nephew were so alike. Nori and Nile pouted.

Evan held her hand and Nile’s little hand. He placed a coin in each of their hands. He also had one for himself. Together, they smiled, and all made their wish.

From a short distance, Nori saw a mysterious car parked on the curbside in front of the building. It didn’t seem familiar. The driver put down the window, revealing it was Adrian.

She finally checked the messages on her phone, noticing Adrian replied that he’d pick her up early.

Nori politely asked Evan to take Nile inside. Evan sensed something was wrong. Before parting ways, he gently held her hand and said, 

“I don’t trust that guy. I'm afraid to see you hurt.”

She replied, 

“Adrian is waiting. I have to go now. I'll be back, okay?”

Evan forced a smile. He continued, 

“Go, if and only you are sure of it. But think about the people who love you, including me.”

Evan slowly released Nori's hand. She hugged him and thanked him.

Then she ran to where Adrian was, who wanted to surprise Nori with his new sports car.

She decided maybe they should meet another day because it didn't feel right to leave without letting her family know. Adrian’s smile faded. He tried to remain calm and told her to get in the car.

Nori began to have a bad feeling. Adrian said he had a change of plan and couldn’t help but see her sooner. That’s why he picked her up before the party started.

He reminded her that this is what they both wanted: to spend time together. Nori made sure Adrian would keep his promise to bring her back after their dinner together.

She suddenly felt uncomfortable, noticing they were leaving town. She asked Adrian, 

“Where are we going? Aren’t we going to a restaurant in town?”

He laughed and told her to relax. Adrian responded,

“We’re going to my crib. I want to show you another surprise.”

Soon, they arrived at a luxury house surrounded by a forest. Adrian made a delicious dinner and prepared wine for the two of them. Even though she was appreciative, Nori kept feeling uneasy. 

She kindly excused herself to use the bathroom. Then, Nori quickly checked her phone and noticed no service, even with her data on.

She thought about her family and Evan. Maybe they're all worried about her. She wanted to see them again to apologize for everything and tell them how much she loved them.

When she had finished, there was complete silence. She couldn't find Adrian anywhere. She called out his name, but no response.

She saw one door open, and it was an office room. Nori thought Adrian was there, so she went inside. But Adrian wasn’t there.

She saw a desk with piles of papers. The papers were scattered everywhere, even on the floor.

She picked up the papers to put them back on the desk. As she looked closely at the paper with Adrian's face, it read, “WANTED CRIMINAL.”

Nori couldn't believe what she was seeing. She became afraid, trying to leave quickly.

Before she could leave, Nori heard Adrian from behind her saying, 

“Surprise!”