Chapter 3: The Bet
“Jake, tell me you didn’t,” Brian said. His voice was ice.
“What? No! I’ve been here all night!”
“Then who took a pic of YOUR hand, bro?”
My stomach dropped. I ran to my room. My wallet was on the bed. Open.
Inside: a note. “Thanks for the loan. I’ll pay you back. -K”
K. Kevin. My cousin. Gambling addict Kevin. The one who crashed here last week.
I called him. Voicemail.
Brian was hyperventilating. “Your cousin stole my ticket?!”
“I didn’t know he was here! You said you locked the door!”
“I DID! He must’ve… oh my god.”
Brian pulled up his Find My iPhone. “He was here at 2:17 a.m. While we were sleeping.”
We drove to Kevin’s apartment. Door open. Place trashed.
On the table: a half-burned lottery ticket.
And a note: “Oops. Wrong one. My bad 😅”
Brian picked it up. It was a scratch-off. $20 winner.
“HE BURNED THE WRONG TICKET?” Brian screamed.
Then my phone buzzed. Kevin finally texted back:
“Yo the real one’s safe. I signed it for you so Dana couldn’t steal it. We’re rich! Meet me at the casino. Bring ID.”
May you like
Brian looked at me. “You trust him?”
I didn’t answer.
Because behind us, the front door slammed shut.
And someone locked it… from the outside.
To be continued…
