RED NOTES AND KISSES-Chapter 110: FRIDA -

Frida woke up with a scared start. It was freezing, and her hands were in chains. She was securely locked in a seat—the very seat Shelly had been in those days ago.

"Hello?" Shelly said, appearing in a full outfit, like she was invited to the Met Gala.

"Shelly?" Frida asked.

"You had your fun, Frida. My turn," Shelly cackled.

---

A few hours earlier.

In the haunted house...

The fear clawed at her senses. "Laz? Laz, I’m scared, okay...come out..."

Something cold touched the small of her back.

"Don’t move," the familiar voice spoke.

Her body shook, trembling. "Who...who are you?"

"Nothing personal, Frida. You just have to die... Too bad—we could have been something more," his voice sneered, making her irritated.

She heard the trigger, and her body froze. "P-please, d-don’t shoot..." She raised her hands up.

The fear caused her to see black spots, and for a moment, she saw dark spots.

"If you had chosen me... I could have found a way to be with you!" he cried out.

"But since you chose him... go to hell!" he barked.

She suddenly twisted around, twisting his wrist. Everything in the haunted house went dark for a moment.

"Hold on, love, I’m coming," she heard Laz say.

She elbowed him straight in the ribs and punched him in the face. Before he could fire the gun, she knocked it out of his grasp into her other hand.

She placed it on her forehead and grinned like a twisted animal.

"You’re not the Frida I know..." he whispered.

"No, I’m worse. Let me see your face as you die, motherfucke—" He kneed her in the chin, and she balled over.

As he attempted to kick her again, she caught him by the ankle, pulling his leg into a solid split. He growled in pain.

She grabbed his hair, about to smash his head on the floor, when she heard footsteps.

"...Run," she heard his voice say and decided to use Frida’s pitchy tune.

"How are you doing that? Is that even allowed in Disneyland?" she faked a scream to distract both him and the man, twisting her ankle.

She couldn’t kill him here; it was much too public. So instead, she emptied the gun of its bullets and began running to the doom buggies.

The thrill of the chase and the pain in her twisted limb caused her to pant as she shifted the bone back in place.

"Gotcha!" Laz whispered, pulling her to his lap, and she had to pretend to be her. She couldn’t let him catch on... Not yet.

"Idiot! You scared me to death!"

"Sorry, love. Did I frighten you?" he asked.

She glared at him. In her head, she thought, Not even a little... I’m just glad to be in his arms right now.

"Wanna ride that?"

As they stepped out, he suggested the Ferris wheel, then excused himself.

"Alex," she said before he even sat down.

"Now I know you’re definitely not Frida," he said, glaring at her. "It’s amusing how you’re easily switching back and forth. It must be exhausting for you—controlling her thoughts, controlling her memories, as the more dominant personality."

"Are you trying to diagnose me with something, pretty boy?" she said, her lips perking, evidence that she was a smoker. She popped a lollipop between her lips, lifted two fingers to her skull, and said, "I’m gonna blow your brains out..."

As he reached out to remove the snow from her lashes, a sharp pocket knife gleamed in the comfort of his dark coat.

In one quick motion, she moved her hand forward, grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and let it pierce through his ribs.

He choked.

"What were they thinking, sending such a low-breed assassin to kill me?" she spat. "They must be trying to insult my intelligence."

"Frida is innocent...not dumb... Sooner or later, she would have found out what a psycho you are, Alex. You would have never been friends either way," she whispered as Laz caught Alex’s stretched hand, took hers, and led her away.

Always playing knight in shining armor, she thought, staring at Alex’s body, which slumped lazily on the bench like someone asleep. The Disney cheer continued like he wasn’t there.

The wheels of her brain churned on the gondola. How was she going to get his body on the private jet without Laz noticing?

"Scare me next time, big guy..." she said, laughing, as she redid the buttons of her outfit.

"To think I wouldn’t know the difference between you and Frida is just crazy, Shelly," he said darkly.

Her breath hitched. "You know? What gave me away?"

"Frida doesn’t do such impulsive things in public."

His eyes held no amusement. "What you’re doing is messing up Frida’s mind."

"Well then, she should leave. This body could easily be mine," she said to him stubbornly.

"Frida is stronger than you. You are ruled by your emotions and act impulsively. There’s no way she would lose to you," he said without a doubt, and it infuriated her.

"Without me, she would be dead—that weakling!" she sneered venomously. "I’m sure you’re aware I have a dead body on the bench by the haunted house."

"You killed Alex," he said.

"Well...he did try to kill me," she said. "I’ll need to take it back to New York."

"So you need my help?" he said.

She turned to look at a massive billboard below them in the city. His face was on it.

The monster who did this.

The monster still trying to kill them.

The man everyone believed in...the man who was America’s next big thing.

"He’s coming," she whispered. "Without me...she will die."

She held Laz’s eyes with hers. "And there’s nothing you can do to save her."

Laz observed as the snow fell in beautiful amounts all over, almost dreamlike.

"Then I’ll die in her place."

"I’m a jealous person, Laz. If I can’t have you...she can’t either," Shelly said venomously.

"You’d have to win, Shelly," he said as their jet landed in New York, the body in a bag between them now.

"I’m sure you’re aware...Frida has never lost."

Shelly donned black leather gloves. "Is that a threat?"

He was dead serious as he said, "Certainly."

"I want to kill him... If I kill him, I’ll leave. But for that to happen, Frida has to get stronger. She has to accept me as part of her. Can you help me?" Shelly asked.

Laz narrowed his eyes. "What must I do?"

"Tell her you killed Alex. Help me hide the body under the bed... Then mess with her mind enough that she has no choice but to see a psychiatrist. She needs to accept herself, Laz," Shelly said, her tone dark and deliberate.

"And how does this help you?" Laz asked, his skepticism clear.

"If you break her down enough, she’ll need me. She’ll have to confront her fears, her doubts, and finally accept that I’m part of her. She’s a doctor—she can still save lives. But first, I want vengeance on that prick. Got it?" Shelly’s eyes burned with intensity.

Laz crossed his arms, considering her words. "And then you’ll leave?"

"Only then," she said, smirking.

He shrugged after a long pause. "Deal."

They landed in New York. The drive to the house was tense, the silence thick and calculated.

Once they parked at the back, they moved Alex’s body, sealed in a body bag, through the rear door and into Laz’s room.

"So what now?" Laz asked, his voice low.

"We go outside. I’ll switch back to Frida, let her soak up all the surprises and plans you have for her," Shelly explained, a wicked glint in her eyes. "Then boom—she stumbles across the body."

"And then?" Laz asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"She’ll call the cops. Mind you, Alex works for him. That guy won’t like this one bit. It’s time to lure him to us," Shelly said, her excitement almost palpable.

---

Frida screamed at the sight of the body, and everyone ran to the room at the sound of her scream.

Laurel looked horrified, and Leo was equally aggravated.

"What the fuck is that?" Michael asked in shock.

Frida was trembling as she picked up the phone and dialed 911.

"Hello, officer...my friend has been murdered."

She suddenly felt lightheaded, her vision blurring as gas filled the room.

He caught her in his arms just as the rest of his family collapsed, unconscious.

When she came to, her breath hitched. It wasn’t Frida anymore, it was Shelly.

"The cops will be here soon," Shelly said sharply, her voice commanding. "Get everyone into their beds. This whole thing needs to feel like a dream to everyone but Frida."

Without hesitation, they moved swiftly, carrying each family member to their respective rooms.

As blue and red police lights flashed outside, their work was almost complete, every movement precise and calculated.

"What now?" He asked panting.

"Now, we wait for him to come to us." She said as they opened the door.