Chapter Four: Bonds of Blood
Annabelle woke up in Luna's bed, still cuddling close to her. Memories of the night before are still fresh in her mind as the incessant sound of her phone alarm starts to ring before the sun fully creeps through the blinds. With a groan, she unwraps her arm from around Luna's stomach and turns off the alarm. She sits up to check what time it is, but to her surprise see that somehow Current Crush has opened up on its own. She rubs her tired eyes and reads the text box over the homescreen. Below the text is a notification symbol on the 'Daily Task' symbol.
"Good morning, Annabelle! Reminder to complete your Daily Task for today! Once you have completed both your tasks, we can start Phase Three!"
With an annoyed groan, she turns the phone off and sets it back down. She looks at the time- 7am, then gently touches Luna's shoulder to wake her up. Luna's eyes slowly open and she looks over at Annabelle.
"Hey, beautiful. What time is it?"
"Seven. Sorry to wake you so early, you still think you can drive me home?"
Luna nods and sits up to yawn and stretches her arms above her head. She leans forwards and places a kiss on Annabelle's lips, then the two get up and start to get ready. After a few minutes, the two are fully dressed in the same clothes as the night before and get ready to leave. Annabelle follows her out of the bedroom and the two walk out into the living room to head back to her place. But as they do, they see someone else standing in the kitchen. Luna casually calls out to the woman, "Hey, girl. I have company with me."
Luna's roommate looks back at her with a smile, but seems surprised when she sees Annabelle. For the same reason, Annabelle is stopped in her tracks. Luna's roommate standing right in front of her is someone she recognizes, but hasn't seen in over a year- Rebecca.
Rebecca asks with a surprised tone, "Anna? Is that you?"
"R-rebecca! Uh, long time no see."
She felt incredibly stupid at that moment. It was so obvious why she recognized the apartment last night. But the last time she was here, she was not sober at all. She somehow forgot over the last six years what this place was. It didn't help that she barely ever even saw Rebecca after that night they spent together. Luna looks between the two and asks, "You two know each other?"
Rebecca nods, "Yeah... my sister is her best friend."
"Right. I would love to catch up but I need to be getting to work soon..."
The air is awkward, but Rebecca puts on a fake smile and says, "No problem. We should catch up!"
Annabelle nods and Luna clears her throat to say, "Well, uh, I'll see you in a little bit."
The two leave while Rebecca closely watches them. They head downstairs in silence until they get into Luna's car. Annabelle breaks the silence to say, "I'm sorry, that was weird. I had no idea you were her roommate."
"No, that's fine! I don't remember ever meeting you so how could you have known?"
"Right..."
Annabelle trails off and once again opens the Current Crush app. Reluctantly, she clicks on the Daily Task button. The two familiar buttons appear again- Truth or Dare. She clicks on 'truth' and a question appears on the screen.
"We are glad you are getting used to this! For today's task, tell us who you find more attractive- the man you told us about hooking up with (Luke, your ex's friend) or your brother, Michael? We don't need to remind you about the consequences of lies at this point, do we?"
She sits in thought for a long moment, trying to convince herself that Luke is attractive. But as all she can remember is the very unsatisfying sex they had, her mind keeps bringing her back to the image of Michael naked in the bathroom. With a grimace on her face, she types into the app.
"Michael."
"We figured! Glad you are willing to admit it now! Today we will slightly change the rules for your dare- you will receive a notification for when it becomes available to you. Like always, you will have a limited time to accomplish the goal!"
With that, the notification on the Daily Task goes away and she is left to wonder what the app could have in mind for her. She is filled with a feeling of dread, but it is eased slightly as Luna breaks the silence.
"Did you use the app yet?"
"Yeah, I did. Did you?'
Luna nods, "I just answered the truth while we were getting ready to leave. Can I ask what yours was?"
Annabelle hesitates, but decides it would be easier just to hide some details. She says, "It wanted to know which of two men I found more attractive. What about you?"
"Mine wanted to know who in my life I wanted to fuck."
Annabelle laughs slightly, then asks, "So what did you say?"
"This barista at a place I go every morning has a nice ass."
The two laugh together, and eventually reach Annabelle's apartment. As she gets out of the car, she turns back to smile, "Thanks for the ride. This was fun. Can I see you again?"
"Absolutely. Text me, okay?"
Annabelle nods and waves goodbye as Luna drives away. She heads back up to her apartment and quietly opens the door. Riley should still be here, sleeping. She heads into her bedroom, and finds Riley passed out in Annabelle's bed. She walks closer to her, noticing that she seems to not be wearing a shirt as her bare shoulders peek out from under the covers. Something about all the stuff she has done the past few days with the app seems to be getting to her as she decides to gently grab the blanket to get a better look. She lifts the blanket up and- to her surprise- finds Riley wearing nothing but her black panties. Annabelle bites her lip as her eyes roam over Riley's perky boobs lying before her. She decides not to push her luck and places the blanket back down over her. She walks back to the corner of the bedroom and starts to undress to change into her work clothes. As she stands completely naked, her eyes once again wander over to Riley's sleeping form. Against her better judgement, she walks back over to once again get a better look. But just as she reaches out for the blanket, she hears her phone buzz. Snapped back to her right mind, she walks away to grab her phone. To her surprise, Rebecca texted her.
"Hey! I'm sorry it was awkward this morning, but it was good to see you! I saw the wrist band, I take it that means Riley did end up getting you the app I recommended?"
Annabelle thinks for a moment, then responds, "She did, yes. I have to ask, why would you do that? This thing is forcing me to do a lot of embarrassing things."
Rebecca responds after a few minutes, "You haven't reached that Phase yet, but eventually the app will have you recruit more users, too. But I felt the same way at first, Anna, but I wouldn't get rid of this thing even if I could. It is the best thing that has ever happened to me."
"You really believe that? Just because it forces you to hook up with people?"
"It is so much more than that! I have never felt more alive. We should talk about this more in person. Can I buy you dinner tomorrow night?"
Annabelle looks back at Riley again, and then down at her own naked body. Despite how long it has been, she can't deny how much she enjoyed that night they spent together. Despite her hesitation, she responds, "Okay. I'll let you know when I'm free."
She sets her phone down and finishes getting dressed in her work uniform. She heads out the front door to leave and sends Riley a text telling her she left for work.
Annabelle arrives at work at the office where she sells tech over the phone. She sits at her desk for some time, mindlessly doing her work. But as the clock hits 10am, more of the higher paid employees start to come in. One of them is the man that got Annabelle the job in the first place- her brother, Michael. He walks in with a few of the other men, and gives her a smile as he passes by her desk. As he walks by, Annabelle's eyes can't help but notice his tight dress shirt hugging his muscles. As she realizes the way she looked at him, she shakes her head to get the thoughts out of her mind. This app is really messing with her.