“Could you grab the cream? That Frappuccino needs some whip then it’s ready to go.” My coworker, Cosmo, pointed to the cold coffee on the counter.
“Sure.” I replied and grabbed the silver can of whipped cream. After shaking it up a few times, I flipped it upside down, prepared to make the neatest topping for a perfect coffee. 42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkdKrZlicy
“Hey! Where the hell is my coffee?!” I heard a man screech behind me. His shockingly high pitched voice made me jump, forcing me to press out the whipped cream too hard. The delicious white cloud that was supposed to be neatly placed on the coffee expelled like a rocket, shooting out of my hands. The coffee below it exploded with the cream striking into it. It splashed all over my uniform and spilled on my face. The can that escaped from my grasp flew over the counter, hitting the man that yelled so loudly. The customers around me gasped and a sudden silence followed. I shivered beneath the cold icy drink, but it wasn’t out of its freezing temperature, it was out of fear. I quickly turned around to apologize, but the man was already fuming.
“How dare you! I otta sue you for endangering a loyal customer!” His whole face had turned a dark shade of red.
“I-I’m so sorry sir, it was a complete accident, I can make you a new coffee for free.”
“Why would I want you to make my coffee! You already tried to kill me!”
My manager then pulled me away from the man, “Go to the back, I’ll take care of it.”
I was fired that day, the man demanded it or else he’d sue the company. So in order to avoid the mess, they let me go.
“I’m home!” I yelled when I opened the door to my apartment that night. I had decided I needed to get my mind off of the upsetting truth of being unemployed, so I went to the store and grabbed a bottle of wine and a few sweet treats.
The space was quiet, no one answering my call. I stumbled through the door with my hands full of my coat and bag. As I leaned on the door it slammed shut behind me. With a sigh I tossed my keys into a bowl of coins and dropped everything on the kitchen table. When I walked to my room I yanked the coffee stained apron off of me and tossed it in the hamper.
“Guess I won’t be needing that anymore.” I said with a melancholy laugh and walked into my bathroom. When I saw myself in the mirror, I let out a gasp. My makeup had melted off my face with the coffee, I tried my best to clean myself up but spots of mascara were still visible around my eyes. My pastel pink shirt was completely ruined by the brown coffee. I had redone my pony-tail a couple of times that day, mostly to ring out the coffee and so it wouldn’t look like a bird decided to nest in it. It took a while to pull the hair tie out of the tangled mess and I took an even longer time in the shower. When I finished, some stress had soothed off my shoulders. At least I was clean and in comfy clothes.
I got to the kitchen and opened a chocolate pastry then poured myself a glass of red wine. Nearby the home phone started ringing. I put the constant notification in the back of my mind as I sat on the couch. Nobody ever answered the home phone. After a few more rings the call went to voicemail.
“Hey, this is Wynter.” I heard myself say.
“And Penelope!” My roommate shouted. Laughter followed for a few seconds before my voice picked up again.
“Sorry we missed your call, leave a message and we’ll give you a call back.”
“Unless your name is Jeff Bezos, if so, go fuck yourself!”
“Penny!”
“What? That guy is the absolute worst and you agree with me.”
“Sure but why would Jeff Bezos ever call us?”
“You’ll never know, Wynter, you’ll never know.”
Silence followed for a few more seconds and we both bursted into laughter.
“Leave a message!” We both then said in unison and the machine beeped.
“Hey girl, I’m not gonna be home tonight, I went out drinking and won’t be able to drive home. Or rather these asshats won’t let me.”
I smiled and rolled my eyes as I ate the last bit of my snack. However, my smile faded at the following words.
“Who are you calling? Your friend?” A male’s voice chimed in.
“Oh you mean the hot one?! Dude that chick is hella sexy. Penny, hook a guy up!” Another said.
“Can you two shut up, go touch grass you drunk whores,” Penny laughed, “Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow, have a good night!”
The machine stopped and silence followed. I leaned back on the couch, I never truly minded her roommate’s friends, I was fond of how sweet they were to Penny. It was just the constant flirtatious attitude they had around me. It didn’t make me feel uncomfortable, they were just too immature for my liking. I threw away my trash and went to my room. I loved being in my room. As much as I love being with my roommate, my room was my own sanctuary. It had a decent sized bed with comfy covers, a tv with my console, and a desk decorated with tiny figurines and my laptop.
I spent most of my time on my laptop. Art had always been a hobby that I thoroughly enjoyed, something about dragging a pencil on paper seemed so soothing. And the fantastic feeling of looking back at your art when it’s done, the beauty of saying “I made that.”
I started doing digital art about a year ago when I got a sketch pad that connected to my laptop for my birthday. It was the greatest gift that I’ve ever gotten and I’ve cherished it ever since. Lately, however, I haven’t been using it. Instead, I’ve been searching for jobs. I never planned to stay at that coffee shop for long, but I wanted to wait till I found another job to quit. Now that I've been “let go,” I needed to pick up the pace.
I sat down at my desk and reached for my laptop when—
Footsteps, right behind me. They were subtle, but there, getting closer and closer. My first thought was to run, get out of my room, no, get out of my apartment and call the cops. My second was to fight back, but if they had a weapon I would have no chance. I froze, the exact option I wanted to avoid. I was almost ready to accept my fate when I heard footsteps redirect towards the door…
Right then I knew this wasn’t just a break in, it was a surprise visit. The room darkened and the moon lit up the room from the open window. The breeze felt nice as it entered the room, it masked the sounds of the carpet as the footsteps approached once more. This wasn’t the first time he sneaked into my room at night and I doubt it would be his last.
“Kade.” I whispered.
His footsteps stopped, “M’lady,” he replied, a smile in his tone. I turned to face him.
It’s been six months since his last visit, he hasn’t changed much. He always wore the same color coded outfit. A black long sleeve shirt with a shoulder gun holster (it never held a gun though, it made me wonder if he just wore it to look cool), black cargo pants, and the same boots. The only difference was… his fairly long black hair that had been pulled back into a clip and the very attractive set of mustache and beard that he finally grew out. I mean, damn, I knew he’d look so much better like that.
“Wynter, am I going to get a hello or are you just going to keep gawking at me.”
Shit.
“Shoes off the carpet, asshole. We’ve talked about this” I groan, jerking my head away from him.
“Wow, what a great way to greet me.” He laughs, though he obeys and removes his boots. I hear him walk away and plop on my bed, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it. Did you miss me?”
“Not at all, I actually enjoyed being by my lonesome.”
He lets out a deep laugh, “I highly doubt that, you never liked being alone.”
“Just because I’m without you doesn’t mean I’m lonely, Kade.” I stood and crossed my arms, facing him once more. He sat up on the bed and stared for a moment. Even in the moonlight we were both very visible to each other. I saw his eyes wonder about me, his face slowly revealing bits of contentment. When he reached my eyes again it all faded away and he rose from the bed.
“Well, you know, I missed you.” He said as he walked closer.
I took a step back, “I’m not surprised, people love me.” I fired back.
He smiled, shaking his head, “Who wouldn’t love you, darling.”
“I have a name,” I glared, but it didn’t last. I took another step back, then another until my thighs hit the desk behind me. He stopped when his face was centimeters away from mine. He didn’t let his gaze falter from mine, “don’t pretend you don’t like me calling you nicknames, I know you love it.”
I turned my head away from him, “In your dreams,” I muttered
“Wynter.”
He lifted my chin and forced me to look up at him. His eyes floated from mine to the lips below them. My heart skipped a beat and I was frozen once again. He’s never failed to have this effect on me, from the night we met to this exact moment, he’s always filled my stomach with fluttering butterflies. But it’s these moments that I should have learned from instead of gaping over. With every dreaming minute came a retraction, as if he realized I was some kind of evil Incubus reeling him away from the world.
His eyes moved up again. Pursing my lips and furrowing my brows, I pleaded silently, trying to convince him that this is what he wants. But then he blinked and inhaled, his eyes moved from my face completely and he let me go. I watched him back away from me and clear his throat, “have you eaten yet.”
I squeezed my hand into a fist, I should have pushed forward, I should have called him out on his actions. But I didn’t, instead I shook my head, “not really, I just had a pastry.”
“A pastry for dinner, not very healthy of you, dear.”
“I had a long day Kade, give me some slack.” I rolled my eyes and walked past him out of my room. He followed and stopped at my door. I grabbed some sneakers and a cardigan and walked back. Kade was already outside my window on the apartment's fire escape stairs. I climbed out, thanking Penny for giving me those rock climbing tips.
There were no clouds out and the sky was full of glistening stars. It was warm and windy, it took a deep breath enjoying the smells of the city air.
“Are you ready? Let’s go, I'm starving.”
I turned to Kade, he looked even better underneath the night sky. I could actually see his fairly tan skin, “where are we going this time?”
“The best taco shop in the city, they have a new item on the menu that I’ve been dying to try.”
I smiled, “Sounds good, lead the way.”
We climbed up to the roof and ran to the edge, then hopped off the roof onto the next building. Even though Kade was much faster, he always stayed close, making sure that I made it each time. It was like he was my personal trainer, every time I made it he encouraged me to keep going.
“We’re almost there, just a few more buildings, you can do it!” He then yelled.
“Yeah!” I cheered.
We landed on the next building and ran to the edge. I watched him jump and land, then he turned around. His smile then caught my attention and I slipped on my jump. His smile then dissipated into fear as he ran to grab me. I reached as far as I could and was able to grasp the edge and cling to the wall.
“Goodness, babe, you’re slacking a bit.” He laughed and helped me up, “you alright?”
I lied on the roof out of breath for a moment, holding my chest to try and calm my beating heart.
Kade put his hands on his hips, “Maybe that pastry wasn’t a good idea, don’t you think?”
“Shut up.” I grunted as he pulled me to my feet.
When we got there, he told me to wait on the roof. A silent rule I followed on these trips. He would get the food while I waited patiently for him to return. He climbed down the ladder in the back of the building and went inside. I sat on the edge of the roof, dangling my feet off the side. I guessed that it had been more than fifteen minutes since he left, it made me wonder what was taking so long this time. Thoughts then started to pop into my head, there must be just a long line, maybe something happened in the kitchen, what if he got in trouble with someone. No no, they’re just busy, unless there was an accident. A few more minutes later, I started to get up from my spot when I heard him climb the ladder.
“Sorry it took so long, they were pretty busy.” He sighed as he climbed over the tiny wall, “I hope you’re hungry,” he then smiled and waved the bag.
Five tacos and one bottle of water later we were lying on the cement, staring at the night sky. We were both silent, listening to the wind and the rushing cars below. The silence ceased, however, when Kade’s voice cut through the sounds.
“If you could be anywhere in the world, I mean anywhere, where would you go?” He asked.
I thought for a moment, “my room, it’s my home, it’s my space. It’s where I can relax and unwind. It’s where all my creative ideas bloom in my head.”
“You do love your room.” He laughed.
“At least we can agree on something.” I laughed with him, “What about you, where would you go?”
“Here.” He said quickly.
“Here? Pretty boring if you ask me.”
“Not just here,” he chuckled and sat up, “here, in this moment, with you.”
I blinked and sat up with him. He didn’t look at me, he just kept staring at the horizon. Although his face seemed completely normal, his body was the complete opposite. His hands were clenched into a fist as they held him up and his shoulders were tense. He looked nervous, he was always this way when he said that sort of comment. No bravado to back up his words. It confused me.
“Kade…” I started but he was already on his feet.
“It’s getting late, we should head back. I bet you’d love to get back to your heavenly space.” He started to walk away until I grabbed his hand.
He almost yelped and stumbled back, “hey, what’s wrong?”
“I—” My voice cut, suddenly becoming tongue tied. The words in my head failed to follow through my voice, it started to disappear all together. I refused to look at him, I couldn’t, I could feel my cheeks heating up and my heart rate quickened. Just say something you idiot, you’re making yourself look stupid!
“Wynter? Are you alright?” His voice entered my thoughts. I collected the scattered notions and stuffed them into a mental bag in my brain, then sighed.
“Y-yes, I’m just tired,” I lied and let go of his hand, “It’s been a very long day.”
Kade smiled, “I understand, let’s get you to bed.”
By the time we made it back to my room, I was completely drained. My legs felt like they were going to break while my arms felt like noodles. Kade was unusually quiet the whole way, the only sounds he ever made were grunts from jumping and landing. Not only was he quiet, but distant too. He only looked at me to make sure I landed.
He helped me through my window and he kept hold of his hand before I could let go.
“I’m going to be gone again for a while, I’m not sure when I’ll be back to visit.” He suddenly said with such sorrow.
“Where are you going?” I pushed, “In fact, where do you go? What keeps you so busy?”
His sadness turned into a smirk on his lips, “aw, are you worried for me?”
“Yes.” I quickly answered.
His smile faded into surprise, what he said was a joke and I knew it, but I needed to push more. I wanted answers. My expression pleaded once more, begging him to tell me something. Even if it was something worthless, I needed to know more about him, I longed for it.
Kade sighed and shook his head, “you know I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“It’s dangerous information.”
“That’s cliché and you know it.”
“Even so, I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Getting hurt from what? It can’t be that serious.”
“Hun—”
“No, I’m tired of being in the dark with you, I need to know who you really are.”
“Wynter—”
“What are you hiding from me?!”
“Wynter! Enough!”
My body jumped back and I held my gaze. It was the first time he ever raised his voice at me. It was the first time I ever heard him raise his voice at all. He had turned from calm to angry in a split second. His glare sent shivers down my spine, as if he was the predator waiting to pounce on his prey.
Once he realized what he had done, he sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Look I care about you ok, more than you know. I’m just asking you to please let it go.”
Kade has always been so carefree, seeming so oblivious to the world around him when we were together. No matter how serious I was with him, it never seemed to affect his behavior. It was one of the reasons I liked him so much, he pulled me away from the boring life I lived in. He pulled me away from my lonesome. But now, all of the sudden he’s acting tough. Acting like he really cared. I knew what I was to him, just some girl who fell for his devious scheme. One who decided to play the game. It was my fault for letting him into my life in the first place, and that’s what pissed me off the most. Everything up to this moment was my fault.
“Leave.” I muttered with such anger I could have punched a hole in my wall.
“What?”
“I said, leave!” I then yelled.
“Babe, I can’t leave you like this.”
“Just shut up and go already!” I yelled again, only this time I picked up one of my art books and threw it at him. Of course, he dodged it with little effort.
“Wynter…”
“Just go,” I then started to sob, “I don’t ever want to see your ignorant face again.”
He took in a breath and shut the window, then the mystery man ran into the night.
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“I can’t believe he fired you, I mean, he knew it was an accident. He should have given you a chance, right?” Cosmo said, taking a sip of his green tea.
We sat outside of a local tea room, a place Cosmo and I frequent to chat. Most of our conversations consisted of useless drama, but we loved to entertain ourselves by gossiping about other people.
“Yeah,” I sighed, mixing honey into my chamomile tea.
“Wynter, you don’t sound like yourself, are you ok?”
No, I wasn’t. It’s been a week since the argument I had with Kade. It was natural for us to fight, but he always came back, no matter how much I pushed him away. But for some reason I felt terrible. I tried to tell myself I was in the right, but I didn’t feel that way.
“I’m fine, there’s just a lot on my mind right now.” I replied, taking a sip of my tea. It was warm and soothed my aching nerves.
“Tell me all about it, hon, I’m all ears.”
I set my tea cup down, “have you ever said something you regret to a person?”
“Not often, I never care since most people deserve it. Wait, is this a guy dilemma?”
I hesitated, “Something like that.”
Cosmo squealed, “oh my god, praise the universe. Ice cold Wynter found a man!”
“Cosmo, focus,” I murmured, looking around us, “and keep it down will you.”
“Sorry, sorry, I’m just so happy for you. I can finally talk about my relationship problems without feeling bad.”
“Cosmo!”
“Ok ok, people get in fights all the time. You just need to sit down with each other and talk about how you feel. I know you’re stubborn but give yourself a chance to listen to others. It's better to solve the problem together than try to fix it your way.”
“I’m not that stubborn.” I muttered, taking another sip.
“Girl, you can’t even talk,” He laughed.
After we left, Cosmo wanted to see a movie. Since I was unemployed at the moment, I had nothing else better to do, so I joined him. We had three choices, a chilling horror movie about a silly looking clown, a sappy enemies to lovers story, or an action packed adventure about a bounty hunter. It was an obvious choice, Cosmo doesn’t do horror and the bounty hunter wasn’t really that good looking. (According to Cosmo.) So enemies to lovers it was. We purchased tons of snacks and a big bucket of popcorn and sat down. Throughout the movie, I couldn’t get my mind off of Kade. Everything that happened just kept popping up in my head. At some point, the movie caught my attention. It was the fight scene between the two love interests. Constant insults were thrown at each other back to back. Neither one of them faltered. It reminded me of the way Kade and I argue. Except he would never insult me, instead he’d turn everything into a joke. Then the girl fell to her knees and cried. Her feelings poured out from her heart into a confession, she told him how much she really loved him. Our relationship never had that, nothing ever changed between us. Kade would always set up the stage with all of his actors, but the main character would never appear.
The guy accepted her confession and the two embraced each other. The crowd awed at their affection, then a sudden gasp as the girl stopped breathing. She was rushed to the hospital and was diagnosed with an unhealable sickness. Everyone in the room let out another gasp, what a twist to the movie. The guy spent the last few days with the girl in the hospital until she passed away. I heard a sniffle beside me and saw Cosmo tearing up.
“Shut up.” He whispered, wiping his tears.
After the movie, I drove Cosmo’s bawling ass home. It surprised me how many people were truly moved by it.
“T-that was the s-saddest movie ever!” Cosmo cried.
“Oh come on, it wasn’t that sad. Also the twist was pretty expected.” I replied.
“Don’t ‘oh come on’ me! You were barely paying attention to the first parts. I saw you yawn twice!”
“What can I say, it was pretty boring.”
Cosmo gasped, “Oh it’s boring huh, is it as boring as your love life?”
“You take that back!”
“Never!”
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I got home around eleven thirty that night and saw Penny watching tv on the couch. Well, more like it was watching her, she was glued to her phone. She looked up for a second and smiled, “Hey roomie, how was your day?”
“Exhausting,” I replied, dragging myself to the kitchen, “how was your’s.”
“Oh ya know, same ol’ stuff. The kids get loud and I have to calm them down.”
I yawned and grabbed water from the fridge. Penny was a substitute for a high school around our area. She always loved working with kids, the only problem is, she was just a sub. If there’s no absent teachers, she’s as unemployed as me.
I chug half of the water and let out a big sigh, “god I needed that.” I said to myself.
“Oh by the way, I’m going out with the boys tonight, I won’t be back till tomorrow.”
“It’s pretty late, don’t you think?”
“Yeah but Jasper’s birthday was yesterday and we decided to celebrate it tonight. You can come if you’d like, I’m sure they’d love to have you.”
“Oh I’m sure.” I groaned, “thanks but no thanks Penny, I’ve already got a sleepover with my bed tonight.”
“Suit yourself, Wynter, have a good night.”
I went to my room and shut my door, partly hoping Kade would be there waiting, but he wasn’t. It was just me and my dark room. I told myself I was too exhausted anyways and changed into pajama shorts and a t-shirt. As soon as my head hit the pillow, my consciousness drifted away.
It was two in the morning when I suddenly woke up with a sweat. It took a moment to gather my surroundings when I felt like I was suffocating. I had sunken lower into my bed while I was sleeping and the blankets covered me to my neck. Confused, I tried to push them off until I felt something else above me. A figure sat over me, pushing the air out of my lungs. Fear struck my head as they stared at me. I tried to move, but my body was stuck. That’s when they covered my face with my own pillow. It became pitch black and I began to suffocate.
I opened my mouth to scream, but every breath I tried to take was for nothing. The pillow pushed down harder and I began to cry, afraid of my end.
Then the pillow yanked off and I quickly sat up. My breath was uneven, sharply taking oxygen into my lungs and shooting it out. I looked around and saw my blankets and pillows pushed to the floor. I had kicked them off while I was dreaming. I held my chest to keep my heart from beating itself out. It all felt so real, as if my death was just seconds away.
Once I had calmed down, I started to pick my mess up. I laughed wondering how I managed to throw a pillow across the room when I saw a shadow next to it. Not a shadow, a figure, standing in the corner of my room. I took a step back and in a split second they jumped towards me. Grabbing my wrist, they pulled me towards them and planted their fist into my stomach. I grunted, feeling the wind escape my body.
They then grabbed my shoulders and threw me to the wall. I tried to scream, but I was cut short when their hands wrapped my throat. My hands grabbed their wrists, trying their hardest to pull them away. But, they kept their grip, squeezing my neck tighter and tighter. My heart quickened, I could hear it beating loudly in my ears. Hot tears flooded my eyes as they began to blur. I could feel myself slipping, slowly losing consciousness. Falling away from life.
It was when something crashed into my window, shattering glass everywhere, a loud bang and the flash of light pulled my mind back to my body. The being in front of me collapsed to the ground and I followed after. Gasping, I held my throat in a coughing fit. A constant ringing played in my head, drowning out the sounds around me. Including the footsteps that rushed towards me.
“Wynter…” I heard his voice faintly. A hand reached my arm and I thrashed against it. Screaming, I backed into the wall, swatting the air as if I was trying to kill a bug.
“Wynter, it’s me, Kade. I’m here, you are safe.” I heard him clearer. I peaked at him, he stayed at a distance with his hand reaching for me. My eyes adjusted and I was able to see him in the moonlight. His familiar face showered relief over my body, causing my eyes to water.
“Kade, what’s going on? Who was that?” I asked rapidly. The words slurring together, “are they dead?” I then asked as I tried to look down at the body, but Kade held my head to keep my gaze.
“Wynter, I know you’re scared, and you have so many questions, but right now we need to leave.”
Taking in sharp breaths I stared into his eyes, they glared at me with such intensity. He was so serious with his words, so assertive, so different. He was so different. Before I could speak another word, movement behind him caught my attention.
“Kade!” I screamed. He quickly turned, pointing the gun in their direction, but he was too late. The gun shot rang and he grunted, kneeling to the ground.
Suddenly, the sharp glass cracked and I looked to see two people hop into my room. Both of them dressed in all black with what looked like biker helmets. Heaving, Kade grunted again, this time he fell forward and onto the floor.
“Oh god,” I panicked and rushed to his side, “Kade, Kade wake up!” I shook his body and noticed the large dark stain on his side. I gasped, realizing that he was hurt before he even entered my room.
With a moment of hesitation, I snatched the gun from Kade. I held it to the ground as if it was a mighty sword. My body quaked with the weapon in my grasp, but I couldn’t falter. I had no choice, this time my life was on the line.
“W-who are you people, what do you want?” I questioned with the strongest voice I could manage. They didn’t answer, instead they stepped back, allowing one more person into my bedroom. They were much smaller than the other two, but somehow seemed more intimidating.
“Answer my question, what do you want!” I yelled.
Once again they didn’t reply, instead, the smaller being in front eyed me. They looked me up and down before observing the person behind me.
Then, a chilling sound came from them, it was an altered low pitch female laugh, “Hiding behind another one of your puppies again, Brian? Tsk tsk, you know that’s not how we play.”
Her voice lingered around in my head, it was so calming. So soothing in fact, it sent a hard cold shiver down my spine.
“What do you want with him?” I asked, gripping the gun so hard it made my knuckles turn white.
Her gaze then turned to me and hesitated, “That’s not of your business, young lady,” she said, shaking her head, “just hand that arrogant rat to us and we’ll let you get back to your painfully boring life.”
“Excuse me?”
“Now now, don’t make this difficult—.”
“No,” anger boiled inside of me and I took a step forward, “You’re not just going to barge into my home, insult me, and expect me to hand over this man’s life and get away with it. No no no, what you’re going to do is kindly get the fuck out of my room before I call the goddamn police! I expect you’re from some kind of underground mafia and getting mixed up with the cops wouldn’t be the best, now would it.”
I saw her hand clench into a fist as one of the guys stepped forward to attack, but she stopped him, “let them go.” She growled.
“But, ma’am—” The other guy started.
“Trust me, they won’t get far. Besides, a new player has entered the game, I’d like to see how intelligent she really is.”
We held each other's sights for a few seconds longer until they hopped back out the window, into the night. I fell to my knees and dropped the weapon, my body shaken to the bitter core and I hugged myself tightly.
Kade let out another grunt behind me as he tried to move. "W-Wynter..."
I shook my head at him, "you have a lot of explaining to do mister."
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My body was in a constant motion with my shoulders tensed up to my neck. I gripped the steering wheel as firetrucks and police cars flew past us. I knew where they were going, someone must have called about the noise.
“Kade, you gotta help me out here.” I groaned as I slipped his arm around my shoulder and tried to lift him. He does what he can to stand and we limp out of my bedroom. I snatch the keys from the bowl and we walk out of the room. We are both quiet on the way down to the garage, except for the grunts Kade lets out every now and then. I bit my lip, I had the gun tucked into my shorts and uncomfortably pressed onto my lower back. Sharp pain stabbed me with each stair, but I couldn’t afford to drop Kade or have the gun visibly on his holster, so I worked through the pain. Thankfully we managed to avoid the nosy neighbors, just barely.
“W-Wynter, take me to the taco shop.” Kade grunts in the passenger seat
“Are you insane, you need a doctor.”
“Just trust me, please.”
“Why should I trust you? I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
He sighs, “I know, I know. Just please help me one last time, and you’ll never have to see me again.”
I groaned and hit the steering wheel, “fuck, fine!” I say and turn into a street and head to the restaurant. Kade directed me to a back alley and I parked behind the building. I got out and walked to the other side of the car and caught Kade before he collapsed. Limping, we reached the back door and Kade banged three times. A few achingly long seconds pass before the door swings open, “yeah, whatchu want?!” a man with tan skin and a cap suddenly stopped at the sight of us. His annoyed look then turned into amusement as he laughed, “damn chico, must have been real desperate if you got a chula carrying your ass!”
“Rey,” Kade said, then he paused to let out a cough. His stomach heaved and all his weight suddenly fell on me. Rey quickly grabbed his arm before he collapsed and slid himself underneath it. We carried him inside to the stockroom and dropped him on a chair. I backed up to the wall constantly reminding myself to calm down. Rey kneeled down and removed Kade’s jacket, when he lifted his shirt a dark purple bruise showed on his side.
“Mierda,” Rey muttered, shaking his head, “they really got you this time.”
Kade groaned, “Where’s Margarita?”
“Not here, she hasn’t come down since the incident.” Rey stood up and his attention switched to me. My body tensed against his gaze, yet I tried to look as unfazed as possible.
“And who’s this? Another one of your chicas?”
I pursed my lips together, another one?
“Wynter…she has nothing to do with this.” Kade replied, another cough leaping into his throat.
Rey laughed and shook his head, “a little too late to be saying that now.”
Kade sighed and leaned his head back, his hand over his stomach, “I had to…she’s…” his voice slurred as his eyes rolled to the ceiling and he started to fall forward. I lunged to catch him and lean him back in the chair, his eyes fluttered closed and his head fell forward.
“Kade? Kade wake up!” I shook him, “Shit, he’s dying, we have to help him.”
Rey barked a sarcastic laugh, “We? What do you mean we? It’s not my fault that he’s hurt like this.”
“Does it matter? Isn’t he your friend?!”
Rey gripped my arm and pulled me closer to him, his face obscured with anger, “you don’t understand, muchacha, that is how you got yourself into this situation. You put trust in someone like him and now your life will never be the same. There is no such thing as friends in a world like this, I give him what he asks and he pays me what he owes, that’s it.”
His hand squeezes my arm tighter, it starts to numb when I reach for the gun behind me.
“For a man that calls himself a king, he really doesn’t know how to treat his subjects,” I quickly pull out the gun and push it up below his chin, “fine, we can do this your way, help him or I blow your fucking brains out. You choose.”
A smirk widened on his face and his grip loosened. Then he raises his hands, “ah, I get it, Kade always preferred the feisty ones.” He backed away, keeping his hands over his head, “do you even know how to use that thing?”
I gritted my teeth, “doesn’t matter, one way or another, you’ll be dead.”
“Right, because a gun will definitely fire with the safety on.” He lunged at me, snatching the gun out of my hands, “I’d advise you to know what you're doing before you threaten someone, chica.”
“That’s the problem, I don’t know what I’m doing!” I yelled, “One night, I’m peacefully minding my own business in the comfort of my own home, and the next I’m defending myself and this…apparent stranger, with a weapon that I have no experience with!”
“Well then, we all know who’s fault that is, don’t we. Should have thought it through before you let a stranger into your home.” He then turned away, leaving me alone with Kade and my racing thoughts. I collapsed next to him and planted my head in my hands. Taking deep breaths, I forced myself not to cry. Everything that happened replayed in my head, all the mistakes I’ve made of trying to keep Kade, how vulnerable I have become. I thought of how much my mother taught me. How to never fall for tricks and traps of a man. To never lose sight of my goal. Everything she said went down the drain. And Penny, my roommate. How much she would have to deal with because of me, how confused and worried she would be.
Disappointment and shame raged over me and a few tears rolled out of my eyes. Rey’s footsteps stomped closer and I quickly wiped them away.
He took his apron and hat off, revealing his white button up shirt tucked into his black pants. His hair was smooth and shiny but flattened by the cap. He tossed a sack over his back and shut off the lights through the restaurant.
“Let’s get him up, we’ll take my car.” He said.
We stumbled outside and stuffed Kade into the back seat. I decided to sit with him, allowing his head to lie on my lap. I shook my head at his sleeping face and forced myself to look away. Rey started the car and exited the ally.
“You hungry?” He asked, looking at me through the rear view mirror.
“No.” I replied blankly.
“Good, it’ll be easier for you to settle.” He then reached into the glove box and pulled out something I couldn’t visualize, and put it over his mouth and nose. That’s when a strong scent of alcohol hit my nose.
“Hey, what are you doing?!” I yelled, trying to reach him.
“Cálmate chica, it’ll only be for a moment.”
Panic rushed through my body as my limbs became numb, my eyes blurred and my head swayed. Then my body fell back into the seat and everything went black.
When I woke up, I was in a cemented room lit with a lamp next to the bed I was lying in. A small pink dresser was across the tiny room, it was littered with trinkets, girly figures and a vanity mirror filled with photos of people. A carpet the same color of the dresser spread on the floor with dolls scattered above it. The bed itself was soft with a thick comforter layered over. Across the room was a doorway without its door, allowing others from the mystery world to my seeming safe environment.
I sat up with a pounding in my head. I held it, allowing the pain to die down. Then I stood up and caught myself in the mirror. My clothes had been removed and replaced with gray sweat shorts and a t-shirt. I became amazed at how well they fit, then a shiver went down my spine. Someone had taken off my clothes.
A step as silent as a whisper caught my attention and my eyes shot to the door. There a little girl with long, bright blond curly hair peeked in with a worn stuffed bunny held close to her chest. When my gaze landed on her, she jumped with a squeak and ran away. I followed, tentatively walking out of the room. The cement followed throughout the next room, a few steps leading down to a living room. Couches and chairs surrounded a coffee table with a fireplace behind it. Nearby, more doorways scattered the area, some with doors but most without. Stairs climbed near the living room, leading to a metal door that was covered over like a lid. Then a large bar with a long counter, a dish of cookies, and a woman with chocolate hair with a streak of silver, leaning over the counter.
“Mommy Mommy!” The little girl yelled excitedly, “the sleepy lady is awake!”
“Aye hija, I told you to stop bothering the sleepy lady.” The woman said, quickly moving from behind the counter to pick up the child. She wore a white tunic with a strapped corset belt over it, black plants and tall leather boots. Her hair was pulled back into a half ponytail with the rest of her hair falling down her shoulders. She resembled a pirate from some sort of movie, or an adventurer. Maybe a little bit of both.
The woman then acknowledged my presents, “I’m glad to see you awake, how are you feeling?”
“Who are you, where am I? Where is Kade?” I countered.
The woman stood baffled for a moment before sighing a soft chuckle, “feisty. I get it,” She said, putting down the girl, who stood close by curiously, “you’ve got lots of questions and I’ve got tons of answers. Take a seat and we’ll talk. Want a drink?” She asked, walking back behind the counter. The young girl followed, only standing close to the chairs
“No.” I answered quickly.
The woman smiled, “what, afraid I’m going to poison you?”
“Well gassing me to sleep isn’t so different.”
The woman sighed, “it was for your own good as well as ours.”
“Sure, because bringing me here to this mysterious place isn’t good enough.”
“Sorry but I don’t make the rules.”
“Then who does.”
“Take a seat and I’ll tell you.”
I pursed my lips while she grabbed a few glasses, “Ice?”
I replied with silence.
“No ice, got it.” She said and filled the glasses with a clear liquid from a tap. Then she set one on the counter. My eyes shot from the glass back to her and she rolled her eyes, “you saw me pour it, it’s just water. Now do you want to talk or not?”
I hesitated, then stomped over and took a chair.
“Great, now to answer your first questions,” she started, taking a sip of her water, “right now you are outside the city borders underneath my house. We call this place ‘home.” My name is Mariana, formally known as Margarita. That little bundle of joy is Eloise, she’s my daughter. I’m the owner of this bar and provider of food and shelter for this group.”
“Group? What group?” I ask.
“Bounty hunters, there are four others that stay here.”
For a moment it felt as if the wind was taken out of me, I leaned back in my seat and stared at the untouched glass. Bounty hunters. I had heard of them before, from articles and news networks. There were only a couple found in the city, but no one knows how many really lurk around. Penny even mentioned them a couple of times before. She said they were dangerous, they’d kill anyone just to get to their target: “The things people do for money,” She once said, “it's awful. Disgusting rats.”
Then here I was, sitting at a bar where they frequent.
“And Kade?” I muttered.
“He’s ok, he’s resting in his room. After you all arrived, the Captain treated his injuries. He should be as good as new in a couple of days.”
Wynter was silent for a moment, processing all the information she had just received. Confusion, anger, and fear danced around her head. Questions continued to pop in her head, who were the other people, why was she brought here, what’s going to happen to her. However, one question towered over them all.
“Who were those people?” She then asked, “the ones that tried to kill us.”
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