Page 8 of Blood Money
About thirty minutes later, I left the gas station and headed back to the pump. I was relieved to see the guy was gone. Still, I rushed to fill up and get back on the road.
Back in my car, I locked the doors and opened my bottle of water. With a deep breath, I turned the key and started to pull out. Something caught my eye, and I glanced toward the side of the building as I passed. I gasped when my eyes locked with the same man’s stare, and I hit the gas and peeled out of the parking lot. I couldn’t be sure because I was trying to pay attention to the road and merge back onto the highway, but it looked like he pulled out when I did.
It was likely my overactive imagination, but I started to freak out. It was hard to breathe, and my hands were sweating and shaking. Another glance in my rearview mirror didn’t show the darker gray car following me. Then I laughed out loud.
“This is ridiculous!” I told myself before I took a deep cleansing breath and slowly let it out. “And you’re talking to yourself,” I muttered.
Needing to talk to someone, I called my friend Jackie.
“Hey, girl. How’s your grandma?” she asked the second she answered.
“She sounds like she’s doing okay, but it’s hard to say without being there and assessing the situation, you know?”
“Yeah, I get it. But did she say what the doctors told her this morning?”
“She hadn’t seen the doctor yet when I left.” I sighed as I changed lanes to get around a truck pulling a trailer with lawn equipment.
“Well, I wish her the best of luck. This has to be hard for all of you.”
“I’m just so worried about her. Then the thought of running into you-know-who is enough to make me lose what’s left of my sanity.”
“I know you hate going back there, and I wish you’d just taken the train. You’re probably going to get stuck in that shitty traffic there,” Jackie mentioned, not helping my goddamn anxiety get any better. She and I met in preschool, and we’d been friends ever since. She was the only one who knew everything—not even my parents did.
“Gee, thanks for the pep talk,” I said as I checked my rearview mirror again.
“Sorry.” Her wince was practically evident through the phone.
We talked for a few more minutes, and then I let her go.
By the time I parked parallel to the back of Nonna’s bakery, I’d thought I’d seen the guy from the gas station no fewer than ten times.
Shaking off my paranoia, I dragged my shit out of the car and took it upstairs. The apartment seemed so empty without my nonna. Unable to stay there in the silence, I left my stuff, grabbed my wallet, and headed out toward the train. I sure as hell wasn’t driving to the hospital.
“Listen”—CollectiveSoul
Sixteen Years Old….
“Nonna! Everything is swept and cleaned up front! I’m running down to Walgreens!” I hollered into the back, where my grandmother was in the cooler putting away the last cake she had for the day. It was scheduled to be picked up first thing in the morning.
“Okay, but don’t you be talking to strangers!” she called back, and I rolled my eyes. She acted like I was five or something.
“I won’t!” I placated. Then I left through the front door, the bell jingling as it swung shut.
As I walked down the sidewalk, I took in all the hustle and bustle and smiled. Something about it sent a zing of excitement through me. A buzzing that wouldn’t quit seemed to drive me toward something I didn’t understand. Being in the city made me feelalive.
Right before I reached Walgreens, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I pulled it out and grinned when I saw it was a message from my friend Jackie. I kept my head down, thumbs flying over the keys as I replied. The automatic doors slid open, and the cool air conditioning hit me right before I slammed into someone.
My phone clattered to the ground, and I squeaked in surprise. At the same time as I crouched to pick it up, the person did the same, and we banged heads. “Ouch! I’m so sorry!” I apologized as I held my sore forehead.
“No, it was my fault too. You in a hurry?” the boy asked as he chuckled, but I was unable to answer.
My mouth went dry, and I almost drowned in the stormy blue of his eyes. I was barely aware of his cute little smirk as he held out my phone. Blinking slowly, I swallowed hard. He was absolutely gorgeous. Dark brown hair that was a bit too long on top and flopped over one dark eyebrow. He had a couple of tiny freckles on the side of his bottom lip, and it was either them or the way it was a bit fuller than the top one that held me transfixed.
He cleared his throat, and it shook me out of my stupefied stare.
“Huh?”
“Your phone?” He cocked the visible brow, and my face heated. There was no way he didn’t notice the effect he had on me.