That Magnetic Pull

That Magnetic Pull - Ch. 13 - "Come Home"

New chapter. Sorry for the slightly lengthy lack of one.

A little note (You can skip this part if you don't want any [semi] spoilers): This chapter focuses on the sentence, "From dropping everything I once knew in a second and following my heart to jumping the gun and giving him the first answer that crossed my mind," which is a part of the prologue.

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That Magnetic Pull - Chapter 13 - "Come Home"

Patrick whined and grumbled as he, Shelly, and I walked through my office building's lobby. I had gotten Mrs. DeMarrian to grant Shelly a half-day like me after using my birthday as an excuse. I tugged on his arm once we stepped out of the main, glass doors successfully gaining his attention. His head tilted down to look at me, a slight pout on his lips.

"Pat, I'm sorry," I said, regretfully. "I know I told you that we'd get to spend the rest of the day together after work, but I did get Shelly into this and now I have to help her out. I promise I'll try and get back home as soon as possible."

I grabbed my house keys out of my purse and handed them to Patrick. He still had an incredibly disappointed look on his face and it absolutely made my heart wrench.

"Pat," I whined, dragging out the word. "I really am sorry."

"If you're so sorry, then don't go and come back to your condo with me," he said.

Shelly shook her head and stood strong on her demand. "Absolutely not, Patrick," she stated. "Because of your girlfriend, I have to be some guy's date to some function that will probably be filled with important people that I don't know. Should I point out the fact that I don't even know this guy?! He could be a serial killer, for all I know."

I turned and stared at Shelly skeptically. "Do you really believe that I would ask you to be a serial killer's date? Or that I actually hang out with a serial killer?" I asked, questioning her trust in my personal judgment of people.

"Well...of course not, Lynn," she backtracked. "I'm just pointing out that I don't know this guy at all and, adding the fact that even you haven't known him for very long, there's still a chance he might turn out to be something we didn't expect."

I shrugged and considered her point.

"Anyway, back to the subject at hand," I said, facing Patrick once again, "I'll be back as soon as I can and we still have the rest of the weekend to be together, Pat. I'll be right next to you sooner than you think."

He grumbled some more before finally agreeing to the plan. I kissed his cheek one last time as his car pulled up and the valet handed him the keys. He waved at me before driving off. Soon, Shelly and I got in her car and headed off to the nearest mall. I had found it impractical to rent a car here in Chicago when I first arrived and chose to travel by public transportation instead, hence my lack of a private vehicle.

Once we arrived, we ate lunch before immediately beginning the search for the perfect dress. Shelly and I had vastly varying senses in style and she quickly learned that mine would be much more preferable for the night. She always opted for comfort when it came to clothes, often overlooking style. That's not to say that she was completely uncoordinated when it came to how she dressed though, she just didn't put much effort in making an outfit outstanding. When it came down to it, plains were her preference along with looseness. She dressed perfectly fine, but that was it--it was always just fine.

I, on the other hand, loved comfort just like her, but if it really didn't seem like something I would love to be seen wearing, I didn't buy it. Despite how comfortable a piece of clothing may be, I appreciated excellence in how well it looked and, also, how well it looked on me. I loved patterned, printed, and solid clothing all the same, but I was picky when it came to the exact style and design.

"Okay," I breathed out when we stepped into the huge building. "Tell me what you're not comfortable in. I find that it helps better to know what NOT to look for than to ask for what you actually like."

"Uh, I don't like overly revealing clothing. That's about it. It cannot be too short and I absolutely will not tolerate plunging necklines," Shelly said in disgust.

"I wasn't going to dress you anywhere near something like that, Shel," I said with a laugh. "I meant are you okay with sleeveless or strapless dresses?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I'm fine with anything as long as it doesn't make me look like something easy to take advantage off."

I laughed and shook my head at her choice of words before we set off to find the dress. It seemed like it didn't even take that long to find the perfect one. I'd be willing to bet that we hadn't even stepped into more than 7 stores when we found the right one. The dress seemed to be a mix of both of Shelly's and my own sense of style. It was solid colored, peach, and cocktail-length, the hem reaching halfway up her thigh. The upper part of the dresses hugged Shelly's figure up until her waist, from where it began to flow down her hips in pleats. Thick halter straps, matching the satin material of which the dress was composed of, held the dress up.

I smiled as soon as she stepped out the dressing room and deemed it the one. Shelly grinned excitedly at the sight of herself reflected against the mirror and stepped back into the narrow stall to change out of it, ready to make the purchase. We stood in front of the cashier counter, next in line, when my phone began ringing and vibrating from within my bag. I rummaged through the small purse before pulling it out and answering the call.

"Patrick?" I asked as I accepted the call.

"Analynn," he gasped, seemingly out of breath. His breathing was heavy and there was a light buzzing sound coming from his end.

"Pat? Is there something wrong?" I asked. Worry was starting to come over me as he took a while to reply.

"Lynn, come home now," he demanded in a whisper, each breath he took still loud and heavy.

"What happened?" I asked in panic, my eyes darting around me as if it would offer an answer.

At that same moment, Shelly was called to an available cashier and she looked at me in confusion and alarm.

"Come home, Lynn," he whispered shakily once more before the line went dead.

"Is there something wrong, Lynn?" Shelly asked.

I followed her blindly to where she was called to make her purchase, not quite seeing what was in front of me.

"I don't know," I finally stuttered out.

I shoved my phone into my purse as horrible thoughts began rushing through my head. Thoughts that were plagued with danger, uncertainty, and fear were filling my head and I didn't know what to do.

"I gotta go, Shel. Patrick called and I think there might be something seriously wrong," I said with a quivering voice. "I have to get home right now."

"Okay," she said slowly, still unsure of what was happening. "Do you want to borrow my car?"

I shook my head fiercely, my head still spinning with all the possibilities of what was happening to him.

"I'm gonna take a cab," I replied, already pulling away from the spot I once stood.

"Be safe, Analynn," Shelly called after me as I turned and hurriedly jogged out of the store and, ultimately, the whole mall.

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A/N:

As I wrote this one, it turned out to be pretty lengthy so I divided it at an appropriate point. That means that I have a succeeding chapter already written out and ready to go [:

I'll post it later or tomorrow, depending on what time zone you're in ;D