By Chance

Chapter 6

6.

I woke up sweating and breathing hard. My heart was beating fast and loud.

“Hey, what happened?” Candice’s concern made me think back. What exactly did happen? I looked down at my body and everything seemed normal. No gunshot wounds or anything.

“I had a dream.. a nightmare,” I said. My voice was shaky. “Paul was there and I was there and, and…” I was crying. I don’t know why but I was crying. “…and… I died.” Candice had her arms wrapped around me in a tight hug. She was saying things but I couldn’t hear them.

The one who killed me… It didn’t take that long for me to make the connection. His eyes were the same blue as the butterflies in my past dream and they were the same as Mr. Monroe’s. Was it just a coincidence? It seems like everyone’s popping into my dreams.

“Nina? Nina!” Candice was shaking me.

“What?” I asked. The tears already stopped from falling.

“Take a deep breath,” I did as she told.

“Okay. You’ve gotta get yourself together. Forget about that dream for a while. It’s not real. We’ve got a long day ahead,” she reminded me. I nodded. She must be really concerned; otherwise she would make me talk about it.

I took a long shower since I woke up early. The water felt good. It was comforting, not like the rain in my dream. No matter what I do, I can’t shake away from the dream. It felt so real. Was it more than just a dream? I got dressed and Candice and I walked out the door together. Upon reaching the café, I waved bye to Candice and went on my way.

Getting closer and closer to Monroe Advertising, I found it harder to breathe. I sat down in a stone bench in this park I’m passing. I clutched at my butterfly necklace from Paul. I never took it off since he gave it to me. I stared at the necklace, holding it up in front of me. I really wish Paul would come back soon.

“Are you going to sit there all day? It’s not good to be late on your first day of work,”

Just his voice gives me shivers. I know it’s Mr. Monroe but I can’t look at him. I don’t want to look at him. I stood up and started walking towards the building without saying anything. I can feel his eyes on me though. Breathe, Nina, breathe.

“Hey! Don’t I get a ‘good morning’?” I could hear his foot steps and he was catching up.

Wait, this is silly. The dream wasn’t real. Mr. Monroe wouldn’t hurt me or something, right? I felt a hand grip my wrist but I couldn’t turn around and face him. I can’t. I just can’t.

“Are you alright?” I couldn’t see his face but I can hear concern in his voice. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m fine,” I said. It would’ve been great if my voice wasn’t as shaky. He released my wrist only to place his hands on my shoulders and to make me face him. He looked concerned but when I saw his eyes I recalled how Paul looked in that dream. Mr. Monroe was pointing a gun at him and he shot me!

“Don’t touch me,” I said. I was surprised with the anger in my voice.

“What?” he asked even though it was obvious he heard me.

“I said, don’t touch me.” I watched his beautiful eyes as confusion set in. I pulled away from him and kept walking.

*****

So far, everything was fine once I entered the building. I greeted Alyssa and she introduced me to some of the people around. I didn’t see Mr. Monroe and I didn’t even know he was in the building until Alyssa called me.

“Nina, Mr. Dumoulin just arrived and you’ll be translating for him in a meeting with Mr. Monroe in thirty minutes.”

I gulped. I wasn’t excited to see Mr. Monroe again. I kept looking at the wall clock and it was like time won’t slow down for me. I stepped in and sat down quietly beside Mr. Dumoulin. I greeted him and he introduced me to his secretary. Both of them we’re actually very nice and I found myself relaxing. When Mr. Monroe went in, I stiffened a little but I managed to look at him.

“Okay, we can start.”

Throughout the meeting, Mr. Monroe completely ignored me. Well, he did listen when I’m translating but he never looked at me. No glances, no nothing. What bothered me was that I was the one looking his way. And the more I look at him I see who he really is. He’s cool and serious in his work. He looks so sure of himself. It feels like he exudes pride and power. Well, he does own the place so I guess that’s where it’s coming from. After an hour and a half, the meeting ended. They agreed on doing photo shoots for magazines and billboards.

I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket as I was leaving the room. I stopped to check who left me a message and I brightened up instantly.

I’ll be back tonight. Can you come meet me at the café at 7? –Paul

I quickly sent a “sure” and practically skipped outside the room. I didn’t have much else to do so I sat down in my temporary cubicle and called Candice. She might be busy at the moment but she has to hear this!

“Hello?”

“Candice! Paul is coming back!” I received a stare from Alyssa so I whispered, “He’s coming back tonight.”

“Ohmygosh! That’s great,”

“He says he’s meeting me at the café at 7. I just want to see him again, you know after that horrible nightmare I had last night,”

“I’m really glad he’s back but I gotta go. I just sneaked out for a couple of minutes. I’ll talk to you later. Bye!”

I ended the call still with a smile plastered to my face. Paul will meet me in a couple of hours and I’m so excited to see him. I glanced to my right and saw Mr. Monroe looking at me. It’s rude to stare at people but he boldly keeps his eyes on me even though he’s caught looking at me! What’s with this guy?