Blood and Flowers

Chapter 2: Emily

As he drove away, I finally let out the breath I was holding. Why did I have this feeling that even though Ash saved me, I should be scared of him? Was it the look of intensity in his eyes when he beat up that guy? The way he clenched his teeth? The way his muscles contracted under his clothes?

No, no! Get it together, Emily!

I shouldn't be thinking about that. It's not like I'm ever going to see him again, anyway. I should be grateful Ash came when he did. If he hadn't and the worst happened to me, I don't think I would recover. I could end up like my sister, Zoey. My parents certainly wouldn't be able to recover.They can't go through something like that again. I shook my head, trying to escape those horrible thoughts. I took out my phone from the pocket of my sweater and tried to turn it on. Oh, that's right. I forgot to turn it off before I went to sleep last night and now it's dead. I sighed. I just needed to get to my dorm room and charge it.

Great. Just one month into my freshman year of college and I'm already failing.

I walked into my building, took the elevator to the 3rd floor and entered my room. I plugged my phone into an outlet to charge it and took a nap. When I woke up two hours later, I checked my phone and saw that it was 100% charged. I also noticed that my childhood friend David had texted me several times. My heart sank. I couldn't have imagined how worried he must have been...especially after what happened today. I called him.

"Hello?"

"Hi, David."

"Emily! Where have you been!" he shouted into the phone. I almost laughed. David's always been protective of me like that.

"I'm okay. I've just been busy. I realized my phone was dead so I took a nap while it charged." I felt guilty for not telling David what happened, even though I'm okay. I wondered if David would have been able to save me the way Ash did. My mind wandered as I thought about them. They couldn't be more different. David had short, golden blond hair and golden eyes that shined like the sun. Ash had messy brown hair and dull grayish blue eyes. David was slim and lanky. Ash was bulky and muscular.

Why can't I get Ash off of my mind?!

"Emily, are you still there?" I heard David ask. I shook my head.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"You didn't fall asleep again, did you?" he joked.

"No, I didn't," I giggled. I looked at my digital clock. 12:00 noon.

"I'm going to go get some lunch. Do you want to come?" I asked.

"Sure. I'll meet you in the food court," he said. We hung up at the same time.

This is what I need. Seeing David and having a full stomach will help me stop thinking about Ash.

David and I sat at a brown wooden table in the food court. We both had two slices of pepperoni pizza. He was wearing his favorite outfit: a black and white-striped shirt, purple slack pants and matching purple shoes.

"So, what have you been up to, Emily?" he asked with a friendly smile.

I almost got assaulted, but was saved by the hottest, most dangerous guy I had ever seen...

"Oh, nothing," I said, hoping he wouldn't see through me.

"Are you still working at that flower shop?"

"Yeah. It's amazing," I grinned.

Zoey loved flowers. My parents used up any extra savings they had to buy the flower shop. I've been working there for the last two years and I love it. It's only a few blocks away from campus. My parents live an hour away from campus, so I don't see them as much as when I was in high school. David knew about what happened to Zoey. He knows I don't like talking about her, but I don't mind talking about the flower shop.

"Have you decided your major yet?" David asked. He was still undecided.

"Yes. I am going to be a major in floriculture with a minor in business."

"Sounds like you want to be a flower shop entrepreneur," he said as he ruffled my hair...kind of like how Ash did earlier.

I'm hopeless.

"I don't know about that," I chuckled..

"Hey, guys!" we heard a voice shout. We turned around and saw Carrie walking towards us. David and I had known Carrie since we were freshmen in high school. They had been dating for a year. Carrie lived in the dorm room next to mine. Like David, Carrie knew about Zoey. Carrie and I had a lot in common, especially flowers. Her mom often covered the inside and outside of her house with them, both real and plastic ones. Flowers. They made me think of Zoey.

No, not again. Only positive thoughts, Emily.

Carrie had short, midnight blue hair, and a yellow X-shaped hair clip. She wore a white top, a blue and red-striped tie, a black skirt, black thigh-high socks and black shoes. I knew that her major is criminal justice because both of her parents are police officers, but she would fit in perfectly as a fashion major.

"Hi, Carrie," I smiled. She hugged David and kissed him on the cheek, then sat next to me.

"Are you working at your family's flower shop later today?" she asked with anticipation in her voice.

"Yes. Where is your mom decorating now?" Carrie rolled her eyes.

"The kitchen. I think she might start cooking all the flowers in the house and then eat them." We all burst out laughing.

"Let's go hang out in the courtyard. It's only late August so it's still nice outside," David suggested.

"Great idea," I beamed.

As we walked outside and headed towards the courtyard we heard a loud, rumbling sound. We all covered our ears.

"What the heck is that?!" David shouted.

When the rumbling stopped we looked forward. My heart skipped a beat. Ash stepped off his motorcycle and hung up his helmet on one of the handlebars. His brown hair looked even messier than before.

What is he doing here?! Wait, does he go to school here, too?

He looked up at me and we both gasped. My emotions were all over the place. I wanted to walk over and talk to him. Yet, there was that voice in the back of my head telling me to stay away. Why was that voice there in the first place? Sure, Ash drove a motorcycle, had clearly been in a lot of fights and had an edgy, almost scary, attitude. Still, how bad could a guy be if he saves a girl from getting...

"Uh, Emily? You okay?" David asked while waving a hand in front of my face/ I shook my head.

"Yeah," I breathed out.

"Emily, do you know that guy?" Carrie asked. I was blushing so much that my face was probably hot enough to melt ice. What should I do? If I walk away and pretend I don't know him, he might get mad at me. If I walk up to him, he might not want to talk to me. It's not like we're friends or anything...right? Plus, if one of us brings up what happened, David will get mad at me for not telling him. I started shaking and my breathing was erratic. It brought me back to the attack, which then made me think of Zoey.

Why was this happening?

I heard David and Carrie gasp. Then, I heard a rough voice ask:

"Is she okay?" I knew it had to be Ash. Sure enough, there he was, his hands on my shoulders, his eyes full of concern.

How long was I in my own mind?

It didn't matter. All that mattered was that Ash, my hero, was in front of me. Once again, I was both happy and scared...and I had no idea why.