~Chapter 3: Brown Eyes
It was around 10 a.m. when I decided I should get dressed. Wednesday, the day I had to go and get my work schedule worked out. I peeled off my tee shirt and sweat pants and slipped into the shower. When I finished I locked myself in my room and stared at Emily's sleeping body.
She lay in a little ball beneath her thin, purple blanket. I watched her squeeze her torn little bunny, Hope. Mom had bought it a few months before Emily was born. I got to help pick it out. It was a soft, light pink, fluffy bunny rabbit back then. Now it was old and worn out. One black bead eye was missing. She always had Hope with her. (A/N: See what I did there? I tried to be deep...tried. Ok back to the story)
I quickly got dressed in a pair of light jean shorts and a purple tank top. It was still late summer and I knew the weather was fairly warm. I threw my hair up into a messy bun and removed my bandages.
My arms were slightly red with cuts along them and I pulled on a sweater to cover the damage. The cuts on my hand were barely noticeable so I let them be. I walked over to Emily's bed and threw her blanket off of her.
"Time to get up, Bunny!" I said while dancing to the dresser. The nickname had stuck when she started dragging around her little bunny, Hope.
"No." She grumbled out and flipped over so that she was face down on the bed.
I sighed and grabbed her some shorts and a black tee shirt. I threw the clothes at the foot of her bed and told her to get dressed. I peeked out of our room and down the hall. I checked all of the rooms and concluded no one was home.
I went back into our room and saw Emily still in bed, her clothes pushed onto the floor. I picked up my pillow and shook it on my bed until my IPod slipped out from the pillow case. I had it for years and refused to let my father sell it at a pawn shop so he could buy alcohol.
I put it on shuffle and grinned as Classic by MKTO came on.
I began to sing, "Ooh girl you're shinnin, like a fifth avenue diamond.
They don't make you like they used to, you're never goin out of style
Ooh pretty baby, this world might've gone crazy-"
"Alright I'm up!" Emily huffed and rolled off of her bed and onto the floor.
She crawled over to her clothes and lazily got dressed. I continued to sing and dance around the room before walking to the vanity. I examined the scar on my face, carefully running my finger along it. Emily came to stand next to me and grinned up at me.
She grabbed one of my pony tail holders from the dresser and tried to pull her hair into a bun, but failed. I giggled at her attempts and gently moved her hands. I ran a brush through her hair and pulled it into a pony tail.
I slid my feet into my ragged, purple converse and Emily pulled on her black ones. I grabbed my small, old phone from the dresser to check the time. 11:22.
"We need to head out Em." I said tugging her to the kitchen.
She grabbed a banana and Hope while I grabbed a water bottle before we headed out. We caught the bus to the mall and had 20 minutes to spare. We walked into the book store and moved to the back where the cafe was located.
"Back so soon?" the red headed barista asked.
"Actually," I began, "I'm here to speak to the manager, Todd?"
"Sure." She chirped. "Todd! New girl's here!" She yelled toward a door which I assumed lead to the kitchen.
"Doing paper work, I'll be out in 20!" A voice yelled from behind a different door.
"He'll be out soon. I'm Janie by the way." She said reaching out her hand.
"Ariana." I said shaking her hand.
"And who's this little cutie?" She said looking at Emily.
"I'm Emily." She whispered.
"That's a cute name." Janie chirped.
"Thank you." Em squeaked.
I jumped as my phone began to ring. I pulled it out of my back pocket and answered.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Where are you?" My best friend, Mariana, asked.
"The mall, why? What's wrong?" I asked panicking. Mari only asks where I'm at when something's wrong.
"Maya's missing...again." Her voice cracked and I knew she was on the verge of tears.
Maya was her 12 year old sister who was a trouble maker. She was known to skip school, leave home, and get in fights. She was always angry that their father abandoned them and their mom was always at work.
"Where was she last?" I asked calmly.
"Two days ago she said she was going to the library. I should've known she was lying! She hasn't been home since. I- I don't know what to do." She broke down in the middle of her sentence.
"It's ok Mari, don't cry. I'll check around the mall and then the library. Just...stay home in case she turns up." I tried to sound as cheerful as possible, but I knew that when Maya left home it would brake Mari's heart.
"O-ok Ari. Thanks s-so mu-much." She sniffled.
"Love you, bye." I said.
"Love you too, later." She hung up.
I looked up at Janie. "I'll be right back, family emergency. 15 minutes tops?"
"I'll cover for you. Todd said 20 minutes, but I know he'll be out in 35."
She giggled.
"Thanks. Em, we have to find Maya." I sighed.
"Again?" She looked up wide eyed.
We searched every store in the mall and I showed each worker a picture of Maya on my cell phone. I was about to give up as I entered Rue 21.
"Excuse me," I walked up to the sales guy. "Have you seen this girl?" I pulled out the picture of Maya.
"Yeah actually. She should be back in one of the dressing rooms." He said pointing to doors in the back.
"Thanks so much!" I said. "Oh, could you make sure my little sister stays right here?" I said pointing to Emily.
"Sure, she can sit on that bench." He said.
"Thanks," I read his name tag, "Trevor. "
"No problem." He winked at me.
I waited outside the dressing room doors until one opened. There she was in what I assumed to be stolen clothes. The pants and shirt brand new, she was going to steal them.
"Maya Sophia Rodriguez." I ground out harshly.
She spun around quickly. "Ariana?"
I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back into the dressing room with me.
"Change back and return it now." I whispered angrily.
"Ok." She said meekly.
I left the dressing room and waited for her to change. As soon as she finished I grabbed her arm and surveyed her outfit. She had on ripped black skinny jeans and a white tee shirt with black vans. Her dark wavy hair flowed down to her butt just like Mariana's. They also shared the same brown eyes.
I stopped by Trevor and thanked him again before beckoning Emily over.
"Maya!" She squealed.
"Hey Em." She hugged her. She lifted Em up onto her hip while keeping her right hand nestled in my left.
I used my other hand to call Mari while walking out of the store.
"Hey...yeah I found her. Rue 21 'buying' some clothes. No it's okay, she can stay with me for a-" I gasped as my face collided with someone's chest and my phone hit the ground.
"Crap." I hissed and rubbed my face that now tingled. "Sorry."
"My bad." A deep voice said.
I looked up into a pair of dark brown eyes. He had short blond hair and large muscles. His black tee clung tightly to him and his pants hung loosely on his hips. He stood taller than my 5 foot 5 frame at at least 6 foot 1.
He grabbed my phone and gave it to me. "Uh-um, t-thanks." I stuttered.
He smirked. "No problem."
I pressed the phone to my ear. "Yeah I'm still here..." I replied to a panicking Mariana.
"I know this is terribly lat minute, but I have work tonight and tomorrow and I was wondering-" Se rambled before I cut her off.
"Maya can definitely stay. No biggie."
"You're a lifesaver! Thanks so much! And tell her to call me later."
"Of course, I've just gotta go get my work stuff from that little book store cafe place."
"Bye."
"Later."
I hung up and turned to Maya. "Mari has to work tonight so you're staying with us."
She nodded her head and then I noticed we were still standing in front of the mystery guy.
Brown eyes had one guy on each side. Both just as tall, but one with grey eyes and black hair and one with blue eyes and a dirty blonde.
I looked at the time. "Oh god I'm late!"
We pushed past the guys and speed walked to the cafe. I knew they were following, but I didn't care.
We made it back to the cafe and I realized Todd still wasn't ready. Janie gave me a small smile which I returned.
I made Maya sit at a little table in the corner and call Mariana while Emily scanned a row of books with me.
I looked down at her and realized something odd, she wasn't holding Hope.
"Em," I began cautiously. "Where's Hope? Did you sit her down?"
She looked at me, then her arms, then back at me before bursting into tears.
"I-I think I le-left her in the st-store we got Ma-Maya in!" She wailed.
"It's okay, we'll just go get it." I said lifting her into my arms.
Just then a man came from a door near the kitchen. His name tag read Todd.
"Hello sir." I stood up and shook his hand. I heard a low growl like noise, but dismissed it as my stomach.
"I'm Ariana Lake. I'm here to get my schedule and uniform and...all that jazz." I laughed nervously.
"Nice to meet you, but please just call me Todd." He said.
He wasn't a very tall man, maybe 5 foot 7 at the most. He had fiery red hair like Janie and the same brown eyes. He looked to be in his early 30s.
By now Emily had stopped crying and was falling asleep on my shoulder. I looked over to Maya and she immediately scooped Emily from my arms.
I took a seat at a vacant table with Todd and we began to discuss my work.
•••40 minutes later•••
I now had my work uniform and schedule. I held Emily's right hand in my left and Maya was on her other side. We entered Rue 21 in search of Hope.
I walked up to the sales guy, it was still Trevor from before.
"Excuse me," I said. "Me again."
He turned to look at me and smirked. "Miss me?"
"Actually I think my little sister left her stuffed rabbit in here." I rolled my eyes.
Suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stood and I got an unsettling feeling. I felt multiple pairs of eyes on me, I could feel the stares boring into my back.
I turned to survey the store, but saw no one looking at me. I turned back to Trevor who rummaged beneath the register before producing Hope.
"Thank you!" Emily squealed reaching out for Hope.
Trevor placed the bunny in Emily's hands then turned to me. He pushed a peace of paper toward me and I cocked my eyebrow.
"My number." He said. "I- you uh...You're really pretty and stuff so yeah. Just...here's my number." He muttered.
I heard the strange growling sound again and it left an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"Thanks, I'll text you or something. Bye." I said with a fake smile.
We left the store and began the trek to the exit of the mall. I let out a small shriek as someone rammed into me and I was knocked over.
I landed on my butt with a thud and immediately checked to make sure Maya and Emily were ok. They seemed fine and I looked up to see none other than Brown eyes and his little posse.
"Why do we keep running into each other?" I muttered.
"Sorry, I think you just fell for me." He smirked then offered a hand out to me, but I pulled myself up.
"Whatever." I said brushing myself off.
"Maya, time?" I said looking at her expectantly.
"2:34." She looked up at me. "Can we get food?"
I felt Brown Eyes staring at me and felt self conscious. "No." I said quietly.
"Why not?" She whined.
"We can wait until we get home." I sighed.
"I could buy you some food." Brown eyes piped up.
I cocked my eyebrow at him in question.
"The least I can do since I knocked you down." He said giving me a heart melting smile.
"No thanks." I declined and headed for the exit.
"Hey, wait up!" He called after us and he and his friends followed closely behind.
"Buzz off." I said rudely.
I felt his warm hand gab my shoulder and sparks erupted. I gasped in shock and turned back to him.
"Did you just...shock me?" I whispered.
"Uh, I-no!" He said quickly.
I checked the time on my phone and saw it was 2:40. Dad will be home soon and expecting dinner.
"I really have to go." I said hurriedly.
I picked Emily up, grabbed Maya's hand, and we took off running for the bus stop.
We had 5 minutes to get there, but Brown Eyes followed persistently. We tried to hurry our pace an arrived just as the bus pulled up.
We sat for 15 minutes in silence until the bus came to our stop. We arrived home and Emily dragged Maya off to our room to play dolls. I walked to the fridge to start dinner and saw a purple Post-It note.
"Ariana,
Staying out late, won't be home till Sunday. Don't wait up.
Dad"
I smiled and retread the note multiple times. No Dad for four whole days. I fished my phone from my back pocket and dialed in the number I knew all too well.
I waited as the phone rang between my shoulder and ear. I sifted through the few foods in the fridge in frustration.
"Hello?" I heard his voice call out through the phone.
"Darren!" I said excitedly.
"What's up, Ari?" He chuckled.
"Wanna come over? My Dad's gone until Sunday so it's just Em, Maya, and me." I opened each cabinet in search of food.
"Maya, again?"
"Yeah... so you coming or what?"
"Definitely. Be there in 10."
"Bring food?"
"Sure. Bye."
"Bye." I whispered.
Darren was one of my best friends. We met in first grade an he's helped me get through a lot. Five minutes passed before Maya and Emily came into the living room to watch TV. Emily switched on the small box and clicked through the channels before stopping on Disney.
I jumped when a hard knock sounded at the door.
"Darren?" I called uncertainly.
He grunted in response.
"It's open goofball." I yelled grabbing a bottle of water.
I brought the opened bottle to my lips and sipped before holding it in front of my stomach.
"What food did you bri-" I trailed off as three men rounded the corner.
I dropped my drink. "You're not Darren!" I pointed my finger accusingly.
They chuckled and I screamed loudly. Maya and Emily came running in and all eyes turned to them.
Maya scooted Emily behind her and glanced at the men. "Aren't you those guys from the mall?" She whispered.
I gasped in fear and pulled the girls behind me.
"W-what do you wa-want?" I stuttered out.
"You." Brown eyes said.
My eyes bulged and I recoiled in disgust. "Get. Out. Now." I said through clenched teeth, willing Darren to come soon.
"Sorry Princess, you're coming with us." Brown Eyes chuckled and took a step toward me.
I quickly gabbed a can of Glade from the counter. I held the fragrance spray dangerously pointed at their faces, my finger hovering over the trigger.
"Leave us alone!" I screamed.
I was hoping- no, praying that Darren would show up soon.
"Go ahead. I dare you." Brown Eyes said challengingly.
I lowered my finger and hesitated, mesmerized by his warm, brown eyes.
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Hey guys! Kind of a cliffhanger going on. If I made any grammar mistakes don't hesitate to tell me and I'll fix them.
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ayannaisfake xx