Here we sat, Vi continued to fix her hair as I tapped away on a level of a game on my phone. I could see her look up every time someone new walked in, every time the little bell tolled to let us know someone else had arrived, I was beginning to think he wasn't going to show, part of me didn't want to see the outcome of what would happen if he didn't.
Sitting here was beginning to get boring and I didn't plan on waiting, rude or not, I ordered my usual of a grease bacon burger with extra fries on the side. I sat there, sipping my drink before I had decided this was the last time to lose the level, locking my phone and setting it down on the table before looking towards the door, noticing no one was walking through. I watched Vi check her phone for the umpteenth time this evening, no text, no call, nothing.
"Why don't you text him and see where he is?" I spoke before handing my cup to the waitress for a refill, I thanked her with a nod before taking a sip and setting it back down. "He's only ten minutes late...you know how traffic can be sometimes."
I shook my head, in this world; early is on time, on time is late and late is dead. But he didn't know about this world, and if Vi was with him then that means that he must be somewhat likeable. I let her wait a few more moments, not even bothering to look up with her at the door. When Vi left the table she looked up suddenly, hand reaching for the piece she kept on the side of her purse. She removed her hand as Vi was talking to someone and the person hugged her, she pulled away and led him back to the table with a look that just screamed 'Behave!'
I stood up myself, sticking my hand out with a warm smile on my lips. "Hello, Greyson right?" He nodded before looking to Vi then back to me, "Camilla right?" I nodded and sat down in the middle of my side of the booth, looking over at the two people before me.
"I'm sorry about being late, but it's kind of hard to find this place. I've never even heard of it before now, what's good here?" He spoke while slipping off his brown leather jacket, I noticed he had somewhat nice taste. So Vi picked someone who was a nice dresser, he's got that for him.
"So Greyson, Vi here tells me that you're an architect. How is that going? I hear they're putting up a new hospital.....St. Vincen's wasn't it?" I questioned, already knowing the answer, as I sipped my Dr.Pepper in excitement.
He nodded, smiling at me as he spoke. "Yeah, my company is at the top spot for bids with blueprints, if we get this deal....it'll be huge for us." I nodded at his words, continuing with my onslaught of questions.
Vi's POV
I watched as Camilla went through her overprotective-friend monologue, asking Greyson why he was with me? What does he expect in the long run, how long has he lived here, if he had a record? And so on and so on. Majority of her questions she knew the answer too, but I knew she was just making sure he wasn't a liar and wasn't going to play me, but I also did some research on him.
I knew he had a brother, that both of his parents lived on Staten Island, that he was big into family, that he was top of his class all across the board. He was voted most likely to succeed, and he had only gotten a ticket once and that was because he was driving his aunt to the hopsital to give birth. He was perfect on paper and off, now if only we could get Camilla to see and understand this.
Greyson's POV
"My favorite color is red, I like chicken very much. I enjoy spending my down time reading any fiction that seems to be the new thing, or going for a walk in the park. I have an apartment that I share with my brother." I watched as Camilla nodded, the tension from her body seeming to wash away when I finished speaking. She leaned back in her seat, slinging her arm over the back of the booth with a smile.
"So Ms. Camilla, do I pass your thorough examination? Do I have your blessing to be with Vi?" She looked up at the ceiling, tapping her chin with her free hand before making a 'hmmmm' sound and looking back to me, "I assume you aren't that bad. But don't think I'm not watching you sir," she laughed at the end of her statement, Vi giggling beside me before I joined. I ignored the looks from the other patrons, something about this scene just made it all the more funny to be stared at as though I was crazy.
It wasn't long until we had eaten, Camilla and Vi going back and forth about why this Diner was the best Diner in all of Chicago. Vi stepped out to take a call, leaving me alone with Camilla and I waited for the cloche 'I like you, so don't give me a reason not to.' or the 'I'll hurt you if you hurt my bestfriend.' I don't know why, but part of me actually believed she would be the one person I'd met that would actually hunt me down to beat me up if I ever actually hurt Vi. We sat in silence though, Camilla continued to eat, as did I, she cleared her throat and smiled at me before raising an eyebrow at my confused gaze.
"Did you expect me to give a speech?" I nodded, wiping my fingers off before leaning back in the booth.
"Well, I have a feeling you're an actual nice guy who I don't have to threaten to be nice to Vi. But don't think I won't snap your neck if she comes to me crying over you, understood?" I nodded again, laughing when she cracked another smile.
I had made a mental note that she seemed to be doing that allot, Vi said something tragic had happened recently so I am going to assume that her being this joyful was a good thing. At the beginning of the night the smile didn't reach her eyes, towards the end of our time together it seemed that she could barely keep herself from tears she was laughing so hard.
I had also noticed that when I spoke of having a brother she seemed to tense again, an emotion passing over her face I didn't quite get yet. Vi has tensed as well, moving a hand onto the table before Camilla smiled and hid whatever she was thinking behind another facade. Part of me wanted to ask Vi, see if there was something I had said or if there was something I should know to keep off the table for whenever we spoke. But, it hadn't happened since then so I decided to leave it alone.
She seemed like a nice girl, but a girl that had been through allot. It was like looking at Vi but with a few different attributes. I could see why Vi and her were best friends, maybe she could tell me more about Vi and give me any tips on how to get her to want to meet my family.
"Hey Camilla, d-" I spoke before she sat her cup down and cut me off.
"Call me Cami, you make my name sound formal." She laughed before giving me her full attention.
"Well, Cami, do you think that Vi would like to meet my brother? I mean, we've been dating for a year now, and I really want her to meet him." I watched her decipher through everything I had said, noting that she kept looking back from Vi to me before she nodded and leaned forward.
"Don't tell her that I told you, but she has also been asking me how to bring up seeing your brother. She wants to make sure he likes her, but I've told her countless times everyone likes her....besides the point. I think you should make an appointment for lunch or something." She spoke before leaning back, nodding her head at Vi as she returned to the table. I turned expectantly, smiling before slinging my arm over the booth behind her.
Camilla's POV
I sat back and watched as Vi looked from me to Greyson, giving us both a skeptical look. I assumed she thought something was going on due to his smile and my smirk. I ignored the look, excusing myself to the bathroom as they talked.
When I had walked back out I saw that she was smiling and bouncing in her seat at my return, Greyson chuckling in his seat with his arms foldly. "What's going on?" I asked, cautiously sitting back down before looking over my shoulder in case someone was going to pop up on me. I turned back around to see Vi's mouth stretched into a wide grin, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.
"Greyson invited me to meet his brother, though you probably already knew that, and he said that you could come along if you wanted." She said, but I knew part of her was wanting me to go so that way I would be able to help any awkward situations, or so she could hook me up. No matter how many times I have made it clear I don't want to date.
I rose an eyebrow, "When would we be meeting this DiAngelo brother?" I crossed my fingers inside my folded arms, waiting for the date so I could come up with any excuse to get out of meeting Mr. brother DiAngelo.
"It's three days from now, Wednesday, do you think you could make that work?" I thought over the idea once more, seeing if I had any plans and I remembered that Mom and Dad were holding a family meeting to discuss what happened with my brother, can't wait to get more unwanted looks from relatives.
I shook my head, the most apologetic smile I could muster plastered on my face, "No, I have a family meal. Everyone's flying in and driving over to hang out, I am really sorry. Maybe some other time?" I offered, wanting to wait and see if Vi liked him then I would probably like him.
She frowned, knowing why everyone was coming into town, shrugging and looking over to Greyson. "I guess it's just you and me then."
I bid the couple goodbye, moving down the cold bitter streets of Chicago as though it was nothing. I waved hey to the man who would shine shoes every morning, slipping some pocket cash into his hand when I passed by. I waved hello to the women on the corner, ignoring their offers before I was at the perfect place to call for my car. Going through my emails as I awaited on the bus bench, having a conversation with the teen who seemed to be confused on life.
My car arrived and I left, waving goodbye as the young boy skated off down one of the darker sides of Chicago. I looked outside the window as I heard the sound of horns being blown, the sound of tires screeching piercing the quiet and calm air of the SUV. I looked back, ducking my head when my driver sped up and turned down a street, going the long way home.
The black car followed us, the unknown person's face being hidden by what seemed to be a skull bandana. I rolled my eyes, assuming it was just some low-life who didn't know what they were actually doing could end their life. I kept my head pressed against the seat, not letting whoever it was see who was in the car. I looked in the reflection of the mirror, seeing that he was having trouble keeping up with our turns and then he was gone. When I looked back up I saw nothing but headlights and felt a fiery pain and then something cold and wet surrounded me.
My eyes were closed but I could hear almost everything, I was on the side of the road and I assumed it was one of the three men from my car that was carrying me. I tried to open my eyes but once I did everything felt sluggish. He began speaking to someone, a 911 operator I assumed, because he began telling them our location and what had happened. I heard the groans of the other two men, Bobby was the one holding me. Tony and Ricky were seeing if they had any major wounds, Ricky's leg was apparently broken, tony could barely breathe, I didn't know if anything was wrong with Bobby, he kept that to himself.
I felt the the snow hit my cheeks, moaning at the nice feeling it gave against the burning sensation of my face and arms. The sound of sirens and the sight of Bobby's bloody face screaming, "Hold on kid, just hold on! Don't you go out on me, ya hear? They're almost here, just keep listening to the sirens, listening to my crappy voice. Just, damn, just stay with me!"
Everything was sort of a blur after that last look he gave me, I remember darkness and then I remember being in the back of the ambulance, it seemed as though one was right behind us. I was out again, waking up to see that Bobby was on the phone, I couldn't hear anything over the sirens but the sound of my own heartbeat. I went out again, my eyes being peeled open and a bright lights shoved towards them was the last thing I remember.