Chapter Twenty Two.
Naomi P.O.V
Four weeks later..
Little white snow flakes began to fall from the sky, as I waited for Leroy to grab something from his room. The weather had been oddly weird--a couple weeks ago, it was just raining, now it's snowing. I can never really complain about the snow, though. Snow was my happiness, another escape, besides my books. When I was little, my mom and I would fall to the ground, our backs cold from the snow, and make snow angels.
The snow was also a reminder that my birthday was coming very soon. Birthdays once upon a time were actually a happy time for me, until my mother died. My father had ruined all hopes of me having a true 'happy' birthday. After my mother died, I spent my birthdays somewhere crying. I didn't want to be around people. My grandma always offered to take me places.
"You need to get out. You can't stay in here crying all day." She'd say, giving me her concerned look. I'd force a smile, wipe my tears, and tell her that I would be okay. Being alone was good for me. I can think a little more.
"Sometimes we over-think, Naomi." She'd reply. I would only frown and look away. I didn't want to talk, or be around anyone. I just wanted to be left, alone. I never changed.
On my birthday, I stayed away from everyone. The fact that Leroy wanted to spend time with me on that day, made me sad. I didn't want him to see my weak side, ever. But, I also didn't want to hurt his feelings. I couldn't hurt his feelings.
A gust of wind blows, causing me to shiver. I zip up my light purple coat and hug myself, trying to keep warm. Glancing back at the door, I sigh. "Leroy, come on." I mutter, sinking to my knees.
Across the street next to a dumpster, I see a tall man in black clothes looking in my direction. He had on black ski mask, only his green eyes showing. I squint just to make sure I'm not seeing things, I'm not. I look behind me to see what he's looking at, but see nothing. I turn back to him and gasp--he'd disappeared.
I stood to my feet and looked around. I stood on my tippy toes to see if he was behind the dumpster but still, I saw no one.
Maybe you're just seeing things. I think to myself.
Just then, Leroy comes out the door, giving me an apology before we walk back to his blue car.
When I get in the car, I lean against the seat and sigh. Glancing at Leroy, I smile. He had on gray sweat pants, a leather jacket with a black shirt underneath, and a black beanie. Gosh he could make almost anything look adorable. He turns and smiles at me, starting the engine. I rub my hands together, which now feel as if I'd left them in a freezer for an hour.
I blow my hot breath onto my hands before finally snapping my seat belt on.
Leroy drives, turning on the music, but I don't pay attention to the song. I just wasn't in the mood. For the past few weeks it'd been an absolute struggle for me to get to work. It took entirely too long for Leroy to wake me up in the morning.
"Muffin, you have to work. Come on." Is what I heard every morning. Usually I'm the one waking Leroy--now it's me who needs waking.
When I finally do wake up, I'd sit on the end of the couch, frowning. My head would be in the palms of my hands. I hadn't been sleeping well, but that's natural. I can usually deal with it and start the day--all of sudden things are hard for me now. What makes it all worse is that I'm making Leroy pay for it.
"Sorry." I mutter.
"For what?" Leroy says, turning the music down.
"You shouldn't have to wake me up in the morning."
"I want to."
"You shouldn't. It shouldn't take you that long to wake me up. I promise I'll set an alarm clock tomorrow."
He shakes his head, making a turn. "You don't have to. I like waking you up."
I raise an eyebrow. "You like waking me up?"
"I do, I look forward to it."
"You're officially weird." I say, biting my lip and shaking my head.
He chuckles. "I'm not the one who smells their underarms for fun."
My face heats up in embarrassment. Last week Leroy had to get something from the bathroom, but I didn't know. I had my music on, ear-buds in and the volume on high. I ran out of my deodorant so I had to use his, and it smelled good. I'd decided that I should take a better sniff, and.. he decided to walk in when I took that sniff.
"Um.." He'd said, looking at me in amusement.
"What are you doing!? Leroy!!" I yell, putting my arm down.
"I needed to brush my teeth. What did I just see?"
"Uh, nothing. Uh. I was just, um--"
Before I can finish, he starts laughing, and laughing, and laughing. I left the bathroom without another word. This was my second time caught. This time by Leroy. Leroy!
"Forget that even happened." I say, crossing my legs.
"Never. That picture is forever burned in my memory." He says, as the car stops.
I shake my head and glance at the big Coffee cup sign. I don't want to go to work..
Strong scents of different coffee hit my nose, as I take my usual seat on the stool. Melanie rushed around the place, frantically moving stuff around. She'd been very different lately and I didn't know whether to be happy that she wasn't yelling--or freaked by how she was acting. I wipe sweat that'd formed on my head. Melanie had the heat up high, and it was burning up in here. What was it, one hundred degrees in here?
She walks past me and comes to a stop. "I have to go make a run, I'll be back." I swallow hard. I hated being alone. But I smile and nod. "Alright." She doesn't smile back. That cold hard look that she'd had once before, was now replaced by..fear? I blink twice to make sure what I was seeing was true.
"Unless, you'd like to ride with me. I can close until we get back." She says, causing my eyes to widen. Did Melanie just invite me to ride with her. I shake my head. I was sure I'd be fine here.
"I'm alright. Go on."
She hesitates. "Margret won't be here today."
"Why?" It was very unusual for Margret to miss work. She'd came even when she was sick.
"This is the date her son died."
I swallow and nod. Oh, Margret. I made a mental note to call her later. "Oh."
"Yeah. Well I better get going. Call me if you need me, Naomi." She says. She walks through the glass doors, before completely disappearing out of sight.
Something was definitely wrong with Melanie. She wasn't her, mean self. I shake my head. There was no need to complain or worry--as long as I wasn't bothered, there wasn't a problem. But there was a tiny problem. The fear I saw in her eyes, I'd never seen something like that in her eyes before.
I turn around in the stool, making myself a small cup of coffee. Turning back around, I look out the window and almost drop my coffee. Almost. There were three men in black outfits, similar as before, with ski-masks on across the street. Looking. At. Me.
I gasp quickly looking away. Even looking down, I could still feel there eyes on me. I really really wish I'd agreed on those curtains Melanie suggested last week. If there were curtains there, they wouldn't be able to see me. How did these guys find out where I was?
I sip my coffee, listening to the low hum of the mini fridge in the back, never looking up. I sat like this for half an hour, biting my lip and never looking up. I could still see their black silhouettes in the corner of my eye.
Did Kevin send them?
Nonsense! I hadn't been bothered by Kevin in weeks. But he's not going to let you go that easily. I paper won't stop him. I place my hand on my head. Gosh, it's possible Kevin sent them here for me.
I slowly look up, and sigh in relief. Gone. See? Nothing. I smile to myself, turning back around to refill my cup.
Dingle ling, ling.
Uh, oh. Spoke too soon.
Setting the cup down, I pause. I didn't have to turn around to know who'd just entered the coffee shop. Taking a deep breath, I slowly turn around and try to force a smile.
"Hi, what can I get you?" I say, making the three men laugh. What was so funny?
I clear my throat and ask a bit louder this time. One of them finally speaks up, asking for a Chocolate Frappe.
"Anything for you two?" I say, trying to stay calm. They only look at me, and I quickly turn, making the coffee.
When I am finished, the one who'd asked for the coffee was much closer to the counter and I almost gasped.
Get away. Get away. Get away. GET AWAY!
"Here you go." I say, handing him the coffee.
He smiles and takes the coffee. The three men sit down at a nearby table, nearly making me scream. Why won't they go?
I lean back a little, biting the insides of my mouth. They were obviously not going to leave if I asked them to.
Call me if you need me, Naomi. Melanie's words ring in my head. But what if when I call her, and she get's here, and they harm both of us. I need to call Leroy. I reach for my phone when the man who'd asked for the coffee stood up and walked over to me.
He lifted the lid from his coffee cup and sighed, resting his arms onto the counter.
"Sir, is there a problem?" I say, my voice cracking.
He nods. "Yes. My coffee just seems to be a little too, hot."
"Um, I don't know what to tell you. I could probably put it in the freezer or something." I say, not wanting to upset him.
He laughs a cold laugh and sighs louder than before. "No, no. I don't think that will cool it down. I know something that will, though."
I swallow. "And what is that?"
"You see. You're a cold person, the way you did Kevin and all. So maybe if I just--" He tosses the hot, hot, hot, cup of coffee onto my face causing me to scream. My face begins to burn very badly and tears burn my eyes. I try to run to the bathroom to place a cold towel on my face, but he yanks my arm and pins it down onto the sticky counter.
"Throw it on you, it will cool down." He finishes. The men all fall into a long, long laughter. I try to pry his hand from my arm but he's very strong. I wriggle my arm violently as he finishes laughing, wiping a tear from his eye. "Sit still." He mutters, tightening his grip on me.
I continue trying to get free as his grip continues to get tighter. Finally, he lets me go, causing me to fall onto the hard floor, hitting my head onto the wooden board. My hand tightens and I clench my jaw, trying not to cry in front of all of these men. Be strong.
I scoot back into the kitchen, slamming the door and locking it. Pulling out my phone, I text Leroy.
"HELP! I need you!! Hurry! Send 911-Naomi"
Loud bangs erupt from the door, causing me to scoot back further. I squeeze myself into a small space besides the fridge, hugging my knees. I quickly dial 911, biting my lip.
"911 emergency." a man says.
"HELP! These guys are trying to hurt me! One of them just threw very hot coffee into my face. I've hidden into the kitchen. Please hurry they are gonna kill me. They are banging loudly on the door."
"OK ma'am what is your address."
I give him my address and they tell me help is on the way. Get here fast, please.
The bangs on the door get louder and I flinch at every bang.
What if I died right now? What would Leroy do? Stop it!! I yell in my head, biting my lip harder.
The banging stops and silence follows. Only my heartbeat can be heard.
Did the police come?
I rub my face, causing it to ache even more. I knew I should have stayed home. My thigh vibrates an I quickly pull the phone.
"On my way. What happened?-Leroy."
"Long story. Please just get here."
I bite my lip, hugging my knees tighter.
"What is going on here?!" I hear Melanie's voice from outside. Oh no. I quickly rise from the spot I'm in, not paying attention to the dust that was on my pants.
Pressing my ear to the door, I listen closely.
"Where is Naomi?" Melanie says, obviously furious.
"She took a turn for the worse." One of them says, laughing.
My blood boils as I try to contain myself.
"Where is she?" Melanie demands shakily this time.
"Don't worry about it." Another growls.
I push the door open, finding the men with their masks off. One had big brown eyes and brown hair, while the others both had black hair and blue eyes. I gasp, turning to Melanie.
All eyes turn to me as I quickly grab Melanie's hands. "What are you doing?" She hissed. I dragged her towards the kitchen. She was right. What was I doing?
"I don't know." I hiss back. Before the guys can even get to us I slam the door back in their face. I breath heavily leaning against the door after locking it.
"What is going on?" Melanie asks.
"They, their after me." I say, shakily.
"Because of Kevin?" She replies.
I look up at her and nod, biting my lip. "Yes. How do you know about Kevin."
She looks down. "He...he uh, sent one of his friends to threaten me awhile back. That's why I let you off for those days. I knew if you were with Leroy, you'd be safe--"
"Whoa wait, they threatened you? What did they say?"
She fingers combs her hair, obviously annoyed that I cut her off. "They told me that the next time they saw your here, they'd kill you. I tried calling the police, but they can't do anything about it." I shake my head. Why can't this all end now?
"I'm so sorry, Melanie." Is all I can get out.
"For what?"
"For dragging you into this."
She scoffs. "Girl please. Don't apologize."
I looked up and sent her a small smile. She'd been trying to protect me. Maybe she didn't hate me after all.
"Thank you." I say, smiling.
"You're welcome. Did you hear that?"
We look towards the door. Silence.
THUMP!
"HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET HER OUT OF HERE?!" One of the guys yell, throwing something that sounded like a chair.
They all curse tossing things around. Melanie and I look at each other in fear.
"We'll get her later! We have to go!" Another yells.
"Yeah bro! We gotta go!"
"Alright, Kevin is going to be mad."
We hear more crashing around before the door jingles, signaling their leave, followed by several police sirens.
God I want this to end.
Hi guys! I'm sorry this chapter is so short! This week has been extremely long! Hope you'll forgive me! I hope your week is going well! I also hope you enjoyed the chapter! Well I better get going!
Vote
Comment
SMILE :D