Between (5 page)

“
How does a child escape? Either you are all fools or someone allowed this,” Jeremiah accused.

“
You dare to call us fools?” Anger flushed through Philip. “We tapped into her mind to find out who may have assisted her, but that part of her memory had been erased. My brothers and sisters, I assure you, Margaret, Agnes, and I have nothing to hide. If anything, you all have access to Crossroads. You come and go freely. How do I know one of you did not came and lure her out?”

“
Philip, please,” Katherine interjected. “You need to calm down. And Jeremiah and Samuel, you need to watch what you say. Philip, we are not accusing you of any wrong doing. If anything, we are all to be blamed. Our main concern is not Alexa Rose anymore. We need to worry about the demon spirits that have escaped, consuming the weakened souls. Fortunately, my venators are highly skilled in what they do. I’ve already given them orders to hunt and kill every single one of them. And who knows what else has escaped? We all need to keep our eyes and ears open.”

“
What are you doing?”Caleb said out loud.

Davin and Michael leaped frightfully backwards, afraid of being caught. Their hearts dropped to the ground. Davin’s hand shot to his heart, panting in panic. “What in the…” Before he could finish, Michael clutched Caleb’s and Davin’s shirts from behind and flew out of there as fast as he could.

Chapter Three

It was the following Saturday, my usual work day at Fashion Wear. Patty would have been working with me, but today, she had taken the day off to be with Andrew. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. Nanci, one of the weekday employees, had filled in for her. I didn’t wake up eager to work, but since I had taken so many days off, I didn’t have a choice. It was unusually slow for a Saturday, which only made me miss Patty more. At least she and I would have had things to talk about to help pass the time. She always made the best company. I decided to park myself behind the register and leave Nanci to tend to the customers. The day seemed only to drag and I found myself daydreaming, especially about Michael.

“
Claudia…Claudia,” a voice spoke softly.

It took me a second to realize it was Nanci.

“
Claudia,” she repeated, looking at me with her soft hazy eyes.

“
Nanci…hey,” I replied, wondering what she was thinking. I must look out of it.

“
Are you okay?”

“
Sure, do I not look okay?” I asked hesitantly, wondering if I looked sick or something.

“
It’s just that, you look
—
”

“
I was just busy in thought, that’s all.”

“
Okay, that’s good, but could we close a few minutes early? I mean…” She shifted her body from side to side, twisting strands of her strawberry blond hair with her index finger. “I’d like to go home. I mean, I’m meeting some friends…well…I have a date.”

“
Oh,” I said in surprise. “Good for you,” I cheered; at least one of us did. I looked at the clock. It was five minutes till nine. “Why don’t you head on home? I’ll lock up. I won’t tell Mrs. Lee, if you don’t.”

“
But, don’t you think I should stay and close up with you?” she asked nervously.

I couldn’t tell if she was concerned for my safety, being that we were the only two in this whole shopping complex, or at the possibility of Mrs. Lee finding out. “Nah, just go. What could happen?” Those were the exact words I had said to Patty on the night I was attacked by Julia.
I should just keep my mouth shut,
I thought.

“
Okay. Thanks,” she said gratefully and rushed out the door.

After she left, I realized that we hadn’t counted today’s earnings. Mrs. Lee told us specifically that two employees needed to count the money and sign the papers. Nanci was gone, so what was I suppose to do now? As I thought about how I was going to handle this situation, the chimes of the store bell rang. A customer walked in, but I didn’t bother to look up.

“
Sorry, we’re closed,” I said, thinking I should’ve asked Nanci to lock the door on her way out.

“
Hey, Claudia.”

I looked up, startled by the sound of the familiar voice. I didn’t know he knew where I worked. Surprised to see him I said, “Uhhh…hey, Ryan. What are you doing here?”

“
I was in the neighborhood. Thought I’d stop by. You’re here alone?” he asked, absorbing the scene.

“
Nanci, the other employee, just left.”

“
It’s not safe to be here by yourself. Does this happen all the time?” He approached closer.

“
Not that it’s any of your business,” I said as politely as possible. “No, it doesn’t. Nanci just needed to leave early today.” I began to take the money out of the register, thinking about the reasons why he would want to visit me.

“
Do you need help counting money? Since I’m here, you might as well use me.”

He was right and I did need the help. “Sure, thanks. You can pretend to be Nanci,” I teased.

He chuckled lightly and walked forward to where I was standing. His sandy blonde hair was gelled neatly, and when he stood next to me, I could smell his cologne. He looked nice wearing a blue and gray striped sweater; it brought out his blue eyes. I stacked the bills in separate piles, according to their denomination. After I counted, he recounted. Suddenly, Ryan gave a short laugh.

“
What’s so funny?” I asked.

“
You look so serious. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s cute.”

He made me blush. “Be quiet and count the coins,” I said playfully, nudging him.

“
Yes, ma’am.”

After the money was counted, it got quiet and things were awkward. “Well…thanks for coming by. I better get going, or else Mom will worry.”

“
Do you mind if I use the restroom?”

“
What?” I asked, thinking he had bad timing. But before I could say a word, he started walking. “In the back, towards the left,” I directed.

While waiting for him to come out, I locked up the money bag in the safe and went to lock the front door. It must have been five minutes before I realized Ryan was still in the restroom. I began to worry, so I went to check up on him.

“
Ryan,” I called out, knocking on the door.

No answer.

“
Ryan!” I shouted. “This isn’t funny! I need to go home!”

“
In here,” he answered, peeping out of the storage room, then slamming the door.

Feeling irritated, I stormed in. It was dark, so I quickly turned to switch the light on. When I turned, Ryan grabbed me and pressed his lips to mine.

“
Get off me!” I yelled, trying to push him off me. “What the heck is wrong with you?”

“
Claudia, I miss you,” he muttered, aiming for my lips again.

When I struggled to push him off again, he backed me against the wall, then he locked my arms with his grip. His hands were slowly making their way inside my shirt, and I became frightened as the guy I knew became a total stranger.

“
Get off me!” I yelled again, horrified of what he was trying to do. I fought with both my arms and legs. It was useless; he was stronger. “Don’t do this, please,” I begged. “This isn’t you.”

“
Do you tell your boyfriend to stop?” he asked sharply, raising my arms and pinning them against the wall, his eyes piercing mine with jealousy and anger.

“
I don’t have a boyfriend,” I replied calmly, but my heart was beating too fast for me to catch my breath. Choosing my words carefully, I had to think fast. This was an opportunity for me to get away.

“
Who was with you the night of
my
birthday party?”

Someone far better than you, I wanted to say, but didn’t, afraid what he may do. “A friend.”

“
A friend? You could have fooled me.”

“
How would you know? You were…drunk,” I said hesitantly, afraid to upset him.

“
I remember…some.”

“
You remember nothing. You made a fool out of yourself. How did you get alcohol?” I asked.

“
I have my ways; money talks. Don’t change the subject. Who is he?” he demanded.

“
A friend. I wanted to get you jealous. Obviously, it worked. But you were too drunk to even notice. He went home early. I stayed because of you. It’s too bad you don’t remember ‘cause I gave you a birthday kiss you would never forget,” I lied, hoping I sounded convincing.

“
You did?” First, he looked doubtful, then confused and finally relaxed. He took the bait. “I knew you would come around.” He sounded convinced.

He slowly let go of my arms, and rested his hands on my shoulders. He leaned closer for a kiss. “Why don’t you show it to me again?”

I played his game, led him on and welcomed his kiss. Anxiety coursed through me as I prepared myself for my escape. After a few seconds, I bit down hard on his lips and kneed him where I knew it would hurt the most. It felt great to get him back.

“
Ahhh…” he tried to scream. The rest of his cry was inaudible. He was in too much pain and I saw him drop to the ground, curled up into a ball.

“
Sorry,” I squealed, knowing the kind of pain I’d inflicted on him, but what was I sorry for? He attacked me first. Without thinking, I bolted out of the storage room. As I looked back to see Ryan still on the ground, moaning, I ran into something or someone.

“
Ahhh!” I screamed frantically, as my heart raced even more. He wrapped his muscular arms around me. I smiled, thinking it was Michael. “It’s okay. It’s me,” he said quickly. I looked up, but it wasn’t Michael, it was Austin. I hated to admit it, but he looked really good. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt, and his hair looked slightly longer than last time I’d seen him; plus, he smelled refreshing, like the ocean breeze.

“
Austin,” I whispered, disappointed because it wasn’t Michael, but relieved to see him. Given the dilemma I was in, I was terrified to be alone with Ryan. Having Austin here gave me a sense of security. “What are you doing here?” I asked as he released his hold, and my heart beat became steady again.

“
I was in the neighborhood. I stopped by to see you and Patty.”

“
Patty took the day off.”

“
It looks like you have a friend. He seems to be in a lot of pain. Are you okay, Claudia? What’s going on?”

“
He tried to…” I stopped. Ryan was wrong to do what he did, but I knew him. I had never seen that side of him. Whatever the reason, I knew he would be sorry when he came to his senses, so I decided not to tell Austin. But looking at the scenario, I knew Austin would get the picture.

“
You should be careful of who you hang out with,” Austin scolded, cocking his brow.

“
Excuse me!” I huffed. He had no right to say that to me. Come to think of it, didn’t I lock the front door? How did he come in? Hmmm…maybe I thought I did and didn’t. “I can take care of myself, thank you.”

“
Looks like you can, right where it hurts the most. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes right now.”

I needed to find a way to get Ryan out of here. “Were you planning on going somewhere?” After all, it was Saturday night.

“
No, I don’t have any plans. Like I said, I just stopped by.”

“
Can you do something for me, please?” I pleaded. “I’ll owe you one.”

“
Or two,” he said smiling. “I’ll take him home.”

He knew what I wanted. “Thank you so much. He can’t stay here and I wouldn’t want him to drive in his condition.” I was grateful to him again. He had been the one to take me to the hospital to see Gamma, and now this, taking home a guy he didn’t even know on my account. Austin was really one of the “nice guys.”

Austin went inside the storage room and dragged Ryan out. Ryan still looked like he was in pain, which served him right. He gave me an apologetic look and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

It was difficult to look him in the eye, but I did anyway. I wanted him to see the pain and disgust in my eyes. I didn’t know what had come over him to do what he’d tried to do; regardless, this was something I couldn’t just forget.

“
Shut up, scum bag. You’ve said enough.” Austin sounded appalled. He took Ryan to his car and shoved him inside his black Infiniti.

I don’t know what came over me. Feeling grateful that Austin was there, I gave him a genuine, warm hug, and I found myself comforted by his embrace. “Thank you,” I said. “I’m glad you stopped by.”