Read Her Destiny Online

Authors: Monica Murphy

Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Genre Fiction, #Coming of Age, #Teen & Young Adult, #Love & Romance, #Contemporary, #Romance

Her Destiny (8 page)

BOOK: Her Destiny
3.41Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

I wasn’t her boyfriend. I hadn’t been for months. Yeah, we messed around but it meant nothing. She’s an old friend and I hate that she died such a terrible death. You understand how I feel I hope. I can’t be glad she’s gone, not with the fact that she was murdered.

It sucks to admit but I don’t miss her. I’m sure you don’t either. She made our lives miserable.

The cops think Krista’s dad is trying to divert them from him. He’s their only suspect (at least publicly) and I’m not sure why. I’m not sure if I want to know why either. Krista was his daughter. I know they had a fucked up relationship but could it have been so bad that he’d end up killing her after a raging fight?

I hope not. But there’s no other answer. No other suspect besides me that I know of. And I know I didn’t do it.

I’m rambling. Michael would tell me I’m stuck in the past and that dude is right. I am stuck in the past. It’s hard to get my head out of it when I’m constantly confronted with my past transgressions day in and day out. The cops won’t let it go. They don’t care that David made up the entire story about me beating that guy to death. Once in jail, always an ex-con. It fucking sucks.

I need to get over it.

Reverie, I hope you’re well. I like to tell myself that I’ve moved on from you. Harsh, right? It’s probably best that we’re not together, that I don’t see you, that you’re not a part of my life any longer. I would only bring you down. You’re a senior and you need to be having fun, enjoying your last year in high school. Doing things I never got a chance to do since I was locked up in jail (look there I go again, blah blah blah, poor me). I want that for you. I don’t want you miserable.

But then I saw the article about your parents being permanently terminated from The Flock of the Lambs and I know…you must be having a hard time. I want to be there for you, holding you close and comforting you. Maybe you found someone else to comfort you though. I hate the thought of that but I have no claim on you. I’m the one who walked away and never reached out to you again.

It’s all on me. I have no one to blame but myself.

So I hope you’re happy. I hope you’re living your life and not allowing yourself to become stuck in the past. I’m trying to do the same.

It’s hard though. So fucking hard.

Love,

Nicholas

 

November 12th

 

I
t’s been a month since I reconnected with Vanessa and Valerie. Since Evan told me that yes, our parents are thieves and liars. Since I finally wised up and stopped hanging around with people who only used me. Things have happened so fast since then I’ve had a hard time wrapping my head around it all.

I found a part-time job at a restaurant not too far from our apartment and it’s okay. I was the hostess for all of a week but then one of the waitresses quit unexpectedly on a busy Friday night and they needed someone to cover so I stepped in. My manager, Elaine, said I was a natural and the next week I’m working as many hours as I can, bringing home an average of one hundred dollars a night just in tips, sometimes more on the weekends.

Evan’s thrilled. I give him my entire paycheck and half the tips and I still have plenty of spending money. Money I usually use toward food that we need. It’s sort of amazing how well Evan and I are surviving on our own. We’ve gone from spoiled rich kids who never had to lift a finger to hardworking, responsible almost-adults who had to grow up way too soon.

Whatever. I’m fine with it and so is Evan. Right now he’s my hero and all I want to do is make him happy so he doesn’t worry. I’m picking up my grades thanks to Vanessa and Valerie’s help. My grades aren’t at the level they were before all this stupid crap happened with my parents but they’re good enough. Like I’m going to get into a great college anyway.

I can’t afford the tuition.

“Keep up those grades and you can get a scholarship,” Evan told me a few nights ago. “I’m not going to let your dream of getting into a good college fall apart just because of what happened.”

I appreciate his opinion but college was never necessarily my dream. I just expected to make that next step naturally. Plus, Dad and Mom pushed it so hard. I needed to get into a good college.
A proper education and a bachelor’s degree would help me in life.
I heard that time and again, especially the last few years.

Would going to college help me in life though? Would it really?

So I brought home a stack of financial aid applications the day after my conversation with Evan, becoming overwhelmed at the mere thought of filling all of those forms out, but I know he’s right. I do have a chance and I can’t let it slip by me.

I just have so little time to do anything beyond go to school, eat, work, and sleep. It’s so much easier falling into bed every night, so exhausted I can’t keep my eyes open for long. I prefer keeping busy, then I’m not thinking about the bad stuff.

Like what my parents did. Now they’re facing all sorts of lawsuits and possible criminal charges. They haven’t reached out to Evan and I since the news broke which blows my mind. It’s like they forgot all about us and despite how angry we both are at them their neglect still hurts us.

And then there’s Nick. Why I bother worrying about him I don’t know. It’s so dumb to think I had something real with him. How real could it have been since I haven’t heard from him since we were separated so abruptly? That hurts too…it’s like he walked away without another thought. As if I was some sort of simple summer romance and nothing more. I really didn’t matter to him after all, did I?

I’m on my way to work now, my heels clicking loudly as I walk/run down the sidewalk toward the restaurant. Luckily enough I can take the city bus and the stop is only a few blocks from Seville’s.

I’m also lucky because Seville’s is one of the most expensive restaurants in the area. My manager Elaine knew immediately who I was when she glanced over my application and gave me one of those sympathetic looks that people are so good at lately. But other than that, she’s never really referred to my family or their troubles. She’s just encouraged me, pushed me and ultimately rewarded me with the quick promotion from hostess to waitress.

“It’s probably not going to be busy tonight, Rev,” she says the moment I walk through the door. She’s at the hostess stand, going over the list of reservations for the night like she usually does. “I’m guessing it’ll be an early night.” She glances up at me, offering a sweet smile. I like Elaine a lot. She’s got a motherly personality, always watching out for me and making sure I’m all right.

She’s nothing like my mom whatsoever.

“Good. I’m glad for the break.” It was a rough day at school since I worked so late last night and then went over to Vanessa’s to study for a test in our government class. I didn’t get home until midnight and had to wake up at six to finish an English paper. Plus with the holidays coming closer, it seems to bring more people out to dinner for some reason. I guess everyone’s in a celebratory mood.

Except for Evan. And me. He already warned me he didn’t want a Christmas tree this year, which I’m fine with. Why pretend to have holiday cheer when the both of us are the farthest from spirited?

The night went as expected, steady but not crazy. The customers are easygoing, with a few repeats that aren’t particularly demanding. Seville’s attracts a bunch of people from the neighborhood and many of them come into the restaurant at least once a week.

I like the regulars, they make me feel like I’m a part of them, how I used to feel when things were still small with The Flock of the Lambs and Dad hadn’t expanded into the television show yet. The congregation felt like my family and I loved it. More than anything, I loved standing in front of the people crowding the pews as I lead them in singing hymns, wearing my pretty dresses with the matching bows in my hair.

Mom made sure I wore a new dress every Sunday once we were on TV. After awhile, it wasn’t any fun anymore. Dad had to beg me to sing solos after Evan started refusing to get up on stage any longer. But I didn’t want to do it without Evan. He was my lifeline when I was little, the big brother who watched out for me, who protected me. He always made sure I wasn’t being forced into doing something I didn’t want.

He’s come back into that protective role he abandoned when he was in his early teens and I’m so thankful for him. He probably has no idea just how appreciative I am.

“Rev.” One of the other waiters, Frank, sets his hand on my shoulder, startling me from my melancholy thoughts. “Can you take care of table two for me? They just need a water refill.”

“Sure.” I nod, ignoring my racing heart as I grab hold of a pitcher of ice water and head toward table two, which is right in front of the windows that face out toward the street. It’s dark outside, even more with the ominous clouds that blew in earlier this afternoon. As I glance out the window I can see the wind blow through the trees that are lit by the street lamps, their branches swaying, the leaves long gone.

“More water?” I ask the couple at table two with a faint smile, starting to fill their glasses when they nod and say yes. I look up when the wind gusts hard against the windows, rattling them, and I see someone standing across the street. A boy. A man. His hands are in the front pockets of his jeans, his head and neck hunched into his jacket as if he’s trying to fight off the horrible wind. A car drives by, the headlights cutting across his face for a brief moment and I suck in a harsh breath when I see him.

He looks just like Nicholas.

A gasp escapes me and I jerk my arm, the water and a few ice cubes spilling all over the table. The female customer shrieks and backs away, knocking me from my shock, and I set the pitcher on the table, grabbing the leftover napkins as I start to sop up the mess.

“I’m so sorry,” I say again and again as I clean up the mess I made, feeling everyone’s eyes on me as I try my best to clean up fast. Elaine arrives at my side, a rag in her hand and she murmurs for me to gather up the napkins and go to the kitchen.

With shaky hands and an equally shaky smile I do as she says, thankful to escape the front of the restaurant for a while. I push through the double doors and toss the soaked napkins into the trash, setting the pitcher on a nearby table. I lean against the edge of the counter, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand, and I close my eyes, irritated. Embarrassed. I’ve never done something like that before. I don’t know what got into me.

You know what got into you. You thought you saw a ghost.

Right. That’s all it was. A ghost. No way could that have been Nick. I saw him for all of about two seconds. There’s no way he could’ve found me.

“What happened to you?” Elaine asks as soon as she enters the kitchen, her expression full of concern as she approaches me. “Are you all right?”

I nod, feeling incredibly foolish. I can’t tell her what really happened. She doesn’t know about Nick and even if I did tell her she’d probably think I’m crazy. “I’m so sorry. I have no idea why I spilled the water. My hands were a little shaky I guess.” I hold them out in front of me, noticing that they’re still trembling, and I close my fingers into fists, irritated that I’m still reacting to what—or who—I thought I saw. “I’ll be fine. Maybe I should take a quick break.”

“Maybe you should go on home for the night. You’ve been working so hard and with school too…” Elaine’s voice trails off and she smiles, reaching out to pat my arm. “I think it’s best if you clock out. Frank can cover your tables. It’s not that busy anyway.”

BOOK: Her Destiny
3.41Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Emerald Sky by David Clarkson
Life Ain't A Fairy Tale by Miguel Rivera
Nerd Do Well by Pegg, Simon
The Royal Wulff Murders by Keith McCafferty
Red Jack's Daughter by Edith Layton
Pieces of You by Mary Campisi
ARC: Under Nameless Stars by Christian Schoon
The Accidental Mistress by Tracy Anne Warren
The Carnival Trilogy by Wilson Harris