The Hardest Part

*Note: this chapter takes place a couple weeks prior to Erik showing up.  The rain wasn't going to let up anytime soon. I sat behind the counter watching the people walk by the glass window. Usually we would be busier but due to the weather, I wasn't expecting many customers to be coming through. I sighed to myself. The little bell above the door rang, signaling that a customer had come in. I sat up straight with a smile on my face. "Welcome-" I started to greet but then paused when I realized it was just my friend, Brenda. "You look so happy to see me," she said, walking up to the counter. "I was expecting a customer." "Sorry to disappoint. What time are you off?" I glanced down at the watch that Vince's mom had given me for a graduation present. That was only six months ago but it seemed like a life time. I haven't heard from Erik since. I wasn't expecting to, but something told me he would be showing up again sometime soon. Brenda waived her hand in front of my face. "Haven? Did you hear me?" "I'm off in like thirty minutes," I said, ignoring her question. She gave me a worried look. "Want to grab lunch?" I thought about it for a moment. Vince did say he would be home late today and not to wait up for him. This past week he had been working really hard at his internship. I understood though. He was trying to impress George. If he managed to, he could land a permanent position. Either way he would get a permanent position since George was good friends with Vince's dad, but it meant he could get a better position if George felt like he was qualified. "What are you thinking?" I asked. Brenda shrugged. "There's new salad place around the corner I've been wanting to try." "You want salad?" I asked, surprised. "I'm trying to cut down on my meat consumption," she said. "How's that been going so far?" "It's going." I chuckled. "What exactly does that mean." She sighed. "It's hard because I love steak but I'm trying." "I'm glad it's working out for you," I said sincerely. Brenda smiled. "Thank you." "Give me ten minutes to close up." "I'll be looking around." Ten minutes came quicker than I thought. Olivia came in with a smile on her face. She owned the store. This was her baby and she always made sure to be here every day to make sure everything was running smoothly. "You're free to go," she said. It didn't take us long to get to the café that Brenda was talking about. Thankfully, it was still self-seating, so we made our way towards an empty table by the window. "Have you started on the history paper?" Brenda asked as soon as we were seated. I shook my head. "Nope. Have you?" She waived her hand. "You know I'm going to wait until the day before." I laughed. That was true. Procrastination at its finest. "How's Vince? I feel like I haven't seen him in forever." "He's at work." "He's been working a lot," she said. The waitress came and quickly took our orders. She came back a few minutes later with two glasses of water. "He's trying to get a permanent position." "He's friggin smart. I'm sure he will." I smiled. Brenda talked the entire time at lunch. I didn't mind, I wasn't really in the social mood. Something had been weighing down on me, but I couldn't explain what exactly it was. She talked about her sister coming down for winter break to visit her for a little bit. "Are you going to go back home?" I asked as we were leaving the restaurant. Brenda grimaced. "No, thank you." I raised a brow. "No?" She shook her head. "Nope. I don't want to see my stepfather." I forgot, Brenda and her stepfather didn't get along to well. They had very different opinions and ideals. I felt bad for her mom because she was persistently trying to get Brenda to go home and visit. Brenda only goes back home a total of two times each year. Christmas and her birthday. "You should at least see your mom." "I invited her to come here." I walked with Brenda all the way down to the corner of First and Clifton street. She turned to me with a frown on her face. "I'm going to miss you," she said. I rolled my eyes. "You'll see me in class tomorrow." She laughed. "Still." We gave each other a hug before parting ways. As I was walking home, I noticed a familiar blond head across the street. There was a faint smell in the air that was also familiar. It couldn't be. I stood on the tips of my toes to get a better look. The person kept walking. I quickly looked both ways before crossing the street to catch up with him. I weaved my way through the crowd trying to follow him. He made a left turn. I stood at the corner and snuck a glance. The guy had stopped to meet up with a girl. His back was to me and he was blocking the girl from my view. I stepped from behind the corner to walk towards them. That's when he turned around and my face fell. It wasn't Erik. I shook my head and quickly turned on my heels to head back to my apartment. I practically ran home. I was desperate to go home. I walked into the building, heading straight for the stairs. I could take the old, rickety elevator but it honestly scared me to take it half the time. Plus, I could use the exercise. I pulled out my keys from my bag and then I noticed the rose taped to the door. I pulled it off and glanced around the empty hall. I smelled the rose. It was a plain, ordinary, red rose. Nothing special about it. There was no note. Someone had probably gotten the wrong apartment. I took one last glance around the hall but still didn't see anyone or anything out of the ordinary. I quickly unlocked the front door and stepped into the apartment. I closed the door and locked it behind me, tossing the rose onto the small table next to the door. I threw my bag on the couch and headed towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Something was wrong with me. I jumped when my phone went off in my back pocket. I answered it without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?" "Haven! I'm so glad you answered," Hazel said. I relaxed. "What's up?" "I wanted to know what the plan was?" "What plan?" I asked, confused. "The plan we've been talking about for weeks now," she said. "Did you forget?" Oh, right. The plan. "No, I remember. Sorry, I was thinking about something..." "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a long day." "Are you sure?" "I'm sure." "Okay," she said, hesitantly. "What are we doing?" I cleared my throat. "Right, um, you're coming here first and then we're going to go back to mom and dads together." "Perfect! I'll be there around-" I didn't hear the rest of her sentence. I was too busy staring at the rose that was in the living room. I walked over to it and picked it up. Something was off. "Haven?" "Yeah, that sounds good." "Okay, what's going on? You didn't hear a word I said." I shook my head. "I'm sorry, I just came home and there was a rose taped to my door." "A rose?" "Yeah." I examined the rose. "Was there a note?" "No, just the rose." "Someone probably got the wrong apartment." I threw the rose back down on the table. "You're probably right," I muttered. I couldn't sleep that night, I kept having the same nightmare where I was tied to a chair. My mouth was covered with duct tape. I couldn't make a sound and I was terrified. I didn't recognize the room I was in and it didn't help that one of my eyes was swollen shut. There was a faint glow of light coming from a window. I tried to pull my hands free, but the rope was too strong. I was growing tired and weaker as the seconds went by. I could feel my other eye closing from exhaustion. I wasn't sure how long I had been here. Hours, maybe days? I had no idea. A door from somewhere from behind screeched open. It sounded like a metal door scraping against the floor. Immediately I sat up on alert. I heard footsteps slowly approaching from behind. My body became rigid with fear. What were they going to do? I felt something sharp and sting at my neck. Before I could process what happened, everything went black. I woke up gasping for air. "Haven, breath!" Vince was staring at me, his eyes ablaze with worry. "Breath. It's only a dream," he said. It felt so real. I looked around the room. I was back in our bedroom. My legs were tangled in the sheets, my face dripping with sweat. Vince pulled me into his chest. Slowly, I began to calm down. He rubbed my back gently. "You're okay. I'm right here," he said over and over again.  -THP-