Love From Death Book 1

Chapter 4 Hopes Coming To Fruition

Chapter 4

Hopes Coming To Fruition…..

Samantha stayed silent for a moment, hiding her hands behind her back so that Jason could not see her pinching the top of her hand. The sweat of her palms and the twinge of pain emanating from the top of her hand told her she was not dreaming.

Jason was here. In the store and he was asking for her help.

“Um, Samantha? You, okay?” Jason asked. Samantha shook herself figuratively, placing herself a bit farther than when she initially was to him. She had forgotten how close she got when she thought he was just a regular customer, basket in hand, ready to buy something in the store.

“Yeah. I’m sorry. How can I help you?” Samantha asked, hiding behind her work face. Not being herself for right now was going to have to do for now.

“Well, I wanted to do this recipe one of my friends told me to do,” Jason started, moving closer to her as he pulled out a scrap of paper, listing off a few ingredients sloppily written down. “and I don’t have a lot of experience with cooking, so I was hoping that someone in here could help me.” Jason said.

Samantha felt her face flush in embarrassment, feeling that she needed to find someone else to help him. She almost wanted to ignore the scream in her head, sending the message over and over, ‘Go get someone else.’

“I didn’t know you worked here, Samantha.” Jason said. Samantha nodded her head absent mindedly.

“Yeah. I’ve been working here for a year and a few months now.” Samantha said. Of course, he didn’t know she worked here. He never noticed her before until today and it was not how she wanted him to first see her.

“Really? I never noticed you going in here.” Jason said. Samantha felt a knife sticking out of her back, the sense of her self-worth dropping to the floor. Samantha pointed to a far corner of the store, indicating where she came in from.

“I take the back entrance over in the alleyway. Less traffic and less likely to….” Samantha trailed off. She wanted to say less likely for him to see her in the store.

As much as she wanted him to see her, she did not want him to see her here, wishing that he would know she worked here, but just didn’t see her in the store. It was confusing, but it was what she thought of when she came in for every shift. Embarrassment evident on her face before she looked around to see if anyone else was near them to help him.

“I can get Mr. Johnson to help you out, if you want?” Samantha asked, searching still for anyone that could better help Jason.

“Can’t you help me?” Jason asked. Samantha looked back at Jason, feeling her heartbeat skip with fear before mustering up the courage to answer him. Licking her lips, she kept her composure as best she could.

“I figured you would want someone that knows the store more.” Samantha said, fidgeting with her fingers as to try and calm her nerves.

“I think I got the right person, right here.” Jason said, pointing at her. Samantha went quiet, still not sure if she could help him. Her customer service persona staying up front while her inner self was still screaming with joy that he wanted her to help him.

A sudden boost of confidence filled within her, not knowing where it came from, but also not caring at the same time, as she could think of nothing better to do than to get him what he needed and potentially spend time with him. If she was what he wanted, she was going to do her best for him.

“Okay. Can I see the list, please?” Samantha asked. Jason smiled and gladly handed the list over to her. Her fingers grasped it lightly, grazing his as well. Samantha felt a small shock but ignored it and took a better look at the list. Taking a quick look at the list, her eyes became swirls, trying to follow any indication that the lines before her were words.

She couldn’t tell if he wrote the list or if someone else wrote it for him. The words almost look like they were wrote down in a hurry, scribbles that she had noticed earlier were not much clearer now that she had it in her hands. The letters crush together to even form the words were almost foreign to her. Still, she could understand some of the words and hopefully make out the rest as they went along.

She noticed a few ingredients she knew right away that they had, normal dairy products, canned food was close by and the dry foods he needed were in stock. The rest was going to be tricky, listing off the rest as non-specific items, detergent and softeners. Accompanied with a non-name brand for trash bags and plastic plates.

Samantha smiled lightly when she could see that maybe he was telling the truth, with the recipe part, seeing a few cleaning supplies added to the list was a precaution.

“Planning on making a special pasta with the detergent?” Samantha asked, letting some of her self-come through her wall.

“Well, with me cooking, it can get ugly.” Jason said, seeing him scratch the back of his head. Samantha nearly giggled at him. He was playing along with her jokes. She could die happy now.

“Well, I think you will do good. Just steer clear of the Bounce extra soft detergent and you should be good.” Samantha said. Crossing her fingers to hopefully still be able joke around with him.

“If I get something with Bounce maybe it’ll make the pasta pop more.” Jason said, laughing at their jokes passing between them. Samantha let a giggle out, letting the feeling of happiness flutter over her chest.

Catching herself, she regained her composure, taking another look at the list, making sure that they did have what she needed for him. Looking over it for the third time, she was more than convinced that everything he needed was here.

“Okay, Let’s get you a cart and we can get this for you.” Samantha said. Taking a few steps away from him, she heard a light screech of his shoes moving to put his basket away and the metal battling each other as he grabbed a cart.

Samantha stopped and turned to look at him, pushing the cart up to her, waiting for her lead before letting anyone else see how he was acting. Samantha smiled softly and started towards one of the aisles.

Tracing the racks along the way before arriving in front of his first ingredient, pasta. The section was well organized thanks to her and with ease, she spotted the culprit and reached down to get it, triumphant in her choice. She looked back at Jason, holding the box in front of her for him to see.

“This okay to you?” Samantha asked. Her confidence shining when he nodded his head, glimpsing at the note in her hand before looking over at her.

“I’m in your hands. Please, all yours.” Jason answered. Samantha nodded her head and went on to grab a few more items for his recipe, keeping her face composed as she stopped at one of the aisles holding the can of tomatoes he needed.

Her eyes stayed fixed on the shelves, reading off the brands of tomatoes before thinking if maybe he could use a fresh batch rather than a canned tomato. The sudden noise of metal creaking behind her told her Jason was close to her.

She kept her eyes forward, not wanting to see what he was looking at or if maybe he was already bored by what she was doing for him. Either way, she didn’t want to know. She kept reading the cans, kept her cool, didn’t let her true self come through.

“What are you going to school for, Samantha?” Jason asked. Samantha paused for a moment, thinking why was she going to school? She forgotten suddenly.

“Well, I want to be something. Something enough to help my mom out.” Samantha answered, her lips running dry from her vague answer. She chose a can of diced tomatoes, she didn’t care what brand it was, placing it in the cart before facing him.

Leaning casually against the shelves, she could see that Jason was trying to play it cool or playing coy with her. She half expects him to tell her he was dared into talking to her. Take the dare or do something he would have to do in exchange. Samantha felt her heart beat harder against her chest.

If it were a dare, she was the biggest fool in the whole world and she would have to face him at school tomorrow.

“Be something? Didn’t you have a teacher that asked you when you were little what you wanted to be when you grow up? Come on, what is it?” Jason asked. Samantha hesitated; her clammy hands swamped over the welded wiring on the cart before her. She needed to be bold.

Even if it was a dare, she wanted to be honest with him. Show him what she wanted and maybe it would make a difference.

Fortune favored the fools, right?

“I wanted to be a History teacher. I wanted to show the next generation that we can learn from our history, that there is more to learn and grow from what was in the past and build on into the future.” Samantha said. She waited for him to laugh, the second it left her lips, she held her breath.

Jason remained silent, the tension between them was beginning to become awkward for her. She didn’t know how Jason felt, he hadn’t changed anything in his face at all. He was completely stone faced before her and it was killing her.

Two seconds go by……Three seconds…….Four seconds……Five seconds…..Ten seconds….Twenty seconds…….Thirty seconds…..

Finally, a smile appeared on his lips, his eyes shining at her. Her face heating up again, the thought that he was about to laugh coming true, but it never came.

“History can teach us a lot. I think it’s a good career to go for, Samantha.” Jason said. Samantha blinked at him for a moment, seeming as if she had passed on to the afterlife.

“Really? You think so?” Samantha asked. Jason nodded his head, the smile still on his lips.

“Yeah. I don’t see why you don’t go after it.” Jason said. Samantha chuckled a bit, seeing her life flash before her in a second.

Helping her mom the most was what she wanted to do. Being a history teacher wasn’t going to bring in any money for them and there is money in being in a business major, signing on with a company, being an intern for a time before finally landing a job that can make her mom have a better life.

Samantha sighed, pulling the cart with her as Jason walked beside her. She almost let go of her nerves for a moment when she thought about what choices she needed to make.

“Becoming a History Teacher won’t help pay the bills and I need to think more realistically to better help my mom.” Samantha said, stopping at the next aisle looking for the flour Jason needed for his recipe.

“So, you are going to put all this work, time, and effort into a career you don’t even want because you want to help your mom out?” Jason asked. Samantha pondered the flour in her hand, registering his question in an extremely low tone.

“If it means that we can be taken care of then, yeah. I can deal with work I need to get done to make it happen.” Samantha said. She noticed Jason move in front of her, his arms fold over his chest, tight and formed when she could see how his shoulders flexed against his shirt.

“You are fine with being miserable doing something you don’t want to do?” Jason asked. Samantha nodded her head, concerned with how he asked her. She placed the flour in the cart and moved down the aisle, skirting around Jason in the process.

“People do it all the time. It’s not a big deal.” Samantha said, grabbing the small container of cumin, stopping when Jason grabbed her wrist gently.

“Even if it meant you would stay like that for the rest of your life?” Jason asked. Samantha stayed still for a moment. Looking into his eyes, she couldn’t tell if it was anger, he felt or pity.

“If it means my mom can have a better life, then yes.” Samantha said. Jason let go of her wrist, looking down at her arm before sighing heavily.

“Sorry,” Jason started. Samantha examined her wrist, seeing no marks left there, she looked up at him. “I know what you are doing is noble and, really, I respect it. But don’t forget yourself, okay?” Jason asked.

Samantha nodded her head and accepted his apology, noticing his eyes were sparkling from the sudden show of emotion she got to see. Something she never thought she would get to see. Samantha sighed and continued to help him gather his groceries.

Taking stops in each aisle as one by one, she found what he needed and moved to the next item, all the while hearing him talk about how he couldn’t imagine cooking something like the recipe he has at home.

Samantha laughed at him, never thinking that he would be bad at cooking.

“I don’t believe you.” Samantha said, placing the detergent away from his food items, looking over her shoulder to find the softener down the aisle.

“I promise. I nearly burned the apartment I was living in before down from the pan of chicken catching on fire.” Jason said, Samantha busted out laughing, quickly covering her mouth to muffle her voice.

“You didn’t?” Samantha asked. Jason nodded his head heavily, as if being proud and embarrassed at the same time. Samantha’s smile widening even more as her laugh begged to be let out.

“I had the Firefighters at my complex, ringing all the way down the neighborhood, because of my burnt chicken. My neighbors thought I set the fire on purpose.” Jason said. Samantha giggled at his comment.

“Our landlord thinks I’m going to set the apartment on fire too!” Samantha said, her anxiety rearing its head again, saying something that may not be the right thing to say.

“Did she call the Firefighters on you?” Jason asked. Samantha shook her head, her smile wiping her anxiety away.

“No, but she always gives me a look like I’m going to one day.” Samantha said. She grabbed a bottle of softener and placed it into the cart.

“Well, I’ll be sure to remember that the next time I burn my kitchen down. I’ll know I’m not alone then.” Jason said. Samantha shushed Jason, trying to make sure that no one would think she is a fire bug.

“Careful. They might think I’ll do it on purpose.” Samantha said. Jason smiled and grabbed hold of the cart. Samantha handed Jason his list back, folding it into the small scrap of paper he came in with.

“Well, I’ll be sure to keep your secret, though I’m pretty sure they know I’m one too.” Jason said, shoving the list in his pocket.

“Well, I guess we will have to be on our toes.” Samantha said. She smiled lightly, checking his cart one last time before the feeling of regret sank in her stomach.

“Okay. I think you have everything. If you go up to the front, Mr. Jay will check you out and you can start on your fun dinner.” Samantha said, slapping herself internally for making such a bad joke.

“Well, I was wondering, what if I wasn’t alone in the mayhem of dinner?” Jason asked. Samantha looked at him, curious as to what he was asking.

“What do you mean?” Samantha asked. Jason pulled out the same scrap of paper and a pen held on his back pocket.

“Join me for dinner?” Jason asked, handing her the paper, with the scribbled writing of a few numbers written down on it. Samantha was silent. She didn’t believe this was happening.

Was she dreaming? She had to be dreaming. Jason Walden, the boy she had been crushing on for so long, was asking her out to dinner?

“I thought you had a girlfriend.” Samantha said, not taking the paper for a moment. Jason took a few steps closer to her, her eyes never escaping his.

“I don’t and I want to make a messy dinner with you. So, what time do you get off work?” Jason asked. Samantha paused again, unable to find the answer, sitting on the tip of her tongue.

“I-I get off work in a few hours.” Samantha finally managed to say, still staring at the paper in his hand.

“I live only ten minutes from here. Call me, I’ll come get you and we can try not to set fire to the kitchen together.” Jason offered. Samantha felt the paper being placed in her hand; a god sent when she swore, she could hear her own lungs squeeze on her when he smiled again at her.

“Okay.” Samantha said. She watched him smile again as he backed away and headed for the front, pulling his cart behind him. She heard him shout over his shoulder as he reached the end of the aisle.

“Call me.” Samantha nodded dumbly. She held onto the paper for dear life, rushing to the back, making sure Jason didn’t see her small form dashing about.

Samantha quickly closed the door behind her, scanning the room in a hurry, seeing no one in the break room with her. A few seconds passing by, letting it sink in, before she let out a high pitch scream.

She couldn’t believe it. She pulled out her phone, reading off the paper as she shakily typed the number in the keypad, typing a small message, her finger hanging over the send button. Her fleeting joy pressed down by her ever-present anxiety.

What if he gave her a fake number? Why didn’t she just put the number in her phone in front of him? She wasn’t thinking straight. Everything was messed up and she needed to keep her head clear. If she were going to be tricked, he wouldn’t have spent so much time with her in the store.

Samantha peeked out of the break room, seeing Jason’s form leave, the wrinkle of bags hanging from his hands as he made his way out of the store. She blinked for a second, seeing what looked like a shadowy figure trailing behind him. She shook her head for a moment, thinking that her mind was still seeing things from her lack of sleep.

But, looking at the entrance again, she could see that the figure was gone, with Jason looking around for a moment before turning left and walking out of view. Samantha closed the door, leaning against it in a fit of confusion.

She wanted to believe with all her heart that Jason was honestly in the store to get groceries, ran into her by coincidence and struck up a conversation with her while in the store. She wanted it to be true, but the small voice in the back of her mind kept whispering to her different opinions while she picked out the items for him and talking to him like a normal person.

He is messing with you! He was dared to talk to you! It’s a fake number! He wouldn’t give you his real number! It’s all a lie!

The voice grew through the small time they spent together, gripping the strings of her heart with each passing minute. Pulling on them in a harsh way as if they could break her soul in two. Samantha kept herself together as best she could, looking down at her phone still in her hand.

She would be taking another chance if she sent the text right now and it would pay off or it would be a huge blow to her already low self-confidence. The flash of her phone from her fidgeting finger curled to her conclusion. She would never gain anything in life without being a little brave in a moment like this. If it was to another number, she could apologize, grip her tears and go forward with keeping to herself and her friends for a while.

But, if it was to his phone, she would have gambled and won the biggest prize she could ever have. The payoff was too great for her not to risk. Samantha held up her phone, glimpsing at her small message,

‘Hi! It’s Samantha! This is my number.’

Taking a deep breath, Samantha summoned her pile of chips to put on the board, clasping her fingers before hitting the send button. Placing her bet as she watched the screen load her message, the dots on the screen loading to her bravery crumbling to nothing by the second once again, until the dots stopped and a clear message of it being sent appeared in a small font below it.

Samantha exhaled hard as she pushed off the door and fell to one of the chairs placed against the wall. She had to wait to see if he would respond, gripping her hands between her legs as she could feel her doubt slipping in and tugging back on her strings.

Minutes went by as she watched her phone, the screen blackened sitting away from her scared form as she counted what felt like years to her before she slumped over in her chair and felt defeat wash over her.

She laid her head on the cold table, letting the cool plastic bleed off the heat for a moment before the ring of a small bell echo off the walls. Samantha grabbed her phone, sliding the unlock screen and opened the message screen. A surprised smile spread across her lips, sitting up in her chair, unable to contain her happiness flowing from her.

‘I said call me, but I will take this. I can call you now. See you in a few hours, Samantha.’

Samantha relaxed back in her chair, overjoyed that she took the gamble. She won big money and was more than happy to make it again. She let the moment sink in as she placed her phone in the back of her pocket. Looking to the clock, gleeful that she only had three hours left in her shift.

Samantha laughed at herself, still not believing this was happening but it was. Jason gave her his number and he was going to come get her after work for a dinner date.

She had a date with Jason.

She pinched herself, feeling the stinging pain of her skin yell to her that it was real and that she was in fact awake. Samantha couldn’t stop smiling as she made her way out of the break room and into the store once again.

Breaking down the stock of wrapped chips, placing them gently on the ground, reaching the rack above her head to come forward and prepare it. Samantha smiled all through her duties. The never ending restock of items and clearing of shelves to another was not as tiring as it was before. The never-ending gearing of confused or arrogant customers couldn’t bring her happiness down.

Her wish was coming true, and she was going to enjoy every moment of it. Hundreds of thoughts flowed through her head, wondering if she could fix her hair or fixing her clothes in the break room, would improve her appearance before Jason came to get her.

Her shift would be over in a few minutes, her nervousness and excitement intertwining before she could do anything about it. She was ignoring the doubting voice in her head. She embraced the bright side of her mind and made a better solution for herself. She was going to have a good night with Jason.

Samantha giggled to a bunch of packaged assorted donuts, her voice staying low so that she would not get the managers attention. Setting the back of the aisle for the night as she set each box off to the next. Not knowing that their attention was already taken by someone up at the front of the store.

Samantha continued to stock the boxes, curious as to why she hadn’t seen the supervisor around. They were usually on her ass to check how she stocked shelves or if there was an unknown palette of produce still sitting in the back. It had been a while since she heard their lovely voice rattle through her ears.

Where were they?

The muffled sounds of voices whispering over the store caught her attention for a moment, making her stop what she was doing and look over the corner of the back aisle to see what was going on.

Samantha set the empty wrappings of the boxes down on the cart, peeking out of the corner of her eye, her smile dropped when she could see the back of someone, clothed in a hoodie and jeans, aiming a gun to the manager’s head. Another man entered the store, pulling a small pistol out as well and aiming it at the supervisor who was also at the front of the store.

Samantha ducked down behind the aisle, bringing her knees close to her chest as she tried to control her breathing, her heart rate rising with each shaky breath she took through her nose. Her vision began to blur as tears began to drip from her eyes, shutting them close for a moment to keep them from getting worse. She placed her hand over her mouth to stay as silent as possible.

Someone was robbing the store. Someone was robbing the store and she couldn’t do anything about it.

The sound of the men raising their voices to the manager only solidified her thoughts of uselessness before she could even notice that one of the men was starting to make their way to the back of the store.

Samantha held her breath as the sound of heavy feet moved slowly to her, each counting the seconds she had. What was she going to do? What did they want from her? Did they know she was there? Are they searching the store for other employees?

Samantha didn’t dare turn her head to look. She stayed completely still, trying with all her might to stop her erratic breathing, before shoving her head into her knees as much as she could to try and keep herself calm. She just wanted them to go away, all of it. She wanted to just leave and see Jason tonight.

She wasn’t going to see his face, learn to cook with him, make a meal together, talk about whatever they wanted. Know if what they could have was real enough for her to touch. In a blink of an eye, her dream had turned to dust.

Now, it was over. Nothing could be done.

“I think someone is over here!” She heard one of them cry. The sound of thunderous footsteps rushing faster to where she was before she could do anything about it.

Samantha froze, her breathing stopped, her trembling halted, bringing her already blurred sight to an absolute black out. The loss of movement left her as she felt herself fall to darkness.

She was going to die and never see Jason again. Her last thoughts were before she lost all consciousness and left all her life to two men holding the rest of it hostage.