Chapter 6
1103 Words
The car is gone, the empty street is back to the usual stillness, but there’s a vast hole that’s raptured my perfectly constructed universe.
He looks down the streets at the block tire marks.
“That’s strange,” He says…. “I think you’re right. We better get you home.”
During the walk back home, he’s a completely different person. That warm, vulnerable excitement he had has turned into a stern and icy demure texture that I can’t permeate. He becomes cold, frigid and inaccessible — just like this gloomy town.
I also get into my shell. It’s the only safety I know. I crawl deeper inside myself. Telling him what I’m thinking is too heavy to say. The words just won’t come out.
It’s a twisted irony. The first time I try to feel free and hopeful, all this starts! I can’t catch a break! No it’s not fair… I muffle under my breath…
“Did you say something?” He asks as he walks me to my doorstep. I’m careful to see that the door is still locked.
“Um… nothing.” Another lie escapes my lips with a twisted shallow smile masking my terror.
I close the door and watch him leave. He walks, lost in his own thoughts. He doesn’t look back… and I don’t see him the next day. Or the day after that.
—-
I haven’t seen Owen for weeks, and it’s driving me nuts. I don’t know if that car spooked him… or if he just doesn’t want to see me anymore.
He’s missed his Tuesday books, and I’ve just been looking at his blue bookmark, making sure I haven’t confused a dream for real life.
It was perfect while it lasted, I suppose. I still smell his gentle scent when I close my eyes. I can feel his hands in my palms when I reminisce. It was a moment of perfection.
It’s like a moment that was too good to be true. How could I expect to love him if I started everything on this lie? He deserves better… I’m relieved that he can be happy…
The chime of the door interrupts my thoughts. It’s got to be him. I quickly straighten myself and look at the door, but what I see makes my heart sink.
It starts with the smell of that damp vanilla cigar that invades the Bookstore as the door opens. It’s not Owen. It’s two guys in finely tailored suits.
They have the bravado I’m all too familiar with — they’re a bunch of wise guys.
“Hey, how you doin’?” One of the guys says. The other man simply walks around looking through the bookshelves like a wood smelling blood in the air while the other one stares at me with pompous arrogance.
“Got any good books me and my friend here can read, Sweetheart?”
The word “Sweetheart” rings in my ears like a chapel bell setting off my alarms. He’s used a word only Marcus has ever said to me. Is this the guy that killed him? He’s here mocking me isn’t he… I lose myself and come back to life when I blink to see him still standing in front of me.
He smiles, relishing the psychological torment. I’m sure this is the same grease-ball that cleaned my cup!
“I’m talkin’ to ya, got anything I should know about?” he says.
The air in the room is sucked dry. If I could crawl in the shelves and turn into a book, I’d rather do it than talk to my worst nightmare staring at me in the face. He’s been hunting for me, and he’s found me in this rainy town called AldinTown.
I’m trying to find my words as the doorbell chimes one more time. I turn to see Mrs Gable. She steps in and smiles as she walks in with her book in hand.
She takes a look at the men, then at me. The Italian man says,
“I guess we’ll be seeing you very soon.” He turns to Mrs Gable, with that disarming smile and says, “Afternoon ma'am.”
The other man leaves without a word.
Mrs Gable puts the book on the counter.
“They’re kind of cute but… a bit strange.”
“I–”
I’m about to speak, but my words are choked out by the obnoxious roar of that engine. I can’t mistake it, it’s the same car that followed Owen and I that night. I feel the breath returning to my lungs the further away it gets.
“What a loud car…” Says Mrs Gable as she places a book on the counter. I wonder what they were saying to your young man…”
“Excuse me?”
“In the afternoon, they picked up Owen and took him in that loud automobile of theirs,” she says.
“Are you sure about it?”
“Yes… Is he alright? They seemed to be in a heated argument about… you.”
I can’t believe what she’s saying. My worst fear is real. I’ve gotten him killed. I am such a terrible person. I can’t think.
Then I realize, I haven’t seen Owen since that night. I need to make sure he’s alright!
Mrs Gable’s chatter is like white noise. She takes her book and heads to the door;
“And better make sure you carry an umbrella. The rainy season is about to start…”
She leaves but I’m still spiraling.
I almost forget how to breathe, then I regain my senses.
The running is over.
I flip through the library cards and glance at the address, simply confirming what I already know.
I don’t know my way around Aldin Town so I go to the back of the shop and take out the original map of the town. It’s an old relic of some significance and the pages are worn out from the years.
I take this map, put it in my book bag with the novel and bookmark then, I put on my coat and grab an umbrella.
I take a look at the bookshop as I open my umbrella. I can’t risk those guys coming back. Will this be the last time I see that quaint little place?
The raindrops are falling a bit harder than usual.
I don’t get too far until I have to pull out the old map and follow the directions to find Owen’s house.
I need to find out if he’s alright! I hope those men didn't hurt him.
- Writer
