CHAPTER THREE
1269 Words
Once bitten……
Anna browsed through the rows of hair dye at the store as she wove her hands through her hair,
considering changing her hair color again. She felt like she had gone blonde long enough. She
needed a new look.
She had initially only come to the store to get a few essentials before she left for work, but the
dye section caught her eye and she couldn’t resist.
She passed by two men who were on the opposite aisle facing her and she could swear she
recognized one of them.
“Hey isn’t that your crazy neighbor? What was her name again? Ashley?” Anna heard one of the
men whisper. Yes! Now she remembered where she knew him from. Her former apartment
was one of her neighbors and she could vaguely remember seeing him on the night of the
incident.
“Anna. Her name’s Anna and I never knew she had a mental problem until that night. She
always seemed so closed off and to herself, never causing any trouble. She moved out
eventually. It’s been over a year now. I wonder what she’s up to with her life.” Anna heard her
former neighbor whisper.
When she couldn’t take any more of the gossip, she stormed off, leaving the dye she wanted to
buy.
She got into her car and tried to control her breathing. She was getting worked up and it wasn’t
good for her anxiety. She quickly rushed to the pigeonhole of her car and swallowed some
medicine she brought out. After a while, it took effect and she began to calm down. Tears rolled
down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them off. It’s been over a year since the incident with
Namon happened.
It didn’t come as a surprise to her as that was not the first time this type of thing was happening.
What worried her was how intense this episode was. She vividly remembered looking into
Namon’s face that night and seeing the face of a killer. She decided to see several therapists
and take medication after that. She moved out of her apartment because everyone thought she
was crazy, so she found a place uptown. There she met Jessica, and then the two of them
decided to share the place. The price was pretty steep but Jessica’s folks came from money so
she decided to foot all the bills if only Anna dealt with the meals. It seemed like a decent deal to
Anna, so they’ve been living together ever since. Anna liked her very much and they got closer
than ever, Anna didn’t see any need to reveal her past to Jessica, and they lived in peace.
And now, seeing those people in the store brought back memories she had tried so much to
suppress. She glanced at her medicine pack, it was almost finished. All this while she hadn’t the
need to restock them because she hadn’t gotten any attacks, but now that it started all over
again, she was going to have to get more and pray that she would never do something stupid
to hurt Jessica or anyone else.
She got to the restaurant right on time for her shift. To her surprise, Cassidy and Harriet were
already there. “Okay, I see you two took this New Year resolution thingy pretty seriously,” Anna
said and laughed.
“Yeah right,” Cassidy answered, “Mr. McFee promised us that he was going to give us a raise if
we came in early for the whole week.”
Anna almost forgot that she was the only employee who had the liberty to call Kasin McFee by
his first name, without the titles. “Hey! So not fair. I come in early all the time and I don’t get any
raises.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, good girls get no raises Annie babes, you should know that by now”, Harriet
giggled.
“Pay them no mind Anna”, Kasin appeared from the doorway, “it’s only for the week, and believe
me, they’re gonna fail.”
“Not for the cash we won’t,” they both chorused and gave each other a high five.
Anna rolled her eyes and got to work. It was a busy morning and McFees was a popular
restaurant in town so that meant all manner of people flooded the place.
“Hey there what can I get you?” Anna asked as she approached the young man seated at the
table she was waiting for.
He looked up at her and smiled, a boyish smile that could melt the heart of any interested young
lady. Anna was not an interested young lady. “Well, you’re a lovely lass ain’t ya?” He had a thick
Irish accent. Anna wondered what the hell he was looking for on this part of the planet.
“Thank you, can I take your order?”
“Of course, I’ll have the best dish on the menu and maybe after that, I take you on a nice little
date eh?”
Anna feigned a small smile, “No thank you, if that would be all, I’ll be taking my leave now,” then
she walked away. After the incident with Namon, she never gave any man any chances. No
more dates, not even one-night stands. None of that. She was done with it.
She got his dish ready and as she was about to serve him, another slightly older man joined him
at his table.
Ugh for God’s sake not another one
“May I take your or-“
“Don’t worry love, he won’t be needing anything,” the Irish said, cutting her off. She looked at his
guest and he kept typing away on his phone, paying no mind to her.
She handed the Irish his dish and was about to leave when she heard a name that she hoped
she would never hear for the rest of her life.
“What do you mean Alonzo Calli is in town? What the hell does the Fibonacci want?” The guest
fiercely whispered.
Anna stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart raced and she couldn’t breathe for a while.
“Anna snap out of it.” Anna was being throttled by Kasin, “what is wrong with you Anna? You
just iced out. Are you okay?”
She was sweating and her breath came in gasps, “I need some air,” she breathed and pushed
past him towards the back door.
When she got outside, she began racking her brain for possible escape plans.
“It’s not possible. What is he doing here? Why here of all places for Christ'sthe sake!” She punched
the wall in rage. She was out of escape plans. Coming to the US was her last resort. She had
hoped she could hide out here for the rest of her life, maybe even start a family and live a
meaningful life without Alonzo and the Fibonacci cartel on her back. It’s been almost fifteen
years since Alonzo killed her family. She ran away from home and started life all over again in
the States, with a new identity and a whole new story. But she was a fool to think that they
would believe she was dead and no one would come looking for her. She gravely
underestimated Alonzo, and if he truly was in this town, his men would be crawling all over the
place, and it wouldn’t take him long to find her, and when he does find her, he would kill her
- Writer
