Reflection

Chapter 3

"So, what do you do?" Nick smiled as he let his head fall back to the seat.

My mind screamed, 'run, all I do now is run.' Instead, I let out a heavy sigh and spoke of my old life. "I work in marketing for an accounting firm."

"Wow, marketing something that boring must be..."

"Tough," I laughed. "It has its moments, but I love it. What do you do?"

"I'm in banking. So, I guess I shouldn't judge," he shrugged. "Are you from New York?"

"Yep, born and raised," I nodded.

"Any siblings?" He continued.

"No," I instinctively answered, but then my mind slipped to the face that had winked at me. I shook the thought away.

Nick continued to pepper me with questions hoping something would gather traction, but I was incapable of depth. He hid it well, but I was certain he was relieved as we pulled into the D.C. bus station.

"Well, Antonio, it was a pleasure getting to know you," he smiled as the bus lurched to a stop.

"Yes," I apologetically agreed as I pulled my bag out from beneath my seat.

"Can I help you get a bag down?" He asked as he pulled a duffle from above.

"No, I travel light," I covered.

"Impressive," he nodded before stepping aside to let me head down the aisle.

I gave a grateful smile before trudging to the front of the bus. I wasn't looking forward to the door. I had nowhere to go, no next step, but my feet kept moving, one foot in front of the other until I was descending the stairs. The bright June sun stung my eyes before I could pull my sunglasses down. I squinted from the blaze and saw the flash again in the watery haze.

My face was there in the distance, casually leaning against a pole in the terminal, looking rather pleased to see me. My pace stopped dead, causing Nick to crash into me, but I didn't react. I didn't respond to his hands grasping at my waist to steady me. I didn't respond to his words of confusion. My eye remained glued to me in the distance.

She smiled more broadly and dared to even wave, but it wasn't an actual wave. Her wrist twisted her hand once before her fingers formed a gun and pointed directly at her own temple. Then, as if to accent the moment, she mouthed, 'see you soon.' As my stomach plummeted and knees buckled.

"Shit, Antonia," was the last thing I remembered before the darkness took over.

"There she is," was the next thing I recalled.

"What happened?" I asked as I gazed around at my surroundings.

Nick and the bus driver scanned over me.

"You passed out, ma'am," the driver said. "Happens from time to time in the summer. I keep the bus pretty cool, and when the summer heat hits people just drop."

"Oh," I said in a daze, but I knew the temperature had nothing to do with me fainting.

"How are you feeling?" Nick asked as he handed me a bottle of water.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry for bothering you all." I took a slug of water and let it roll down my parched throat. Despite the aid the water should have provided, the gulp felt more like sandpaper in my dry throat.

"Glad you're okay, miss. I should get back to the bus," the driver nodded and gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder before pacing away.

"You sure you're okay?" Nick asked again.