Destiny

Chapter 4

There was a knock at my door.
"Come in!" I said with a bobby pin between my teeth.
"Hey, do you have-- oh. Honey. You look so pretty. Where are you going?" My mom said coming into my room. I turned around and put the bobby pin in my hair to tame a price of hair up beside my braided bun. I was wearing a short sleeved black and purple lace dress and black heels. My mom sat on my bed.
"I'm going with Asher to that little cafe that just opened on Sommers street." I say putting on my new lipstick color.
"That's nice. Well you look stunning." My mom said coming over and kissing my head. I smiled at her. She began to leave.
"Mom? Was there something you needed?" I asked before she left.
"Oh! Yeah, have you seen the blue laundry basket? The pink ones full and the green one broke." She asked pausing at the door.
"The blue one is over there next to my closet." I say pointing and then going back to putting blush on my cheeks.
"Okay, thanks." My mom said picking it up.
"Your Dad and I are going to meet up with Kimberly and Lloyd and Arielle for a drink at the Green Turtle, okay? So we may not be home when you get back." My mom warned. Kimberly, Lloyd and my parents go out for drinks and food all the time. They are really close. They happen to work together now too. Kimberly quit her job as a Realtor last year and my mom helped her take a job at Mary Kay. Lloyd however works as a construction worker for McCarthy Construction.
Arielle is Kimberly and my moms boss for Mary Kay. They hang out with her occasionally. She's an electrical engineer for Intel though and is really busy most of the time.
"Okay." I say closing the blush container. "I love you." I say as she leaves the room.
"Love you more!" She calls from the hallway. I smile and look at my self in the mirror. I take a few selfies, and then the doorbell rang. I took one last look in the mirror and grabbed my little black clutch. I walked down stairs and saw Asher in the foyer with my dad. I like to pause a minute when Asher picks me up because my dad talks to him every time. I like to hear what they say.
"Good, good." I hear Asher say.
"Great. How about your parents? They doin' well?" My dad asks. I can hear him take a sip of his beer.
"Fine. My sisters not been feeling well this weekend. Yesterday she woke up with a stomach ache and a little fever." Asher says sadly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Best wishes to her, Elizabeth, right?" My dad asks.
"Yeah." Asher says. There's a moment of silence. I took a step down the stairs and stopped when my dad started talking again.
"Still wanna join the Military, son?" He asks.
"Yes sir." Asher says proudly.
"What branch?" My dad asks.
"Air Force, sir." Asher says.
"Nice. Good choice." My dad says, I hear him pat Asher on the back. "What's she doing up there?"
I smile and tuck a loose hair behind my ear. Then I begin the rest of the way down the stairs.
"Ready." I say when I reach the last step.
"Great." Asher says holding his arm out for me to take. "We'll be back by nine, sir." Asher says to my dad.
"Alright. Have fun!" My dad says opening the door for us. We step out and walk to Asher's car. Asher opened the door for me and I slid in and smoothed my dress on my legs. He closed the door and walked to the other side.
"You look beautiful, as always." He said smiling, looking me up and down, he started the car.
"Thank you." I say planting a kiss on his cheek. We back out and drive down the road.
"What's the cafe called?" I asked him after a few minutes of silence.
"The Crab and Shell." Asher says turning the radio on. I smiled.
"That's a cute name." I say happily. I turn the radio up. Asher's usual music is playing, country. We listen to Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Dierks Bentley all the way to the cafe. We park and Asher helps me out. He guides me into the cafe and to the front counter.
A young Asian girl is at the little desk.
"Table for two." Asher says when she looks up at him. She nods.
"Right this way." She leads us to a little dark wood table right next to the window. Asher pulls out my chair and helps me in. Then he sits and we open out menus.
"Can I get you an appetizer?" The girl asks. We nod.
"We'll have the Hand-battered calamari." The girl nods and leaves.
"So how was your shopping day?" Asher asks reaching for my hands across the table. I sit up on my elbows and take his hands.
"Good. Julie found a super cute hat." I say smiling.
"Nice. What did you get? Anything cute?" He asks smiling at me mischievously.
"Well, I did get a sweater dress and some new boots." I say.
"That sounds cute. You should wear it on Monday." He says sitting back still smiling. The girl and a guy server came back and set our calamari on the table. We thanked her and ordered our drinks. We decided not to get entrees because the appetizer is so big.
"You aren't going to believe what Lola did today." I said, laughing a little at the thought. Asher raised his eyebrows.
"What did she do?"
"We were sitting outside of 'Dick's Sporting Goods', doing what we always do when we get 'Orange Julius,' and we pointed this cute tan boy out to her and she basically dared herself to get his number." Asher laughed.
"She always was a crazy one. Did she get it?"
"Oh yeah, she got it. His name was like, Seth. I swear he had to be at least twenty." I said taking a sip of my hot tea.
"That's hilarious." Asher said laughing. "I just have one serious question." He said.
"Hmm?" I asked.
"Was he cuter than me?" Asher asked playfully while pointing to himself. I picked up a Calamari and threw it at Asher. We both laughed.
"Lola and Julie were talking about our plan to get married yesterday. They think we're crazy." I say picking up a calamari and popping it in my mouth. "Mm." I say grabbing another.
"They do? Most people do, I don't care." Asher says sipping his lemonade.
"Me either." I say crunching on another. I grab one and hold it out for Asher to open his mouth. He does and I pop it in.
"Yum. These are really good." He says grabbing another too. We silently munched for a while.
"I'm getting so full." Asher says sitting back in his chair. "But they are so good." He reaches up and gets another calamari. I laugh.
"Same." I say also getting another.
"What did you do today?" I asked, laying my back against the back of my chair and stretching my legs out to the side of the table.
"Hmmm, I played some baseball with Sam and Parker and the guys at the park and went out to lunch with my dad." Asher said. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
"Your dad had enough time to take you to lunch?" I asked, shocked.
"That was my reaction when he asked. I had just been playing video games after I got back from baseball and showered."
"Wow." I said. "That's good, maybe he's finally coming around and realizing he needs to be a bigger aspect of your life." I said.
"Could be. That or he is about to tell us something that he knows we won't like. I doubt it though, he doesn't do that often." I nod and we sit there, quietly sipping our drinks and looking out the windows.
"This cafe is really cute and cozy." I said. It had a big fake piece of coral and in the middle it was hollowed out to be the serving counter. On the right side of the coral was a long counter with bar stools of all sorts of colors. The stools looked pretty plushy and comfortable. Hanging from the ceiling was lamps shaped like different fish. In a corner there was a sitting area with bright colored couches and chairs that had a bundle of the fish lights, all hanging at different lengths. The whole cafe was brightly colored with dark wood on the furniture.
Asher's phone suddenly buzzes on the table. I take a drink of my hot tea.
"Oh no." He says reading the text message.
"Is everything okay?" I ask sitting up.
"No... Elizabeth has a fever of one hundred and five point three. My parents are taking her to the hospital." He says typing.
"That's terrible!" I say looking at his phone.
"I have to go home. I'm so sorry. Daniels there and they don't want to wake him up. But he can't be home alone." Asher says gathering his wallet and wiping his face. He places a fifty dollar bill on the table and hands me forty. I look up at him in frantic wonder.
"Ellie, I'm so sorry. Here's some money to get a taxi. I love you." He says quickly. We kiss and he runs out of the cafe.
"I love you too!" I call after him. I look down at the money in my hands. He really didn't have to give me this. I think to myself. I call the waitress over and let her know that the fifty is for dinner and to keep the change. I look over at the big clock on the wall. It's twenty minutes to nine. I'm supposed to be home by nine. I walk quickly out of the cafe and thank the waitress. I walk down the street and hail the first cab I see. It pulls slowly to a stop and I get in.
"Thank you sir, I need to go to Lily Pad Lane." I say buckling
in.
"Excuse me?" The driver says. He is a middle aged foreign man who looks to be from the Middle East or India, he has a heavy accent.
"Lily Pad Lane." I repeat slowly. "It's down near the bank on the main highway?"
He nods quickly and pulls off slowly. We had to be going ten miles per hour.
"Left?" He asks. I look at him curiously.
"Um... No sir. Lily Pad Lane." I say again. This guy is clueless. The man nods again.
"Left?" He asks after a minute. I look behind us. We are only a quarter of a mile from the cafe. I've been sitting in the cab for five minutes already.
"No. Just go straight and turn on to the main highway." I tell him trying to keep my cool. He nods just like before and continues at ten miles per hour. I sigh. "Could we go a little faster please?" I ask trying to be nice.
"Hm?" The man asks.
"FASTER?" I say really slowly. He just glares at me and stops the car. "You know what-" I open the car door and hand the man a ten dollar bill. "Thanks for nothing." I say angrily. He happily takes the bill and drives slowly away. I cross my arms and shiver and look around.
The road is dark except for some street lamps. Down the street I can see a bakery, a drugstore, an antique shop and a butcher shop. I step into the side walk and begin to walk. I pull my phone out of my clutch and text both my mom and my dad. Then I remembered they went out drinking. Most of the time they won't hear their phones when they go out. I sighed and put my phone away.
I began to walk quicker as I could feel the temperature drop. The middle of November was not a good time to be walking in a short dress at night. I passed an alleyway between the bakery and the antique shop.I walked a little bit and tripped on something. I almost twisted my ankle but stumbled forward and caught myself. I heard a crash and paused. My heart beat loudly in my chest. I looked around me. Chill out Elissa. Its just rats. I think to myself. I continue walking. I hear a scream come from the alleyway behind me. I turn around and walk slowly back to the opening of the alleyway. I hid behind the corner and peer into the dim light of the dirty, trash filled alleyway. A woman's scream fills the air again. I pull out my cell phone and begin to dial nine one one. I stare into the alleyway trying to see what the commotion is, another blood curdling scream. My eyes adjust as I put the phone to my ear, I can see a man's silhouette standing over a brunette woman laying on the ground. There is a gun beside her and a knife in the mans hand. I gasp.
"Hello, nine one one what's your emergency?" A woman's voice says on my phone.
"My name is Elissa Allen. I'm near..." I pause to look at the antique store address. "5642 Sommers street. There is a man attacking a woman. She's screaming..." I pause again as my eyes adjust more. "There's... Blood." I say my voice shaking. The man stops moving. The woman screams again. I hold my breath.
"Okay, stay hidden, we are sending police out immediately." The woman says. "Don't get off the phone."
"Okay." I say my voice still shaking. Tears begin to fill my eyes. The man isn't moving. He's just sitting there. I can't tell which direction he's looking in. The lights are too dim. Then the man stands up and begins to run in my direction. I drop my clutch and run down the side walk as fast as I can. My heel snaps and I twist my ankle. I hear a loud crack from it and pain shoots through my leg. I continue to run as fast as I can. I duck inside the drugstore and run to the back. I look through the shelves. The man, dressed in all black, with knife in hand runs right past the drug store.
"Hello?" Says the operator. I jump, fall on my ankle again, and slip to the floor.
"I'm still here." I say grabbing my ankle in pain. I put the phone back to my ear with my other hand.
"Are you alright?" The woman asks.
"No... He... He chased me.... He saw me... I'm in the drugstore....I hurt my ankle..." I say between tears and breaths.
"Okay, okay. I need you to stay calm. Police and medics should be arriving to the scene." The woman says calmly. I try to control my breathing. The woman coaches me, trying to calm me. A man comes from a back room. He walks over to me.
"Miss? Are you alright?" He says squatting down next to me. I shake my head. He looks at my ankle. It's swelling.
"One moment miss." He says. He gets up and walks away.
"Just take deep breaths, Elissa." The operator says sweetly. I breathe. "How old are you?" She asks me.
"Six-sixteen." I say sobbing as I close my eyes.
"Okay, Elissa... Breathe." She says again. She mimics the noises I make. I breathe deeply. I open my eyes and blurrily see red and blue lights drive by. Some of them stop. The man comes back with a bag of ice and an ace bandage wrap. He places the ice on my ankle. The pain is unbearable. It radiates in my ankle throbbing and with every pulse shoots a fire hot sharp pain through my leg up to my knee. Two officers a man and a woman come running to my side.
"They're... Here." I say into the phone.
"Okay. You did good Elissa. You can hang up now." The woman says. I drop the phone to my side. The female officer lifts my head.
"Ma'am are you hurt?" She asks. I nod and she waves the paramedics in with the stretcher. They hoist me into it, strap me in and push me outside. They load me into the ambulance. A male paramedic puts an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth and the ambulance speeds away.
"Don't worry Elissa. You're going to be fine." He says. I look at him for a moment then close my eyes and fall asleep.

________________________________________________________

"Elissa! ELISSA!" I hear someone yell. Someone takes my hand and I barely open my eyes. My mother is standing over me crying. My father is on my other side.
"Mom," I manage to get out. I cough. I open my eyes more and see I'm in the hospital.
"My poor baby!" She says sobbing over me. I pat her head with my hand.
"Mom, I'm fine." I say sitting up. Pain shoots through my leg.
"Elissa, you looking much better." A male doctor with dark skin and a short beard walks into my hospital room.
"What happened?" My dad asks. The doctor begins to check my blood pressure.
"I was walking home, and I heard screams. The light was too dim to see, but then my eyes got used to it and there was a man stabbing a woman. I called nine one one and he ran after me. I broke my heel and hurt my ankle." I say my voice shaking a little.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry baby!" My mom says kissing my head. The doctor finishes and walks out. A police officer comes in after him with a man in a suit.
"Hello. Mr and Mrs. Allen. My name is Samule Henderman. I'm with witness protection." He says approaching my bed.
"Witness protection?" My dad asks.
"Yes." Samuel nods. "We believe that the man Elissa saw was a serial killer the FBI has been tracking for the past three months." My mom gasps.
"Are you going to put us in witness protection?" She asks in horror.
"I'm afraid so. For the sake of your daughter and the rest of your family." Samuel says looking down at a folder in his hands.
"What about our daughter, Eva? She's in college in Georgia." My father asks taking my mother into his arms.
"She should be fine. I'll make note of her though. We don't think that he will track Elissa but just as a precaution we are going to go ahead and put you in the witness protection program." Samuel says. He hands my father a few papers. "Please, fill these out and come to see me in my office on the eighteenth. I've already scheduled you an appointment." He says. He nods at me and begins to leave. "Godspeed." He says before he exits the room completely. We sat in silence for a while. Then I turned and looked at my parents.
"What.. what's going to happen to us?" I asked, I could feel a tear run down my cheek. My mom wiped it from my face.
"Everything is going to be alright." She whispered. She kissed my forehead.