If I Die Alone

Chapter 1

"Okay Dad, I'll be heading off to work now!" I kiss him on his forehead as he is flipping through the morning paper. His face looks skeptical after I kiss it as if I have done something wrong. My mother begins to have a worrisome expression.

"Marcus, is everything alright?" My mom asks my father as he continues to scroll through the paper. A gland of sweat begins to form on my mother's forehead. I'm not quite sure what to expect. My father puts the paper down on the table and takes a sip of orange juice. He then begins to speak.

"Nothing really nerve-racking per say, just a bit of a concern."

"What seems to be the problem?" I ask him cautiously, hoping to not reveal information that might scare or taunt me.

"You know the jewelry store you work next to, Angelico's Jewels, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It was robbed last night. The windows were shattered, and over fifty million dollars worth of jewelry was stolen."

"Oh gosh," my mom hopped in on the conversation. "Was anybody hurt?"

"No, nobody was in the building at the time," my father said this statement with a very stern attitude. "But still, be careful Tanisha."

"I will dad, don't worry about me," I say to him with a smile on my face. The robbery personally didn't scare me. I felt that it was only a coincidence that it was the store next to the shop I work at. I don't really think our store would get robbed. I never even understood the placement of Angelico's either. What was a high-class jewelry store doing next to a discount clothes shop? Oh well, like I said, it doesn't really concern me.

"You know Tanisha, I can still buy you that gun if you think you need it." My father said this to me in a cold but soothing voice. He had been wanting me to get a gun since I started working. And now, with the robbery, he has the reason to buy me one.

"Marcus," my mother snapped at him.

"I'm just saying Lanika, she's a twenty-year-old female walking the streets from 9 to 6 P.M., it wouldn't hurt for her to have a gun."

"What, you think I'm gonna get raped or something like that?" I ask him with fear and upsetness slightly in my voice. I understand his concern, but I hate how he believes that I couldn't defend myself without a gun, or that I'm an easy target.

"No sweetie, of course not. Right Marcus?" My mother began to have anger in her eyes. Her voice became deeper and her tone became harsh.

"Well," My father then began to whistle. He took another sip of orange juice, picked up the paper, and began reading again.

"I'm just going to head to work now, love you!" I rush out of the house before I can hear anything else from my father. Luckily, I didn't forget anything on my way out. I decide to walk towards the clothes shop and get on with my day.

For some reason, today just seems better than most days. There are clouds in the sky sure, but it doesn't look like it is supposed to rain. The sun is out, but it isn't too hot outside. The slight breeze is nice, and the air smells cleaner. The grass is green, and the trees are full of brightly colored leaves. You can clearly tell that it is the beginning of autumn.

Eventually, I find myself about a block away from the clothes shop. As I'm walking I turn and I see this sharp looking black Porsche. It was the most amazing car I have seen. Everything about it looks clean and sophisticated. If I were to describe this car with an outfit, it would be a crisp black suit a man would wear on his wedding day. Shique. Stylish. Those are the words I would use to describe this car. But I have one question I need to ask myself? What the hell is this fancy car doing in a middle-class area? It baffles me.

After a few minutes, I reach the clothing store. Dots and Dashes from the outside was just a quaint little boutique. It was a light pink color with you guessed it, dots and dashes. I walk into the shop, only to find a gun to my head and my manager Lilac telling me to get down on the floor. I hesitated, then proceeded to sit down.

There's only one other person in the store with me, Kyanna the cashier. Kyanna is 19, I believe, and is in school right now to become a nurse. She only works here to help pay for groceries and such while she's in school. She is one of my closest friends. Kyanna is one of the nicest people ever to exist. Why would she be held hostage like this?

Lilac began to speak. "No one talks, everybody just listens." I decided it would be smart to remain still and quiet. Kyanna, however, started crying and fearing for her life. I could not blame her. I wanted to break down into tears as well, begging for my life. But I don't know what Lilac is going to do, so I'm just stuck here.

"I said no noise!" Lilac began to move towards Kyanna. She placed the gun right under her chin. Kyanna screamed and continued to cry. Lilac then had a sinister smile on her face.

"Okay then, I see how it is. I hope you've enjoyed your time." Kyanna let out one more scream as the gun was lodged under her chin. Lilac pulled the trigger.

Kyanna's blood splattered all over me and chunks of her brain were smeared all over the walls. I started shaking vigorously, breathing heavily, not knowing whats gonna happen next. Is she going to shoot me? Is she going to let me go? Is she going to kill herself? These thoughts rush through my mind like a bullet train. She then comes towards me, and my breath became still.

Lilac whispered into my ear, "If you don't do as I say, you're next!" This freaked me out, but I remained calm and agreed to follow her orders. She forced me to hold the gun in my hand. She then duct taped me to one of the outfit racks and forced me to sit down. Then, Lilac placed duct tape around my mouth and forced my head between my knees. I then heard the door open.

I wiggled my head out from my knees to see two male police officers. One of them put Lilac in handcuffs, and the other begins to look around. I scream through the duct tape trying to get an officer to notice me. Thankfully, one did and he came towards me. He ripped the duct tape off of my mouth and undid me from the rack. I yelled that Lilac killed the girl over there and threatened to kill me.

"I didn't kill her," she yells back. "You did. You have the gun in your hand. I don't even know how to use a gun."

"Bitch shut the fuck up and stop lying to police," I say to her. I then run towards her and scratch her face out. The officer that helped me earlier pulls me back, He then says, "You know what, we'll just take you both into custody." The officer that cuffed Lilac took her outside and placed her into his car. The other officer here pulled handcuffs out. I knew now he was serious about this arrest.

I noticed that he was southern, so I decided to pull a southern accent out on him to try and charm my way into an escape. I said to him, "Before you arrest me, sweet pea, can I smoke a cigarette to calm down my nerves?"

"Yes ma'am," He said to me in a very charming voice. I then went outside and planned to run when he wasn't looking. I noticed he was turned around and not looking at the window. I bolted, ran as fast as I could down the street.

"Hey, stop running!" The officer yelled to me. As I was running, I noticed the black Porsche's owner was trying to say something to me.

"Get in!" He yelled.

With no hesitation, I hopped into his car. We drove off, far away from the store I used to work at.

A.N. I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter. Let me know what  you think of the book so far, and if you have any suggestions for future chapters. If this series has a lot of positive support, a new chapter can come out once every week. Stay tuned for more chapters to come

-BubbleBeam321