Right or Left?

Chapter 2: Saved from a Nightmare

I got home around 7:00 PM. Everything was happening all at once! I've been promoted, even Leo-.... That's right. He's supposed to be calling me soon. I didn't have his number so I won't recognize it when he calls, but it'll obviously be him because no one else ever calls me. (Living the loner life).

I pulled out the packet and scanned over it and sat myself on the couch. My apartment had a beautiful view of the whole city. So light from all the buildings shown in. I didn't even need to turn on a lamp or anything. Just picturing how even more beautiful New York would be made me excited. After a long day, I fell asleep on the couch. I was too tired to even make it to bed.

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    Someone knocked on my door. They kept beating on it ferociously and angrily. For some reason I felt stuck like I was paralyzed or something. The person ended up beating down my door. I tried screaming but I couldn't breathe. So, I was trapped and some stranger was in my house. Great!

    The closer they got to me, the more and more I was able to recognize who it was. It was my Dad. "Ya little bitch. Ya know I need you around the house." He grabbed me roughly by the collar of my shirt and slapped my face. "I oughtta beat the livin' daylights out o' ya!" He punched my stomach so hard which made it 10 times harder to breathe.

    Then he dropped me on the floor. Still I couldn't move. He grabbed a match and lit it. With a wicked smile, he threw it onto the floor which quickly became covered in fire. I could feel the fire getting closer and I couldn't do anything about it.

    A fire alarm started going off but it was awfully strange. It sounded more like a ringtone to a phone.

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    I was awakened from the horrible nightmare by my phone. It was super late in the night but I answered it anyway. "Hello?"

    "Hey. It's that one guy you spilled coffee on earlier this morning."
    "Oh... Hey, Leo."
    "You okay?"
    "Yeah why do you ask?"
    "I don't know you sound upset."
    "It's nothing too important. So whatcha doin'?"

  I tried to sound as casual as possible. To be honest I was glad that he woke me up. Flashbacks and nightmares of my childhood were a reoccurring thing for me. Growing up I was constantly abused since my mom died. "I can see that you're into birds." Leo said.

    "What?"
    "Well the paper you gave me was actually a picture of a bird."
    "Oh I didn't even realize. That was one of my pictures I took. I'm a photographer and yes I've always loved them."
    "Why? Not that it's a bad thing I'm just curious."
    "I guess it's because they can always fly away when things get too rough. I always wished I could fly away from the negative things in life."
"Well damn that's deep.

We talked for hours. He blabbered on and on about climate change which was good. But I didn't know a lot about that subject. So I found it hilarious because of how much of a dork he was about it. I kept asking myself why he'd ever be interested in a girl like me. "Leo... I'm getting kind of tired." I said. According to the clock, it was 3:37 AM. Being tired wasn't the only problem though. I didn't know how to react to this whole thing. To me it was just way too soon. I've never had someone slightly interested in me like he was.

I grew up not having a stable relationship with my dad. So it made things difficult for me to know how to handle being around other people. It was hard to even talk and it still is. The thought of someone such as Leo liking me really scared me. "Okay. Goodnight." He said. Only Lord knows how he manages to stay up that late without a problem.

The next morning I went to the cafe again. Leo was there on his laptop when he noticed me. I was reluctant to talk to him. It's not that I didn't like him. He just made me super nervous. "Hey, Selena." Leo said cheerfully. "Hi." I squeaked.

"Would you like to go to dinner with me on Friday?" Leo asked.
"What?"
"I'm serious!"
"I guess so."
"Is there something wrong?"
"I don't know. This is all a little odd. I'm just wondering... Why me? Of all the beautiful models that are available, why are you choosing some random girl like me?"

He paused. An almost guilty look glimmered in eyes which made me worry. ".... W-What's wrong with me liking a girl like you? You're beautiful." His voice sounded nervous. I eyed him for a second. "Right. Well I'm gonna go to work." I grabbed my bag and coffee and walked out. Obviously he wasn't telling the complete truth. I knew I should've never fell for his crap.

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In the next chapter you'll get to find out what's going on in Leo's brain! Love ya!
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