Wanted

Chapter Nine: For Better Or For Worse?

Kathy ^^^^^

As I walked out the hospital with Joey, I couldn't be more relieved that our shoulder had fully healed. I was going insane not even being able to train and how Randy was the one putting food on the table. It felt weird hardly doing anything and not earning money, but nonetheless, I understood and learned to dealt with it. Joey thought that we should celebrate by getting some ice cream and that's exactly what we did. I got cookies and cream and, as always, he got chocolate chip. We were eating our ice creams in peace, chatting now and then, but that peace didn't last as long as I hoped. 

"Cindy!" I hear a girl's voice call out my nickname but not too sure if they were talking to me, I turned to see a girl with light skin, almost white but not really, hair that ended just below her chest, and a birthmark to the right of her nostrils. She wore a regular plain white shirt with regular blue jeans and converse. Despite her being awfully pretty in my opinion, I wasn't too pleased with her. By now, I knew she was calling me because she was standing at our table. I hate it when people that I hardly know shorten my name or give me a nickname out of the blue. I guess I could thank the streets for that part of me.

"Don't call me that." I spoke with the most polite tone as I could but also with irritation to display my disapproval. 

"Oh, sorry," No you're not. I thought as I continue to eat my ice cream. I may not be able to sense when someone is meaning what they say, telling the truth or lying, but the tone in their voice and the look in their eyes tells me a lot.  "Anyways, my name is Kathy and I believe you know my cousin, Brett." I stopped my movements but continued to take the spoon out of my mouth when I didn't see him around her, relived at his absence.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I was wondering if-" She was cut off abruptly by a voice I was getting tired of hearing.

"Kathy, there you are." I fought the urge to groan, almost letting the annoyance getting the best of me. Its like he's everywhere I go, he always happens to be near by. It gets annoying. "Oh, hey Cynthia." I gave him a quick glance and nodded. "Your arm finally got better?" He asked.

"Yeah." I responded quickly, thinking that the quicker the conversation goes the quicker they leave.

"You always gotta ruin everything." Kathy mumbled distastefully to him.

"Boohoo, now come on let's go." He grabbed her arm gently, yet firmly, and started to pull her away. As they walked to the door, they kept arguing to each other about something I couldn't careless about. A sigh of relief escape my lips when the door closed behind them.

"How does she even know your name?" Joey asked as he angrily stabbed the spoon back into his cup of ice cream. I shrugged my shoulders in response."You think she knows about his business on the streets and he told her about you?"

"Maybe, but we can't know for sure. We can't just assume things when we don't know the full story." I replied as I finished the last of my ice cream and pushed the empty cup away from me.

"Yeah, I guess your right." He paused. "Quick question, just a moment ago you were annoyed the moment Brett's name popped up. If he annoys you that much, why did you agree to be his ally?"

"First off, I didn't technology agree to be his ally. I told him that he wouldn't be classified as my enemy. I got annoyed because it's like everywhere I go, I always happen to run into him. It's pretty annoying." I voiced my thoughts from earlier.

"How do you know he isn't one of Mason's ally?" I stopped messing with the napkins and started to think. If he is allies with Mason, then I'm screwed.

"Shit, I didn't think of that." I spoke with a panic tone, causing Joey to sighed at my reaction. In an attempt to calm me down, he grabbed both of my hands and clasped them tightly, trying to stop them from shaking. The mention of that bastards name sets my body trembling with fear at the thought that he might come back to finish what he started.

"Forget I said that, that was stupid of me to even mention him. We don't know anything about him so we can't jump to conclusions, right?"

"But what if he is? What if Mason knows were I've been? What if he already found me and is waiting for the right moment to pounce? What if-" I was suddenly stopped when Joey covered my mouth. I didn't even noticed that he moved to sit next to me.

"Listen to me, you are not the same defenseless little girl you were back then. You are a hundred times stronger and can take that bastard down in a heart beat. Don't fill your head with these what if's, fill that brain of yours with thoughts of Celeste, Randy, me, and yourself. Hell, think of college, graduations, and birthdays. Anything but him." I closed my eyes and started to take deep breaths stop push back tears that threatened to fall. He's right, I shouldn't focus on things like that. I let out a small laugh as I failed to hold them at bay and a tear rolled down my flushed cheek.

"You always know what to say." I said with a low tone as he whipped away the tear with his thump.

"Of course I do, I'm your best friend." He said with a light and playful as he pulled me into a tight hug. I relaxed in his arms and let my thoughts slip away. I would go insane if  I didn't have him in my life.

Later on that day, I got a text from Randy saying that we had to get home immediately. Of course this puzzled both of us but we still did as we were told and went home right away. When we got there, Celeste was already in bed asleep and Randy locked the door as soon as it was closed. Still feeling a little uneasy from earlier's fright, I got worried as Randy's actions as if the Purge was happening. 

"Randy is everything, okay?" I asked, my voice laced with concern and anxiety from the tension he left us in.

"No," He simply stated. "I need to tell you something." He proceeded to guid us to the living room couch, as if we haven't been here before. Once he sat down us down, Randy kept combing his hair back with his figured and paced back and forth in front of the TV. This deepened my worry and anxiety as he only combs back his hair when he's worried and paces when his nervous. Seeing the combined was a rarity for Randy as hardly anything go him to this point.

"Randy, what's wrong? Are you ok?" Joey asked this time, making my emotions. Randy only shook his head, not daring to look up. He was silent for what felt like forever and when he finally did speak, I couldn't believe what I heard.

"I got word from one of my guys at the ward. He said that had Mason escaped."