Gold Dust

chapter nine: on his trail

Like clockwork, my phone rang. The same name appearing on the caller ID every hour. I pressed the ignore button again, turning the phone completely off after. Antonio had been trying to reach me for the past day and a half now. I think I liked it better when he was ignoring me. I sighed tossing the phone into my drawer, as I walked downstairs. Vivian was sitting on the couch, trying to figure out what to do with all the food from the repast. I’m certain her fridge was filled beyond capacity.

“You’re going to have to put it in the freezer,” I said casually walking into her kitchen. Vivian nodded, a smile creeping on her face, as she began to hand me things.

“Good idea, Rob,” she chuckled. “I’m exhausted. Do you mind? I’m going upstairs to nap.”

“No problem,” I nodded. “I’m going to go for a run after. I need to clear my head.”

“Antonio’s still calling?” Vivian asked raising an eyebrow at me.

“Constantly,” I sighed, shaking my head. “He won’t let up at all. I had to turn my phone off.”

“What a jerk,” Vivian exclaimed. “First he dumps you, then he ignores you and now he’s constantly calling. He’s a strange man.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I growled. “I’m finished with him, Viv. I think I’ve been hurt enough.”

Vivian nodded, before she disappeared upstairs into her bedroom. I grabbed the trays of food and slid them onto the garage. As soon as I was finished, I threw on a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I shoved my headphones into my ear, as I jogged out the front door down the end of the street. The cool fall air brushed across my face, as I turned the music up until the sounds of chirping were drowned out by the sounds of the Civil Wars. I closed my eyes briefly for a second, clearing my head of Antonio, Leon and Neil. They seemed to be the only thing that I think about now a days. I didn’t want to worry about them. The only thing I was concerned with was the open street ahead of me.

Just as I turned the intersection, a car came to a screeching stop beside me. My eyes instantly flickered in its direction as the window rolled down slowly.

“Robert,” a voice said from the car. I walked towards the window cautiously, my eyes meeting that of Ricardo’s. I pulled my headphones out of my ear, shoving them into my pocket.

“What do you want Ricardo? Let me guess, Antonio sent you to talk to me,” I muttered.

“Get in,” he said pushing the car door open. “There are people watching you, Robert.”

I glanced around. What did he mean there were people watching me? There was no one in sight. The neighborhood was silent aside from a group of kids riding their bikes. 

“No,” I replied firmly. “I don’t want to talk to Antonio. I don’t want to talk to you. I just want to be left alone.”

“Are you fucking stupid?” Ricardo said stepping out of the car. He grabbed me by my shirt, pulling me up against his car. His eyes stared deep in mine, his arms gripping me tightly.

“You’re not safe here,” he continued. “Don’t you understand? You’ll die just like your friend. They want you dead, Robert. They won’t stop until you’re dead. You need to stick by Antonio. You’re a good guy. I’d hate to see something happen to you.”

“Noted,” I mumbled as he let go of me, brushing me off. Ricardo slid back into his car, shaking his head at me before he slammed the car door shut. I watched as he sped off down the street, leaving me alone yet again. I let out a small groan, turning around only to be knocked over the head. Everything went black and next thing I knew, I was on the couch at Vivian’s house. I slid up, a bag of ice falling off of my head.