Thoughts in Written

3. Unexpected

Standing there on the pavement, staring at the stretch of road known as Ellingworth Drive. I rhythmically tapped my feet on the ground. Patience had never been one of my best virtues, and standing here, on a road that showed no signs of life made me uneasy.

"Holden, you bastard," I cursed under my breath. I gave another glare at my watch. A quarter to twelve! How convenient, he was only forty-five minutes late! 

I took out my phone and hastily pressed the digits that belonged to my dimwit of a brother. How could he be so late? I had called him, reminded him to pick me up and yet the nerve of him... Had something happened to him on the way? Had he been in trouble? Only one way to find out.

"Pick up, pick up..." I mumbled, as I clutched at my coat. "Pick up, man!" I couldn't stand the continuous sound of the call reverbing in my ears.

Was my baby brother in trouble? Had he been hurt, or worse? Agh! I was fuming, at both of us. I had been stupid enough to come to this part of town on a Wednesday night for a date that stood me up and Holden was an idiotic drunk who should wait, like a normal person, to get wasted till the weekend. 

How could I have asked him to pick me up and how could I have believed him to be on time and also be safe simultaneously?

I shoved the phone in my pocket and clutched the coat tighter around my body. The air seemed to get colder by the minute and the night, darker. The moonlight was the only source of light that invaded my surroundings, making me feel -only a little bit- safer.

Neither a car nor soul in sight. How could it be that this measly stretch of road was as occupied as a graveyard? At least in a graveyard, there was the occasional sound of a cat screeching, the wind blowing. Even though it might sound eerie, at least there was something to hold on to. Here, standing in a secluded street that hardly consisted of people, I started thinking.

"Never again, am I going on a blind date."

It was because of him I was here. My friend had set me up with a certain Jaco Leaden, who was supposed to be quite a catch. Well stupid Diana, and stupid Jaco Leaden. I had found out how fetching the man was, he hadn't even shown up! 

"Curse on you!" I cried, closing my eyes. This was supposed to be a goodnight, with a handsome man, in a good diner, having something called fun. According to my alcoholic brother and whore of a friend, I was a stick-in-the-mud. They had said words far more lewd than that, however, they had not been wrong.

Sighing in defeat, I called my brother again. And to my absolute surprise, he picked up.

"Selina, my awesome, awesome sister. How are you!" Came the enthusiastic yet quite slurry voice of Holden Hellwalker. I could make out that my oh-so responsible brother was still in a festive mood and environment. On a wednesday.

"Dude, where are you? Like, the party is so happening!" He yelled through the speakers. His shout encouraged his peers and it earned more cries of encouragement. How encouraging. 

"Oh, I don't know. I'm just waiting for my brother, my one and only brother, who had promised to pick me up from the stupid excuse of a street with a stupid excuse of a diner on Ellingworth Drive! You said you'd be here by eleven! Have you even looked at the time, Holden? It's midnight!" I yelled. No more could I hold it in because no matter how much I felt angry, I felt more terrified.

Maybe it was because of the stories. The road known as Ellingworth Drive stretched out further west, parallel to Ferror Park -which had been courteously named 'Terror Park' for its reputation. I remembered the article I had read about a man who had been skinned and hung on one of the trees as an ornament, earning me a set of shivers.