Rapire

three

I couldn't stop thinking of what the man said after he left. His words kept replaying in my head, distracting me from the small tasks I was doing around the restaurant. Everybody seemed to notice something was off about me but said nothing besides giving me concern face or ask if I needed help.

"Skye." Damian says trying to get my attention, but I continue scrubbing at the already clean counter. I felt as if the waves of concern from Damian were rolling off of him and slowly making me feel more guilty for not wanting to tell him what was going on. "Skye, look at me at least." I sigh, looking up at him with a bright, forced smile.

"There. I'm looking at you and I'm seeing that you care, but I really don't want to talk about it because I don't know what exactly happened today." I take in a deep breath then a wobbly breath out. Damian pulls me into a hug as I just stand there arms by my side and relax into his arms.

"You don't have to talk about it, but if that man every comes around again I want you to get me and I'll make sure he stays away form you." I just nod into his chest, before he finally lets me go.

He looks down at me with a smile and I smile back, for real this time. "Now get back to work before aunt Harper yells at us." I say, jokingly pushing him towards the kitchen.

Damian scoffs, puffing out his chest. "My mom won't do anything to me." I roll my eyes.

"We both know that's a big fat lie." He sighs, slouching slightly and nods his head in agreement.

"Try not to overthink too much Skye." He says, before walking into the kitchen.

"I won't." I mumble to myself, turning back around and continuing to clean around the restaurant as Leon and Alice served the few customers we had.

* * *

I wait for Damian to finish locking up the place so I could hopefully find some hints from my dad's files that he left with me. In his will, he said he wanted certain files to stay with me in protection for his company and privacy, but I've never looked through them because I felt that it wasn't my right to look. Now I have a suspicion that the money the man was talking about could be in one of those files. Once I got home and Damian left me alone, I was planning on pulling the files out and reading into them. If I didn't find anything about my dad owing a quarter of a million dollars, I wasn't going to give the man the money. He can't just walk into the restaurant, basically threaten me thinking I know what he's talking about, and walk out like nothing happened. I may have been in shock and slightly scared before, but now I just feel angry at the man for asking for my parents well earned money.

Damian and I walk out of the restaurant together. Getting into the car, I expect Damian to immediately start talking about his day or even Sammy but he stays silent most of the way. I fumble with my fingers, cross my arms over my chest, trying to comfortable in this uncomfortable silence. I didn't like it. Some days I would be grateful for this silence, but not today. I wanted him to talk. I wanted to listen to what he had to say. I wanted to get my mind off of the money and frustration slowly building up inside me, but Damian decided that today was the day he wouldn't say anything. I try to ignore the uneasy tension building inside the car by looking at the apartments and buildings we pass everyday on our way to work and back.

Damian parks in front of my good sized apartment and locks the doors. I roll my eyes, knowing I could unlock the doors from inside the car. I try it but the car door doesn't unlock. Trying it one more time, I confirm my suspicions when the door doesn't unlock again. I turn around facing Damian as his hand lays right beside the lock button. He was always fast enough to know what I was going to do.

"Damian, why are keeping me locked in this car?" I ask, looking him straight in the eye.

He takes in a deep breath, looking away from me and breathing out. "I just want to know what happened today."

"I told you I'm-"

"You're not. I saw the look on your face Skye. You truly looked terrified. Your lips were trembling and you were on the verge of tears. Skye I know your trying to keep this inside and handle this yourself, but I don't want you to breakdown again. Holding in these emotions until you finally break doesn't help anyone. I'd rather know what's going on and help then sit back and watch you drown in your own emotions." Damian finishes, looking at me again. I saw his cheeks were slightly stained with tears, making me sigh in guilt.

I pull him into a hug, trying to think of the right words to say. I lean back after a while, looking Damian straight in the eyes again. "I know you're trying to help and I appreciate it you and your mom for it. This is different though. This man isn't trying to get anything from me or hurt me. He  just told me something about an old friend of mine. She was abducted a while back and I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry about me. Her body was found a couple of days ago." I lie, trying not to grit my teeth or fumble with my fingers. Damian nods, looking away from me and unlocking the door.

"Just remember I'm always here no matter what the situation is. Are you going to your friend's funeral?" Damian asks. I freeze for a second, but answer when he looks directly at me.

"Depending on when it is. I don't want to leave aunt Harper with a couple of servers if it's during the weekend."

"Aunt Harper will probably let you have a few days off if you need it, but I understand if you don't want to go to a funeral. Be safe though Skye. I don't want anything bad to happen."

"Always am Damian." I say, walking out of the car and into my apartment. Once I'm in my apartment, i walk straight to the fridge. Grabbing some leftover grilled chicken I made this week, I heat it up and grab some lettuce and fresh strawberries. I needed food inside me if I was planning to look at my dad's files all night. I wanted to find out what the man was talking about. I'm not going to hand money over when I don't know the reason.

After eating, I make my way to the spare room where I stored the files. Opening it up, I get started. The first file had nothing besides financial problems with companies that were around Chicago. The second file was the same thing, but different companies. After ten more files like the first two, I start getting into more detailed files but it wasn't what I wanted. Some were about the money my parent's company owed but already paid off. Others were charity works.

The interesting and strange files I got to were about the private lives of their workers and other companies' workers. I looked through them trying to find the man, but I came up with nothing. I keep looking though. After an hour or so, I give up. I couldn't find anything about my parents' company owing anything. The private files of company workers had no one that looked like the man I saw at the restaurant. I feel as if I'm going to throw up because of the frustration and anger building up in my guts.

I grab onto my hair, slightly pulling and look at the window. Walking over, I pull the window open to get some fresh air. I lean out and take in a deep breath. Closing my eyes, I begin to relax and just take in the city. The sounds of police sirens, driving cars, and shouting below calm my nerves down. The consistency of hearing these sounds that I've grown use to help me quit overthinking and just take a minute to let everything sit in.

The man could've been saying this to the wrong person. He could just be trying to get the money for himself. A bunch of people have tried to use for money, but I never budged so they've finally left me alone. Leaning back for the window and closing it, I begin making my way to my room. Slipping out of my work clothes, I grab a pair of sweats and black tank top and put it on. I do the usually routine after, brushing my teeth, try to tame my curly hair, and wash my face. Feeling mentally and physically drained for the day, I slip into my bed.

What could the man possibly do to me if I didn't give him the money anyway?