Every Little Thing

chapter 19

Hugging my hoodie closer to me, I watched Josh as he circled the vintage van for the third time. What he was looking for, I had no clue. His focus seemed attained to the back of the van, the way he gazed at the locked doors left a hint of wrinkles on his forehead. Whatever Josh was thinking about, was leaving him frustrated.

Sighing softly I stood up from sitting on the cement floor and walked towards him. "Josh you should go I'll just go find my friends." I said in leveled tone. He looked at me calmly and smiled. His smile was sweet and the way his eyes stirred reminded me of droplets of rain racing down windows on cold days.

"I'm not giving up that easily." Josh came closer and leaned against the van, his smile still lingering. "How much do you think it costs to replace a window?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked him bewildered. "I don't know around a thousand? Why?" At the mention of the amount of money his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and he began walking in a different direction. "Where are you going?!" I yelled out. He turned back and sent me a wicked smile, an obvious red flag that something bad was coming.

Josh left without a word and left me here alone. There was no way I was going to follow him, especially in a place I've only been to now. I should have expected this from Josh. Out of this entire night it had never slipped my mind about the incident where he threatened me. I'm so stupid! By now I should have known to have my wall up...leave it to Josh to break holes in it. I knew this whole night seemed too perfect. But...what was it about Josh that kept my wall unguarded?

The wind began to pick up once more and I leaned against the van for some sort of comfort. The slick metal from the car's shell provided no heat and I was beginning to get cold. Glancing down at my phone the time signaled that Josh had been gone for about twenty minutes. He's probably on his way home right now.

Dusting myself off I rolled my neck and took a deep breathe. Might as well start looking for my friends. Sighing at the thought of my friends I sat down against the van. From the corner of my eye I noticed a figure walking closer. The lamppost didn't do a satisfying job at illuminating the mysterious person's face. As the person got closer I felt my heart beat quicken and found myself backing away from the van. Taking in my surroundings I made a mental note of the possible routes I could run off to.

Once the figure was within a few feet of the van I readied myself to run. I hadn't noticed but the figure was carrying a duffel bag, which he had let fall into the ground with a loud clang. This night couldn't have gone any better.

"Carter are you okay? You seem look really pale." My body relaxed at the voice of the mysterious figure. So Josh wasn't ditching me. If he wasn't going to ditch me there where did he go? Gazing down my mind remembered about the duffel bag. It's form didn't give much of a clue of what was inside. 

"What's in the bag? Are you going to murder me?" I halfheartedly joked. He flashed me another toxic smile and I shun my eyes down to the ground. 

Exposing the head of a golf club he grabbed my hand and lead me behind a bowling alley from across the lot. The smallest touch from me was enough for my heart to do a back flip. Even after remembering the wrong he did I couldn't help but feel giddy around him. No matter what he did I had to promise myself to keep my wall up no matter what. I was playing with fire and I don't think I can handle the burn that comes after.

Leaning against the wall he pulled off his hoodie, exposing a black lose shirt. "Remember when I asked you about the price of a window? Well it turns out I had a couple thousand in my family's beach house a couple blocks from here." 

"Your point is..?" I knew clearly what his point was, but I wanted him to say it. If he said his plan out loud then it would be proof that today is only a dream.

"Carter we're going to be getting your things the hard way." He said, his eyes sparkled with adrenaline and I knew he was being completely serious. Pushing the black bag towards me, he gestured for me to open it.  

"Why do I have to open the bag?" 

The space between us decreased as he inched closer. A devious smirk played at his thin lips, stealing the breath out of my lungs. The way he left me breathless reminded me of my wall and  stiffened every inch he got closer. "Simple answer..." He started, picking up the shining club he placed it in my hands, but left his own still lingering with it."You'll be the one taking back your things."

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I'm so sorry this is over due. School has me drowning in homework and I've had really bad writer's block. Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think about it. Also thank you so much for all the reads!