The Wrong Guy

Chapter Thirteen

The New Orleans nightlife is very active. Everyone parties in the street. If they tried that in L.A they would be run down for sure. The only party in the street there is down Santa Monica Blvd during the Halloween Carnival. Here it's different. It's calmer in a way. No one is in a hurry to get anywhere. The coolest thing is that they dress up in these vibrant colors and use all sorts of props. This is probably the greatest city I've visited. I'm not a big jazz person, but these guys sure can put on a session. Hanna and I walked all over; looking here and looking there, like real tourists do. I heard these festivities can go on until the morning. Hey, its vacation, I'm game. The night was hot and humid, I sure hope it cools down a bit. I had to out my hair up in a ponytail to get it off my back. When I dug in my bag for a hair tie I noticed my phone lit up, so I pulled it out. I had a few missed calls and a couple messages, all from Mark.
A few messages even read,  
8:12pm WHERE ARE YOU?
9:03pm JENNA WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?
9:25pm ANSWER YOUR FUCKING PHONE!
10:14pm PLEASE LET ME SEE YOU!
10:48pm I NEED TO SEE YOU!  WHERE ARE YOU?
Ha! How does it feel to lose mother fucker? I thought to myself. He can't get to me here. Good. I put my phone back into my bag and threw my hair in the hair tie and carried on with my night. He's going to call and text all night and maybe all week since he can't find me. Oh well, I feel nothing for him. Not even pity. He did it to himself. I grabbed Hanna by the arm and we walked along Bourbon Street listening to music. It was going on 11pm and there were more people out now than three hours ago. I wonder if it's like this all the time, or maybe because it's a Saturday night.
"I'm hungry", Hanna said, leaning over so I can hear her. Then she steered me off toward an all night diner. Once we sat down and rested our tired legs, we looked at the menu. Fried chicken and grits sounded good. This southern food is going to make me fat in no time. Maybe Mark won't want me then.
"Oh my legs are aching", Hanna whined.
"Yeah mine too. Maybe we should head back to our room after we're done", I suggested.
I looked around the diner which was not full, there's a lot of big burly guys in here. They look like bikers. A few couples and a few single older people. Our server came by and introduced herself as Manda. She's adorable and the accent is so cute, I just love it. We have our orders and she knew we were from out of town.
"Where y'all from"? Manda asked.
"California, L.A", Hanna said.
"Oh I always wanted to go there, maybe someday. I'll be right back with y'all drinks", then she walked away.
"Friendly and spunky, I like her", Hanna said.
I nodded in agreement. Manda returned with our drinks and complimentary biscuits.
"Thanks", Hanna and I both said.
We each took a warm biscuit and pulled it apart. It's so weird how much we are alike. Never bite right into a roll or biscuit, we pill it apart and put butter on it. We also cut all of our food before we start eating. We are like to peas in a pod, ever since we met in fourth grade. We were inseparable, even ended up going to the same college, California State in L.A. She's the sister I never had. "Just so you know, He's at it again". I told her. "He's probably shitting himself right now". We both laughed at the thought. Our food came out and we dug in. We must have been hungrier than we thought. I have never tasted better fried chicken before. I wish I can take New Orleans home with me. We were stuffed halfway through our meal. These southerners don't play around; when they put food on your plate, they put so much on you can't even tell if there is a plate underneath. We only have a fridge but no microwave so we couldn't take the food to go. Manda came by and asked how everything was. "It was so delicious and so filling", I told her. "I'm glad y'all liked it", she said. "I'll be right back with your check". Hanna took out her credit card so she was all ready to pay when Manda came back. Manda returned quickly and took Hanna's credit card. Once the bill was settled; we left, thanking Manda. We left the diner and headed back towards the hotel. All I wanted was a hot bath and bed. So when we got in I told Hanna I will be taking a bath. She said go ahead; she was wide awake, so she was going to watch some TV. When the run was ready I got in and laid back, soaking my entire body. This felt really good. I put myself under entirely, wetting hair then I started to lather up. I felt like I was falling, but my body was still in the tub. I heard the door open but didn't see anyone. A chill ran down my spine; causing goose bumps, even in the hot bath water. Fog started to cast over the mirror. I started to sit up to see what the hell was going on when hands grabbed me around my neck and squeezed, pushing me under the water. My arms flailed as I tried to stop whoever was attacking me. It was almost as if no one was there. I couldn't hit anything. The hands squeezed tighter and water began to fill my lungs. Then I heard,
I FOUND YOU!
I screamed and thrashed in the tub. No one was there. The door burst open and Hanna rushed in, "Are you ok"?
"I must have fallen asleep". I said. I got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around me and sat on the edge of the tub.
"Mark"? She asked.
I nodded. "I'll be ok", I said then got up and got ready for bed. I needed sleep without any nightmares.