Surviving The Waves

Chapter 3~I Had to Take You And Make You Mine

A tickle on my cheeks makes me open my eyes to see TeriAnn drawing on me, holding back laughter.  I focus my eyes on her hands and see her clutching  a permanent marker next to my face. I stare at the marker, my blank mind not putting the scene together until I glance at her, her lips holding a slight smirk while bubbling out a series of giggles.

I gasp, angling the rearview mirror towards me quickly and my heart races as I whip my head around and glare at her. She giggles lightly, somehow running into the flat in her tall, glittery heels. Shockingly, she never trips or even stumbles a slight bit.

I release a groan loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood before running after her, my boots slowing me down by just a few feet behind her. I eventually began to slow, my knees aching while I suck in deep breathes, the cold air soothing my burning lungs. She squeaks as she slams the bathroom door quickly behind her.

I close the front door behind me quietly before tip-toeing to the closet beside the bathroom, sliding the door open and slipping in. I slide the door closed, thankful for the door being a one sided mirror. I hear a light click of the door opening through the wall and I see TeriAnn slowly step out and slowly walk to her bedroom.

I move my foot slightly to make a creak and I have to hold in my laughter as she  immediately stops. I wrap my fingers around the handle and let out a silent breathe before slinging it wide open and jumping onto her back. She screams and falls against the wall, but I wrap my legs tightly around her waist. She squeals and drops to the ground when I lightly tickle her stomach. I attempt to tickle her more but she pokes my ribs, which makes me fall back giggling.

She takes this opportunity to scramble up and run into the kitchen. I jump up and run after her, laughing at absolutely nothing along the way (tripping over my own feet a few times). I push the swinging door open to see that she had somehow climbed on top of the white cabinets. I laugh but just step back, turning off the lights along the way. The kitchen immediately turns pitch black. I giggle loudly, running out of the kitchen and into the living room.

I quickly replace my boots for my dirty converse and grab my phone and wallet. I hear the swinging of the kitchen door, so my immediate reaction is to rush through the front door, not looking behind me to see how far away she is.

I look ahead and see The Gingerbread Man's House lit up with firefly lights, the tinted windows preventing outside people to see in. My feet move as quickly as they can towards the cafe, TeriAnn's light padding in the distance not worrying me a bit.

I rush through the doors and a huge smile instantly appears on my face as the smell of cookies and delicious muffins baking and fresh coffee immediately hits me. My heart melts a little as I see Gloria balancing two trays of muffins on the pot holders in her hands behind the counter, trying to reach the muffin stands. I practically fly over to her, stepping behind the counter and taking one of the trays from her.

"Gloria, what are you doing? I told you to take the trays one at a time! We can't risk you falling or dropping the muffins everywhere and burning yourself again!"

I slide the glass over and begin placing the muffins on the almost empty tray. She follows my actions and just laughs at me.

"Ryleigh, I can handle myself, I promise! I've been doing it for the past 10 years! And that only happened once..." She exclaims, placing the last of the muffins on the tray. I take the empty pan from her and place it in the sink. She grabs my wrist, her hands shaking slightly.

"Ryleigh, honey, you haven't worked here in a year! And you only volunteer on the weekends, so get out from behind the counter." Her brown eyes are filled with happiness as she pushes me lightly through the half door and from behind the counter.