Emira's POV
I was on my usual way to work after six hours of college. I work in a Pet Care, down Michigan Street. My nose was buried in my all time favorite book, The Alchemist. The road to work is usually deserted so I had no fear of accidentally running into anything. Just as I thought, I bumped into someone. I was caught off balance with the sudden collision and the person immediately grabbed my arm and helped me stand upright. IRONY, I thought to myself. I looked up to see a young man, with dark hair and bluish-green eyes. His hair was ruffled which added to his strikingly attractive features. He was Ryan Granert, my senior when I was schooling. He was also a part of the well known local band, Wonder. He's one of those guys my friends always gossip about.
"Uh.., sorry" I mumbled and immediately bent to pick my book.
"Watch your step" he smiled.
UGH! He's one to tell, I thought. "Sorry" I mumbled and continued walking.
Ryan trotted behind me and caught up. "You should talk more, Em" he said and ran his hand through his messy hair.
"Don't call me 'EM'" I snapped. It was a nickname only my close friends were allowed to call. Not some random stranger!
I jog-trotted for five minutes before I reached the pet care. Ryan was still behind me, whistling.
"What do you want?" I asked.
He just pointed out to a coffee shop beside the pet care and smiled. I could feel the heat rush up my cheeks.
As soon as I entered the pet care, I hung my jumper and went in. Bad news awaited me.
"Hi, Emira! I wanted you to know that my son gave birth to a baby girl" Mrs. Verbeck smiled, showing the many gaps between her teeth.
"WOAH! That's awesome!" I exclaimed. I liked her son very much. Will was like a brother I never had. He always knew how to make me smile. He moved to Australia last year after he got married. I missed him at first but now I got used to it.
"Yeah. But I'm moving to Australia with my husband. I wanna spend my last days with my little baby. I'm going to sell this store to Mr. Westbrook. I'm really sorry but I have to move."
"Oh." was all I could manage to say. Mr. Westbrook was a cruel person. He would never pay us enough.
I needed work to pay off my college expenses. Yes, my parents were wealthy but when they died, my aunt, Andrea was in charge of me and my riches. I was like Cinderella in my aunt's house, always doing the domestic chores for her and my cousin, Brielle. Of course I had my Prince Charming. Austin was the exact type of guy I wanted. When I had to face the worst of life, I found Austin. He was like an angel. My sun in storms! I just can't thank him enough. But the thing that occupied my mind now was 'How would I pay my bills without a job?' I couldn't get a job elsewhere. This was my only spark of the little hope I have left. My aunt wouldn't let me get my hands on my OWN money. And I knew better than to argue. My sister, Kristina, works part time at some club. She earns just enough to pay her own bills. I couldn't ask her for any money. I was lost in thought.
"Well, here's your last pay, you can leave now. No work for today." Mrs. Verbeck's voice brought me back into reality. I took my pay envelope, thanked Mrs. Verbeck and bade her goodbye.
I wanted to tell Austin about this. I took out my phone and dialed his number. Just as I put the phone to my ear, I heard Ryan's voice calling out to me.
"Emira! Hey!!" he called. I ignored him and walked on, waiting for Austin to attend the call.
"Hi, Emy. What's up?" I heard Austin say from the other end of the line. Heat ran up my cheeks.
"Hi, can I come over?" I asked, uncertainly.
"Yeah, Of course! Is everything alright?" he sounded worried.
"Yeah. I just wanna spend some time with you."
"Be here, then. Bye." I almost heard him smile.
"Bye." I cut the line.
"HEY! I was calling out to you!!" Ryan sounded upset. He might be a rich kid. But I'm not the kind of girl that'd fall for that.
"WHAT?" I asked through gritted teeth. I wanted him to see my annoyance.
"Going home? Could we have some coffee?" He asked.
It was hard to say no to him. But I didn't want to be hanging out with other guys. "No. I'm going to visit Austin now. See ya."
There was a moment of hesitation on his face. But he smiled and said, "Okay."
I turned my back to him and walked off to Austin's house. It was only 10mins. from here.
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I was waiting for Austin to open the door. He appeared 20 seconds later, talking on his phone. He smiled and gave me a quick peck before taking me inside.
"Hmm.. you're risking it. Better leave it in HV." "No. I said NO!" I overheard Austin, talking on the phone. "I'll be there. Okay. Can't tell you at the moment." He looked back at me with furrowed eyebrows and curled his lips into a faint smile. I wondered what was wrong. He cut the phone call and shoved the mobile in his pocket. He came and occupied the seat next to me. He was acting weird. He had a queer look on his face.
"Emy, I'm so sorry. I need to go. Got some important stuff to finish off."
I was expressionless. Not again! It's the fourth time in the past two weeks that Austin cut me off.
"But-" I started to say but I was silenced by his touch.
"Please understand" He said, barely above a whisper. I nodded my head. He kissed me goodbye and dropped me near the bus depot.
I boarded the bus and checked my phone. I always silence my phone when I'm with Austin.
My eyes widened when I saw 12 missed calls from Kristina. She never called so many times! There was also a voice mail from her. I opened it, hoping it was nothing bad.
"Em! Help me! I got- AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" her voice got cut as she screamed at the top of her lungs in pain.
I called her back several times but her mobile was switched off. Dread filled my mind. Horrible thoughts started crossing my mind. I sat frozen, not knowing what to do.
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Author's Note: You're all awesome! Keep reading, recommending, voting and commenting..! Advises are welcome. Thanks for reading.
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Vengeance Sworn
Mystery / Thriller"What do you mean you saw her?" Ryan had a queer tone. "You know she's dead, right?" "Yes. But I guess she wants to tell me something. She was trying to tell something about murders." A tear rolled down Emira's cheek as she said. ***This is a thrill...
