The Connections We Make

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

            Green eyes carefully examined the shelf that held an assortment of products. The owner of those eyes, a red head girl, casually skimmed the bright and colorful labels. Her hand occasionally picked up something and placed it in the red basket she was carrying around. The small shop only had a few customers that day and she was in no hurry to get back to her apartment.

            As she turned into the next aisle, she felt someone’s eyes trained on her back. The red head didn’t bother to turn around to see who was staring, it wasn’t worth it. If the person truly wanted her attention, they would have gotten it earlier. Growing up in this small town, she was used to having someone always watching, anticipating.

            She had grown used to it.

            The red head, ignoring the stares, put a few more things in her basket before making her way to the register located in the front of the store. The person who was working that day was a young teenage boy who was more interested in what was happening with the sports game that was playing on the nearby T.V. then actually doing his job. The red head let out a light sigh, trying to get the boy’s attention. Luckily, he caught the sound and turned to help her with a sheepish smile.

            “Sorry Georgia,” the boy apologized as he started to check out the items the red head had in her basket, “How are ya?”

            “Fine, fine, how are you?” Georgia, the red head, replied. The boy shrugged in response.

            “I’m okay, my mom wants to know when you’re going to come over again,” he told Georgia. She just laughed, her green eyes sparkling in amusement.

            “Your mom only wants me over so that she can get my recipe for apple pie,” Georgia responded before she paid for her groceries. The boy laughed in response as he handed her the bags.

            “Hey, I had to try” he laughed, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

            “Yeah, yeah,” Georgia commented, “tell your mom I’ll stop by soon, bye Jeff.”

            One thing that Georgia could never get enough of was the bright sunshine that seemed to bake this small town on a regular basis. It was part of the reason why she had moved here. The town itself had little to offer. Sure, there were the shops that littered the side of the main road that provided the essentials for the residents but there wasn’t much else. Most of the residents who lived there worked in the next town over or were fishermen who sailed the nearby waters. Georgia worked in the next town over in a small coffee shop. She loved working there. She loved the aroma of coffee, the ability to go to school and work at the same time, and the atmosphere that came with the job. It was an easy place to meet people. It was where she met her roommate.

            Walking down the road, Georgia noticed how there were a few clouds just across the horizon. Sighing, she picked up pace to the small red truck that she was lucky enough to call her own.

            A storm is coming.

            It was a quick five minute drive to the apartment that she shared with her roommate, Corey. It was a modest two bedroom, one bath apartment. The two of them tried to keep the place clean yet neither of them really had any motivation to clean. Georgia went straight to the small kitchen that was more just a line of cupboards against one wall and some moveable counters that they added to try and create a space for the kitchen.

            It had been a long day. After putting her things away, working a long shift at work, and running errands, she was wiped. Georgia decided that she was just going to relax on the couch, close her eyes for a minute, and then make some dinner. However, as soon as she relaxed, her eyes closed and she was out.

            It was dark when Georgia woke up. The shades on the windows in her apartment were still open and the small town had been covered in a thick blanket of black. The red head noticed that there was a light pitter patter on the window from the apparent rain. Yet, it wasn’t the rain that had woken her up. Something else had.

            What was it?

            Behind her, there was a soft tap. It was almost inaudible, but Georgia knew that it was there. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard another tap.

            It is coming from the bedrooms.

            For a moment, Georgia wondered if it was her roommate. Then, she remembered that Corey was out of town trying to fix a mistake that the bank made. She would have called to let Georgia know if she was coming home earlier. Plus, this noise wasn’t coming from Corey’s room. It was coming from Georgia’s.

            Slowly, Georgia got up from her spot on the worn out couch and made her way as silently as she could to the front door, where they kept a base ball bat. Georgia and Corey had gotten the bat as a joke.

            Just in case.

            Knowing that her best bet to get out of the apartment unnoticed would be to go down the fire escape rather then going through the front door; Georgia made her way towards the window on the opposite side of the room. On her way, she cast a look into her room where the door was open just enough for Georgia to see the black form walk across the room. Georgia quickly averted her eyes and made her way towards the window. Silently, Georgia prayed that the window wouldn’t make any noise when she opened it.

            For once, the gods seemed to be smiling in her favor.

            The window opened silently and Georgia carefully climbed out onto the rusted metal platform. Without wasting anymore time, she quickly made her way down the two levels of platforms and stairs before hurrying down the ladder at the end. It was when her, then bare, feet touched the ground that she took off running down the street towards where she had parked her truck. Again, she thanked the gods who were smiling in her favor as she opened the unlocked door, reached into the glove box, pulled out the spare keys, and started the engine without a moment hesitation. She pulled away from the curb and drove away from the apartment.

            As she drove away, she saw a man run across the road and get into an unmarked white van. Georgia barely saw the white van pull away and drive in the opposite direction. Georgia had never seen that van before and knew that no one in the building drove that van. It was a small town, after all.

            Understanding dawned on Georgia as she kept driving. It was something that sent a chill running down her spine and caused her hands to feel clammy.

            Someone was in the apartment.

            Someone was in my room.

            Someone was looking for me.   

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Confused yet?

Don't be.

For this story, I have decided to try something different. This story will follow the lives of a handfull of characters. (Hopefully) at the end of the story I will have explained how everything ties together. How all of the characters have connections.

For now, though, enjoy this!

Please remember to....

VOTE, COMMENT, AND FAN!