Alive (Book 1)

Seven

Schenectady was like most any other city I had been to or heard of. People, cars, stores; just lots of commotion. And lots of commotion and me did not mix well at all.

"Ellie, if you hold on to my arm any tighter you'll rip it off."

August's voice broke me from the city daze. I unshackled his limb from my hold and folded my arms over my chest. "S-sorry."

His hands were shoved in his pockets as he meandered his way effortlessly through the throngs of people, like it was a second home.

"Are you sure you've never been to Schenectady before?" I asked, tripping embarrasingly over a crack in the sidewalk.

"Watch it," he said. "And yeah. But I've been to a lot of cities. They're all basically the same, fundamentally."

"Hm."

"What? You don't like it?"

"Not particularly. People make me nervous."

"So I've seen."

I shot him a look, body tensing up as I brushed shoulders with a stranger.

They aren't going to hurt you, Ellie.
Not everybody is out to kill you.

"Here we are."

August stopped in front of a large street corner pub, one that appeared daunting amidst the bleak, grey February sky. "In there?"

He rocked back on his heels, smiling impishly. "Yep."

Crap. "Why don't you, um . . . I'll just stay out here and wait."

"No can do, Ellie." He grabbed my hand and began hauling me into the restaurant. "Come on. Time to face your fears."

"August . . ."

He really turned to face me that time, turning my head so I was looking into his eyes. "Hey, it's okay," He murmured. "What are you afraid of?"

I bit down on my bottom lip, clenching my hands together tightly in front of me. "It's just . . . The last time I trusted a restaurant, it ended with your apartment up in flames."

Realization dawned on his face. "I see." He planted a hand on my shoulder, offering the most encouraging smile he could muster. "Listen, I promise I won't let anything happen to you, okay? Not every eating establishment is waiting for you to show up so they can shoot you. I swear."

The thought still made me uneasy, but I would admit having him by my side lessened some of my fears. I sucked in a deep breath. "Okay."

"Good."

So I followed him inside, tense and ready to flee even after we had found a table in the corner, with our backs against the wall. It reminded me of something Tia would always say. "Whenever you go out in a public place, make sure you can see everybody, and that nobody can sneak up on you."

August and his aunt were so alike it was creepy.

A waitress with her blonde hair pulled up and a wad of gum in her mouth strolled up to our table, notepad in hand. "Hey, ya'll," she said, voice southern in dialect. "What can I get ya?"

My paranoid fear had me in a state of paralysis. Sensing this, August just ordered for us. "Two cheeseburgers and two chocolate shakes," he said.

The young woman smiled, popping her gum. It smelled of strawberries. "Coming right up."

She left, and sensing she was not of malicious intent, I released a long breath, suddenly feeling fatigued.

"See? Not life-threatening," August stated, grabbing a napkin and methodically tearing it into long strips.