Before The Sunset

Meeting Him

It was afternoon and my shift at the café was already over when...
"Vinora!!!" My boss called me into her office. I hung my bag over my shoulder and went in the direction of her office. I knocked and she didnt hesitate to call me in, was this good.
I entered and she looked at me from my head to toe her mouth a little open, I did not see this as good. My shift was over, I should be allowed to go home.
I cleared my throat "My shift is over" I said to her and she went back to looking at whatever papers she was looking at before I came in.
"How are you dear?" She asked me not really with interest or concern but more out of... politeness maybe.
"Im fine thank you ma'am" this was taking a little bit too long and I couldn't just leave like that. If she could just quit reading her paper and talk to ...
"I was hoping that you could jump in for Sophia tomorrow, she is horribly sick and really needs someone to cover her shift" that took long enough. " Of course a little will be added to what you ought to recieve at the end of the week" That made the choice easy.
"I think I can do that ma'am" I said and she dismissed me with no other word.

My car was parked at the back of the little café. It wasn't an impressive one indeed but it could transport me to wherever I wanted to go. On my way to the parking lot, I was hoping to meet my car just the way I left it and I definitely did not leave my car with some dude who was having a blast at giving himself lung cancer.

I approached him and stood a safe distance away from him. I definitely wanted to avoid as much attack as possible if I was about to tell  a stranger to get away from my car. I cleared my throat and he didn't move. He did not even notice my presence. I then moved forward, if he wanted to punch me in the face I could as well kick him in the nuts.
"Could you get off my car mister? I really want to go" I told him with eyes furrowed. He turned to me. His hair was black, blue eyes, he was tall and had a handsome face I would kick if he didnt get off my car.
"Oh! Is this yours?" He asked, didn't I just mention it was mine.
" Dude would you please leave and smoke your joint somewhere else? I need to go." I said as-a-matter-of-factly.
He threw what was left of whatever he was smoking on the floor and crushed it with his leg.
"Where are you going to?" He asked me with a smirk.
"No place that will want you" I told him him and entered my car. He was still leaning on that spot, maybe I should honk him away? What was he? A cat? I tried that and it failed.
I wanted to go and this guy kept me here. Not even 5 seconds later. He joined me inside and was seated on the passenger's seat. Now I had a stranger in my car.
"You want me to drop you off or something?" I don't know why I asked him that but I did, it wouldn't hurt being nice.
"Well you could that for me" he said with a little smile and I could not help but smile myself.

Louis and I spoke throughout the  ride, he was fun actually. He played soccer, loved Travis Scott, his favorite food was pancaked especially when it had nutella on it, he liked mystery solving movies and he was hoping on making it into college.
"Im still being driven by a stranger, how much do you get for my head?" He said and I forrowed my eyebrows in confusion and laughing abit.
" Oh please you can't call me a stranger and if I wanted to kill you I would have done so for free" I said smiling and I looked at him from the side long enough to see him holding his chest and gasping like he was having a heart attack, but short enough to keep us from not crossing the red light.
"So you are saying, I am so worthless that even killing me comes without charges, Really?" that made me laugh even more.
" No, what I meant was that people wiping people like you from the surface of the earth is an honour"  I told him.
"It means Im special then" he said and I shook my head, he wasted no time in giving himself compliments.
We took a right turn and landed in front of his house. Our little ride was over.

" Thank you very much, but before I go, would you please tell me your name?" He asked when he went out.

"Im still a stranger" and with that I drove away.

I arrived at my own house and my parents were obviously not there and Junior was probably over at Mark's house again.
I got myself some cookies from the pantry.

I had now begun a new series on netflix was right far at the 3rd season already ( well the episodes were not that long) and my parents had still not come back. I checked the time on my phone and it was 7pm already. They would come around.

I headed to the kitchen downstairs and was about to make myself some tea before the doorbell rung. Maybe dad forgot his key again. I went to the door and opened it.
It wasn't dad standing there. It was a tall man in black suit. His grey hair was a nice silver, he did not look old so I guessed him to be in his mid 50s.

"Vinora Lorraine?" He asked looking at me like an inspector would. I knew I was not guilty of any crime but from how this guy looked at me made me feel like I had unconsciously sinned or rather broken the law.
"That is me sir" I respoded as comfident as I could but my voice failed me a little.
He removed an ID from the top pocket of his coat and showed me.
" Inspector James could I come in for a bit?" I didn't know when I started letting strangers into our house but without knowing I stepped aside and opened the door wider for him to enter.
He didn't go far and just stayed at the lobby.
"Im not here to stay miss Lorrain. Just to ask a few questions" he told me and I felt like ice at that moment. I wanst a fan of questions not even in class but I told myself I would do my best to be as mature as possible and not some 17 year old kid.
"Would you like some coffee" I asked the inspector with small smile. He accepted the nice offer and I led him into the kitchen.

I set a mug infront of the man and he took it gladly. We were both seated at the small table where dad mostly read his newspapers away from the noise of my mom, Junior and I made at the dining table.
He took some sips from his mug and I knew the Q&A would start soon and soon they did.

"Ive been working on the case of a particular boy.
His name is Louis Wilborne. Ever come accross him?"
Was he talking of the Louis that I helped him get home earlier today? The one who was at the café?
"Do you have a picture please?" I asked, i could not let myself jump into assumptions.
Without wasting any second of his time he took out a folded paper out of his trouser pocket and put it on the table for me to take.
I felt like I was in some movie. I took the paper and unfolded it and I tried my possible best to not look suprised or shocked or any other emotion that would make one know that the boy on this paper was they guy I knew.
"No. Im sorry inspector Im not sure I have seen this boy before but his face does look a liitle familiar" I told him sounding very normal when I gave him back his paper which he folded and put it back in its place.
"Of course the face looks familiar. We saw you driving him to a particular house at Hilltop streets in the afternoon. We have cameras in the whole town looking for him." I was scarred and he saw it. No matter how hard I tried to hide it.
The inspector stretched out his hand accross the table and placed it on my shoulder, maybe trying to be a bit fatherly.
" I know you scarred Vinora but to save the right people you must do the right things" was that supposed to be a quote of the day kind of thing?. It didnt make me feel any better if that was what it was meant for. He handed me his card and told me I should call incase I needed something when I accompanied him back to the door.

It was almost 9 and I was still waiting for my parents. I was coocooned on one of the soafers watching a movie I wasn't paying attention to. My head was still on Louis. I was scarred. Maybe the boy I helped today was a drug dealer or some muderer or a thief or a robber or some other fool from the crazy lot. But the way he spoke today. He seemed like a good person and nice to talk to.
Don't judge the book by its cover huh.

When I heard some noise in the lobby again I shook and immediately calmed down again when I saw my mom coming in with my dad.
" Hello my sweet darling, How are you? Im sorry we had you worried but your dad did not just want to leave his work and his car had a break down so I had to wait for him to finish and when he was finally done we had that awful traffic that got us stuck on the same place for long minutes." My mother was always the one who gave the long unncessary explanations." I wasn't listening anymore I was just looking at how apologetic she looked at me and holding my hands when my dad came and told her not to bother explaining the whole thing to me. "How are you doing my big bear. God Im so glad didn't do literature one story teller is definitely enough".
Dad always made fun of my mom for having done literature especially now that she had a job which did not have need of it. My mom threw him daggers with her eyes before hugging me and going to the kitchen.
Well now that they were home I could aswell go back to my room and rest. I knew I had a long day tomorrow and the inspector might have just made it longer.

Hello lovely readers Im sorry that this chapter was so short but I will try making longer ones in the future. Tell me what you think of this first one throught the comments and don't forget to vote.😘