got up confidently with the summary in my hands and knocked three times on Raquel's office, who looked at me as if I were the Devil himself.
“What are you doing here newbie? I didn't warn you”
“The matter, I cannot... I”
I stuttered to speak.
“Don't you realize? Alright, move on to another one. When Babi hired you I knew it would be a problem, you look like you question your boss too much. Thank you for showing me that I was right again!”
"No! I will do the story!”
I responded with a mix of confidence and the need to pay the rent.
“Great, good luck!”
She smiled cynically at me.
I returned to my room still petrified, just in time for Amelia's message about the place and time.
It was good, I was going to need to take one myself.
Not one, maybe several to learn how to deal with a feeling so new and unique to me.
The day was disturbed, I felt bad after that news, I knew I couldn't say no to my crazy boss, the job was still too new, and I was just waiting for the clock to finally strike 18:00 hours, so I could run out from there to find Amelia. That crazy woman was finally going to be the saving grace of my day, and I couldn't wait to spew the whole story all over her.
When I finally found her, she was as glorious as ever, everyone was looking at her, of course. I soon noticed her plunging neckline, and the beautiful smile she always had on her face, even when the only thing she could offer the world was anger.
“Hi Lauren, finally huh, This place is full of ugly people, I already regret coming here, let's sit down soon.”
“Come on Ame, always complaining huh? What the fuck, it was you who scored here in this place!”
“I know, calm down, I always complain. Did he forget? I'm the boring one, and you're the sensible one!"
She said smiling like a carefree schoolgirl.
"Okay, let's just sit down, because I need to collapse on top of you."
“Shhh, what have you done this time? You are even pale!”
We sat at a table a little further away, and I thanked the heavens for that, even though many men went there, or even sent drinks. It was the Amelia effect on the place.
When I told her everything, I could watch her look of surprise, and how excited she was to listen, maybe she thought I was telling her some movie script, or fan fiction from somewhere. It was not possible! I could see the shameless woman's eyes light up as my narrative took shape.
“And what was he like?”
It was the first question.
Okay, your best friend is in real danger of death, she could be out of work or without her life, and your first question was about what the bad guy looks like. That was so Amelia I didn't even care.
“What does it matter what he was like? Did you hear anything I said, Amelia?”
I showed all my fake irritation by pretending to care.
“Stop acting tough Lauren, I'm not encouraging you to do anything, but I could have sworn I saw your eye glisten when you talked about that bad guy's appearance, are you sure you haven't been watching too many series? Maybe he saw that and dreamed, I don't know, had a mushroom tea”
“Don't joke about it, I'm more than serious! I'm out of options.”
“How are you out of options? Do not do it! Simple, say no to the witch boss, quit that job and I'll get you a desk in my office. It even seems like you have to die to be relevant. Hey, what do I always tell you?”
“Are you going to make me repeat that self-help nonsense?
Because that shit doesn't help me at all. It only helps people like you. Who has everything in life and needs to get a problem or some scab to scratch.”
“I huh Lauren, what a bad mood, I'm not saying anything bad. Didn't you say that such a hottie threatened you? Didn't I say he's dangerous? So what are you creating a problem with? Say no and that's it."
My heart froze, when I finally ignored what Amelia was saying and looked straight across the bar, I could hardly believe it when I saw him standing there on the other side, a glass of whiskey in hand measuring my steps. I wasn't stupid, and there were no more options to blame my mental instability and alcoholic streak for what was happening. He was stalking me, sizing me up, wanting something from me he didn't even know what it was. Maybe I have a fetish for killing too nosy journalists, or maybe I got my face scarred by the previous article.
He looked at me in a way that I could have sworn he was taking my clothes off, but the look was also psychotic and full of hate. This made my mind send confusing and out-of-sync signals to my body, which, at times wanted to sigh for looking at his appearance, and at times wanted to run in fear to his parent's house.
I swallowed the last sip of my Martini, which went down my throat extremely dry, Amelia who never in her life managed to simply take a thought home without first sharing it with the world shot:
“What are you looking at Lauren? By God, you look glazed!”
And I was so focused that I didn't even hear the full sentence of what she had said, I was looking at him, and he returned the look without the slightest shame.
“Okay, now I know why you're focused, damn hot man, he doesn't even look like the type I've seen here, a bunch of uglies and shaves trying to look relevant. Go talk to him, Lauren!”
I shot Amelia a look so hateful, largely because she had finally snapped me out of my fantasy world, but also because I had just described the man's appearance, and even then she didn't seem to put one thing together. another, maybe she wasn't so bright after all.
“Fuck Amelia, it’s HIM!”
"He he?"
She said with strangely bulging eyes.
"Yes, it's him, let's get out of here now."
Maybe it was my agonized tone or my shocked look, but she didn't bother to convince me to stay, she asked the waiter for the check at the same moment, I needed air, so I left without her. I would wait for you outside the bar. The night was fucking cold, and I just forgot to put my fucking coat on, and yet my body was hot, and the blood was pumping through it from sheer terror.
I didn't see him anymore, I was waiting for Amelia outside the bar, and I felt my whole body break out in a cold sweat, why was she taking so long?
“Lauren?”
Called an extremely sexy voice and was hot as hell, it sounded way too low, but it was as if it attracted me. And I knew whose voice it was, I'd heard it in what I thought was a dream.
"What I did do to you? I... I... No... I, I didn't go to that place anymore... that you said not to go, I'm moving on with my life”
I stuttered too much, and where the fuck was Amelia? I looked in all directions trying to find her. I needed to get away from there.
“I don't want you to go out the way you've been, and I think you should stop drinking like that too, and damn, put your coat on, it's cold out here, are you always like this? No sense of danger?”
Was he giving me orders? That was it? Had he reached over to boss me around as if he knew me, or if he had some sort of concern for me? The tone wasn't worried, it was urgent, it was an order, and I didn't respond well to that. I just looked at him in surprise, raised my arms trying to understand what was going on there, and what was that lunatic's game!
“Look, I'm already tired of being afraid, so tell me.
What have I done to you? I'm trying to get on with my life.”
He took my arm violently, and brought me to him as if it wasn't a very big effort, I felt small and vulnerable in his presence, I felt that he could just finish me right there, but why didn't that seem to be the case?? He leaned his face too close, I was absorbed, I couldn't think of absolutely anything but his eyes, and that delicious whiskey breath, as well as the smell of perfume exhaling through my nostrils.
“As you said, you got on with your life, and I just can't fucking get on with mine! So do as I tell you and you'll be safe. Do you understand Lauren?”
“What do you mean you can’t follow yours?”
I asked with my old primary character trait of asking too much.
“It doesn't matter, not now. I'm just rooting for you to slip, just one! Until then, my warnings remain.”
He released me and walked off into the mist of the cold night.
When Amélia finally appeared with an idiot face looking at me, she was apologizing to me, I already knew her.
"What did he want? Oh my God, I thought it was a joke.
What happened?"
“Nothing much, another warning, what happened in there? Wasn't it paying the fucking bill and leaving Amelia?”
“No, that never happened to me, the waiter started talking to me, and stalling me, he said that the card didn't go through, and he tried another one and another one, I called the bank in despair when finally one of my cards went through. Don't you think”
She looked at me scared
"Yes, I think! Let's go now!"
I knew who had asked the waiter, I just didn't know why!
And what did he mean by "I can't go on with my life" My body was shaking just thinking about it, I didn't know what I had done yet, but I knew it would be something very serious.
Just thinking about the tone of voice he used made my body shudder, and my heart raced with the memories.