Chapter 13 Sincerely, Your Villain
Sorry, not sorry for all the trouble I will cause. Also, I will find out what you were up to. You’re not as sneaky as you think, mouse.
Sincerely, your Villain.
Ezra
“What the hell? “ I mumbled but thanked the waiter, I slipped the note into my pocket, I’ll burn it later. I grabbed the to-go trays and handed them out.
“Where are the checks? “ Bartise asked
“Someone took care of it, “ I shrugged
“You paid for it all? “ Cindy asked with an eyebrow raised.
“Nope,” I replied, putting my fries and half a burger in. I grabbed my cup and waited for them to finish up. It actually worked out for me to have the bill already paid. It will take less time to get out, and less time for them to follow us. That’s if the beard man doesn’t leave his partner in the restaurant.
“Why don’t I believe you?” Bartise said as he held the door for us, and I passed by him.
“You can believe what you want. I did not pay,” I said dismissively. We got back to the truck, and he opened the door. As he’s walking to the driver's side, I notice the redhead run to the black car. I snicker a little to myself as she so obviously almost fell.
“What is so funny?” Cindy asked next to me.
“Someone almost fell running to their car,” I stated.
“Where?” Cindy asked.
“They are gone now,” I replied.
“Who is gone now?” Bartise asked as he sat as close as he could to me without hindering his driving.
“Someone running to their car almost fell,” I tell him.
“Oh?” was his only response.
I give him my address, and we make our way. Just as we are about to pull out of the lot, Cindy speaks up.
“Well, that is just unfortunate,”
“What is?” I asked, and she pointed over to the black car that tried to follow us out of the lot.
“It looks like they got a flat from the broken-up parking lot,” Cindy said, then added. “They really need to fix that.
“Yeah, they do.” I thought to myself.
We got to my apartment. I dig my key out of my school bag and let my friends in. Because of family issues, I gave a small explanation that I live alone. Everything is done by me. I explained I do not have much, but it’s all mine. I was feeling a bit anxious about having people here, but it is what it is. They both came in cautiously, like a boogie man would jump out at them. But I showed them the living room, with an ugly shade of brown sofa. Someone was going to trash it. So they gave it to me for free. It was mostly intact. It did its job. In the corner, I had a small table/desk that was very well worn. It was covered in multiple shades of faux-brown wood. It was paired with a crappy chair I also found at the dump. With my friends here, it felt strangely emptier. Their faces revealed they were judging and taking it all in. I just wasn’t sure what they thought. Personal touches were never something I bothered with. I did not want to get too attached just in case I had to run again. The only thing I paid for was for the small 20 inch tv that had a DVD player attached. A simple luxury.
“I have a couple of movies I haven’t returned yet if you want to watch them. I know it’s not much, " I replied, feeling a little self-conscious about how little I actually had. Maybe I would need to get some more things.
“I would love to watch a movie with you,” Bartise smiled. Flirting away like normal.
“Same here.” Cindy Chimed.
So I put in the one they both agreed to watch, and we all slumped onto the couch together. I was in the middle of them. It honestly felt really good having people over. I really hope this will last. I really hope this was the start of an actual friendship, something I have always wanted, but could never have.
After a few hours, Cindy's mom called, asking her to come home. Bartise offered to drive her home. It was actually nice to have them over. We made plans to have a movie marathon of this series that Cindy and Bartise love that I have never heard of. I didn’t realize how anxious I was about having them here, and I worried about what they thought. For some reason, I thought as soon as they saw the almost bare apartment, they would have turned around and just left. Nope, we watched. The movie laughed and made plans for this weekend. Things I only ever dreamed of having. I know they said they were going to bring the food and drinks for this weekend. But I made a note of some additional things I should invest in. Especially if I’m going to have friends over. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get to the store tomorrow after school to try and get a phone before work. I never cared about having a cellphone before, because all I would ever get were demands from my parents on what missions I had and if I lived up to their expectations. I never did.
I grabbed the book that the crazy lady pointed me out to find. Looking at the time, I decided it was best to wait to read it. I pulled the strange photo that was tucked and side and really gave this Sarah person a good look. It was uncanny the resemblance I had to this person. Even with my hair dyed and contacts in. Ah, that reminded me. I tucked the photo back into the book. I set it down on my table desk in the living room, but picked it back up. For some reason, I didn’t want to leave this out in the open. I decided it was probably best to hide it in my stash bag. The one I have hidden under some floorboards in my bedroom for easy access.
I stepped into my bathroom and took out my colored contacts. Put some nice eye drops in my eye, and pulled out one of the many hair touch-up boxes I have. I should probably get more soon and find a new spot for them just in case. If I have friends over, they might do a little snooping, so I’ll either have to have a good reason or put them in a spot not easily snooped at. I’m sure they don’t mean anything by it though. I just have to think logically, they are going to be curious why a sophomore is living alone, and doesn’t want to talk about why she has no contact with her parents. I touch up the roots on my hair and before I can wash it out I have to wait 20 minutes. I got my clothes for tomorrow. My bag packed so all I have to do in the morning is pop in a frozen waffle and get dressed. I still have a few minutes to spare when I head over my window to shut the curtains all the way. When I notice a black car sitting outside, shit. I leave the curtains as they are and head to the bathroom to wash the hair die out. I go as quickly as possible to the bathroom. While formulating a plan.
Once out of the shower, I quickly and quietly pull on an all-black outfit. I tie my hair back and pull a hood over my head. I wrap a scarf around my face to help hide as much of my features as possible. I sneak out of the apartment, avoiding the windows as best I can. I trained for this, I am a pro, a rusty pro, but a pro. I lock my door and slide the key under my mat without making a sound. I go down the hall and up the stairs. Once on the roof, I make my way down the fire escape, doing my best to make next to no sound as I quickly make it to the back alley. I sneak in the darkness and hide behind the dumpster. I can’t see well but I don’t hear anything. I slowly move from behind the dumpster and make my way down the ally avoiding the street lights. I make it down just far enough that I can hear them talking.
“I can't believe we have to sit here all night.” The women complained.
“We have to get whatever intel we can on her.” The male voice said.
“I get that. But why? I get she kinda looks like Sarah, but Sarah went missing, like, what, 17/18 years ago. Wait, you don’t mean?”
A sound in the alleyway pulled me from the conversation. I pulled myself deeper into the shadows. However, it was too late. A warm, strong male body pinned me to the wall.
“My my my, what bright green eyes we have.”