Chapter Five

Bella woke me up this morning, and to be honest, I didn't want to go anywhere today. I just wanted to stay all day in bed, but that couldn't happen because my boss's birthday is today, and his wife is planning a 'surprise party' and needed every single one of us to be present so we could keep everything under control. I didn't go to the coffee shop today because our boss's wife asked us to be there by three so we could prepare the place for the birthday surprise she had been planning for him for almost a week. I worked at the club for almost three years, and his wife was a pain in the ass. Every year she plans this 'birthday party' to show how much she loves him, but we all know that she wants him for his money.

''Get up, I am hungry and there's nothing to eat,'' Bella says, and she is right. I was so focused on the problems I had and skipped the grocery shopping for a while.

"I'll get dressed, and we can go grocery shopping and buy something to eat on our way home," I said sleepily, getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, then put my hair in a ponytail and went to my bedroom to get dressed. Bella was already dressed and waiting for me, so I put on a pair of black wide tracksuits and a white crop top. I put on my sneakers, got the keys and my wallet, and we got out of the apartment and headed to the car. The traffic was heavy, but we still managed to get to the store quickly. We grabbed a shopping basket and we started to take everything that we had written on the list.

As we were looking for the other items on our list, I spotted the same people that I saw in front of the parking lot down the road near my house. One boy and one girl. Then in the parking lot here. And I know that because before I and Bella went to the car, I told her to look at this girl's weird haircut. I am a vigilant person and I don't miss any details. I look around me for every possible clue that would be weird for me. It's like a gift, and I know if something is not right.

''Don't turn your head, don't react to anything, act normal. "I say to Bella, trying to not be suspicious and acting like we normally talk. They were far from us and couldn't hear what I said'' but I think that someone is stalking us.'' and gave a little smile at her. Thank God she didn't react or get scared.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asks, pretending to smile and acting as if we were having a normal conversation.

"You remember the girl with the weird haircut I showed you in the parking lot before we got her?" I ask, pretending to be preoccupied with deciding between two types of cheese.

''The one with the purple hair that was styled like Hitler,'' she says, and I couldn't hold my laughter at her comment.

''Yeah, that one. She is with the same boy. We saw her and since we got here, they haven't taken their eyes off of us. " I say putting one of the cheeses in the basket.

We stayed a little while wandering around, and when we saw that they had turned their back for a split second, we went straight to the cashier, paid for the things we got, and left immediately to our car and drove out of the store.

"Why are they chasing us?'' Bella asked as I could sense the fear in her voice.

''I don't know why, but we have to drive fast and get home because I think they left behind us, and if they did, they could be behind us at any moment,'' I said as I drove faster and took a couple of shortcuts so we could arrive home faster. I left Bella in front of our building with the groceries, gave her the keys to the apartment, and drove off again.

I had to find the same parking spot to put my car in, hoping that they didn't know where we live. After a bit of struggle, I managed to find the same parking spot and parked my car there. I got out of the car, making sure to keep a low profile and checking every couple of minutes to see if someone was following me as I was heading back home. I decided to go to my apartment by the fire escape that was connected to my room window from the back of my building, so I didn't have to use the main entrance. I started to get up to my floor and texted Bella to open the window to my room so I could get in. As soon as I went into my room, I closed the window and also the main door.

'' Do you have any idea what the hell that was? " I heard Bella behind me as I was checking from my kitchen window, which has a view of the front part of the building, to see if someone was watching us, but luckily no one had followed us.

''No Bella I don't know who they were and what they wanted from us,'' I say with an angry voice.

''Are you still going to work since it's 1 o'clock?'' she says with a fearful voice.

'' You know, I have to go or else I could get fired.'' I know that after this I have to be locked in my apartment, but I don't want to be. I want to find those bastards and torture them to tell me what they want from us. Ask them if they were the same people that I saw when I went to visit my mom's grave. I was a little afraid and didn't want to get killed, but I think that the training that I have done for almost 10 years will come in handy.

When I was eleven, my mum insisted that I attend classes that taught me to protect myself. I still don't know why she did that, but I still thank her for raising me into the girl that I am today. I never thought through this too much because every time I asked my mum why I had to get self-defense classes, she always told me 'who knows what the future has reserved for you.' Every time I asked her to tell me something about my father, she just skipped the question and made me promise not to look for him or ask for him anymore. Sometimes I got frustrated by her short answers and the promises she made me keep, and sometimes I got mad at her, but after a couple of years, I just gave up. There must have been a strong reason for her to hide the truth from me. I still love her and no matter what happens, I will never be mad at her for the way she raised me.

I started getting ready for work. I put my uniform on and put my long brown hair in a loose, messy bun. After I got ready, I went to the window in my room.

''Make sure that the door and windows are locked. If something happens or you feel that something doesn't sit right, call me immediately. I will call you when I am going to be here and you can open the window. For no reason, the door will not open. I will try to call you during the time I am at work, so keep your phone close so you can hear me when I call you. Please be safe.'' I say to Bella, making sure that she understood me. She is like my little sister, and I can't imagine how I would feel if something happened to her. The thought of me losing her makes me cry. She pulled me into a hug, and I could sense her fear.

''Don't be afraid, everything is going to be alright,'' I said to her, pulled out of the hug, got out of the window, and said goodbye to her, wishing for her to be safe.

It's 2:45 and I have only 15 minutes to be at work or else that bitch will fire me. I ran as fast as I could and went to work on time.

''Please tell me that she hasn't arrived yet,'' I told Claudia as I tried to catch my breath from all the running I did. My back feels like it's going to break. Am I getting old?

"No, thank goodness she hasn't come yet.'' She says, and at that moment, the main door bursts open and she comes in with her bodyguard behind her. Her red hair is in a high ponytail. Her green eyes scan the place like she is going to start a fight at any moment. She is wearing a tight black knee-length dress and a fur coat. God, it is like 100 degrees outside and she is wearing a coat. She can be so weird sometimes.

''Here comes the bitch.'' Claudia whispers so only I can hear and a smile forms on my lips.

''HELLO PEOPLE'' she yells at us with her frustrated voice, making my ears bleed every time she speaks. I swear someday I am going to rip her vocal cords. ''I want everything ready before 8 o'clock and I want everything to be perfect,'' she says with an annoyed look on her face.

We went straight to work. I started to clean the bar and arrange the bottles of alcohol, and Claudia was putting the tables in the proper positions. The others were cleaning and decorating the place. The DJ was fixing his equipment and some other workers were blowing balloons. After we were almost done, me and Claudia took the litter bags and went to throw them away in the garbage. As we were coming back, I spotted his car in the same spot, it was the first day I met him. The heartbreak feeling came rushing back, but I pushed it as deep as I could and tried to forget him.

The guests were slowly coming, and moment after moment, the place was getting crowded. I was in the bar serving drinks and making cocktails, and Claudia was helping me. Everything was organized perfectly, and the guests were having fun. After the bar was almost empty, I returned to my usual spot and read my book while listening to the music.

'   We were driving back home from the movies. Because of the painful silence, that was shared between us tonight, I could sense there was something wrong. After a couple of minutes of painful silence between us, Laura decided to break the silence by asking me to pull over. I did as she asked me by pulling over to the side of the road and turning my eyes to face the most perfect face I have ever seen in my life. The face I would die to see for the rest of my life.

''Aiden I have to tell you something.'' her delicate voice said to me looking down at her hands as if she was afraid to say it.

"Yes, love, what is it? "I ask as I get my hand to her chin, getting her to look me in the eyes.

"I... I don't love you anymore." As these words came out of her mouth, I felt my heart shutter. My breath was caught up in my throat as a silent tear slid down my cheek. Her head was still down as she played with her hands. I didn't say anything. To be honest I couldn't say anything I just reached my pocket took the piece of paper and handed it to her. As she was reaching her hand to take the note for a split second her eyes were in the window behind me and her face dropped. She was completely pale and her eyes were glued behind me. I turn to see what was that made her reach like that but it was late.

..............

I was completely shocked by the view in front of me. I didn't know what to do or say. I just stared at the speeding car that was coming in our direction, and after a couple of seconds, everything went black.

I woke up in the hospital bed. I was feeling horrible and my whole body was in pain. I didn't remember what happened, but my first words were,

''Where is Aiden?'' I asked my mum, who was beside me, her eyes full of excitement, but as soon as she heard Aiden's name, her face went emotionless. I looked around me to see if Aiden was there, but I saw nothing.

"Mum, where is Aiden?'' I say to her louder this time. I could feel my heartbeat getting faster as the heart monitor's sound was beeping like crazy.

''I am sorry, honey.'' I slowly reached into my jacket pocket and took the note, pulling out the note he gave me and reading it.

'Without your love, I would die.' '

''Can someone please come and give me a glass of Schoch please?'' My reading was interrupted as I heard a voice in front of me and raised my head as a single tear went down my cheek from what I read. It was him. My heart started to beat like crazy again. God I hate when I feel line this. His eyes went soft as soon as they saw my eyes ready to tear up. He was dressed in a black suit, which hugs his body so perfectly, showing off his perfect body. His curly black hair was a bit messy, and those baby brown eyes were scanning me up and down. I wish I could freeze time and stare at those eyes for the rest of my life, but as much as I wanted to, I couldn't because he has a girl by his side and she could be his wife, and I don't want to be the kind of person that ruins relationships, so I break eye contact with him and go near Claudia. I can see the disappointment in his eyes as soon as I get up and went to Claudia, but I ignore him.

''Can you please serve this man because I have to go to the bathroom?'' I whispered in her ear and left to go to the staff room and locked the door behind me. I felt tears coming down my cheeks and I didn't push them back. I don't know what to cry first the book or the fact that he has a girl by his side and he used me for his pleasure but I still manage to feel something for him. God, I am such a crybaby. Why is it so difficult for me to forget him? I pulled myself together and took a quick look at the mirror that was in the room. I wiped away the tears I had on my cheek, calmed down, and went outside to continue my work like nothing had happened. I went to the bar and started to completely ignore him and started serving other people their drinks and trying not to look him in the eye, because if I did look him in the eye, I knew I could not restrain myself for the things that could occur later.

After ten minutes, he got up and left some cash on the counter. I could see the hurt in his eyes, but I decided to ignore it. It is better for me to stop thinking about him now before something serious happens. He slowly vanished into the crowd.

...........................................................

Finally, after five long hours of pure torture, the party was over and everyone was gone. We cleaned the bar and the tables and left for home. It was 3:00 am and I was running like crazy to get home as fast as I could. I haven't called Bella since I left the house, and when I did, she didn't reply. I took my phone and started calling Bella again, but still, she didn't pick up. I run faster and I can feel my blood boiling from anger. I swear to God if something has happened to her, I am not taking responsibility for what happens next. I got to the building and got to my window. I started knocking on it as I tried to call Bella again. After a couple of seconds, the window opens and Bella was there. I went inside and closed the window behind me.

''Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how many times I have called you? I thought something bad happened to you. You scared me to death.'' I scream at her as I try to catch my breath, my eyes getting watery. I can't lose her too.

''I am sorry I fell asleep, but I am fine, Elly. Look at me, I am fine,'' she says and cups my cheeks.

''Did anyone knock on the door,'' I asked Bella.

"No, no one has ever been at the door or in front of our building,'' she says, and I immediately relax at her words.

''Maybe I am being paranoid and exaggerating things. Maybe it was a coincidence for me to see them and just got scared for no reason,'' I said to Bella, but still, something didn't sit right with me but I decided to ignore it and move on, so I didn't spread panic.

''So have you eaten anything?'' I asked her, '' because I am starving and I haven't eaten anything all day.''

'' I could use some grilled cheese now,'' Bella says, with a smile on her face.

''OK, grilled cheese then. Go wait for me in the kitchen. I am going to put my pajamas on and come. "

After eating, Bella lay on the couch, and I went to bed. I was exhausted and as soon as I lay in bed, I fell asleep.