Chapter 5: Unexpected: Orion

 Orion

“Bossman, why you here, man” Marcus asked as he spotted me walking into the shop.  “Why not?  If I don’t come, you guys might get into trouble and burn this place down” I said in a teasing way.  “Ha ha, not even, you really helped all of us out, so we owe you.  There is no way we would intentionally let you down” Marcus said leaning against the car he was working on.  “I know.  How’s it going here” I asked.  “Oh, you know, can’t complain.  Business is good.  Customers keep coming in and we keep doing what we gotta do” Marcus said. These guys know their stuff when it comes to fixing cars. “That’s good.  Well, I’ll be in the office” I said and went upstairs.  I opened my own service station a few years ago.  In addition to gas, I also have mechanics in house to fix cars.  The guys I hire are those who are down on their luck and need a helping hand.  I didn’t intentionally make my business this way it just became like this.  They are a good bunch of guys, rough guys, but still good guys.  As I just sat down my phone starts ringing.  I look at the caller ID.  It’s Lara.  My excitement was ridiculous. And my face couldn’t not smile.  I answered the phone with “Lara you're still awake.”  “Hi, yes, I was just thinking if I should text you or call.  I decided to call, but now that I think about it you said you were just about to start work.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t really think before I called” she said sounding apologetic.  “Lara, it’s ok.  I’m just looking over some paperwork for the company.  Basically, busying myself” I said.  “Oh, you work in the office and do administrative stuff” she asked me.  “Well, yes.  I own the business.” I said a little sheepishly. “Oh, that’s fine.  But then you probably really don’t have much time to talk then” she said.  “I’ll make time for you” I rebutted.  “Um, don’t worry about it.  I’ll see you Thursday.  Have a good day” she said a little rushed then disconnected the phone call.  “Lara I….” I couldn’t even finish my sentence before the call was disconnected.  So, I sent her a TEXT Orion: "You were not bothering me.  Please call me when you wake up.  Sweet dreams."  I sighed long and loud.  Bing TEXT Lara: "I will.  Thank you!"  “What’s wrong with your face,” Colin asked with a smirk as he was standing in the doorway.  “What’s wrong with your eyes” I replied a little irritated.  “Ohhhh, bossman, you in a bad mood now” Colin asked.  “No, not really.  What’s up” I asked.  “I was just going to ask if I can bring a date on Thursday” Colin asked.  “Sure” I replied.  “Should we bring anything” he asked.  “Nope.  Just come” I said.  “Alright” he stated as he walked away. 

     The day was not very eventful.  Which is good because that means everything was running smoothly. At least for now.  Calling it a day I start packing up.  As I was walking down the stairs, I heard that the doors were being closed by Marcus.  “How’d today go” I asked him and continued to walk out of the shop for him to lock and set alarm.  “Ok. We had to order a part, but it won’t be in until tomorrow, other than that, business as usual” he supplied.  “Alright. Have a good night.  See you tomorrow” I said and walked to my car.  Just when I was about to get into my car, my phone binged with an incoming text. After getting in and starting the engine, I grabbed my phone to see the text notification and saw an unexpected phone number.  I didn't want to deal with this drama, so I called Crown instead.  "What's up" Crown said in greeting. The background was a bit noisy, but I couldn't make out where he was.  "What you doing? Let's do dinner" I asked.  "Sure, I'll pick something up and head over to your place" Crown responded. "Sounds good" then the call was disconnected.  I tossed my phone to the passenger’s seat, then drove out of the parking lot heading for home.  While I was driving my thoughts returned back to that unexpected message.  It's been so long, why now? I started to have a bad feeling, but I'm not sure why. The past is making its way back and I really don't want to face it. If this is the path I am supposed to be on, then I guess I better face it.  The past came rushing back to me to the day that changed me to who I am today. I'm not ashamed of what I did, but there could have been a better way to handle things. I shook my head to let go of all memories. When I got home, I went straight to take a shower.  I didn't need to wait for Crown; he can just let himself in. 

     The warm water of the shower calmed my nerves. The past needs to stay in the past. After that thought, I washed myself, got out, then got dressed.  I heard someone rummaging in the kitchen. Crown must be here I thought. I walked down the hall and went into the kitchen.  "Hey man, I bought Boston Market, choose one" he said while he was opening both food containers that he placed on the kitchen table.  One container was meatloaf with various sides and cornbread, and the other was filled with chicken with various sides and cornbread. Instead of taking one already made container, I traded some meatloaf and chicken so we both had meatloaf and chicken. I then walked to the refrigerator and grabbed both of us a bottle of water, then we sat at the kitchen table. While we were eating, the most we talked was about work.  Nothing special.  The food was really good and hit the spot.  After we finished eating, we cleaned up and sat on the couch. "So, what's up" Crown asked as he stretched out. "Someone from the past hit me up today" I replied. "Who" Crown asked curiously. I pressed my lips together into a thin line cause I wasn't sure how to say this. Instead of saying anything I took out my phone, pulled up the message, and showed Crown.  Crown took the phone out of my hands and looked at the number first, then read the message. "Holy fuck man, what is this" he asked. "Man, I don't know. The phone number is obviously familiar, but the message is cryptic" I said. "Did you respond" he asked. I shook my head side to side. "I didn't know what to say and it pisses me off to get this message" I said with anger in my voice. "What you going to do" he asked.  I shrugged my shoulders up.  There was no ideas that came into my head. It would be easy to just ignore the message, but the sender would continue to pester me. "Do you need help" Crown asked. "Not now. Maybe it's just nothing" I said not believing that for a second. I grabbed my phone and looked at the message again trying to think of how to approach this. Just then another message comes through from the same number saying 2 words. I stared at the words having mixed feelings about the sender. "Is this a good thing or a bad thing" Crown asked after a while. "Man, I don't know" I said. And I really didn't know what I was going to do.  I looked at my phone again wondering what would come next.  These 2 words could mean anything.