Chapter Three

"Shaving honey!"

This is the first time I have seen Dad shave off his beard after we lost Mom.

"This is a good development" I whispered to myself. 

I work two part-time jobs with my best friend Grace; it hasn't been entirely easy, but I am having the time of my life. I know it wasn't what I had planned for my life, but I was kind of grateful that we kept taking one step at a time.

Dad works as an accountant at a local shopping mall; the pay isn't much, and I don't know why he chose this small, unpopular town out of all the places in the county. I mean, we used to live in New York City, and my dad was a successful accountant before we sold everything to save my mom from cancer. I sometimes wonder why he chooses to live from hand to mouth when he can actually walk into any accounting firm and get a job offer immediately. I did not want to complain, but I couldn't help but pity my dad.

I think he just needed a fresh start, to breathe new air, and needs a break from all the city hassle. We had finished breakfast this morning, and I was doing the dishes.

"Honey, you will be late for work, my dad reminded me.

"I'm almost done, Dad!"

I hurriedly finished up the dishes and dashed into the room to dress up. A few minutes later, I was done, and Dad picked up the lunch box I had packaged for him.

"Have a nice day, honey." Dad kissed my forehead and left the house.

I looked around the apartment, and everything was in order. I picked up my jacket, then my bag, and went to Grace's apartment.

I was about to knock on the door when Grace pulled the door open.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, and we both laughed.

"I was coming to get you," I explained to her

"Were you now? Well, here I am," she said.

"Bye, ma!" she quickly screamed at her grandmother,  but didn't wait to get a reply as she closed the door.

We both left for work. Grace was telling me about the weird dream she had yesterday night.

"I went to a park with you and Mr. Dennis. It was a lovely day, and we were having a great time, while your dad watched us. We took some pictures together. I wanted to get ice cream, and you wanted to come along. I was standing in the queue to get the ice cream, and you were standing behind me, but when It got my turn, I turned to ask you what flavor you wanted, and that was when I realized you were no longer behind me. I searched everywhere with Mr. Dennis, but we couldn't find you, and just when we were about to give up, we saw you entering a beautiful car. We called and called, but you didn't so much as look at us. Before we could get to you, the car zoomed off." Grace explained.

I laughed at her ridiculous dream because it sounded so impossible to leave them behind, especially Dad; he is the only person I have left in this whole wide world, and I definitely couldn't trade him for anything.

"You should visit a clinic," I continued laughing.

"Stop laughing; I was really scared when I woke up from the dream," Grace complained.

"Fine, but I still think you should book that appointment." I smiled and hugged her.

"I'm going nowhere, okay?" I tried reassuring her.

* * * * * * *

We got to work a few minutes past 8, and we hurriedly changed into our uniforms. The day was going perfectly fine, as there weren't many customers. I told Grace about my plans to go back to college when I had saved enough, and she was happy about it.

It was midday when a black limousine pulled up in front of the ice cream place. I don't know, but for some odd reason, the car caught my attention, reminding me of the weird dream Grace had told me earlier. I called Grace's attention to the car.

"Maybe that is the beautiful ride that is going to take me away." I teased her and laughed.

"You are crazy, you know," she also laughed.

We were still making jokes about her absurd dream when a huge man came out of the passenger side of the limousine.

"Wow, he is one huge stud!"

"You can say that again, Grace."

"He doesn't seem like someone from around here."

"You think?" I asked her.

He was putting on a black suit, and his hair was clean-shaven. His looks were a bit scary; he looked around as though he were surveying the environment. Grace and I were scared, but we couldn't possibly run away.

He walked towards the back of the limousine and pulled the door open. A little blonde girl stepped out of the limousine. She looked the opposite of the huge man. She was beautiful, just like a little angel. She put on a red gown. I was still admiring her when a blue-eyed, handsome man in black clothes stepped out too.

"Wow, now that's what I'm talking about!" Grace exclaimed as she left her mouth open.

I turned only to realize I wasn't the only one drooling at the strange limousine guy.

He was just so handsome and breathtaking, like the Knight in shining armor that my mom told me about in her stories. It may seem a bit absurd, but mom so strongly believes in love. Most of the bedtime stories she read to me were always about a knight in shining armor saving a girl, and they lived happily ever after.

It sounded a bit strange now, but once in a while, I hope I will find my prince charming, who will knock me off my feet. I was daydreaming and drooling over the strangely handsome guy when They both entered the ice cream shop. He looked way more captivating from up close, and I wondered how the wife would cope with warding off sharks that wanted a bite of his looks.

Maybe the daughter tagged along just to keep admirers at bay. I was still looking when I was brought back to reality by the little girl's voice.

"Hey ugly, stop drooling over my uncle and get me some ice cream".

I looked down to see the little girl from earlier looking at me. Seeing her there came as a shock to me. I was drooling so hard that I didn't realize she was there. Hold on, did she just call him uncle? Wow, so the honey cake isn't even married. I looked at him one more time while smiling sheepishly.

"Are you going to sell me something, or do you just want to stare all day?" I turned to see her giving me a hard, mean stare.

"Wow, just how was she trained?" I muttered to myself.

"What flavor?"

"A little bit of everything".

"That will be expensive; are you sure your uncle doesn't mind".

She nodded "Hey, I'm sorry for calling you ugly; I'm just mad my dad ditched me to go out with some who*".

"Hey, don't curse". I tried to caution her.

"Everyone in my family does. My ice cream, please". She said it with a straight face. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of family teaches a child to curse.

"Here". I handed the ice cream to her.

She took her ice cream from me and went to the man from earlier; he kissed her forehead and continued reading something on his phone. He looked stylish and rich, oozing power and dominance with the way he sat.

He looked completely odd and out of place here. I mean, he practically drew the attention of every single lady in the room, but he didn't give a damn; there was something about him that I couldn't quite place my hands on.

He sat oblivious to his surroundings with the little girl sitting beside him. I looked out, and the huge man from before was standing beside the limo while another huge man was standing next to him. The second guy was way scarier than the first guy; he had his head tattooed and was putting on black sunglasses.

I couldn't help but wonder if being scared is part of the job description. The handsome guy didn't ask for anything but just sat down quietly, looking up at intervals. A few minutes later, the girl was done with her ice cream, and the man came to pay the bill. His icy blue eyes were to die for when staring right into them, and I was slowly melting from inside as I couldn't keep my eyes off him, but there was something wild and dangerous lurking behind those eyes as he smiled at me.

He gave me a thousand-dollar note, and just as I was about to return his change, he asked me to keep the change.

"Wow, he is cute and generous," I thought to myself.

"Sir! Sir!"

He asked the girl to go to the guys at the door and turned his head to me.

"I heard your little girl curse, so I..."

"You what?"

"I decided to tell you, so you might want to correct her because it isn't a good thing".

"Really?"

"Yes, sir," I answered.

"Do you always poke your nose into everything you see?"

"I...... " I was stuttering a little bit and running out of words.

"Mind your business, whore". He said with a tone of finality, I turned immediately and left the shop. I was too shocked to utter a word.

"Did that just happen?" I asked myself. I turned to eyeball him, but he had disappeared into the car, and they were driving off. The girl turned and waved at me.

"Poor thing," I said to myself while I waved back at her.

The rest of the day was uneventful, and the thought of what happened earlier kept replaying in my head.

* * * * * * *

I was done with my shift and completely exhausted. Grace suggested I run an errand with her, but I was just not feeling up for it. I told her I wasn't feeling too well and pleaded to head home; she readily agreed, and I went home alone.

On my way up the stairs, I noticed three badly tattooed guys sitting on the staircase while playing with something. They stopped immediately they saw me and made way for me to walk past them.

I found it a little strange, as I have not seen any of those guys since we moved in here, and they were not so friendly, so I raced up the stairs. I know we are new here, but I have seen almost everyone living in the house, and those guys aren't one of them.

I remembered the guys from the ice cream shop, and I couldn't help but wonder if I was meant to only see scary dudes today. I turned to check if they were following me, and when I saw no one, I took a deep sigh of relief. I bent down to calm my shaky legs.

When I was relaxed, I fished out my key from my small bag. I put the key in the keyhole, but the door was already open. I pushed it open, and I was in utter disbelief at what I saw. Someone had a gun pointed at my dad's head while he was on his knees, begging. I was in shock, and I did not know when I let out a scream. Someone grabbed me from behind and pushed me into the house. Scared and shaking from the shock, I turned just to see the three men I saw earlier at the stairs standing at the door, while one closed the door immediately, leaving me and Dad at the mercy of whoever was holding that gun.

"This is the end" was all I could think of.

"He,llo" I heard a cool, soothing voice from the corner of the room. 

I turned towards the voice and almost screamed my lungs out. There he was, sitting comfortably on the couch while smiling.