Part 3 (2/2)
”You couldn't have possibly forgotten about me, have you?”
Through the phone I felt a tingling feeling fluttering inside my chest. It was as if a pillow fight had gone on inside me. My palms began to sweat as did my upper lip, yet I felt that familiar sensation, and then I knew.
”Benjamin!”
”None other!”
”How did you know my number?”
”Dear girl, haven't you learned yet? I am adorned with gifted talent,” he said, sounding amused.
His laughter echoed through me like I was holding a sh.e.l.l up to my ear.
”What do you want?” I said in a curt tone. Even though I was slightly intrigued to hear his voice, I still didn't trust him, but there was something about him I was undeniably attracted to. He was the same as I. He could see right through me, all without having to say a word.
”What do I want? You were the one that came to me, so what do you want?”
He was tricky with his wording. It always seemed like a riddle when we spoke. Everything was a game to him, and the very words spoken amused him.
”I smelled you a mile away when I came back to my cozy little home. Did you like, by the way?”
”I don't have time for this.”
”Oh, you'll make the time. You want your questions answered, don't you?”
”Okayawhat do you want from me? What's the catch?” I gripped the phone firmly in my hand and paced around the room in just a towel wrapped around my wet body. I could hear my heart beat faster.
”Not so fast, my sweet. You will know when it is time.”
There was a sudden silence over the phone.
”Benjamin? Are you still there?”
The conversation was over; either he'd hung up, or the line went dead.
I arrived at Lucky's twenty minutes after I was supposed to start. Jan was running back and forth filling in for my tardiness. I could see the look of disappointment in her face.
”Charlene, I need to speak with you when you get settled in,” she said as the door swung closed behind her.
I took my coat off and punched in. I started to feel nauseous again as if something was about to happena”another vision maybe? As I took a deep breath, I tried to calm my thoughts. The hairs on my back of my neck were standing up and so were the hairs on my arms. The room felt static, as if something wasn't right.
I saw Jan walk into her office and followed a few minutes later.
”Would you mind telling me why you were running late? If this becomes a habit, maybe different hours are in order. Do I need to put you on the late s.h.i.+ft?”
”NoaummaI'm sorry. It won't happen again.” I stumbled over my words as I spoke. I couldn't be on the night s.h.i.+ft; that would ruin everything.
”You said that before. Look, you know the other girls are just itching to get on the morning s.h.i.+ft. I have girls that have worked here longer than you and are still working nights.”
”I know, and I'm really sorry. I've been caught up with my writing lately. I get carried away sometimes and don't realize the time.” I was sweating it out because it was sort of a lie. She knew I liked to write poetry and even had work published, but that wasn't truly the reason why I was running late. I wondered what kind of repercussions I would endure having to lie to her.
”Listen, if you need to talk about it, I'm here for you, Charlene. You're a sweet girla”don't say mucha*but I like you, and the customers like you too. I will give you another chance, but note this as a verbal warning. The next time might be your last.”
After talking to Jan, the nausea seemed to go away on its own. I thought I would have another vision right in the office when talking to her.
I ran to the bathroom to freshen up. I could feel the beads of sweat running down my forehead. Thank G.o.d my sweat was clear otherwise I would be in big trouble. I patted my face with cold water and took a peek in the mirror. Nothing seemed unusual, with the exception of my eyes. They had changed color a little, and a yellow tinge had formed around my pupils, swelling in with the green. I pa.s.sed it off since no one seemed to notice.
As I exited the bathroom, I started waiting on my tables. The first table I went to had a man sitting alone in one of the booths near the window. He had his head buried in the menu.
I walked up to his table and said, ”h.e.l.lo, I'm Charlene. I'll be your server today. Can I get you some coffee?”
After he lowered his menu away from his face, I felt a surge of energy. It was as if someone had turned on a powerful light source within me.
”Charlene?” he asked. He was in his fifties with salt-and-pepper hair. His face looked oddly familiar, like I had seen him somewhere before. I tried to rack my brain as to where, but I couldn't think of it.
”Can I help you?” I asked him.
”All these years and you don't remember?”
Suddenly it hit me, and a rush of memories flooded my mind. I remembered walking through the dead leaves on a brisk fall day, holding hands with a man similar to him, yet much younger, then it dawned on me; I knew this man.
”Dad?”
Chapter Nine.
I was free-falling through a tunnel of water. I could feel myself descending as if I was in an elevator going down, yet my body was in mid-air, floating still. Once I reached the ground, the whirling water dropped like rain and surrounded my feet. I waded through two feet of water, grazing my hands against the black stone walls. Was I in a cave of some sort? Had I been taken back into Benjamin's lair?
Confused and scared, my heart beat like a racehorse pounding against the dirt-road track. Some kind of sticky dew glistened against my skin, and there was a light. As the light grew stronger, the water started to bubble around my legs as if I was standing in a Jacuzzi.
”Charlene, I must warn you.” It was Delmara's voice, but the light was so magnificently bright, I could not see her. I felt a force surrounding mea”a gentle wind pulling me in.
”Seek and you will find that heartache awaits you,” she said as the water continued to bubble. I could feel it rising. ”Stay on course, or you will endure a deeper h.e.l.l.”
I couldn't understand what she meant by that. One minute I was at work and the next I was in some kind of other realm, a realm that seemed somewhat familiar to me, yet I was overwhelmed with loss.
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