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  Then Darcy closed the menu and lifted it to Stephanie. Stephanie gave a tight smile and nodded, taking the menu from Darcy and jotting down something. My father’s order was also a complicated one. Mine was the only one that actually came from the menu itself. It was a seafood platter, with crab, lobster and shrimp.

  Seafood was probably one of my favourite things to eat. But the top one would have to be spicy curry with chicken. It always lit a fire in my mouth and the taste was phenomenal.

  Darcy and my father had started talking, so I looked around the room while I occasionally eavesdropped in on their conversation. The place was very nice, but it had a certain subtlety that made it kind of homey too. My eyes wondered until I found Stephanie. She was waiting another table a little further away. She was bent over listening to the elderly couple order.

  She was smiling a real smile, not like the strained one she had on when she waited on us (well Darcy and my father). When she wasn’t smiling she looked like someone who had taken a beating more than once. But that all changed when she smiled. She seemed like such a caring person, someone who would nurse even her worst enemy back to health if need be.

  Stephanie straightened her back and walked off. She was different from any girl I have ever met in my entire life of traveling the world with my father. She was gentle with the wounded and tough when it came to fighting for her life, or someone else’s. She didn’t throw herself at every cute guy that walked through the door. In fact she won’t let guys try to get to know her anymore than what she wants them to know. And her beauty wasn’t overpowering but it wasn’t undermining either.

  I turned back around to my father and Darcy who were still stuck in their conversation. They finally remember that I was at the table too and my father tried to bring me into the conversation. I didn’t even bother to try to fit in with their conversation because it always came back to talking about the two of them, dissing the waitress (Stephanie) or talking bad about the restaurant or something else that I didn’t want to listen to.

  When the food came a couple minutes later, Darcy and my father were stunned into silence. I guess they didn’t believe that their orders could be done. Stephanie winked to me as she set my plate down in front of me, then she left. I was about to start eating, when I noticed a corner of a piece of paper sticking out from under my plate. I carefully slipped the piece of paper out from under my plate and put it into my pocket.

  Darcy and my father got out of their shocked states and started to eat their dinner. I looked to the kitchen and saw Stephanie high-five one of the chefs in the back. I smiled, and then started eating my own dinner. Once my father and Darcy had finished eating they sat around looking miserable. I had finally had it with their attitudes and told them to head home without me.

  Darcy got up and walked out the door without saying a word and my father laid out some money to pay for dinner. He didn’t even bother looking at me. And I was glad he didn’t because I was very close to smacking him upside the head. He followed Darcy out to the limo then they were gone and I was alone. I sighed and tried to relax the knot of nerves that had started to form in between my shoulder blades.

  I heard the ruffle of paper and remembered the letter in my pocket. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out to examine the writing on it. The letter said:

  Do you want to stay the night at my place, to get away from THEM for a little while? P.S. I do not mean it in the sexual way if that’s what you were thinking.

  I chuckled, than thought about how I could reply to her request. It would be nice to get out of the house for a little while. To get away from all the stress and lectures, which I knew, were going to happen as soon as I walked in the front door. Maybe I could get to know Stephanie a little better, too. I read the rest of the note:

  If you want to then meet me at the front door at 8 pm. I will wait 5 minutes; if you aren’t there I will leave without you.

  Okay, I have a little time to think about this. I could go with her and have a little freedom from the witch and my father. Or I could just go home and deal with the two of them, barking and screaming at me for the whole night. I kind of preferred the alternative, which hopefully would involve a bit of peace and maybe quiet. If not, it’s still better than being home with my father and Darcy.

  I put the note back into my pocket, got up and headed for the door. Once I was outside I took a deep breath of the cold, crisp air. The rush of the cold air felt nice, compared to being in the stuffy restaurant. I walked until I came to a little shop called Maria’s Bouquets & Flower Arrangements.

  When I entered the shop I was hit by the intoxicating smell of many different kinds of flowers. When I was younger my mother used to take me with her when she went to her work at the flower shop, I loved helping her make different kinds of arrangements. And I loved all the different fragrances and colours that came from the flowers.

  At the counter was an older lady, with wire framed glasses, a floral printed dress and a little pink sweater. Her body seemed frail but her voice when she spoke was anything but.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, looking up from her book.

  “Actually yes, do you have any white roses?” I asked as I approached the counter.

  “Why yes, I believe I just got an order of them in this week,” the lady replied, coming around from behind the counter and going over to a small refrigerated box. “But I’m not sure if we have any left.”

  She opened the refrigerated box and inside was a lone white rose. The lady carefully took it out and handed it to me.

  “This is your lucky day, this is the last white rose until next week,” the older lady replied. “Will there be anything else?”

  “Do you have any red roses?” I asked. I would use the red rose for a memorial of my mother and the white rose I might give to Stephanie. The lady reached back in the box and came out with a red rose.

  “Anything else?” the older lady asked going back towards the counter.

  “No that will be all, thank you,” I told her and went up to the counter to pay. After I had paid I checked my phone to see what time it was. It was almost 8 o’clock; I would have to hurry a little if I want to get there on time.

  “Are you giving the flowers to a special young lady?” the older lady asked smiling.

  I half smiled and said, “Something like that.”

  The older lady grinned and it made her look 10 years younger. I left the store and, putting the roses in my jacket pocket, went down to meet Stephanie at the restaurant. But first I had to burn the red rose for my mother. I burned the red rose in an empty trash can on my way to the restaurant. As I looked at the white rose one last time before I put it away, I saw something in the centre of the rose but I couldn’t tell what it was.

  Chapter 13

  Stephanie Wilson

  Boston 8:07 pm Thursday February 15th 2029

  Tyler and Zack are two of the nicest guys I’ve met in a while. Tyler is my boss and Zack is the head chef at the restaurant where I wait tables. They are probably the closest thing I have to real friends besides the nurse at my school, Isabella. It’s not like I haven’t tried to make a friend my own age, it’s just that every time I try the relationship turns sour.

  Ever since Hayley started being a…witch, for lack of a better word, it kind of feels like I’m cursed to never be friends with someone my own age again. Then I met Antonio and it seems like I could become very close to him if I wanted to. But I can see in his eyes that he is hiding something from me and anyone else who dares to look. I just don’t know what it is or how deeply rooted it is in him…or if I could do anything to help ease the pain that I once saw in his eyes.

  Of course he isn’t the only one with secrets, I have some too but I…don’t like to talk about it. The whole thing makes me feel kind of queasy and sick to the stomach just thinking about it. I haven’t told anyone about what had actually happened when I was away for three days. No one knows and that’s how I want to keep it.

  I grabbed
my jacket and went out the front down. The cold air bit my cheeks and every where there was bare skin, and soon I was cold down to my bones. I shivered as I looked around the front of the restaurant. I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t see Antonio anywhere. I knew that I said I would wait five minutes, but if I didn’t get moving soon I would freeze before I made it half way home.

  I turned and was about to start walking home when I heard the fast crunch of snow. Someone was running, towards me? I turned back and saw Antonio appear out of the darkness. I felt my heart leap in my chest, but why was I so excited to see Antonio? Yeah I like him, but as a friend nothing more…

  “I thought you said that you would wait a few minutes,” Antonio said. I thought he was mad but then I saw that he was smiling.

  “It’s freezing out here, I don’t think I could wait any longer,” I replied. Antonio cocked his head to the side, and then came to stand beside me. He put an arm around my shoulder and held me close to him. I looked up at him, questioningly.

  “You’re shivering, we should get going so that you don’t catch a cold,” Antonio replied, and we started walking in the direction of my house. It took maybe a little over an hour to reach my house but I wasn’t as cold as I would’ve normally been if I had been walking alone. Antonio was very warm and…very good at blocking the wind. It seemed that the cold didn’t even faze him. He wasn’t shivering or shaking, and he was warm. I just didn’t get it.

  We got to my house at around 9 pm and quietly entered so as not to disturb anyone that was asleep. The lights were off so I had to try to make my way around without bumping into anything. I found a light switch by the door to the kitchen and flicked it on. Lying down on the couch in the living room was Kevin, my brother. He must’ve been asleep but I guess the light woke him up, because he was staring at us with a gun in his hand.

  “Hello to you too,” I said to my brother at the sight of the gun. He looked down at the gun in his hand and put it back into his holster.

  “Sorry, I wasn’t sure if it was you at the door or…someone else,” Kevin replied getting up from the couch.

  “What happened?” I asked. I knew Kevin better than that; he never slept with his gun unless something had gone wrong while I was away. Then I saw that he was trying to hide a limp and I remembered that he had used his left hand to hold the gun.

  “Oh no, they found us didn’t they?” I asked I felt the fear try and grip me but I wouldn’t let fear take control of me.

  “No, it was a different gang,” Kevin replied, how did he know that it wasn’t them? “They were very messy fighters.”

  And then he smiled his devilish smile, and I sighed and smiled.

  I went to Kevin and did a quick inspection to see if he had any broken bones. The good news was that he didn’t have any serious damage. The bad news was that he did have a couple nasty cuts, a bullet hole in his leg, a broken arm, and he was going to have some bad bruising in the morning. Then I remembered that Antonio was still with me. I turned to look at him and he seemed confused.

  “Can you do me a favour?” I asked Antonio, he nodded. “Go into the kitchen and in the top drawer is a small black bag; can you bring it out here?”

  Antonio nodded then went into the kitchen. I helped Kevin back to the couch and got him into a comfortable position. I noticed that he was staring at me.

  “What?” I asked, because his stare was starting to make me uncomfortable. Kevin just smiled like he had a secret but he wasn’t allowed to share it. I glared at him but it didn’t even faze him.

  “When did they attack?” I asked since I knew I was getting nowhere with the other topic. Kevin’s smile vanished and he looked tired.

  “Shortly after everyone else went to bed, you know how I normally wait for you to come home?” I nodded. “Well I heard something outside and I thought it might’ve been you or one of the night victims. It turns out to be a new gang that was trying to claim this area as their own territory.”

  “Did you tell them that this area already belongs to someone else?” I asked. I saw a corner of Kevin’s mouth turn up.

  “Yeah I did and they didn’t believe me,” he tried to sound offended but it came out funny and made me chuckle. I heard some ruckus coming from the kitchen. What was Antonio doing? I got up and went to the kitchen and I flicked on the light that was by the doorway. Antonio was glaring with his hands up in surrender at…MOMMA JEAN!?!? Where did she find my gun?!?!

  “Momma what are you doing with my gun?” I asked as I walked in to the kitchen. Momma Jean just looked at me like what are you talking about? There is a guy in my kitchen! I walked over to Antonio and stood in front of him.

  “Momma this is my friend Antonio, he’s staying the night because of some issues at home,” I explained carefully. Momma Jean has an itchy trigger finger and I was keeping my eyes on her to make sure that she didn’t accidently pull the trigger. Momma Jean’s mood changed but she kept the gun up.

  “Look Jean I don’t have time for this Kevin was shot a little while ago and I…” I started but Momma Jean nearly dropped the gun when she heard the part about Kevin so I stopped.

  “Kevin got shot!?” Momma Jean exclaimed. “Where did he get shot?”

  “He was shot in the leg and he also has a broken arm,” I told her. “I had sent Antonio in here to find my mini EEFA kit. Now can I have my gun back and start to work on Kevin?”

  Momma Jean looked down at her hand and seemed surprised to find a gun there. She kind of threw it, kind of dropped it in my direction. I had to lunge forward in order to make sure it didn’t hit the ground and fire. I breathed a sigh of relief when I caught the gun without it firing. I stuck the gun in the back of my pants and turned to Antonio.

  He had his serious face on. This could mean that he was confused, he was wary or he was some other emotion that he didn’t wish to show to anyone who was present. I heaved an exaggerated sigh and grabbed the kit out of the drawer and went out to tend to Kevin.

  He was still lying on the couch but he looked like he had moved. Frankly I didn’t have any energy left to lecture him about moving when he was wounded. Instead I just got to work on his leg. Lucky for me most of the damage was done on his shin and calf so I didn’t have to move the pant leg up much. The cuts weren’t very deep but they were long, he wouldn’t need stitches to help him heal.

  I focused on bandaging up his leg and trying to be as careful as could. I didn’t notice that someone had come up behind me, until I leaned back to sit down and pretty much fell on top of him. I felt part of my back vibrate as the person behind me laughed. I turned and found Antonio beneath me. I tried to get up but ours legs were tangled together.

  I looked to Kevin for help but he had turned his head away as if he had fallen asleep. I huffed a sigh and turned back to look at Antonio. He was staring up at me and there was something in his eyes that made my heart skip a beat. I untangled my legs and skittered back so that my back was against the couch. My heart was pounding in my chest but I tried to hide my nervousness by smiling.

  “Please don’t sneak up on me like that,” I said as calm as I could, keeping the smile on my face.

  “I wasn’t sneaking,” Antonio replied smiling the same forced smile I was. “You just didn’t hear me.”

  I heard Kevin try to muffle his laughter. I glared at the back of his head but he didn’t move. I was about to smack him upside the head but then I heard a sound come from outside. I froze and listened, waiting for any kind of odd noise. Kevin must’ve heard it too, because he had turned over and was staring intently out the front window. Antonio even stiffened and sat up, turning toward the front window also.

  Then we heard it again, but louder like they had gotten closer. I shot up to a standing position and grabbed for my gun that I had stuffed into the back of my pants. Kevin grabbed for his but I could see how much effort it took him to reach for it. He wouldn’t be of any use to me if I had to fight.

  “Kevin you are in no condition to fight,” I told him
hoping he would listen.

  “I know, but he is,” Kevin replied then tossed the gun over my head to Antonio. “You, take care of my sister.”

  Antonio nodded and got up to come stand beside me. I looked to Kevin to make sure he went to go get the spare but I saw that it was already in his hands. I nodded to him then went to the door, shutting the lights off as I went. I grabbed the flashlight I kept by the door and put it in one of my pockets. I waited ‘til our eyes adjusted to the dark, and then I opened the door and stuck my head outside. At first I couldn’t see anyone, so I stepped out a little further and looked around the corner.

  Just as I thought it was clear, I caught sight of movement out of the corner of my eye. Whoever it was there were a few of them crowded around. I pulled back and explained to Antonio what I saw. He nodded and peeked around the corner, and I was right behind him guarding his back. Antonio fired a warning shot and I saw the figures skitter around then run out of the alley.

  I noticed that they all came from a central area. Why were they grouped like that if they were coming to attack the house, unless they didn’t come to attack us at all. They were in a circle before they scattered. Then I heard a pained sound coming from the general area of where the group had been.

  “They weren’t here for us, I doubt they even knew we were here,” I told Antonio as my suspicion sunk in. They were here to get rid of someone not to attack the house. But who was it? I stepped around Antonio and keeping my gun up went to investigate the thing that made the noise. Antonio watched my back as I approached the figure that lay almost completely motionless on the ground. They only thing that told me that the figure was alive were the slight movements of its chest.

  I knelt down next to the figure and pulled out my flashlight. I flicked it on away from the figure so I wouldn’t scare myself, then carefully I went up the length of his body. It wasn’t too bad, since most of it was covered by his clothes, until I got to his head. I had to swallow the bile that rose in my throat; I was surprised he was still alive. I tried to get a better look at the damage but he grabbed my wrist. Suddenly I was staring at a couple of piercing blue eyes and my heart was pounding. Antonio was about to jump into action but I waved him off.