Chapter 18

HARPER

I started my day rushing through the apartment throwing stuff into my purse, running late… again. Due to some drunken choices last night, I chose not to set my alarm or get anything ready before I passed out on my bed with my laptop and an empty bottle of wine cradled in my arms.

Drinking alone after Aster went to bed was not a good choice. So there I was, counting out coins to catch the bus because, once again I was scrapping by to make it to payday and an Uber wasn't an option.

I got to get my life together.

After running like a mad woman, and barely making it to the bus station for the nine-thirty pick up I sat down and waited on a bus that was running late.

At least I could sit and catch my breath. I put in my air pods and pressed play Christina Aguilar's Beautiful blocks out the sound of the two ladies that sat to the right of me talking about the house they just cleaned, and the man on my left who had asked me if I had a cigarette to bum at least five times since I sat down on the gang graffitied bench.

Christina was getting into the chorus when I felt a tap on my arm. I pulled out my Air Pod to be polite.

"Excuse me miss do you have a lighter?" The same man asked me. I shook my head and turned back around, facing the road, I was just about to readjust my Air Pod when a car drove by with loud music blaring on the radio. I could feel the bass under my feet.

Boom Boom Boom

In that instant, my entire world came to a halt. The clamor of street renovations and the grumble of a motorcycle engine revving obnoxiously to catch the attention of some girls on the sidewalk faded into silence. It was as if everything around me froze, holding its breath for that moment.

It wasn't the bass of the music from the car passing by that halted my existence, it was the two men in that car. The monsters from my past. The monsters I had escaped eight years prior.

Panic set in as everything around me started to come back to life. The car was long gone. Down the busy street as I sat there with my mouth open unsure of what to do next. After a moment of reflection, I rose from the bench and began walking backward, only to trip over a bike rack and land on my back.

I jumped up and darted for my apartment not once looking over my shoulder. I needed to get to safety and fast. I needed to get to something familiar, so I ran. I ran until my chest felt like it was going to explode. My lungs were on fire, and My hands were shaking. I reached the hallway of my apartment in record time.

I tried to unlock my front door, but I dropped the keys, they fell colliding onto the metal threshold making a loud clattering noise that startled me just as a man turned the corner. I fought the tears washing over my face as I watched the man closely. He was walking in my direction when he made eye contact with me.

Struggling to see through the cascade of tears streaming down my face, I began to sob, uncertain of what was next for me if I stayed rooted to my doormat. I grabbed my keys from the ground and forced myself to my feet. I needed to steady myself long enough to get through my door. Once I managed to steady my shaky hands and unlock the door, I took a deep breath of relief.

I slammed the door shut locking every lock possible and then quickly looked through the peephole to see that the man approaching turned left and went straight into the apartment across the hall. Out of breath I leaned against the door and slid to the floor pulling my knees up to my chest and hugging myself into a ball. I was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.

How did they find me? Why are they here? How am I going to survive this again?

Overwhelmed by fear, I sat there crying, unaware of how much time had passed. My phone vibrated repeatedly, but I remained huddled in my haven, unable to break from the harsh reality that confronted me.