I awoke to a sharp pain in my neck. Snoopy, my dog, pushed me off the bed again. He is a cocker spaniel, a very beautiful dog. “Myka,” My mom yelled from the bottom of the stairs, “Get your lazy butt down here. We have errands to run.”
Dang, I thought.
I took an exceptional bath, and attempted to find something decent to wear. My shiny caramel hair was scattered all over my head. I really needed to brush and straighten it otherwise it is going to curl. But I have no time. I ran down stairs to find mother tapping her shoe. She is so beautiful, but obviously agitated. She has caramel with a hint of red hair, brown hazel eyes like me, and a slender body for having three kids. My brother and sister are sitting at the kitchen table eating. I’m the middle child.
My brother is eighteen, has chocolate colored hair, green eyes, and a muscular chest. He is so pale compared to all of us. He is graduating this year; well more like next year. The school year just started once again. He doesn’t like having a kid sister as a freshman while he is a senior. I say he has issues, but then he’ll go crazy on me if I do. Oops, it slipped. His name is Jaim (J-aim). His friends call him James; it bothers him because it isn’t his real name. He is also a jock, captain of the varsity football team, and has the “hottest” girlfriend in the school. I think she is really self-absorbed. I tried telling him that more than once, but refuse to listen.
My sister on the other end of the family train is a total prep. She loves wearing all those fancy clothes from Hollister, Rheul, and whatever else you can name. There are too many to put in a sentence it would just be a mouth full. She has red hair at the moment. She is always dying it, and that color just so happens to be in style. Yuck. She is thirteen, a seventh grader, blue eyes like our father, and a really skinny figure. She loves getting spray tans. Spray tans are disgusting; they make her look orange. I think this is funny, but it would get a double yuck from me. Her name is Jessyka. We all have weird names in the family. My mother’s name is Maya, and my father’s is Jaim, too.
I am really different from the others. I’m the black sheep in the family if you want to label me. I like skateboarding, wearing Pacsun and sometimes Hollister, and wearing dark black eyeliner. At the moment I am wearing a pair of Hollister skinny jeans, a Volcom t-shirt, and my green Vans. My dad is always working so you won’t really hear about him much.
“Hello?” Mom was trying to capture my attention. “What took you so long?”
“I was taking a shower. You do want me clean for a new day, right?” I retorted back in a mean way. She wasn’t paying much attention to my tone.
“Well I guess you are going to have to take breakfast with you.” I have always hated her for this. She never gives me time to do anything. She wants me ready at the break of dawn which is impossible. She looked up and down me like she was examining me for a dissection. “What are you wearing?” She asked with a sneer. She is so nosy can never go a minute without asking a question or gossiping.
I looked down at my outfit. I didn’t see a problem with them. There weren’t any stains otherwise she would have thrown it away. “Clothes mother what else? Do you have an issue with what I’m wearing?” I said with thick acid in my voice like I was burning her. She gets me so fired up whenever she asks me that question. She must think I’m stupid or something. I got better grades then my siblings.
“Yes I do. Why don’t you put on a summer dress like your sister?” Mom asked me. She totally forgets I’m different. I will never be the same as everyone else in the family. At least Jaim and Jessyka understand that.
I glared at her because the words I wanted to use were the ones not in a dictionary. Honestly they shouldn’t even be in anybody’s vocabulary. Jaim broke the silence before I turned violet red for being so angry. “Mom, just leave Myka alone,” he said. Mom looked at him with confused eyes like she didn’t do anything wrong. “Everyone is unique in their own way,” he finished off saying. He was soothing her. He’s such a suck up. I hate him for that at times. I only cause conflicts between family members.
“Yeah mom let’s just leave her here,” Jessyka said. I looked at her and stuck out my tongue. She is always trying to leave me at home. She thinks she’s embarrassed of me; I’m humiliated by her.
I am prettier than her. I dye my hair more than she does, and she believes she’s prettier in her dreams. My hair will always be gorgeous. We fight over who has the greatest hair Jaim always says mine is. She gets mad when he does; once she even slapped him for saying that. I was laughing so hard on the floor I almost wet myself.
“Yeah leave me here it’s alright. Josh should be here in a little while,” I said. Josh is my best buddy, and soon to be boyfriend.
Mom whipped her head to look at me. She had a bewildered look in her eyes like she was shocked and furious at the same time. “He is not coming into this house. He is a filthy dog.” She has seriously big issues with my friends.
Ugh! What is it going to take to get anything through her head? I thought. I felt my cheeks turning a dark shade of red. They were on fire. I looked at her and decided I was going to go with an easy come back. “What are you talking about? You already have a dog in the house,” I yelled at her. Okay to be honest that was not a very nice thing to say including if your yelling it.
Ding dong, the door bell rang throughout the house. “Don’t answer it,” Mom was pleading in a whisper. It was too late though because Jaim was already at the door. You could hear distant talking. Jaim was greeting Josh. Jaim has only met him twice and thought he was a great guy.
“Hey is Myka here?” Josh asked in his husky voice.
“Of course she is, follow me,” Jaim said in a booming laugh as if it was a dumb question.
“Hello Mrs. Shock. Myka are you ready?” Josh asked, but it sounded too distant for me to respond. Mom was glaring at me, and I couldn’t tear my gaze away from hers. She shoke her head at me and looked away. I felt like a huge lift was off my shoulders when she did. I turned my attention to Josh. He is well built, has jet black hair, deep green eyes, and the sweetest guy I know.
I had to try to remember what he asked me. “Yep I’m ready. Just let me get something to eat before we leave. Are you hungry?” I had to find something to say. Mom had already left the room as if it was intoxicated with mysterious fumes. Jessyka floated after her. She turned to wink at me. She has a weird way of communicating. Jaim put his dishes in the sink, and grabbed his keys from the counter. Before he left he came back into the kitchen and went to the fridge to get something. He took one of his energy drinks, and put something on the table. Josh went to go sit down in the kitchen, but he looked a little uncomfortable.
“Be sure to be careful okay, Myka,” Jaim said in a caring big brotherly tone. I knew what he meant but Josh didn’t. I listened for the front door to close, and then I ran to the front window. I waited for the two cars to peel out of the drive way. I could hear the cold engines whining to life still. I watched my mom’s car move at the speed of light. Jaim’s car moving as if it was being test driven not like it was owned.
I turned to find Josh in the doorway of the kitchen. He was fidgeting with the hem of his plaid button up shirt. He noticed that I was watching and walked toward me taking a quick glance around the room thinking perhaps its bubby trapped. I was watching his walk. It looked a bit nervous. I tried to keep the smile on my face from portraying me. He looked at me once again and asked, “What are you doing?” Like it wasn’t obvious what I was doing. He was standing in front of me now; scanning me to be sure that I was real, and not a figment of imagination.
I could smell strong peppermint on him like he ate a whole package of tic-tacs on his way over here. I looked in his eyes, and attempted to say something when a huge kiss was planted on my lips. I felt so thrilled at that exact moment I never thought that something could possible ruin this. But, like always his phone rang. Buzz, buzz, stupid vibrating had to mess everything up. He pulled away and mouthed the words, I have to answer this. He turned away from me while pulling out his phone. I had a massive grudge against who ever called.
He answered once I was safely in the kitchen. I noticed the microwave light blinking. I opened it to find a warm plate of tacos sitting inside. I could hear him rumbling on about something incoherent. I wasn’t going to take the time to understand either. My stomach made this huge rumbling sound for the whole world to hear. You could probably guess that I was hungry. Actually I’m starving! I haven’t eaten since yesterday during lunch, but even then I didn’t eat much. The tacos looked as if they were a perfect gift on Christmas. That might sound a little funny but it’s true. I took the plate out when Josh walked in. He sat at the table with a grim look on his face. I set the plate on the kitchen counter.
“Ugh! My mom keeps getting on my nerves,” he said.
“I thought your parents were cool with everything now?” I asked. He kept complaining about something that happened at home. I might as well spill. His parents are getting a divorce. He has been really stressed out about it, and his mom keeps giving him a hard time about hanging out with his dad. Don’t ask.
“Well I sort of didn’t want to mention anything to y’all,” he whispered looking down at his fidgeting hands.
I practically jumped in front of him and shouted, “What! What do you mean not everything? I thought we were all going to be honest about every detail in our lives. Wasn’t that the group promise? I believe it is.” He was staring at my almost purple face.
I turned away from him in time to let myself calm down. He attempted three times to rub my shoulders. I finally looked at him. He whispered in my ear, “She is giving me issues about you. She keeps calling to ask me if I kissed you, yet.” My cheeks burned a bright shade of rose red. He kissed me on my cheek which made it even worse.
I decided to drop the subject. I spoke with my back toward him facing the microwave, “I’m going to eat.”
I grabbed for the plate when I realized it was missing. What the… I thought. “Looking for something?” He said with dark amusement. I whipped around to face him. He was balancing the plate on his left hand like a waiter might do when serving a table full of people. I outstretched my right arm and gestured with my hand to give it. He settled it into my hand. I walked past him into the living room. He followed. He sat down first then I nestled down next to him.
My mom hates it when I do that, but whatever she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Am I right? He turned on the TV. There wasn’t anything exceptional to watch so we kept flipping through the channels. I finished eating, got up, and went back to the kitchen.
“What are we doin’ today?” I shouted from the kitchen. I have a quiet voice so I wasn’t quite so sure he heard me. Oh…another thing about him is that his family isn’t as rich as mine, but don’t get me wrong they do have quite a big sum of money. They understand him, his parents I mean, and don’t mind what he likes to do. He didn’t answer my question right away.
“I was thinking we could…um…catch a movie or…hang out,” he stuttered. It was a suggestion. Now I have to pick one; he always does that to me. He leaves it up to me to pick, but I never come up the right answer for him. A movie would be fun; maybe we could see one that I hadn’t seen yet. The mall is where we ‘hang out’ but I don’t feel like being there with friends. ‘Cause if we do go to the mall one friend sees me then another and another…well you get the point I’m trying to make. Besides if I go to the mall mom would get mad if I spent more of her money. But, I think he meant we just hang out here at my house. Yuck that sounds gross. Who would want to be stuck inside a house on a nice day?
Well as long as I have time I might as well straighten my hair. I headed up the stairs realizing that Josh is still on the couch.
“Josh, are you coming up?” I yelled down the stairs. I heard the sound of the TV being turned off, then feet shuffling.
“Huh?” he sounded confused. Hadn’t anyone ever asked him a question before? I could have sworn I had asked him one earlier. He turned a sharp corner from the living room to the kitchen realizing there were stairs there. And I think you can guess what happened next, but I’ll tell you anyway. He found me sitting on the seventh step. (And yes I do count them. Don’t judge me.) “What are you doing up there?” As if it wasn’t obvious from the very beginning.
“Come on,” I said with a smile. I had my hand out for him to take. I felt like we were in one of those fairy tales where the prince takes the princess on a magical journey. Except we weren’t in a fairy tale, and it was the total opposite if you know what I mean jelly bean. Anyways, Josh has never been anywhere else in the house other than the first floor which isn’t much. He’s been to my house how many times? I don’t even know so technically this will be his first time upstairs. When you get half way up the stairs you end up on the second floor.
Everything on that floor is pretty much a wonderland if you’re not rich like my family. (Yuck.) There is an awesome game system—I think you can guess what they are. Shelves full of books alphabetized by author, and more music than a music store. You’re probably wondering where the bedrooms are. Well to be honest on the third floor.
“Wow!” I was surprised that Josh was surprised. “Where are the rooms at? This game room is huge.” Didn’t I just answer this question…oh wait I told you the answer not him.
I glanced around the room with an innocent look on my face. Arguing internally with myself I answered in a whisper, “The third floor.” He went bug eyed. “Isn’t your house similar to mine?” I mused with no interest what so ever. I was still looking around when I realized he hadn’t answered my question. I felt an awkward silence between us which is very rare. My face was molded into an emotion of concern. I turned to him and said, “What’s wrong?”
“Well I have a big house, but not as huge as yours apparently. Mine is only a two story,” he said in a rush. He looked away from me as if he was ashamed, but still somehow looked awed by the room.
“Oh. I’m sorry,” I muttered under my breath.
“No biggie, besides I want to see your room.” He was seriously excited about it. But first I showed him around the room. He kept touching everything like a little kid. It was getting annoying after awhile. He would ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ at everything I pointed to.
Oh, fun fact, my dad collects board games. He doesn’t like it if we play with them, but we nag until he finally gives in. He even has games from when he was little, and they are in perfect shape. My dad is such a neat freak.
I took a sideways glance at Josh and asked, “Ready to go to my room?”

He looked at me in amazement. It was like I just gave him the best birthday gift of all time. He ran to the stairs. He was about to take a step up, but glanced at me and decided to wait. I walked slowly just to irritate him. I was cracking up in the inside trying so hard not to show it on my face. I had reached him, and he looked at me sternly. This cold chill went down my spine. “Don’t look at me like that. I can easily kick you out my house,” I said threateningly.

He dropped his act, and put a huge smile on his face. That’s what I thought, I said to myself. I walked past him to get up the stairs. “Ready?” He turned to me with a somewhat glowing smile stretched from one ear to the other. With a nod of his head we took the next flight of stairs to the-you know the answer¬—third floor. I was run down when we reached the top floor. Josh pretty much just zoomed past me; I almost fell off the railing. I think I had an itty-bitty heart attack. He had scared the living daylight out of me.

When I reached the top step Josh looked as if he was jumping up and down with excitement. He reminded me of our dog Snoopy. Jeez, I thought. I looked around the hallways. It leads to the left and the right. To the left there is my room and Jaim’s room, and to the right Jessyka’s room and the master bedroom, or my parent’s room. Each of the rooms have their own bathrooms so there is no fighting over who goes first. My dad put a lot of thought into the building of the house.

I turned to the left and glided through my bedroom door. It looked like a tornado ran through and left a horrible disaster. In the dark it seemed a whole lot neater. I took for granted that Josh wouldn’t say anything about it.

“Oh my…umm…. What’s with the mess?” Josh asked. I was really hoping he wouldn’t say anything about it, how truly wrong I was. I became aggravated. I threw the clothes from the floor into the hampers, and I didn’t even bother putting them in them in the right ones. I moved a few things around to make it a little cleaner. I didn’t help much. I was stomping around the room trying to ‘clean’ it was pathetic. I shouldn’t have taken it to seriously because the next thing I knew I tasted salty tears.
Josh came up behind me and spun me around to face him. He looked me in the eyes and that made it so much worse to bear. He gathered me in a bear hug and shushed me. “I’m sorry I got you upset. I knew better than to have said anything,” he said while pealing me off him. He had mascara stains on his plaid shirt. I felt bad. I tried to reach for his shoulder, but he flinched when the tips of my fingers barely brushed him.
I turned to the bathroom to turn on my flat iron. I looked at myself in the mirror. What a bad choose at that. I had make-up running down my flushed cheeks, and I’m not going to get into too much detail. It was an ugly sight I’ll put it that way. I fixed my make-up and just at that exact moment I realized my hair was super curly. I would have to use a bunch of products just to keep it straight when I was done. Before I started messing with my hair I took a peep into the room Josh was laying on the bed taking everything into consideration.
I noticed Snoopy under the bed, and I was about to turn back to what I was going to do when he jumped out from underneath and scared Josh half to death. Josh pretty much fell off the bed. I was too concentrated on Snoopy I didn’t pay much attention to Josh. Snoopy was barking at Josh to get up. He did but the dog kept barking. Josh put his hands up in the air in innocence. Snoopy’s bark was more irritating than that girl’s screams from last night.
I came out of the bathroom and tried to get Snoopy to stop. I yelled, “Shut up!” He quit and turned his big helpless eyes at me. Josh looked afraid to put his hands down. I was trying to figure out why Snoopy was barking at him. They had been around each other before and there weren’t any conflicts then. It was confusing. I felt Josh’s gaze on me; so I glanced at him. I got the feeling I should kick the dog out. “Josh, do you want to step into the bathroom real quick?” I asked. Within a few seconds he was in there with the door slightly opened.
“Why was he barking at me?” Josh asked with pain in his voice. It was a good question and I didn’t have an answer for it. I took a quick look around the room. I didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. But just as I was about to give up I was a guy run across the backyard. I ran to the window, but nobody was there. I didn’t think twice about it as I shrugged.
“I don’t honestly know, but I’ gonna kick Snoopy out for good measures,” I said. I grabbed the dog by the collar. He looked at me with a sad look. I felt bad, again. Before I closed the door on him I took a quick look at the bathroom the door was fully closed. I got down on my knees and looked Snoopy in the eyes.
“Be on alert, okay, boy. I think someone is lurking about,” I said in a soft voice. He seemed to comprehend and left. But as he was about to trout away he turned to the open door and looked at the window and growled murderously. That was my clue. In an instant I realized he wasn’t barking at Josh, but at the window. He had seen someone out there. I’m glad all that dog training paid off. As I walked back to the bathroom I stole a glance at the window, but nothing was there.
I was so caught up in my findings I wasn’t thinking when I opened the bathroom door. “Hey!” Josh yelled. “Can I have some privacy please?” I freaked, covered my eyes, and shut the door without hesitation. I felt even more horrible than what I already felt. I sat on the edge of the bed waiting. I stood up to turn on some music when I saw a random guy standing in the middle of yard. I went bug eyed. I didn’t think there really was someone. I thought it might have been some kids hoping the fences. But this random guy was staring right at me. He wore a black ski mask. I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming but the pinch hurt so it was impossible that I was asleep. The guy waved and smiled at me.
I went totally berserk. I was running to the window and trying to open it when Josh walked out of the bathroom. He was dabbing at this shirt when my mascara was earlier. I got the window to open and stuck a foot out when he said looking up, “I’m done so you can go back in there….” He panicked when he realized what I was about to do. I was going to jump out the window, and follow the guy. Josh ran over to me and grabbed me by the wrist. He had a tight grip on me, and when I tried pulling free his grip got stronger. I looked out the window again knowing I wasn’t going to be able to chase the guy like I hoped, but he was long gone anyways.
Josh pulled my wrist hard and I reluctantly came back into the room. He let go when I hit the floor with a loud thump. “What the hell were you thinking?! Committing suicide?” Josh yelled at me at the top of his voice. His cheeks were the color a bright green Christmas tree with a tint of a fire beneath all the green. Eww…, I thought. He really did look like he was going to barf at any second. I rolled out of the way. He collapsed on the floor and breathing deeply to keep from throwing up. I glanced at my bedside clock it read: 11:57 am. All of this just happened in a matter of a few hours. It would be about twelve hours; from the girls screams to the random guy. I was about to faint but I knew I had to be strong for Josh’s sake.
I got up from the floor and looked down at Josh. Apparently he got the feeling that I was looking at him ‘cause he uncovered his eyes and glared at me. My cheeks were on fire I tried hard not to do the same to him. I squatted down to be closer to his face. I kissed his cheek and he turned red. He was bashful. I looked him in the eyes to search for the optimism I naturally always see.
I said in a whisper, “I wasn’t gonna kill myself. Besides it’s the middle of the day that would be silly to do something so irrational. I was gonna….” I didn’t complete the sentence. I had a funny feeling that I couldn’t trust him with what I saw.
“What were you doin’ then?” he asked with curiosity blazing in his eyes.
“I was going to jump in my pool,” I lied. I can tell you a lie so straight forward you would think it’s the truth.
He shrugged and got up from the floor. He glanced out the window, and then at my neighbor’s, Mr. Bone, house. I freezing chill slithered down my spine to my nerve ends. I kept getting creepy vibes off Josh.
“Let’s catch a movie,” I said while turning toward the bathroom. Once in the bathroom I realized my hair had gotten even curlier than before. It looked like an afro! Yuck. It took me awhile but I straightened my hair, and put tons of hair products in it. The door to the bathroom to the bedroom was slightly opened and I peeped through to see what Josh was doing.
He was on the phone and talking in the lowest voice he possibly had. I thought if I closed the door he might put the phone on speaker. I grabbed the doorknob and he turned to see what I was doing. I slammed the door, and shouted, “I have some business to do before we leave. Be out in a bit.” I turned on the air vent to give him the impression of what I was supposed to be doing. I leaned my head on the door to see if I could hear him.
I heard a button being pressed and his phone was on speaker. I was really grateful the voice on the other end came out clear because I could barely hear anything over the stupid vent.
“What’s the issue? I don’t recall you taking this long with the others,” said a male husky voice. I kind of figured it was the other person. He sounded old to my suspicion.
Josh says irritably, “Well I’m sorry, but I sorta got attached.”
“Don’t fall to deep. You know what I always say, ‘The higher you fly the harder you fall.’ When are you going to do it?” He sounded like someone I have met before, but I couldn’t put the voice to the face.
“Today, don’t worry,” Josh said through his teeth. He was trying really hard to make it seem that way. If you’re wondering how I know this through the bathroom door. I can tell you I know Josh pretty well. But I had one question going through my mind, and that was who they were talking about. Who was this mystery person? It was getting to me. I thought about calling Boss to see if she knew anything, but there was a problem. My phone was in my jeans from the night before. How much more stupid can I possibly get? (Apparently a whole lot more for future reference by the way.)
“I’ll see you later, hopefully. Bye Abel.” They said, and hung up. Abel? Who the heck was Abel?
“Bye,” Josh said to himself. I waited a few moments to flush the toilet. If you’re a good guesser I bet you figured out what business I pretended to have. I turned off the vent, and walked out of the bathroom.
I cleared my throat when Josh seemed like he hadn’t heard me walk in. He turned to face me in a flash. I pretended as if I hadn’t heard his phone conversation. He didn’t seem to care if he did know. It looked like he was crying a few seconds ago, and that’s why he hasn’t turned around when I opened the door. I wanted to comfort him but that would be my give away to eavesdropping. I flopped myself onto my bed, and slowly made myself comfortable. Josh leaned on the bed to get closer to me. He lips were right by my left ear and whispered, “You ready?”
I smiled my brightest. “Yeah, but I need to find something. I’ll meet you downstairs,” I said.
“Fine with me, but I want to ask you something before I go.”
Oh gosh, what if he knows I was listening? Would he get mad at me? Would he still want to talk to me after this? What if…? I really need to stop being such a pessimist.
I’m so dead, I thought. My heart was racing a million beats per minute. I had to answer his question without my voice faltering. “Yeah sure,” I said in a weak voice.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked while reaching for my face. His hand brushed my hair out of my face. I was so relieved that I was off the hock. He would never know.
“Yeah,” I said realizing that I was blushing.
“You’re serious?”
“Most definitely, why wouldn’t I?”
He smiled the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face. “Awesome,” He said. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. It was one of the greatest kisses yet. He let go, and I felt so disappointed I kissed him again. All I wanted was his lips against mine warm and moist. We kissed again and again. He was trying to pull me away so he could say something, but I wouldn’t let him. He would fight me for a bit then give up and try again. But I had to give out at some point. I need to breathe.
“Stop,” He said out of breathe. I gave him a cruel look. His face seemed to have lost its color. I looked away from him. He got up from the bed and walked toward the closed bedroom door. He stole a glance at me while opening the door. “You said you had to find something. I’ll meet you downstairs.” He blew me a kiss and disappeared out of the room.

I leaped from my bed to the hampers. I was throwing clothes all over the room again. The room was going to be an even bigger mess than what Josh first saw it as. I really didn’t care whether or not it was the tightest room on the planet.
I striped the hampers bare naked. I threw them in irritation. I wanted to scream in frustration that I couldn’t find anything in this—fill in the blank—room. I got to my feet and stomped around the room ‘till I remembered I was talking on the phone before I crashed.
I skipped across the bed. It wasn’t on the nightstand like I expected. I stepped off the bed by the nightstand. Crunch, I heard. I picked up my foot to find my phone on the floor where I stepped. I jumped in joy knowing that I found my phone and that it was no longer lost in this tornado of a room.
I slid open the phone to seven missed events. They were all text messages except for two: one was a missed call and the other a voicemail.
The number—what am I talking about there was no number it was a private call. They manifestly left a voicemail. I thought about not listening to it until I called Boss, but it would torment me if I didn’t. I decided to play it.
There wasn’t any noise at first except the static in the phone. I thought about deleting it. It was probably a prank call from a few of my friends from the middle of the night. They were doubtlessly drunk when they did it. I was waiting for them to start snickering and hang up, but instead I got a girl’s scream. The same screams from yesterday. It sounded higher pitched. The person that called must have been standing close to her.
I was just going to hang up and call Boss to see if she could pick me up. But someone talked then:
“Shut her up,” he said. Her screams stopped. He continued, “What are we going to do with the other girl?”
Who was this other girl? Just like earlier today a cold chill ran down my spine. I waited for an answer from the supposedly second guy. I could hear the first guy’s breathing. He must have been breathing really deeply. Someone sighed I think the second guy.
“She is getting nosey. What do you think?” The second guy said. “Don’t answer that. Um…I think we should kidnap her; how ‘bout it?” He finished off saying. Both of their voices sounded familiar to me. I knew them some way or another.
“I think it’s a done deal,” the first guy said.
“Hey, what are you doing with your phone? Give it to me,” the second guy said. I could hear his feet shuffling across the floor.
“NO!” the first guy sneered loudly.
“Give it.” He took the phone from him. “Oh this is good. You’re trying to give her a heads up? Well it will be too late. See you soon, Myka.” The line went dead.
In a rush everything was beginning to fit together. The other girl was me. They wanted to kidnap me of all people in the world. Me! What was I going to tell Boss? I have to tell her everything right now. I speed dialed her in a heartbeat.
She answered on the first ring.
“Hello,” she said with no great concern. She had more of a business women voice in daylight than in the middle of the night, not that she didn’t have the business woman tone already.
“Boss,” I practically shouted in the phone, “Boss, I think they’re after me.” My heart felt like it wanted to jump out of my chest. My body trembled. I wanted to curl up into the fetal position. I waited for boss to say something that would really blow me away. I was going to need some serious therapy after this assignment.
“What! How do you know this?”
I fell to my knees. I was expecting a better answer than that. Perhaps “Oh Myka I’m sending someone to you right now.” or “Don’t go anywhere I’m on my way.” I was so wrong. I could feel the walls closing in on me, suffocating me, killing me. What was I going to tell her?
“One of them called on private—I thought it was some silly prank from my friends—but I heard the girl’s screams in the back ground. They said I was getting nosey. They agreed on kidnapping me. Does Mr. Bone have any partners?” I said everything about the phone call, but still had my curiosity to ask if he ever had a partner in crime.
I was still flipping out about the whole kidnapping thing. What did kidnapers do with you? Do they lock you up in a room? Throw you in their basements (if they have a basement)? It was all just so confusing. It was my first assignment and here I was probably going to get kidnapped for it too.
“To be honest I don’t know. I have never had to deal with this sort of stuff. Kidnap! That seems like something he would do. And to answer your question—no he has never had any partners.” She seemed so calm with everything that was happening in just a matter of hours. So part of me could sense her rage beneath it all. She asked what I feared the most. “Are you with someone you trust?”
I wasn’t quite sure if I could still trust Josh. I loved him and all, but I remembered all those gut feeling that I kept having throughout the day. He seemed off today, or distant in a weird way. It hit me then like a moving truck that he was trying really hard to act normal around me. Usually it just naturally comes to him. I have always trusted him. Maybe I was the off today. “Yes,” I said answering boss’s question.
“Then you should be safe until I send someone for you tonight.”
“Okay, bye,” I told her solemnly.
“Bye, and be careful Myka,” She said sympathetically. She was the second person today to tell me that.
“I will,” I promised, and hung up.
Picking up everything that I threw around my room during my scavenger hunt for my phone was a hassle. I finished up, and went down to the first floor. I walked into the living room hoping to find Josh taking a nap or something, but instead I caught him watching cartoons. Sure I still watched them but not in mixed company. I paused in the doorway glancing at him to the TV. I thought it was a funny sight. Apparently he heard me snickering because he turned to look at me.
He blushed, and turned off the TV. “Uh…are you ready?” He asked.
“Yeah,” I said. I grabbed my wallet and house key from the kitchen counter. We walked out the door into a nice autumn breeze. It felt prefect outside. Nothing could spoil it—hold that thought I already knew what could spoil this. Luckily I didn’t live to far from the movies. I love walking. It gives you time to think, and obviously healthy for the body. We left my neighborhood, not even glancing back. I texted my mom to tell her I was going to the movies, and wasn’t using her money.
She didn’t reply back.
We were a few blocks away from my house when I noticed all of these things in no particular order: 1) Josh was strangely quiet. 2) A white SUV was following us. 3) The streets were deserted. 4) Last but not least, I was shaking uncontrollably.
I was cold from the wind. It picked up in a few minutes. I didn’t even bother bringing a sweater. Josh didn’t either. We were each holding our own shoulders for warmth. Josh wouldn’t talk what so ever. He was usually a chatterbox. They only time something wasn’t coming out of his mouth is when he’s asleep. I found it quite strange.
And like what I said before there was a white SUV following us. It was freaking me out. I wish I had x-ray vision to see through the tint of the windows. I tried squinting hoping that it might help. But I guess that wouldn’t. I supposed they noticed me staring and drove away fast. I wasn’t about to let a stupid car ruin day.
I tried my best to forget about the car, but I was so fixed on it. I continuously looked back. When I turned around for the fifth time Josh noticed what I was doing. He seemed curious and wanted to be part of the game all at once.
“What are you doing?” He asked with a smile on his face.
“Um…there was a car following us, but it’s no biggie. Let’s hurry up anyway,” I said grabbing his wrist.
I was practically dragging him along with me. We had walked a little further when I saw the white SUV again. Was I having hallucinations? I looked around at my surroundings and yet nothing was there again. I stopped dead in my tracks knowing they would get me eventually. The car pulled up in front of us. We were standing at a curb—a street crossing—and nowhere to run.
Josh pulled his hand away from grasp. I tried grabbing his hand once more, but he was backing away from me. He looked me in the eye and mouthed the words, I’m sorry.
It felt like a bullet train just ran into me. My boyfriend was a traitor. He was the one who called me on private. He was the one who set me up for today. He had been acting strange for a reason, a purpose. He was a flippin’ traitor. I couldn’t believe I fell for it too. I had gut feelings and spine chills because of him. Somewhere deep inside me, it was telling me that this whole thing was faked. But like the total lost person that I was I still said this.
“You, you set me up?” I asked. I knew the answer, but my mind was moving faster than I could process.
“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to,” he said in a sob. He turned away from me. I reached for my phone hoping that I could at least dial someone’s number so they could hear what happened. The back door to the car opened and the two of the biggest men I have ever seen got out. They advanced toward me as I pulled my phone out.
“Put the phone down, missy,” the bigger of the two said. I’ll call him Fred, and the other Freddy. I speed dialed my brother. Fred and Freddy pounced as soon as it started ringing. I managed to get a good kick or two, but they were stronger than me. They had me by the arms.
I was kicking and screaming, but nothing seemed to work. Freddy took my phone, wallet, and house key from me. He threw them somewhere in a nearby parking lot. I didn’t quite catch which direction it was. I was crying in a matter of micro seconds. Tears streaming down my strawberry cheeks were no match to their cold stares. People always say your life flashes before your eyes—oh wait maybe that’s when you’re about to die. It doesn’t matter I’m close to death anyway.—nothing happened. It was a big blur to me. I was crying, screaming, kicking, and any other things you can think of all at once.
I gave in. When my tears dried up I glared at Josh.
“I can’t believe I trusted you, and you betrayed me. I hate you!” I shouted at him.
He was about to open his mouth to say something, but someone got out of the passenger side of the SUV. Mr. Bone did as a matter of fact. He walked toward Josh and patted his back like he did something worthy of complimenting.
“Good job, Abel,” Mr. Bone said looking at me instead of Josh or Abel or whatever his name is.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Josh/Abel said.
“You’ll get over it, boy,” Mr. Bone said with a cruel snarl. He looked at me once more. He measured me up probably determining if I could be a problem. He shrugged at my insecurity. I had no idea what he had planned for me. And, I was wondering why we were standing on the sidewalk discussing this, but it hit me then that he closed off the roads for this reason. Luckily he couldn’t close down the gas station across the street. I saw movement inside.
He looked deep into my eyes and reading my mind he said, “You believe someone can save you? You’re wrong. Now I hope you know this is your entire fault. This wouldn’t have happened if you listened to your boyfriend.” What an (fill in the blank) hole.
“You’re a liar!” I shouted, “Let me go. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I’m the liar,” he said with a laugh, “Look who’s lying. I saw you yesterday hiding behind my tree. I was hoping you didn’t want to see you’re Josh run inside.” I was bug eyed at this news. Josh was the one that ran into the house. I could feel my cheeks turning the color of a red sailboat. I could possibly believe steam coming out my ears.
I looked back at the streets and cars were coming. I was so excited that I might be saved. But, they were trying to throw me into the SUV. I kept fighting them off so I could possibly be saved. The cars were moving so slow, except one that was moving at the speed of light, and turned into the gas station. I knew that car from anywhere. Jaim got out of the car.
He was going to be my savior. He stretched and started gliding toward the Valero store. I was so thankful it was him. I gather a lung full of air and yelled, “Jaim! Jaim! Jaim! Help me!”
He heard me. He turned in my direction smiling, but it vanished as so as he gathered the situation. The other cars were too far away to see what was going on. I was so happy that football ended up paying off in the end. He sprinted toward us. I was practically jumping up in joy, but by time Fred and Freddy looked up Jaim was standing there. They attempted throwing me in the back seat once again, but they utterly failed and dropped me on the concrete. I practically almost bit my tongue off.
Jaim was fighting them off. I wasn’t sure how many fights he had been in. I tried recalling how many black eyes or cuts he had in the last few years. There were too many to count when your head is still buzzing from the drop. I was so rattled that every time I tried standing I would fall back down. Josh or Abel tried helping me stand but I pushed him away with disgust. Mr. Bone pulled him by his shirt into the SUV. I crawled away from it just in time. The two goons, I call Fred and Freddy, jumped into the back seat of the moving car. They drove off fast, and away from the crowd of people that were now gathering. Luckily nobody saw what just happened.

Jaim looked at me in confusion. “What the hell just happened?” he mumbled. He was asking the wrong person. I was still sorting things out for myself. He glanced around us looking for something—no, wait, somebody. “Where’s Josh?” he asked panicked.
I glared at him in pure hatred. I never wanted to hear that name or see that face again. I was still with him, still his girlfriend, still his best friend but yet he betrayed me. “He was in on it,” I growled.
My brother put his hands up in surrender, and then it occurred to him what I meant by ‘he was in on it’. He realized what he had done. His face turned a shade of red I had never seen him turn. I could tell he was furious. Probably wondering why he didn’t see it from the start. I walked with my head down until I remembered that I needed my phone, keys, and wallet.
Jeez! I can never remember anything anymore, I thought.
Jaim was still standing there at the corner of the street. I turned back toward him and said, “They took my phone and stuff from me. Do you mind helping me find it? I know where they threw it.”
I led him toward the opposite parking lot. They were thrown there like someone just didn’t want them anymore. Of course I still wanted my stuff. The first thing I saw were my keys (I wasn’t really concerned with them), then my wallet (Mom would be majorly mad at me if I lost it), and then my phone (I’m so glad it’s not damaged other than a few scratches; it’s the center of my life). I was so relieved to find my things.
I dashed for it in a heartbeat. Picking up everything I was still contemplating whether or not to tell Jaim what I was. I walked toward him nervously. He was pacing back and forth while talking to someone on the phone. I couldn’t tell who he was talking to from a distance, but I could tell that the person on the phone was making him irritated. I got closer, and he paused mid-step and started yelling into the phone.
“What the hell Dad. Myka’s best friend was in on it. What do you want me tell her that everything is alright? I don’t think so. She was screaming my name when I got to the gas station. Her makeup is smeared all over her face. She was crying for help. Her voice is raspy for screaming and yelling,” he paused for a breath then continued, “When I caught sight of her, they were trying to throw her into the van. They were going to kidnap her. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I wasn’t there.” He saw me walking toward him. He turned toward me. “I got to go, Dad, bye,” he said hanging up.
“What was that about?” I asked lying.
“Nothing,” he lied back.
We walked toward his car; his lovely BMW that I can’t practice driving in. He won’t let anyone drive it for that matter. The only thing he has ever been truly overprotective over is his car. God, I love his car. I got into the car without a word. Jaim looked really concerned about me, but I didn’t care. I was too preoccupied on how Josh or Abel, whatever his name is, could betray me like that. He stared at me without a word. It was kind of creepy.
“What?” I asked.
“Will you please tell me why they were trying to kidnap you? I feel like there was a purpose behind it.”
Ugh! Why couldn’t he just take me to the police and file an almost kidnapping report? He had to make this difficult. I had to call Boss, before I do anything irrational.
“I have to call someone first,” I said.
“Who exactly?” he asked.
“My boss,” I said in a whisper.
I pulled out my phone before he could say anything else. I was about to speed dial Boss when my phone rang. I must have had a look of horror or disgust, or, better yet, both on my face because Jaim was asking me what was wrong. He looked at the caller ID and snatched the phone out of my hand. He pressed the TALK button and put the phone against his ear. He didn’t say anything. He pulled the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker.
Josh/Abel was talking really fast. I didn’t catch anything at the beginning other than a few words. Then I suddenly could hear every word that came out of his mouth and through my phone. “I’m so sorry, Myka. I honestly am. I didn’t want to do this, but he was telling me stories as a child that I could be famous for doing stuff like this. I have been this for years and I never thought it could back fire on us. I have been kept in the dark about what is right from wrong.
“I hate to tell you this but Bone is my uncle. He raised me after my parents divorced ten years ago. My mother killed my father and was caught holding a knife when the cops showed up. She was convicted right then and there. Bone is my mother’s uncle. So I guess you can say killing runs in the family,” he chuckled and then continued, “My mother did call me when I was at your house. She gets to make two phone calls per week. One of them is always to me. She does know about you and likes you a lot. There’s a reason why I never took you to my house and that was because I really lived next door. Oh no! I got to go,” he said hurriedly.
“Giving her another heads up…” Mr. Bone said. The line went dead. The call was over.
Jaim looked at me like I knew the next move. I had no idea what we should, but to call Boss to tell her what has happened.
“I need to call Boss,” I said more to myself than to Jaim.