Orange Juice

Chapter Ten

 The apartment seemed bland without Sunny's extravagant presence, even with all the whimsical dreamcatchers, fresh potted plants, and various beautiful beads dangling from the ceiling.

Lars was undeniably proud that his daughter was living independently in a country all by herself, however, her absence filled him with a void he could not escape, even with Bean the orange cat to keep him company.

 The days were boring. He often times spent them with his lovely friends and companions, mostly with his dear Basilio and Olivia, but nothing could compare to the quality of time spent with Sunny. Nonetheless, he was proud of her. He missed her dearly, but he was incredibly proud of her for claiming her independence in such a wonderful experience.

 Bean cozily snuggled up on his lap as he looked through some old photo albums while organizing his house. He caressed the fur around her ear, causing her to purr in satisfaction. "Ah!" Lars suddenly exclaimed, causing the cat to jump slightly in surprise, "Would you look at this picture, Bean?"

 Lars turned an old photo sheet of him and Sunny for the cat to see. The picture was taken somewhere in an outstretched and beautifully vibrant grassy field with a 7-year-old Sunny on her father's shoulders, a wide grin on her face, exposing her missing front tooth. Lars, who obviously looked younger in the picture, held both of her arms out in a manner resembling an airplane. His hair was tied in a short, loose ponytail with a Daisy flower that Sunny had placed on the front.

 The sun was hitting the lens of the camera, almost blurring the image yet their faces were still recognizable. Lars laughed in delight as he recalled the memory.

 "My hair was so short back then!" He stated to Bean, talking to the clueless cat like she could exchange the conversation with him.

 He continued to happily look through the rustic photo album, smiling giddily when he stumbled across pictures of his daughter posing beside a herd of cows, another with her and Olivia on a double-wheeled bicycle, and one from over almost 27 years ago with him and his friends gathered on the flower in an attempt to crochet a dreamcatcher. He had accomplished it successfully, for it hung over his head where he sat till this very day.

 And then he came across the very first picture he ever took with his daughter; the photo showed a 5-year-old Sunny sitting down on the floor, a yellow glass plate with little brown bear drawings imprinted on it in her hand as she ate the orange slices that sat in it. Her hands and face were completely covered in sticky orange juice but she seemed delighted enough with the taste to not mind.

 Lars wore a crotched carrot hat on his head, his back turned to the camera as he was unaware of the picture being taken of him. Another picture followed that one up with Lars now turned to face the camera and toddler Sunny smiling widely for the picture.

 "This one is my favorite." Lars said to the ginger cat in his lap who was hardly interested in the photo.

 Suddenly, his landline began ringing. "Oop!" Lars quipped as he grabbed the sleepy cat in his lap, putting her aside before sprinting over to the phone. He fumbled to pick it up from excitement, almost dropping it but managing to get a hold of it at the last moment.

"Hello?" He greeted into the mustard yellow phone.

 The moment he heard his daughter's unmistakable voice on the other line, his eyes lit up in pure joy. The two had been exchanging phone calls about two times a week ever since Sunny had traveled, and never once had it made Lars any less enthusiastic to answer.

 Sunny seemed just as excited on the other line, asking him fondly about how he had been doing and what Bean, Basilio, and Olivia were up to nowadays.

 By then, Lars had already known all about Lizzy, which made him beyond gland to know that Sunny had been making friends in a foreign country on her own.

 The two chatted on for about 10 minutes until Sunny notified her father that her time on the payphone was almost done. Managing a quick farewell, Lars hung up the phone once he could not hear Sunny on the other line.

 And the feeling of emptiness was quick to follow Lars as he made his way back to the couch.

~

 Sunny placed the phone back as her call time ended. Yawning, she began making her way out of the payphone booth. It was about to get dark soon, and the beautiful afternoon summer atmosphere had inspired her to take a refreshing walk around.

 However, it only took her two steps to feel a sudden unknown shiver chill down her spine. Unconsciously, she whipped her head around, searching for the source of her sudden uneasiness.  Attempting to brush the odd feeling away, she began walking again only to abruptly stop after not but a few steps.

  She was being followed. She could not tell why or where or how, but she could feel it. And if experience had taught her one thing it was that her intuition was almost always right.

 Sunny took a deep breath. Turning around, she began making her way back to the van, which was parked not too far from where she had been. However, when walking with the terrifyingly lingering feeling of being followed, the walk seemed endless.

 Her senses became sharper, and she could hear the footsteps that synced with hers. And then from the very corner of her eye, she could somewhat spot the person trailing behind her.

 Barely, she could make out a dark-colored hoodie and white sneakers, and it was not too obvious to her, but the build seemed masculine.

 Usually, she would have whipped around and called the person out or at least looked them dead in the eye to shame them, but she realized how unsafe that would be in her situation as she was walking in an almost empty street with barely any sign of people.

 And so she walked. She walked and she could feel the figure getting closer and closer. With her heart in her stomach, she could finally spot her unmistakable van after what felt like an unduly amount of time.

 Picking up the pace in her step, Sunny finally reached the van, and she could feel the person walking the opposing way. With a sigh of relief, she started the engine and began making her way to her usual spot.

 The CD of The DynaBugs rotated in the player as the wheels rotated against the road, 'Nice Try' sounding in the van through the radio. The sound of punk band music seemed to strangely calm her down. Only temporarily that is, for the moment she caught a glimpse of the rear-view mirror, she could see a black car tailing right behind her.

 Giving the car the benefit of the doubt, she figured it may just be a random citizen driving, but the more she drove the more anxious she was becoming; the car followed her at every single turn, slowing down when she did, speeding up when she did.

  Eventually, she reached her destination. Her van found a parking spot, but she was still too hesitant to twist the key and turn Tulip off. The black car slowed down, stopping a few meters away from her own.

 Slowly, she turned off the vehicle.

 And the black car's headlights went off.

 With every suspicion she had verified, she immediately turned the van back on, drifting away to a safer residence for the time being.