Tasting Insanity

Chapter 7

Amaryllis~

Thursday morning went by pretty quick and it was already 4 pm, i was walking to work in the diner. My father wasn't home all day which was really good, i had time to write my reports on Carter.

The little bell above the door rang when i opened it, making everyone aware of my presence. I hated Attention. But thankfully, they looked away as fast as they looked at me when i entered. I let out a sigh of relief before making my way towards the kitchen, wrapped the apron around me and started taking orders of people.

I noticed a man sitting at the back of the diner with no food or drinks on his table and neither did he asked to be served. I walked up to him before asking him if he needed anything but he didn't reply. He just stared down at whatever he was looking at.

"Um...", I cleared my throat, "Can i get you a drink or anything?"

"Sit." He nodded to the empty seats in the booth. "Sit down, Miss Banks. We need to talk."

Fear ran up my spine and i attempted to leave but on flash of his gun made me froze. "Sit down or there will be blood on your hands."

Reluctantly, i sat down in front of him as he asked, my hands shaking on my lap beneath the table. "What do you want from me?", I asked, trying to hide the shakiness of my voice. "How do you know my name and who are you?"

"Im a friend of Mr Hales." He stated. "You have pissed off a lot of people by accepting the job." He continued, finally looking at me with a piercing gaze. "You have no idea what accepting this job meant, did you?"

Whoever this guy was, he was starting to scare me. I didn't know Carter Hale was this much of a dangerous person. "No, i do not know what accepting the job meant." I mocked, "Im just a psychiatrist who needs money, saw an opportunity and took it." I answered truthfully, clenching my fists under the table. "What do you want from me?"

"Don't panic but i was sent here to kill you." The stranger stated nonchalantly. I couldn't believe this man sitting in front of me. He just said that he was sent here to kill me without any care in the world as if it was a normal thing for him to say. And me? Why wasn't i running away? Why was i still sitting in front of him, waiting for him to continue talking? Most importantly, what was wrong with me?

"What?", Is all i could get out of me. "What do you mean?"

"Remember what i said about pissing off a lot of people?", He asked, earning a nod from me. "Well, my boss is one of them."

"Why are you telling me this?", Seriously? I mentally facepalmed myself at the question i asked. "Why not kill me?" I was going to stop talking now. 

He raised his brows in amusement, a smirk forming on his lips. He was pretty attractive despite my inability to see further from his hood. I could see his face clearly, he had a voice similar to Carter but less deep. He appeared younger too- around twenty, perhaps."Because." He paused. "I don't kill innocent people."

"You kill bad guys?", I questioned earning yet another amused gaze from him. "Something like that."

"Do you have a name?", I asked, curiosity getting the best of me. He took his bottom lip between his teeth, released it before replying, "I do. But, it's not important for you to know this right now. What's important for you to know is that if you are in danger 24/7." He continued, his tone becoming more serious with each words. "Carter is a friend of mine and i do want to see him out. We-" He pointed to me and himself, "Know that he deserves to get bail now. He spent three years in that prison with corrupted people around him." He clenched his jaw, "Im counting on you to not be one of these people," He referred to the corrupted ones. "Prove me wrong and i might just kill you."

"I am not one of these people." I stated, meaning every word. Corrupted people disgusted me if anything. No matter how desperate you are for money, never let yourself be corrupted, bribed anything that falls in the line. It was something my mother had taught me before she died. Never let money define you or control you no matter how hard the situation is.

"I believe you."

I raised an eyebrow at his statement and before i could ask why, he said, "You could have stopped working in this shitty place the second you took the other job but you didn't."

"I should get back to work because this shitty place, is the place the most visited in the area. I guess people like shitty things." I mocked him, rolling my eyes in the process. He smirked at me, "Yeah, people do like shitty things. You have no idea."

I decided not to question his statement. Before i stood up, he said, "Watch your back out there, Amaryllis. There's evil lurking in the corners." He grabbed my hand without warning, slipped a piece of paper in it and my body flinched at the contact, earning a questioning look from him before he added, "Call me if you notice anything strange." 

"I will." I said and quickly removed my hand from his grasp. He put his hands in the air in a surrendering manner. "Chill. I didn't know you had touching issues."

"I don't like it when people-" i shook my head and corrected myself, "Strangers touch me without my consent."

"Is there a problem here?", Carmen interrupted, one hand on her waist and a spatula in another, a daring look directed to the stranger who shook his head, "Nope." He stood up, "I was just leaving." One last glance at me, he gestured to the paper in my fist. "Don't forget." Then he disappeared behind the doors.

"Everything okay, luv?", Carmen asked, worried evident on her face. "You were sittin' here with the strange guy for twenty minutes and then he grabbed you. The need to intervene was too strong." She grinned, waving her spatula. "I would have kicked his ass if he was bothering you."

"He wasn't bothering me. He's a friend of a friend." Since when was Carter your friend? My subconscious asked. I ignored her before giving the woman in front of me my full attention. "Thank you anyway."

"Anytime darlin'," She smiled, "We have to close in five minutes, you can take off earlier if you want. You look tired."

I was tired. I was drained, actually. I didn't bother saying no to her because i did want to go home, to bed. I could only hope my father wouldn't ruin my night even more. "You have no idea how right you are." I almost chuckled at her, "Thank you. I will see you tomorrow night."

"Have a goodnight, sweetheart." She smiled, waving me off. "Be safe out there."

I didn't think i was ever going to be safe after my little encounter with the stranger earlier. The second i stepped out the door, i was greeted with only the led lights of the diner but as i walked further, darkness. Street lights here didn't do any justice. It was weak, so weak, barely shed any light. I couldn't help the feeling of someone following me yet again which urged me to quicken my pace. The thought of me being paranoid crossed my mind but after the stranger's warning, I wasn't sure it was paranoia.