Trance

Chapter Four: At Least You Didn't Get Shot

"I think life hates me."

The words lie in the air as Diego raises a thick eyebrow to me. Tina on the other hand carries on eating her noodles, showing little to no care of my words. "At least you didn't get shot," Tina causally shrugs.

"There was a gun! To my head!" I remind her, my eye windening. I lean my head against my head, wondering what did I do deserve such unsympathetic friends.

"Too bad you didn't see their faces. You could have put them behind jail," Diego sighs, leaning over the table to get the jug of water. He pours it in his glass while I twirl my noodle strands with my fork. Diego is the only one who can cook - and is decent at it. Due to that fact, he's the only one who cooks whenever we get together.

My eyes refuse to meet theirs and for once, I'm glad they don't point it out. "Are you sure there was nothing that you could have identified them with?" Tina breaks the silence, meeting my gaze.

I bite down on my lip, "No. Three hours at the police station would have knocked any information out anyways."

She smiles and carries on eating. Diego catches her attention as he frantically waves his Samsung in front of her face. The distraction is enough and I start to stare at my noodles, not wanting to eat anything.

I could have told everyone the truth, told them what she looked like. I could have put her behind bars, far away from me.

But instead, I lied and my heart is thumping as I check the windows for any uninvited guests. Even though I keep reminding myself that she won't track me down here, I still keep checking the curtains. Every single shadow is a threat to my eyes and I can't help but to jump three metres away.

Her appearance is different from what I expected. Her light brown curls, olive skin and light pink lips gave the appearance of bright and bubbly girl - like Tina. Instead, she turned out to be a girl who seems to have killed my sense of spotting killers.

I lick my lips, my eyes falling my bowl again. The sliver fork feels hot in my hands but I still use it to twirl the spicy food in front of me. I drop it, the urge for food long gone like the chance of her being behind bars.

There's no way I can go back. I can't go back to the cops without them getting suspicious. How am I suppose to anyways? Three hours was already hell and every time Diego made a turn on the way there, I was checking the corners for her.

Without even knowing my name, she managed to permantly engrave herself in my mind. I bet when I'm eighty, sitting at home with a cup of coffee without a trace of memory, I'd still be checking the corners for her.

I get off my wooden chair, picking up the half empty bowl. Diego and Tina look up to me in surprise. "I don't feel hungry," I tell them and they nod without asking. I push the chair into the white table cloth with my foot while balancing my glass and my bowl.

My eyes glance over the room, admiring Tina's living room. It's a simple place, a dinning room and living room merged in one. The walls are white, joined by photos of her family placed in simple black frames. Her tv sits in one corner and her creamy white sofa in another. All that serpates them is a almout colored coffee table and about two metres of carpet.

After that, the floor is covered in tiles which lead to the dining table that Diego and Tina sit at, laughing at something on his phone. The dinning table is right beside the kitchen and is connected without a wall. I place the bowl and glass in the sink, letting my eyes linger at the window. The moon is starting to rise, a full moon today.

The idea of driving late today makes my stomach clench in fear. I let my eyes linger to Diego and Tina, knowing they'll be fine without me. "Guys," I grab their attention. When their eyes are set one me, I carry on speaking. "I'll be going home now."

"Let me drive you home," Diego says, leaning up as he does. The idea seems amazing, mainly because Diego actually goes to the gym and actually stands a chance against anyone. The lack of people in my car makes car journeys slightly more paranoid, hence the reason why Diego drove me.

"It's fine," I inform him with a smile. Unfortunately, I don't want to be a burden to him and interrupt his and Tina's conversation. Plus, what else can happen while I'm driving home?

I put my hand in my pocket, letting my hand grip around the metal of my keys. Tina and Diego bid me goodbye and good luck while I move outside.

The chilly air hits me like a truck and I shiver in my thin grey jacket. My black jeans do nothing to help the fact it's freezing and I shiver all the way to my car. When I move my hand to the cold metal of the car, I hear a crunch.

"Sir? Sir, can you help me? I fell when I was walking here and cut my hand really badly. Do you have any bandages or anything I can use?"

I turn around to see a shadow, a feminine figure. The light shines on her hand which is bleeding open. The cut looks too deep to be anything that could be caused on an average street but I don't raise any questions.

"Yeah, let me check," I smile. I feel too tired to be paranoid any further, chances are she's just some other person. What are the chances she's the criminal?

I open the glovebox, looking for my first aid kit. When I do, I take out the bandages and give it to her. At first, she awkwardly attempts to tie it around while using one hand. When that obviously fails, I take it from her. "Let me do it," I offers. Her shadow nods.

I wrap the bandage around her hand, quickly finishing. "Thanks," she finally says as questions finally start rising. Who even goes up to someone in their driveway? And who even walks at this time? It's not an average time for your average stroll. There's nothing that could have cut her so deeply.

She moves, the lighting finally hitting her. Her familiar brown curls give me chills and when the lighting hits her brown eyes, the exact same shade as the criminal I nearly shriek.

At the same time, her eyes start scanning my face, maybe realizing who I am. Instead of screaming and hopefully alerting Tina and Diego, I take a step back and bite my lip in order to keep my screams I myself. As I move closer to the car, I hit my foot on something hard.

A sting of pain jolts my foot and I quickly land on the floor, far too quickly for me to do anything about it. The leaves on the floor swirl around me, nearly mocking me about my ungrateful fall.

"Are you okay?!" She asks and when I look up, she's crouching, getting on the same level as me. I smile once again, trying to get a reassuring smile but most likely getting a grimace look across.

"Perfectly fine." I sit up, crossing my legs as I look at my hands. It's too dark to declare if I did get any injuries but my the stinge on my hands, I most likely cut myself as I tried to prevent myself from falling.

Great. And to top it off, the criminal is scanning my face again and most likely recognizes me by now. My heart starts racing - and before you ask, not becuase she has her hand on my shoulder or because she's peering into my soul right now but because of the fact she has a gun and isn't afraid of using it.

"You're him aren't you," she finally asks. The words are enough for me to move back a bit and make her glance at my shoulder she's leaning on. Behind me, my car digs in my back and pavement covers the floor beneath me. I'm good as dead.

□

How was the chapter? Why do you think the criminal was in the neighborhood? And was bleeding?

On a side note, I was wondering if y'all could finally write a Varun X Sid story, do the sake of me. The lack of LBGT desi stories is so disappointing. Just hit me up in the PMs if you guys have one or find one on wattpad or off wattpad. I'm that desperate, I really want more diversity on wattpad :/

Oh yeah, who do you see as the cast?

Vote?

- Maya.