Struggle!

Chapter 10

Alene’s POV

‘Jess if you don’t call me back in 10 minutes I am going to kill you!’ This was my fifth voice message to Jess. I finally cancelled the call after the tenth time I had called Jess. I was really worried. It had been almost two hours since they had been gone. I tried Peter’s number yet again: it went to answering machine after ringing several times. My anxiety heightened. What could possibly be taking them so long? Peter had said they’ll be back in about half an hour. 

I was still battling over the idea of getting a cab and following them to the store Peter named or staying home and waiting. I had no idea of the routes in Philadelphia. Even though I had lived in the city for quite a while, I was still no expert when it came to its puzzling roads. 

I tried calling on Jess’s phone again. Still no response. Crazy thoughts started rushing through my mind. What if they ran into Ben? May be somebody recognized them? Or maybe, I felt a surge of hope at the thought; they were stuck in traffic or something?

 I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I wiped it with my sleeve and went out into the corridor to see if they were back. The moment I stepped out of the apartment I heard my cell phone ring. I quickly rushed back in glad that I had not gone too far. It was Jess. I hurriedly hit the answering button.

‘Jess? Are you guys fine? I was so worried. I didn’t know what to…’ But before I could finish my sentence, Jess spoke. ‘We are fine Ale. I’m so sorry I had forgotten my phone in the car. Did you call on Peter’s number too? Maybe it was on silent or something. We are on our way back.’

I disconnected the call after Jess assured me that they’ll be home in about ten minutes. Even though she had said everything was fine, I still felt that her voice seemed strained. It seemed as if she had been crying too. Was she hiding something from me? I felt my heart sink at the thought of something being wrong. 

After a while, I heard the scuffling of feet outside the door. I ran towards it to open it without even waiting for a knock. Peter was standing in the doorway, laden with bags full of grocery items. 

‘Gosh Alene, don’t you ever unlock the front door without asking who it is. This is dangerous. It could have been anyone.’

He looked at me with a look of utter concern. I was so over-whelmed to see the two of them safe that I broke into tears.

Jess, who had followed Peter inside, peered at me through the grocery bags she was carrying.

‘Wh…what happened? Alene? Why are you crying?’ I shook my head profusely. Peter came out of the kitchen and stared at me. Jess glared at him and asked him accusingly. ‘Why is she crying?’ He looked confused.

 ‘I … I don’t know. What happened Alene? Are you alright?’

‘I was worried. I had so many bad thoughts racing through my mind. I was so worried that somebody recognized you or something. I’m just relieved to see you both safe.’ 

Jess and Peter both exchanged frantic looks. Jess than came over and placed an arm around my shoulder. ‘Hey, everything is fine. You don’t need to worry. Don’t stress over such things. Nothing is going to hurt us.’

It took Jess a while to comfort me. I was feeling very uneasy. I had a queer feeling that Jess and Peter were keeping something from me. Jess left me in the living room and went to help Peter, who was cooking bacon in the kitchen. It was well past breakfast time now and I was famished.

Jess and Peter both remained subdued throughout the day making me feel uneasy. I couldn’t take it anymore. While Peter was out in the living room working on the computer, I cornered Jess in the kitchen.