Ruben or August

Chapter 8

                                                                                          Ruben 

'I'm going to get some coins.' I faintly heard Elie say. Too concentrated on my game I didn't even answer her, I was about to win a whole lot of coins. Coin after coin I was urgently slamming them in the slot and trying to get them to go in at the right time. After spending almost ten pounds on this game I had understood when I needed to put them in and when the machine gave me tickets.

'Elie can you give me a few coins.' I asked not looking up from my game. My stack of coins was almost finished and I wasn't winning anymore.

'Elie.' I asked again. And then I looked up a bit annoyed that she wasn't listening to me. 'Elie?' I asked again but she wasn't there. I looked around the arcade not seeing her, she couldn't have gone far I wondered. I tried to jiggle the game I was standing in front of hoping that I could maybe get a few coins that way, but nothing happened. I was so close to winning the jackpot that I didn't even want to leave and go and find her, I told myself she'd be back quickly enough.

Taking out my phone from my pocket, I realised that I had a new message. And it was from him. I looked up just to see if Elie was in my sight but she wasn't. And I opened the text message.

-I saw your car parked by the pier. Thought we could meet up. Xx' read the text. I stared at it not sure what to answer, he had sent it only a few minutes ago and I could already imagine the stories it could make if Elie found out he was here. I wasn't as stupid as she thought I was, I knew she had seen me having lunch with him earlier and then she had probably imagined scenarios leading her to be overwhelmed and sitting on the side of the road to think. I stood still for a moment looking down at the pile of tickets sitting at my feet. I wanted to wait for Elie to come back and give me a few coins to win the jackpot, but he was here and I wondered whether I shouldn't just sneak out for five minutes. Elie was gone anyways probably to the toilet so she wouldn't even see me I thought. But before I could think anymore, I received a second text and I could feel the panic rise in my stomach.

-'Guess who's chasing me down the pier. ;)'

My heart started beating rapidly, in some way it was quite funny imagining Elie running after Jace. But then I realised that if she caught up with him, then our secret would be at risk. I quickly grabbed all of my tickets and tried to run down the pier not sure which direction to run towards. The tickets were dangling down from my arms and I was desperate not to trip over them. I pushed people and shoved and tried to focus on Elie. I couldn't see her in front of me and I knew I needed to catch up with her, even though she'd have a trillion questions to ask me.

'Move. Move out.' I shouted looking towards a big group of people. Then I realised that there was no reason for them to move as they were standing in front of the crossing. I tried to push them earning death glares and a few insults, but I needed to see where Elie had gone. And then I saw her. I saw her run across the roundabout, cars hooting at her and people shouting at her to stop. She ran across the grass and the planted flowers not caring whether she squashed them or not. And then she disappeared the other side and I couldn't see her any more. But what I heard was even more frightening.

For a split of a second everything went silent. People stopped shouting at her to stop. The cars seemed to stop. But then I realised that I could hear the sound of a car slamming on its breaks, then, the sound of someone being hit by a car. And I could only think of one person who could have been ran over. Elie.