Chapter 1: Let There Be Light...Ning
Part 2
"You like my balls?" Chase asked.
The sound of his voice slightly startled me as he spun me around, hugged me, and leaned in to kiss me.
I was in the sporting goods store looking for nothing in particular. To make myself look occupied I eyed the row of basketballs lining the back wall, feigning interest. By now all the employees knew what I was there for, and it didn't bother them that I came in there nearly every day. For store purposes, I had to act like I wasn't loitering, and I understood that; but otherwise, Chase was their friend, and any girl who treats him right is welcome anytime.
"Get off me you perv!" I laughed as he leaned in for another kiss. Our lips met, and this time the kiss was longer, sweeter.
Chase's dirty blonde hair tickled my nose as we continued to embrace each other. I could faintly smell the Axe body wash he used this morning, and through his warm embrace I could feel the shape of his body. Hey, I'm not one for all this romantic crap, but he's my guy, and I happen to like him. A lot.
"You're here early," he said, taking a ball from the shelf and jostling it between his hands, "My shift isn't over for another hour. What's up?"
I smiled and quickly snatched the ball from his hands and spun it on one finger, impressing another customer nearby.
"I've come to tell you that all my stuff is at your house. Everything's put up, so we can just chill by the time we get there."
Chase smiled and snatched the ball from me and started dribbling.
"So it's been a year already..." He stated. he never finished the sentence, and continued dribbling.
It's funny how a guy could be attracted to a girl with visible bruises on her face nearly every day. It's also funny how a girl could be attracted to a guy with a piercing near his Adam's apple. I hate details, but bottom line: We just clicked.
We had little time to reflect since Chase had to get back to his shift. He had been working overtime for the past three months just for this occasion. Just for me.
"Well I gotta head back. I'll call you as soon as I get off, 'kay? Love you." He kissed me on the cheek, put up the basketball, and attended to a customer over in the tennis section.
As tough as I am, I never imagined I would find a guy who just gets me, especially when nobody else seems to care. When my parents died it was hard. I had no place to go, no place to call home. Sure, they left me a good sum of money, but hell if it can buy you another loving family, or at least relatives who show the slightest interest in you. Nobody could tell me what being lonely meant. I fit the definition perfectly.
It also didn't help that, for whatever reason, I always ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time. I got into fights constantly, and I got kicked out of practically every school I attended within the first couple of months. It sucked, really, especially when you're trying so damn hard not to lose the home your parents left you, and the feds won't leave you alone. To top it all off, I had this...thing I could do. Every time I pass an electrical appliance it either lit up or acted haywire (which is why I'll never set foot in another Best Buy again). I don't know why, and I never told anyone that this happened. Anyone except Chase. He just...I dunno...got me, like whatever weird shit that happened with me didn't bother him.
Which is why today, on our anniversary, I'm moving in with him. Yeah, it's a sin and all, but when you've lived the life I've lived, stuff like that doesn't mean anything. Plus I'm eighteen, anyway. I'm grateful for the man that I have and the stuff that I was able to keep. I just hope that things don't get too crazy.
I didn't have to look at my cell to know it was him. It's just part of that thing I could do. I knew who was calling without looking at my phone.
I finished my burger and bolted out of the food court as fast as I could. I just can't help but be excited. I'm moving in with my boyfriend, and I finally have a chance at a life with someone else. I didn't have to be alone.
The mall wasn't as crowded since it was almost nine and half the stores were closed. I made my way up the escalator to the third floor towards the sporting goods store. As I reached the top I noticed two girls sitting on a nearby bench in front of the Aeropostale store. The first girl had violet eyes, smooth brown skin, and a nearly perfect array of dreads. She sat with her head on her hand and leane on the arm rest, looking exhausted. The second girl was a blonde with bright blue eyes and a ditzy way about her. Her hair was separated into two ponytails, shopping bags were strewn about her, and she rummaged around her purse, probably looking for her phone. Somehow, I dunno, they seemed...akin to me. Like we all had something in common. They didn't seem strangers to me.
As I walked by I picked up the signal from her buzzing cell. It was a text from someone named Amy Wiseman, telling her to come to her house ASAP. Is I processed this I stopped in front of the bench where they were sitting. The blonde stopped rummaging and looked up at me. So did the black girl.
"Yo, some chick named Amy needs you at her house. Just so you know."
I didn't give them time to think. I left before they got a word in edgewise. Somehow I didn't regret my little act of weird-ness. Like I said, they didn't seem strangers to me. Plus, is probably won't ever see them again, anyway.
My phone rang again. Chase was ready to go. I picked up my speed and made it to the store, seeing him at the front closing the metal gate.
"Hey, babe. Sorry I'm late." I said. He put the keys in his pocket and smiled.
"No prob, 'Nita. Just wanted to make sure you were all ready to go."
"Hell yeah." I smiled. We grabbed each other's hand and walked out of the mall.
Chase's house was only like a ten minute drive from the mall. It was actually a thirty minute drive, but Chase is a little speed demon who, surprisingly, never gets speeding tickets. Despite the rough, pierced exterior, he's a kitten. I sat in the passenger's side listening to his house music CD. Daft Punk was belting out some classic techno, and it kept Chase from hearing my heart leaping with joy.
"Man, I wish Kanye didn't completely butcher this song." Chase said, breaking the silence.
"Hey, Kanye is pretty cool," I replied, "Apart from all that Illuminati crap."
From that point on we had a conversation about butchered techno songs until we got home.
Home. It felt good to say that now. Chase parked the car in front of an old toilet factory that turned into a loft. I always joked that his house was shit, since it once belted out toilets by the hundreds. He would always joke that his shit smelled like roses, since his house never smelled bad. And so we would just insult each other until we either made out or went to sleep. Never sex. Like my mom used to say: "If he wants it he had better work for it." Still, it doesn't meant that he doesn't know my anatomy by now.
We soon reached his loft and stepped inside. Like I said, his house smells like roses. I stepped in the landing and took in the familiar sight of the odd memorabilia on the wall, my favorite being the painting of Jesus saying "Kill Bush!". I made it to the den area and plopped my happy tail down on the couch. Chase made for the kitchen and took out some food.
"What no take-out?" I joked. I knew Chase could cook, but I loved confusing the Asian worker on the phone with orders I couldn't pronounce even more.
"Nah, just sit back and watch TV or somethin'. Dinner will be ready in a few."
"You are such a housewife!" I said as I turned the TV on. I didn't use the remote. I just blinked, and I instantly got the antics of SpongeBob Squarepants. What did I tell you?
About 10 minutes into the episode it starts raining. Hard. I went over to the curtains and drew them open. It was weird, since there were no forecasts of rain for another couple of days, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky all day.
The rain pelted down like a storm of bullets, and I felt sorry for anyone who was caught up in that.
"Babe do you see this?" I asked, but my question got drowned out by the sound of the doorbell. What the hell? I thought as I made my way to the door.
"Who is it?" Chase asked over the hiss of the frying pan. I shrugged and looked through the peephole. Outside I could see a rather mousy girl with extremely short, dark brown hair and blue-gray eyes. The same color s Chase's.
"It's some girl.." I told Chase. Slowly I opened the door. I got the same feeling about her as I did with the two girls at the mall. I never saw her before, but I knew her.
When I opened the door I saw that the girl had a mini computer in her hands, displaying all the information there was on me. Her hair wasn't wet, surprisingly, and she looked at me with expectant eyes.
"Anita Rothschild?" She asked, but before I could say anything she continued. "My name is Amy Wiseman, and I'm afraid you will have to come with me."
