Hi, guys. Thank you guys for giving this story a chance, especially when the summary was basically shit, but oh well. Moving on, here's the second chapter. I realize it is early, but whatever.
Disclaimer: I STILL don't own the rights to the Divergent series. That honor goes to the lovely Ms. Roth.
Searching for You- Chapter 2
Three Months Later…
"That'll be seven dollars and forty cents, please," I tell the beefy man in front of the counter. He hands over the cash while saying, "You know, I can give more than a few dollars if you've got a little time." He winks as he says it.
I try not to wrinkle my nose physically, but I do throw up in my mouth a little. "Not interested. Don't you have somewhere to be?" I ask him. I get people like him all the time. Grown men that think they can take advantage of a young girl working at the convenience store in the middle of deserted Arizona. I've learned how to deal with them both nonviolently and, if necessary, with force.
"Baby, I got all the time in the world for you," he says and licks his lips. He gives me a once over with his eyes and I narrow my eyes. Under the counter, I grab the pepper spray I keep for emergencies like this.
"Sir," I start like a lady with class. "Get the fuck out of my convenience store," I finish like the badass I actually am.
He grabs his pack of cigarettes off the counter with a frustrated puff of breath. He walks out of the dust covered door and into the blaring sun of the Arizona desert. I take a deep breath and let it out only when I hear a truck pull away onto the stretching road.
I hear a new song start to play on the static radio of the store.
I wish that I could wake up with amnesia
And forget about the stupid, little things
Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you
And the memories I never can escape
I scowl at the radio and turn it off. I realize it's stupid, but I get angry every time I hear that song. They didn't know what it was like to actually forget things and they'd be stupid to wish for it. I always try to imagine my life without the looming problem in it. My amnesia. It had been a little less than three months with this shitty condition blocking all of my memories. I remember running into this store on that second morning.
Three months ago…
I had been walking for a day and a half now and it was now night again, I hadn't eaten or slept in fear of someone driving along and leaving me behind. My lips were chapped and skin had a glistening coat of sweat from head to toe. My whole body ached and I couldn't think straight. The air was cool, though, for a desert like place. And there was wind. A light, light wind, but it was still there.
My eyelids could barely keep open when I saw a light. It wasn't moonlight like I had expected, but instead a fluorescent white light that hurt my eyes, even from this distance. I looked up to see a store with gas pumps out in the front. I squinted to make sure it was real.
I unfolded my arms from my chest and started walking faster. Though that didn't last long. Soon, I started running towards the haven-like building.
As soon as I was through the doors, I saw a man behind the counter. Well, his blonde head anyway, but that didn't matter to me at the moment. I ran straight through the entire store until I found the ladies bathroom. The door almost blew off of its hinges at the force I swung it open with. I could hear the guy from the counter yelling at me. He didn't seem to be saying words, but just shouting.
I locked the door immediately behind me and ran for the mirror. I almost cried at what stared back at me.
A massive mess of black hair with a purple streak was on top of my head. I had blue eyes that were bulging out of my head at the moment. My face was pale and free of freckles or blemishes. My lips were pink, but then again, they were also chapped. I brought my shaking hands up to the sink and rinsed them in the cool water. I also threw my head under the faucet and soaked my hair.
I could hear the guy shouting at me, but I continued to ignore him. He was of minor importance for now. I took off my shirt and threw it into the second sink along with the rest of my clothes. I washed my face and rinsed the sand off of my body. From there, I heard the man outside shout something.
"I'll call the police if you don't come out right now!" he yelled. I don't know why, but that stimulated me. I whipped my head around and blinked. "No!" I said back. I couldn't yell, but if I could have, my voice would have cracked. "Don't! I'll be right out."
I threw on my wet clothes and squeezed out my dripping hair. I slowly made my way to the door and unlocked it. I opened too quickly for him to notice, too, because he tried to beat on it again, but almost hit me in the face.
I grabbed his fist on reflex. My eyes widened and I quickly dropped his hand. He looked at me, narrowing his eyes. "What'd you steal? Where is it?" he asked me.
I looked at him incredulously, expecting him to soften or something at the sight of me. Nothing all he did was continue to stare at me with his celery green eyes.
"Do I look like I could hide anything on me?" I asked him and gestured to my body. He looked at me and stood up straighter. He was taller than me, but I seemed to be short in the mirror so I wasn't surprised. His blonde hair swayed as he pushed it to the side. He gave me a half-smile and offered his hand. "I'm Will," he said.
Now…
From there, he asked me my name, which I said nothing. He continued to inquire about me, to which I said nothing still. It wasn't until he threatened with the police again that I used my voice.
"Don't you fucking dare," I said in a voice I thought was hostile. "Or I'll kick your ass." He only smiled at that and he said, "Well, that was cute. I like you."
I then realized he wasn't really going to call the police. He explained that his father owned the store at one point until he decided to take a surprise vacation and leave to Florida. I don't mind, he said. He was a drunkard anyway.
His father hadn't returned so far, which Will saw as an improvement from when he was here. So he was alone. I remember finding that a bi odd, since, well, who would want to be alone by choice? I don't know where that piece of wisdom came from, but it seemed to apply in the situation.
Then, he tried to ask me things. Like where was I from and how old was I and, oh God, what was my name. That was the worst since I didn't have any clue to the answer.
The others, I at least had an idea. Like the numbers popping into my head when he asked how old I was. Two, twelve. I suppose it could have been February twelfth, or December second. I felt more of a winter girl, so I went with the December date. I still had to ask him what year it was and how old I looked. So, I turned around with him following me. He bumped into me and his body was hard against my soft one. I could see him blush and I tried not to smile. It would be so easy to mess with him. Not yet, though. He said I looked twenty, so I said I was nineteen. He was also nineteen. And, luckily, I found a calendar by the door. It was August fourteenth, year 2014 at the time. Now, it's November and close to my birthday.
He ended up giving me a job there after some hardcore negotiating. He needed someone anyway, too. No police would be involved. I wouldn't tell local authorities about his father leaving him alone and he wouldn't tell them about the mysterious girl that seemed to be incredibly stupid.
I laugh at the memory. He still doesn't know I've lost my memory. The idiot, I think.
"Who's an idiot?" The bell jingle and Will walks in with two bottles of soda pops. He throws me one and I catch it with my still spot-on reflexes. I never figured that one out.
"What?" I ask, caught off guard by him. He was early; he was supposed to be in Phoenix for a few more hours at least, getting the restocking supplies for the store. And it wouldn't have taken long, but this was a small store and gas station in the middle of nowhere, Arizona. Even Phoenix was more than forty miles away.
"No one's an idiot. I don't know what you're talking about," I finish not so smoothly and take a long sip of my drink. It's lukewarm, but that's all it'll ever be here in Arizona. He looks at me sideways and opens his mouth to say something. "Why are you early?" I ask to silence him. I don't think he'll ever fully trust me. But, then again, I wouldn't trust me.
"I'm early because that son of a bitch Michael called halfway from Phoenix and said the supplies would be late coming in. Apparently, they're coming from Chicago and …" His voice trails off and I hear my bottle distantly shatter in the background, but I don't care at the moment. I hear Will set his drink down and shout at me, but then his voice becomes one of concern.
My head is filled with images. Images of a building, a giant old looking building. And a symbol; one of an open book and an eagle facing left. I can hear laughter echoing through my mind and I can see a guy chasing a girl through open halls of the building. A girl with long blonde hair bursts through the large wooden doors and into the snow falling down. The boy finds her in the snow and picks her up and spins her around in his arms. The laugh and giggle as he kisses her nose tenderly. I car horn honks and they look away from each other and towards the roads.
The vision ends and I see Will hovering over me. My eyes are blurred and I blink repetitively to clear them. His brow is creased in concern and his hands are on my face, looking into my eyes. "Can you hear me? Are you there, Heaven?" he asks me. At the nickname he gave me, I come back to life fully and completely. I remember why he started calling me that. Well, it's because I didn't tell him my name, but also because of the tattoo on my right wrist. In cursive, it says, Through Heaven. He calls me Heaven now. I push him away gently and nod.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I say and look around at the glass on the ground. He backs off, but eyes me suspiciously.
"Really, are you fine? Because you just fucking fell over and fainted. You're not fine, Heaven," he argues, but I wave him off.
"No, no, I am, really," I say and stand up. I don't even sway which convinces me of the truth I'm telling. "What were you saying? Earlier? Before this whole…?" I ask and gesture to the floors where I begin to clean the glass and soda pop.
"What are you even talking about? That doesn't matter!" he says and forces me to look at him. "Are you alright? Did something happen?" he asks and I shake my head. He's onto me, though. He knows the only other time I was this disoriented was three months ago, when I lost my memory. But he doesn't know I had lost my memory. To him, I'm just some mysterious girl who probably ran away from home.
"Look, Will," I stop cleaning and take his hands away from my shoulders. "This is important. Really. What were you saying earlier?"
He shakes his head at the ground and looks at me. "I don't know. The shipments from Chicago and the supplies," he says and scratches the back of his neck.
I shake my head and stare him in the eyes. "No, I don't think you understand. Something happened, Will. I saw something when I was out. There were people, and they were happy. There was snow and this giant building. Will," I say and my voice cracks at this point. I try not to look at him because of the wetness in my eyes. "Will," I try again and succeed. "I don't know if you've figured it out or not, but three months ago, when I ran in here for the first time, I was fucking scared. Know why? Because I was lost. I didn't know where I was, what year it was or even my name. I didn't remember anything or anyone and I was strong. But this is enough; I need to know what happened to me. What I just saw, those were memories, I'm sure of it. Those were the first memories I've had for three months since I woke up. Will, you have to trust me. I need to know." I finish in tears and I'm sure my face is pale.
I finally find the courage to look up at him. He opens his arms and grabs my face.
"Come here, Heaven," he says and hugs me tight. "I though you were disoriented, but I didn't know you were lost." His hand is on the back of my head and he strokes my hair. It was black still, but the purple streak from months ago had just been an extension. "We'll get through this, okay? We'll find out what happened to you, I promise. Especially if it means leaving this dump." He laughs a little chuckle and I smile in his arms.
Alright, let me get one thing clear: There is nothing sexual going on between Will and "Heaven." Their relationship is purely that of siblings. They are not even dating or remotely interested in each other. Okay, now that's out of the way.
I am really proud of this specific chapter. I've gotten better at writing, and don't argue with me because you've never read anything of mine before. Also, I don't proofread my writing. I know I really should, but when I finish a chapter, I get really eager to post it. A little too eager, I guess. Anyway, thank you to those four that reviewed, you guys make me smile, kinda like chocolate. Chocolate makes me smile, too. Therefore, you guys are chocolate. Read and review, my little chocolates. ;) - - - Viv
(Also, I don't own Amnesia by 5 Seconds of Summer. And, I love them so much. Really. Ashton is my favorite.)
