HEYYYYYYYYYYY! CHAPTER TWO IS HERE! Okay, before I begin, I have a question for you all: Do you all want me to have chapter names? For example, instead of it just saying 'Chapter 2' do you want it to have a name? Let me know! Okay, so my song inspiration for this chapter was another Ingrid Michaelson song called 'Open Hands (feat. Trent Dabbs'. It's really sad, but I felt like it held a lot of the emotions and the proper feel for this chapter, so listen to it! I like listening to the same song on repeat while I'm writing a chapter. Anyway, enjoy this next...installment…
Angie didn't waste a second to grab her belongings and leave. By the time she had gotten down to her car, Oscar had already left. She didn't expect him to be there anyway. He told her what she needed to do, and she intended to do just that. He wants her to figure out what she wants. Him. How is she going to face what she wants? No idea. So she made that her mission, and no matter how much she didn't want to do that, she
knew she would at least try.
But only because he wanted her to.
Angie walked to her car door, unlocked it, opened the door, sat in the seat, closed the door, and didn't move. She just looked out at the darkened sky, clouds covering the majority of it. She allowed the stillness of her car soothe her. She inhaled the familiar scent to remind her she knows where she is. This, she's certain of. This car is here. This car is real. She focused on that. She thought about the meaning this car held for her. She made sure to awknowledge the things she knew to be real and true before she allowed herself to venture into the unknown. Eventually, Angie closed her eyes, leaning heavily on the seat, hands in hair.
Is this some sort of ultimatum? I don't know what to do. If I tell him that I'm not ready, will he throw our entire partnership in the trash? But if I say yes, I know I'm going to mess it up, or I'm going to hurt him! I can't do this. I really can't.
She sighed. This was precisely why Angie hated allowing herself to love others. It always ends in her making a big decision, and every time she makes it, it's the wrong one. The one that makes everyone unhappy is the option she always chose, but that's what Angie does. She runs. When things get too complicated or unpredictable; she chooses the one that she can predict the outcome of. However, what made this decision so difficult was that either way, she lost. There was no option she could predict the outcome of. She didn't know which option she could live with. All she knew was that if she lost Oscar, she wouldn't know what to do anymore. She felt like without him to be her rock, her true North, she wouldn't be able to live with herself.
Angie is an independent woman, but even independent women need their solid ground. They need someone they know will always be there. For Angie, that was Oscar, and she can't lose him. That was one of her worst fears: losing him. She didn't know if she could bear losing someone who had known her for 5 years. The one who had been by her side for 5 years. The one who had broken all her walls and gained her trust.
Perhaps that's why she didn't want to take it any further. She was afraid that if they didn't work out, she would lose him. She didn't want to risk that. She couldn't risk losing him. She simply couldn't. But either way, she felt like she was going to lose him. It was a matter of how quickly she wanted that to happen. And that was the problem: she didn't want it to end. She wanted him to be with her forever because this independent woman is more dependent than she wants to let on. She is selfish, and she wants him.
Angie's eyes flew wide open at the blare of her phone ringing.
Damn. How loud did I turn the ringer up?
She snatched up her phone from her coat pocket to read the Caller ID. It read, "Manny". Suddenly, all the confusion and unhappiness drained from her body. God, she missed him. They haven't really got to connect since he came back because of the case. She didn't know he was going to stay in town for so long. Quickly, Angie picked up the phone, and spoke into the phone with a smile that warmed all her features if one were to look at her.
"Manny! How-"
"Mom. You need to come to the house now."
The color drained from her face, and the smile faded away.
"I'm on my way. But I need you to tell me what's wrong."
Angie started the car after strapping herself in with the seatbelt.
"I think I just witnessed a murder."
As Angie frantically drove toward her house, she used the same amount of urgency to call the only other person she trusted.
"Come on, Oscar! Pick up!"
If Manny witnessed a murder, and the murderer saw him...
"You've reached Oscar Vega. I'm currently not available, but if you leave a message, I'll try my best to get back to you. Or not."
If the situation wasn't so dire, Angie might've laughed at his voicemail, but it only furthered Angie's frustration.
Beep.
"Oscar, Manny just witnessed a murder at the house. I'm on my way now. Please. When you get this message. Don't even bother calling back. Just come," she spoke, trying not to sound desperate. She needed to stay calm, and she knew that.
Angie ended the call, and continued the drive. In reality, her house was only 10 minutes away from the precinct, but at this moment, it seemed like the minutes crawled by slower and slower. The stoplights went by in a green blur until a red one stopped her. She tapped the steering wheel impatiently, as if it would make sure her son was safe. She desperately wished Oscar was there. He would know what to say to calm her down, and he'd just...be there. God knows she'd do anything for those two thoughts to become realities.
Please be safe. Please be safe.
Finally, she made the last turn onto her street, parked her car, and began to scan her surroundings.
Without getting out of the car, Angie looked up and down the street trying to find either the killer or the now lifeless body of the victim her son had seen. She couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, but this whole situation was completely nerve-wracking, giving Angie a reason to pull out her gun while letting herself out of the vehicle. The houses around her seemed lifeless with the dim, orange LEDs illuminating from the lightposts and bouncing playfully off the windows of each building. There was no sound. Not even crickets were heard. Only the faint buzzing of the electricity whisking through the lights accompanied her. The bushes and trees around her only moved with the wind. Nothing seemed out of place until she got to her door.
Manny…
The door was ajar without any light coming from the inside of the room within. Angie approached her home with caution, gun slightly out in front of her, one arm slightly bent with the other straight and steady, and her head was tilted to the side, attempting to steal a glimpse of what lay in the room before her. She couldn't piece anything together from where she was, so she stalked toward the doorway. Once there, she had her back against the wall so she could jump anyone who wanted to walk out the front door while she listened for any voices or sudden movements. Angie was satisfied with the silence as she stealthily entered the entryway. In front of her was a panicking Manny. Angie lowered her gun and pulled him in for a hug, but before she could embrace her son, he yelped and whispered, "Mom, he's behind you."
She whipped around with her gun pointed in the direction of the intruder, but whoever it was knocked the gun out of her hands before she could pull the trigger.
The only thought that she allowed to cross her mind was: What is he doing on my house?
Quickly taking in the scene in front of her, Angie could now tell the the person was a man with a strong build covered in black (including his face), average height, and dark hair. But she had to move quickly because he threw a punch in her direction that she easily pushed away from her.
"Manny, run!" Angie got out.
He didn't question his mother's order while he scrambled out through the back door. Grabbing onto the forearm of her attacker, Angie got behind the man and twisted his arm with her as much as she could, however her strength was no where near this man's as he effortlessly maneuvered out of her grip and pushed her roughly to his right, sending her into the wall painfully, leaving her disoriented. She had hit her head against the hard barrier, but she tried to crawl toward her weapon. However, the man was faster and easily snatched up the gun before Angie was even close. Angie's vision was getting hazy as she pushed herself back up on her behind, scooting furiously back until she hit the wall again.
This is it.
She could barely make out the masked man raising his arm to shoot her. Angie held her breath and closed her eyes, allowing her head to pound mercilessly against her skull. She had a moment where her life flashed before her eyes. The memories that flooded her vision were of the day Manny was born and the birthdays she had worked her ass off in order to make happen for him. She saw him grow up again. She remembered his 7th birthday when he couldn't stop talking about getting the new Power Rangers' Action Figure, and how he was nearly bursting with excitement when he saw the rectangular package wrapped in blue wrapping paper. And when he opened it, his eyes just lit up as he practically pushed himself into her to capture her a rough embrace. She told him she loved him and he replied with more love than she thought was possible. Then, she remembered his high school graduation. Oscar was there with her as he got up on the stage and received his diploma, and Manny searched for her with his eyes that were filled with pride. She hoped he could tell that she was proud of him, and Oscar had grasped her hand to comfort her when she began to allow tears of joy to slide down her face. Afterwards, they had had dinner together and Manny was so happy.
And then she saw Oscar. She remembered the moments when he would make her laugh or a stupid bet they had made. She remembered the last 5 years and every moment in between those years with him. She rehashed the moment when they were playing rock, paper, scissors and she pulled out dynamite, and she remembered the look on his face when she bit her lip to avoid laughing. Angie was a great actress at times like those when she made it seem like she was being serious when really she was just trying to get a reaction out of him. Sometimes, Angie acted like it wasn't serious at all when what she really wanted him to prove to her that he knew her better. Deeper in her memories, she could see now the love they shared even in the moments when they hadn't admitted to themselves what they felt for the other. She put into account all the times he was there for her when she was in desperate need of him, and the times when he held her hand and she held his. She remembered him smiling at her, and she now smiled with joy.
And then, she heard the shot.
DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN! LOL! I know you all are going to kill me now that I'm leaving this here like that! Haha! I'm so sorry it's taken so long and I know that it isn't the longest chapter in the world, but these past three days have been extremely eventful and I think I'm getting the stomach flu or something because my stomach is in terrible pain right now. Idk. Anywho! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I already have an outline for the next chapter, so it should be up relatively soon! Love you all!
~Em
