Chapter II
Afni opened her eyes, and cried out, surprised. She scrambled backwards, and found herself staring, unbelievingly, at a small, stray cat, who had been sniffing at her face. Looking around, she saw roads, cars, Victorian homes, a bar. She didn't understand, she had just been in a world without all these things. She moved out of the way of anyone's sight, and looked down. She smiled as her clothes changed from the skirt and long sleeved shirt, to a pair of knee length, navy blue shorts, and a short sleeved, light red shirt. She moved onto the sidewalk, and laughed. She knew where was. She was standing near the lake, only four blocks from Christopher's house! She was back in her world. She began to laugh, and took off running, rubbing her fingers along the back of her head.
Christopher groaned as he rolled off his bed. Sighing, he headed downstairs, and tossed the steak in the garbage, leaning over the sink to wash his face.
"Christopher?" He turned his head, water still dripping down his chin, and saw his mom in the doorway.
"Yeah?"
"Why is the steak in the garbage?" He sighed, and dried off his face, turning off the water.
"I put it on my eye…didn't think you'd wanna eat it." She muttered something under her breath he was probably glad he didn't catch, and pointed to the can.
"Well, take it out, then. We don't need a rotting steak to stink up the house." He nodded, bowing lightly at his mom as she turned away, and tied up the bag. He pulled open the front door, and saw the rain had lightened up. He reached over, and tugged on his windbreaker, then picked up the trash bag again.
"Mom!"
"What?"
"I'm gonna go for a walk!"
"Fine! Be back by eleven!"
"Whatever," he grumbled, and pulled the door shut behind him.
After tossing the bag into the can, he moved onto the sidewalk and jammed his hands into his jeans pockets, gluing his eyes to the ground, walking randomly down the road. He walked for a while, and finally stopped, looking up. He stood over by Afni's father's house. Shaking his head, he turned, and walked away from it.
He walked a few more blocks, and just stopped, right in the middle of the sidewalk, looking at the lawn of the house on his right. A little dog was running around, barking at him.
"Hmph…an electric collar, no doubt," he muttered. He took a few steps, and looked up, glancing across the street. He suddenly stopped, and looked over again. The girl's blonde hair with brown roots hung around her shoulders, and her arms were crossed over her chest. The rain had matted some of her hair to her forehead, but he raised his eyebrows. She stopped walking, looking over at him, and a smile broke across her face. Afni raced across the street, and he grabbed her around the waist, spinning her around, looking up at her. Her hands landed on his shoulders, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, holding him.
"Christopher!" she exclaimed, laughing. He pulled her head off his shoulder, and looked at her.
"Afni?" She nodded, beaming. He threw his head back, and laughed out, then pulled her closer, kissing her. "God…I missed you…" She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him, as she dropped her feet back to the ground.
"I missed you too…I heard you, at the Gateway…"
"Telling you…"
"That you loved me…" He smiled, and nodded.
"And I meant it….what happened? I mean…how did you get here? David said…" She shrugged.
"I don't know how I got here. I…was standing in an open space, I guess right up next to the Gateway, without realizing it. It was raining, but the sun was shining, and the moon was out…The ground was shaking. I got hit in the head by a rock…and fell to the ground. Another one hit me, and knocked me out, and I woke up in the park." He pulled her close, burying his head in her shirt. She giggled.
"God…I am so glad you're here…Does anyone else know?"
"No…I came to find you, what the hell happened to you?" she asked, lifting his head up to see the black eye and split lip. He reached up, touching it.
"Oh…You know my friend Jack?" She paused, and nodded.
"Yeah…"
"He sent his whore of a sister Candy over to try and cheer me up by screwing me…But I called her a bimbo and told her to go away…So Jack came over and beat me up for it. I didn't feel like fighting back. She couldn't have cheered me up anyway…But you did." She blushed, but smiled, and kissed him. He slid his arms around her waist, pulling her right up against him.
"Will you come with me?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.
"Anywhere."
"I want to go see my father. And my sister." She smiled kindly, and he nodded.
"Of course." He turned, and pointed to his back. "Hop on, I'll carry you." She smiled, and jumped onto his back. She buried her face in his shoulder, and he ran the whole way to her father's house.
She hopped down, and looked up at the house.
"Christopher, have you talked to my sister since you got back?"
"Yeah…a few times…why?"
"Did you ask her what she's told my father?"
"Yeah…She told him she was kidnapped, but the guy was too sick to keep her any longer, and just said go home…"
"What about me?"
"You, too, were kidnapped. She's seen you only once since you were taken away, and you were fine, you said you'd try to get home. The guy that took you just didn't know who you were, and you kept lying, so he never found out, but he didn't wanna kill you…But she told him you'd be fine, and that when you came home, you'd have the same thing to say…"
"Great…At least I don't have to think of story to tell him…Come on…" She took his hand, and walked up to the front door, knocking. After a minute, a short woman, with black hair pulled back into a messy bun, opened the door.
"Yes?" she asked, with a Mexican accent. Afni smiled.
"Is…Mr. Waters here? Or Ciniya?"
"Waters?" she asked, slightly confused. Afni paused, trying to think.
"Uh…Me llama Afni. Es Ciniya…eh…casa?" The woman laughed, and motioned inside.
"Si, si…entré…" Afni walked in, still holding Christopher's hand, and closed the door. "Me llama Maria…"
"Hola, Maria."
"Hola…Ciniya!" she called, turning away. She glanced back. "Un minuto…" Afni nodded, and Maria walked off. Ciniya raced down the steps, wearing tight blue jeans and a sleeveless black shirt, and stumbled to a stop at the sight of Afni at the door.
"Oh, God!" she cried, and ran up, jumping into her arms. Afni held her, dropped Christopher's hand, and spun around, laughing. "Your home, your home, your really home!" she cried, laughing.
"I missed you!" she cried, too, and let her hit the ground. Ciniya smiled brightly at her sister.
"When did you get home?"
"About ten minutes ago… I went to find him first," she said, looking at Christopher. "You told dad I was kidnapped, right?"
"Yeah…"
"I'm going to tell him the guy forgot I was even there, and left, so I finally came home…"
"Cool…I made sure he never called the cops…mom, either…"
"Who was that woman?"
"Oh, Dad hired a maid. Maria only understands a little bit of English, so…"
"I managed, don't worry…Who's this?" she asked, pointing to a picture on the wall. It was of Ciniya, and her father, and a woman and a boy she didn't recognize.
"Oh…Dad got remarried…and she had a son before she married. It's Kaitlin and Derek," she said, nodding.
"Alright…"
"Ciniya, who is it?" Afni beamed as her father walked into the hall. "Is it one of your…boy…friends…Afni?" he asked.
"Hi, daddy…"
"Oh, wow, Afni!" She threw her arms around his shoulders, giggling. He picked her up, holding her tightly. "You look great! What happened?"
"The guy who took me forgot I was there…he moved away…without me…so…I came home…" He squeezed her again.
"That's fantastic!" he exclaimed, laughing. "Maria!" Maria ran into the room, nodding.
"Si?" He spoke quickly to her, in Spanish, and she nodded, then ran from the room.
"What was that about?" Ciniya asked.
"I told her she doesn't have to cook dinner. We are going out, for a fantastic feast!" Afni laughed, and then turned, taking Christopher's hand.
"Uh…Can he come with, Daddy?" she asked.
"Of course…Come on, let's get you out of those wet clothes, eh? Ciniya, take her upstairs, get her some of Kaitlin's clothes. I'll go explain it to her now…" He hurried from the room, and Ciniya, Afni, and Christopher ran up the steps. As they walked into the bedroom, Afni turned to Christopher.
"Can you promise me something?" she asked him, slipping her hand into his. "Both of you?"
"Anything," they said, looking at her.
"Don't tell anyone. I wanna surprise everyone at school tomorrow…" Christopher laughed.
"Have your dad call the school, so they can get you your locker and classes set up."
"No problem…Daddy?" she called, leaning over the railing. He looked up.
"Yeah?"
"You need to call the school, and get me in there tomorrow…"
"Anything." He disappeared from sight, and she turned around, smiling. Christopher kissed her, hard, on the lips, drawing her close.
"God, I missed you, so much…it hurt…" she whispered.
"Me too…"