17. Out, about, and getting abducted

Listen to Goodness Gracious by Ellie Goulding.

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The only constant thing is change. People die, people let the darkness in them consume their whole, overshadowing the light in them. People also grow, and as people grow, they grow with not staying the same.

Also encountering people who come into their lives, taking a part of them with them as they leave or die.

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I hate you so much and I want to crush you because inspite of how much I've caution myself to stop thinking about you, I can't, I fucking can't!

I double my pace as I run faster with my pulse racing more than it should, letting the cool morning breeze strike through me, generating a sharp pain on my chest and at the same time, gushing it's way through my insides.

Over the course of thirteen hours, I thought more of Max than my own self. I couldn't sleep last night, replaying Max's words over and over again as I tossed uncomfortably in bed.

I'm angry at him, myself, and my goddamn emotions because despite how I've tried to quit the silly emotions that resonated inside of me with him close by, it's extremely difficult. And I can't deny the great attraction I feel towards him despite him being my bully and the person I hate most in the fucking universe.

He is my secret coward, the one who's been my enemy and has done sick things to me.

The guy who always slipped letters into my locker because I stayed all night browsing about him and his name is Maxwell Leonardo Mackenzie. Max or Leo for short.

And at the end of his letters, he spelt Leo backwards which was the OEL. Smart guy.

And he is the guy who kissed me at the party on Wednesday after he'd watched my dance moves.

Was the black out at the party on purpose?

I ponder how he's always had an attraction for me yet still did all those terrible things to me. Why?

He is a bloody liar, a good one and certain of how sick he is, he's is perhaps pulling some prank on me, to use me as a laughing stock for his siblings and kids at school.

But his eyes...

They spoke so many things.

His eyes..

They held so much intense sincerity in them.

His eyes...

I think about you all the damn fucking time.

You can stop this Kate. I suck in my breath, assuring myself as more pain crumple itself through my chest. My wrist watch beeped ten minutes ago, notifying me that I had exceed my time. But I carry on running hoping it would help erase thinking about him, about yesterday and the kiss.

I hate you so much because you make me feel things that make me hate myself.

My lips quivers as I struggle to breath.

You can stop thinking about the shitbag, all he ever did was being extra mean to you.

I hate you so much because you make me want you from just the way you breath.. oh, fuck!

Stop fucking thinking about him! I scream my insides out and halt, inhaling and exhaling violently with a sharp pain that feels like knives piercing it's way down my throat and my legs trembles out of being overly used.

Who even said you look like a female?

You look like a man in feminine clothes.

You're so ugly and disgusting.

My chest tightens when his voice repeatedly rings in my ears.

All skin and bones with no curves, just fake boobs that are larger than your tiny masculine body.

Deranged bitch!

I try to shove his voice away, the sound. But it's futile.

I fucking want my bitchy little spoilt brat of a step sister. I've always wanted Katherine right from the moment my eyes caught glimpse of her at our parents shitty wedding thirteen days ago.

Running helps, it makes me forget about school, stress and the shitload of worries I had piled on my shoulders. But today, it suck because it keeps creating room for the one person I dont't want to think about, unstopingly replaying the sound of the voice I don't wanted to hear.

But he did saved you from drowning, Kate.

And I curse my subconscious for being such a bitch for reminding me about what I have long forgotten.

"He did saved me so fucking what? Even though I could've drowned it was just coincidential that he saved me. Saving me doesn't measure up to all the mean things he's done to me!" I practically scream with my hands on my waist and I hear a dog's growl from behind me.

I turn around and see a giant bull dog glowering at me. And then, it seems like it's running towards where I'm standing.

Oh my God, he is...

I feel my legs moving and before I know it, I'm running like a crazed woman.

"Ivanovo, No." Someone yells and when I snap my head back to look over at where the voice came from while running, I unknowingly bump into a tree and end all fours on the ground.

"Get the hell away from me!" I scream at the stupid dog as fear surges through me because he is a currently untop of me, looking like he wants to eat me.

"Ugly dog." Despite that I'm trembling out of terror, I still manage to insult him because he is really creepy. And he suprises me by licking my face with his sticky tongue.

"Holy motherfucking cow shit." I spit out, and manage to push the dog away from me. I take the opportunity to study him at close range and discern that he is the polar opposite of what I had expect him to be.

Looks and barks from a dog can be deceiving most times. A dog that barks more than it should doesn't bite, right?

When I sit on the flatten grass area, panting my guts out and with the stupid dog circling me and waggling it's tail, I see our grumpy gardener who only smiles when talking to the flowers, slowing taking steps towards me.

"Is that thing yours!?" Scrunching my face up in repulsion, I jerk my index finger towards where the dog layed with his tongue out, panting like I am. And then I gritt my teeth, curling my fingers into a damn hard fist because the stupid dog had rough handle me with his smelly sticky tongue.

"Yes miss Jones, sorry about the.. Ah, commotion." He replies, eyes wide with bewilderment because he knows what I'm capable of.

"You're so fired, Mr Humphrey." I blow the strand of hair that falls over my face and flicks it backwards. While the middle aged man only smiles sadly at me and pats the dog's head.

"I know." He nods slowly with his oversize hat as the words slipped off my mouth and it softened my darn heart. Then he mumbles something under his breath too low for me to hear.

I felt my lips purse and my brows furrow and my eyes twitch slightly.

Dammit! What just happened helped pushed away thoughts and voice of Maxwell douchebag Mckenzie. Yeah, it did helped. A whole damn lot.

I stand up and dust invisible dirt of my shorts.

"You can keep the job," I pause. "And Ivanono?" Rolling my eyes, I raise my hands up for emphasis. "What kind of name is that for a dog? It's just like naming a day old infant Marshmallow. The name would be worst for a person and its stupid for an animal. Other than your dog is insane, ugly and creepy." I yawn with my hand fisted against my mouth. "And smells bad too." I supply and Mr Grumpy Humphrey chuckles.

* * *

Nike cap. Check.

Shades. Check.

Reading glasses. Check.

Phones. Check.

System. Check.

Headphones. Check.

Books. Check.

Credit card. Check.

Check. Check. Check.

Satisfied, I zip my backpack shut and sling it over my shoulder as I left the house at 6: 55AM in the morning.

Dropping the idea of going with a car or taking a bus, I decided to participate in walking with New Yorkers and merge into the crowd of people, enjoying the weather and smell of Buffalo city.

With people everywhere. Old, young, parents and kids holding hands, walking and chattering, heading to their supposed destinations and buying from different vendors.

I put on a cap and shades because people are starting to recognize me being the daughter of the second wealthiest man in Buffalo city. Never have I walked on my own, and when I did walked, I was accompanied by body guards.

But today is the first day I'm stepping out alone.

I want space from everything. I want to be like a normal pretty young teenage girl.

I want to be different today because I needed a break from everything and nothing.

I enter a bakery & eatery where cakes, bread, muffins and pastries are on display outside the show glass that is attached to the building.

There I bought a slice of velvety cake, sandwich and iced tea and ate as I walk on the busy roads, having no idea where the hell I'm heading to but the direction I'm taking is towards Flamingo Restaurant.

I gave a beggar by the road side twenty dollars. And while lightly stomping on the road with my boots, I spot a lost kid in worn out clothes who kept ogling at the candy show glass with his hands adding more dirt to the glass that he was chased away. I bought all the candies on the show glass in order of not to ruin his chances of tasting candies, having no idea on the one he wanted, before shoving the bag into his hands.

An old lady, that is crossing the road with her grocery bag unknowingly bumps into a pole and the impact made her groceries spills on the floor and is ruined by the feet of pedestrians and moving vehicles.

I help her up, went back to the mall with her and bought times two of what she'd bought earlier on with my credit card. After that I hailed a cab for her, shov some dollars into cab driver's hand and flee before she could thank me. She reminds me greatly of Nana Jones.

I miss Nana Jones.

And as I walk with people like an everyday normal teenager, practically forgetting about everything, it takes me a mo to actualize the fact that a baby is being shoved into my hands by it's mother who scurries away before I can utter a word.

What the actual fuck!

How can a woman be so careless?

Having no idea if I'm a ghost or an alien who can abduct her child, she just push him into my hands.

I groan in frustration and stare at the baby I'm holding in my arms, not knowing what to do with it because it's face is red from crying and is fussing about.

I never like babies, never held one before. They're always dirty, wet and crying.

And it's strange holding a tiny human unlike myself who is very light weighted and warm.

And as I proceed to seat on a bench by the sideway to wait for it's mother, the baby stops crying and when I sit my butt down and look over at it, it's staring up at me with it's mouth sealed. And then it breaks into a toothless grin.

A grin I'm compelled to return because it's so adorable.

The baby's mother came few minutes later, looking slightly red as she pulls a toddler by the arm who looks like he got bath in dirt and refuses carrying his legs up to walk.

No, he isn't being pulled by his mother, he is being dragged by his mother with his boot clad feet rolling on the floor, causing the hard leather of the boot to peel off.

She must've noticed the look of fury I have on my face and avoids looking directly at me untill she stands at my front.

"I'm so sorry, miss." She apologizes and then I notice how young she looks. She shouldn't be more than twenty four. "My kid here." She holds the toddler's left hand up for emphasis, who is too busy stabbing his nostrils and peeking for booger on his finger. "He's so obstinate and rowdy. Always at the verge of leaving me with hyper-"

"It's alright ma'am." I suprise myself by saying these words because the cute little earlier fussy infant is beaming at me again, and I'm magnetized by it.

"Thank you so much." She exhales and smiles at me when I hand the baby over to her who starts crying the moment I let go off him.

And I smile again, feeling satisfied I had been useful to someone.

A foreign feeling flashes through me as the mother turn to head straight ahead with her kids.

"Hey miss!" I call after her and she pauses, holding both kids and turns to my direction.

"Are you through with getting the stuffs you wanted?" I ask playing with my hair because I have no idea on what to stay, but enjoyed being around her kids, especially the toddler who'd stopped crying and is staring at me with huge blue puppy eyes.

"Yeah." She nods. "Hey, can you come visit me sometime? It's rare to see Dylan this way with strangers." She adds looking down at the infant. "It's so suprising seeing him act this way with you."

And I feel my smile big on my face.

"My name is Molly and here's my card."

"Katherine." I accept the card from her and lightly pats the toddler's cheek, wave goodbye at them, before turning around to carry on walking.

Finally, an after hour of walking, I slump on one of the chairs of my Dad's restaurant with sore toes and slightly pained knees.

I order for strawberry smoothie, french fries and cheese burger and inhaled into the nice smell of the atmosphere.

I always like the decorated walls, the expensive chairs and tables that are renovated by decorators twice in the year.

And the heavy fans that are hang on the walls and ceilings, spinning around lazily and gently reducing the strong smell of varieties of food

I suck on my smoothie through the straw, browsing my unfinished History assignment and choke on the smoothie that it splatters on my system when I hear gun shots followed by screams.

Beefy mask guys clad in all black makes their way in, firing shots into the air and people run and hid.

"Everybody all fours down!" One of them screams and shoots his gun into the air.

Fear and anxiety surges through me and I can feel my adrenaline popping its way up as I see a security being kicked on his ribs and shove to the ground by one of the mask men who is smacking gum loudly in his mouth.

A young mother is covering the mouth of her daughter whose face is red and painted with tears, the mother has her hand on her daughter's mouth to block the cries and screams.

Panting, I squart under my table, hoping to be unnoticed by the men who looks like proficient serial killers. People are now laying all fours on the ground, panting and trying not to scream.

Another guy takes an old woman's hair tie off and blows his nose into it, while another go about eating cakes from the cashier's counter and stuffing some into a bag.

"Eat some now and save some for later." He sings to himself while shoving the cakes and pastries into the bag, then pauses to chew on some muffins.

"Enough with that silly song!" One of them who I had greatly suspect os their head, yells and slaps the singing-shoving-cakes-into-the-bag guy upside the head. And the singing immediately stops.

Suprisingly they don't rob anyone, they just point their guns at people and let two guys who look like they are searching for someone walk around.

Of all places why would their supposed kidnappee (I mentally roll my eyes because there was no such word as Kidnappee on the dictionary) come in to flamingo restaurant? I mutter under my breath and froze when I hear.

"Freeze!" The guy who had slap the singing guy upside the head, points his bulleted gun at me and I flinch.

He walks to where I'm squarting and pulls me out by the collar.

Intending to sound brave, I clear my throat and calmly inquire.

"What do you-" A dirty rag is shoved into my mouth to interrupt me from going further. And I feel my hands being roughly pull backwards and my wrists being bind with a piece of rope.

"Steve Jonea's daughter, she's even more prettier in person." Another guy with green eyes studies me for several moments and carries me up like I weight nothing.

I kick, try to scream but my voice only sounds muffled through the rag.

What do they want from me?

There are screams from people, mostly men.

"Poor kid."

"Call the cops!"

"What will they do to her?"

I hear people's voices as I'm being carried out, still kicking and trying to push the rag out of my mouth.

Hot tears drips down and makes it's way into the rag as my kicks becomes weak and I get tired out of struggling.

More than ten less beefier mask guys are pointing guns at the people as I'm being pulled outside Dad's restaurant. I hear cop sirens from afar and the dirty rag is being pulled out of my mouth and I feel my unendingly shuddering feet touch the ground.

"You're probably mistaking because I am not Steve Jones's daughter." I lie hoping they'd buy it.

"Quiet!" The guy holding me snaps at me, accepting a silver colored tape from his companion and then tapes my mouth with it before shoving me into the car that just arrived.

And before my brain can properly align that I'm being kidnapped, the car starts moving.

I, Katherine Amelia Jones just got abducted!