Hey guys. I know I’m going to regret posting this on here considering it’s the first story I wrote so it’s not that good. But I want to share it with you all. Any criticism is welcome. Please I need feedback.
Ok here ya go,
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I walked the familiar pathway to my apartment building. Walking those dusty, dimly lit stairs to the third floor had become a routine for me. I had spent six years of my life doing that everyday. Unlocking the door, I stepped inside my ‘home’ as my hand reached for the light switch. The bulb came to life. Beneath the piercing light, the walls were getting dirtier day by day. The sofa I had bought from a yard sale four years ago was tattered with the stuffing peeking out. Apart from that, a plastic table and a mattress that served as my bed, furnished the room.
Picking up the breakfast dishes from the table, I walked into the tiny kitchen. Linda down the hall often complained that it had mere space for two persons to stand without being squeezed. For dinner, I decided upon a peanut butter sandwich. I had lost my appetite ages ago, eating was merely a chore for me now. After finishing the sandwich, I began washing the dishes with a sponge.
Fifteen minutes later, I lay down on the matteress. Sleep was far from my eyes. My days were easy and mechanical. It were the nights that brought back all the memories, all the times I had tried hard to forget. No matter how much composed I was during the day, I had to lay aside the mask at night. I still remembered every detail of that fateful day six years ago. I got ready to brace the reality as the flashback started..
I, Annabelle Jones, had been a journalist for two years. My motto was simple, ‘exposing the truth’. Being an idealistic person, I just wanted to help the people in achieving their rights. I had written countless articles about the corruption undergoing by the politicians. But my job didn’t come without a price. I had received death threats many times. I had been trapped inside my apartment in the suburban area for two weeks. There were strict orders for me not to leave the house. But I believed these people promoting unfairness could never bring me down, I loved my job. But I was wrong..
My fiancee was back after a business trip abroad. I hadn’t seen him in three months .. Having been outside the country on a business trip, he knew nothing about the threats to my life. I didn’t want to worry him so I never told him during our chats each day. It was a understatement that I was ecstatic that he was back. His second day back in the country, he called me.
I picked up the phone. ‘Hello?’
‘
Hey! I am dying to see you’
‘
Oh it’s you. I will kill you if you leave again leaving me in all this mess.’
‘
Mess? What do you mean? Is everything alright?’, I mentally kicked myself for almost telling him that.
‘
Oh yea-yea, I was just lonely. I missed you too much.’
‘
Me too. But don’t worry, now that I’m back, I’m not leaving you with a minute of peace’
‘
Ha-ha! Very funny.’ The sarcastic me was back.
‘
Ok enough of that. I want to see you tonight at La Costa at 8.’
‘
But-’
‘
Please Ann, no buts. I cant live without seeing you another day.’ He knew I couldn’t resist it when he called me Ann.
‘
Well, okay. I guess it’s a date then!’
‘
Yay…..’
As the clock struck 6, I started getting ready. I smiled when I remembered that he always complained I took too long to get ready. My black dress was lying on the bed. After coming out of the shower, I quickly dried and put it on. My makeup included a raspberry lip butter and a light coat of my favorite blush. My long straight hair was down on my shoulders. Buckling my heels, I picked up my smartphone and walked out of the apartment.
The drive to the restaurant was surprisingly uneventful. I kept looking in the rearview mirror to make sure no one was following me. Twenty minutes later, I walked into the restaurant. There he was, sitting on a table for two, playing games on his phone. I quickly took in his attire. He wore a black silk shirt along with dress pants, looking great as always. That’s when he noticed me and waved his hand.
Seeing him, I broke down in tears. He expected this from me and quietly held out a napkin as he wiped my tears.
‘
Shhh don’t worry. I am here now.’
I nodded and wiped my face. That man always knew how to calm me down. There wasn’t no reason I had fallen in love with him. He was the one person who knew me more than myself. I often thought that I must have done something really good in my past life to deserve him.
That night, I was happier than I had been in a long time. I felt right at home, laughing at his stories about Germany and eating Chicken Kiev, our favorite dish. One hour later, when we left the restaurant, I was in a great mood. I was going to drive him home as he had to give his car for service. I stumbled upon the stairs and he laughed at my clumsiness. I rolled my eyes at him, giving him a glare that told him to shut up.
I inserted my key into the ignition as he sat down on the other side.
During the drive, he kept annoying and distracting me. But I was used to his jokes so I simply laughed along. I hadn’t noticed that a car had been following us for 10 minutes. As I took a turn to a unpopulated area, the car was suddenly in front of us. Three men walked out of it, one was bulky with several tattoes on his muscular arms. The other two were thinner and appeared like his sidekicks. Aaron had a shocked look on his face as he mouthed ‘
What the hell?’ to me.
Unfortunately that was no time for any explanation. The bulky man was at my window and motioned for me to open the door.
Aaron’s words to me were, ‘Whatever you do, don’t open that door. Just try to drive to a safer area. Hurry up Annabelle!’
I was paralyzed with fear and in the danger of a nervous breakdown. I had never been good at handling stress.
Aaron looked at me with a urgency in his eyes. They seemed to be pleading to me. It brought me back to our surroundings. The man was now hitting the mirror with his hands. I reversed the car with the greatest speed and was about to turn back when the frontview mirror broke down upon us. One of them had thrown a huge rock towards the car. There were several cuts on my arms. I turned to look at Aaron who hadn’t had the time to protect his face. Blood was flowing from several places on his face and body. He was getting unconscious. That was the last thing I wanted to see and then I broke down in tears.
The men were again at our side.
‘
Get out this instant else the consequences would be bad’, the bulky man shouted.
‘
Bob, do you need any help with her?’ one of his sidekicks shouted.
‘
No, I can manage her all by myself, Jack’, he retorted with an evil smile on his face.
‘
Now girl, look there. Do you want me to manhandle you?’.
With a last look at my fiancee, I opened the door and stepped out into the night with shaking legs. Bob motioned to Jack and he was immediately by my side, tying my hands at my back, holding me forcefully. I was disgusted by his touch. I started struggling against his grip when the other sidekick placed a pistol against my neck. I gave up in desperation.
‘
You have caused my boss a huge amount of trouble. The government is after him and the media has caused a havoc. I have orders to kill you right now. Won’t that be fun?’ Bob said.
‘
He must have deserved it.’ I shouted back.
‘Just shut up!’ He slapped my face and my lip started bleeding.
‘
Hugh, just hand me the pistol. Let’s finish her off right now’
‘Leave her THIS instant’. All of our eyes were turned towards Aaron who had somehow managed to wake up his senses. I saw that he was struggling to walk, leaving a trail of blood.
‘
Ah the hero enters the story. Now Mr. Romeo, I was going to leave you out of this but now that you have managed to disrupt my proceedings, I’m sure I would love to take your life along with hers’, Bob twirled around the pistol in his hands, smirking all the time.
‘
Aar, please don’t. Take the car and go home’. I cried with tears running down my face, burning my wounds.
‘
No I am never leaving you in danger. You-..’
‘
Sorry to interrupt but we have more important things to do than listening to your pathetic love story. Kill her Bob.’ I closed my eyes, waiting for the blow.
The next moments were of confusion. Aaron pushed me out of the way. The next thing I saw as I fell on the road was Aaron fighting with Bob, trying to snatch his gun. A sound of fire was heard and Aaron fell down at my feet. A puddle of blood forming underneath his body. I could not bear the sight. The one man I loved dying before my eyes. My heart felt ready to burst and the streams of tears started flowing.
‘You know, I think it is punishment enough for her to live without her lover. Lets go now. We need to celebrate!’ I hardly heard Bob’s words as they all went back to their car and drove away. All I could notice was Aaron’s head in my lap as he stuttered out a few last words.
‘
I-I never knew.. I’m sorry Ann, I’m leaving you again. B-but always remember, I love you..’, tears rolled out of his eyes. This was the first time I had seen him cry in all the years I had known him. Even now, he didn’t fear death, he feared what would happen to me, who would hold my hand when I had another bad day, who would calm me… With my body shaking with sobs, I wiped away his tears, holding on to his hand for dear life.
Five seconds later, Aaron Hemsworth died, leaving me at the mercy of this world.
I was suddenly brought back to the present as a owl hooted outside. I looked around my tattered apartment, my shirt were wet from my tears and my eyes were swollen. My palms had scars from where my nails had pierced them. He was still in my thoughts. I was never strong enough and he knew that. After his funeral, I disappeared from my extravagant life. I got a job as a salesclerk and rented a apartment in one of the backward areas in the city. I ran away from my life. I would never write the truth again after what it had cost me. I took out sleeping pills from the bottle next to my bed, and waited for sleep to take me away from the pain. Until next night..
PS. I wrote this from imagination, not experience. And my post my writings on here incase anyone was interested. Well thanks for reading if you reached the bottom of the post.
Love x
