You'll Always Be Mine (5 page)

              She walked up to the front door, bent down and picked up the welcome mat. She stood up and opened the door easily.

              Now I knew how I was going to get inside the house. Oh darling, I’ll have to teach you how not to make a stupid move like leaving a spare key under your mat.

              The girl put the keys back under the mat and walked into the house.

              A few minutes later, the red head stepped out again along with her. She was wearing a black strapless dress that hugged her chest tightly. She looked even more gorgeous. They got into her car, rather than the red head’s car, and drove off.

              Where was she going dressed like that?

              I turned on my car and followed her, being extra careful not to make it noticeable. We arrived at her final destination merely twenty minutes later. It was located in a dark alley               between two tattoo parlors. It didn’t take me long to figure out what it was.

              She stepped out of the car along with her friend and they disappeared in the dark alley, leaving me to wonder. I debated whether to follow her or not. I knew that once she got inside of that club, I would never be able to find her. I also knew that she was underage and some people would want to take advantage of her, and I could not let that happen.

              I pulled my keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car, brushing off my madras shirt. I wasn’t necessarily dressed for a club, but I guess it would have to do.

              When I approached the door, I was greeted by a tall, bigger than usual, bouncer. “Hey,” I greeted him, pulling out my ID.

              He looked it over and nodded his head.

              “Have you seen two girls come by here? A red head and a brunette?”

              He nodded, and opened the door for me. “They went in that direction,” he said in a low deep tone as he pointed off to the left. “Good luck trying to find them.”
 

             
I gulped and pushed past him, eager to get to work. There were excessively many people in here; there was no way I would be able to find her. I leaned against one of the walls and overlooked the club, searching for a certain brunette.

             
It seemed like forever but I finally caught a glimpse of her striking blue eyes and long brown hair. She was pushing past the crowd, desperately wanting to get to the bar. I smiled as I pushed past everyone I encountered in order to catch up with her.

              She sat on one of the bar stools, her chin resting on the palm of her hand. She was thinking hard about something.

              “What can I get you, pretty lady?”  The bartender asked her.

              She rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed. “Water, please.”

              He filled up a glass of water, placed it in front of her and disappeared to assist everyone else. She stared down at the glass of water, as if she was assessing if it was good enough to drink.

              She wasn’t an alcoholic.

              I saw this as my chance to introduce myself. It was a little early than I had planned, but it is now or never.

              “May I say that you look absolutely stunning?”

              She brought her attention to me. “Will I ever get to have a moment when I can sit down and not get hit on by a creepy old dude?” she snapped.

              I furrowed my brows. I wasn’t a creepy old dude, why would she think that? Didn’t she love me?

              “No offense,” she said quickly as if sensing my confusion, “But you’re not my type and I’m pretty sure I’m not yours.”

              “How would you know that?” I asked, feeling a lot more confident now. “You know nothing about me,”

              “And I’m pretty sure you know everything about me, right?” she asked. I opened my mouth to protest that I did know some things about her but she cut me off. “Look, I’m only here because my crazy friend practically dragged me. I’m not here for anything else so back off.”

              I cocked my head to the right, slightly surprised. “What is your name?”

              “Stephanie,” she said, “My name is Stephanie,”

              I didn’t know how but I knew that she was lying. A name like Stephanie did not define her at all. “I know you’re lying,”

              “How would you know that I’m lying?”

              My eyes traveled down to her wrist, where a charm bracelet etched with her name was wrapped around it. “Elizabeth,” I said, finally proud that I got her name. “That’s a beautiful name. Much more beautiful than Stephanie.”

              “It’s Liza,” she snapped, “I go by Liza.”

              My lips curled into a smile. Even more beautiful. “It’s nice to meet you Liza,” I held out my hand for her to shake. She stared at my hand blankly not making any attempt to extend hers. “You’re supposed to shake it.” I told her.

              “I’d rather not.”

              I sighed. I couldn’t push my luck. I knew her name, and I knew where she lived. I couldn’t risk her hating me forever.

              “Liza!” the red head yelled out, “Where have you been girl? I’ve been looking everywhere.” Her arm was wrapped around an older man’s arm. “This is George,” she slurred, obviously drunk. “He’s a really great kisser.”

              “Katie.”

              “He’s going to take me to his place tonight and he said we’re going to have fun!” Katie exclaimed, “Isn’t that right, George?”

              George looked down at her with a huge smile spreading across his face. “That’s right.”

              I stared at George. I could see right through him. He was planning on raping that poor girl and killing her afterwards.

              “Katie,” Liza said.

              “Yeah?”

              “We need to go home,” she insisted, “Now.” I could tell that she sensed the danger that George radiated.

              “But--”
              “No,” she cut her off, “We need to go now.”
 

             
George’s arm snaked around Katie’s waist, pulling her closer to him. “What’s the rush, sweet tits?”

             
“You do not have a right to talk about me like that!” she yelled, “And you better leave my friend alone.”

              George smirked, “And what are you going to do about it?”

              “I--” she paused, “I don’t know,”

              He burst out in laughter, “That’s what I thought, now run along.”

              “Let her go,” I said, stepping up to the occasion. I didn’t want to hurt Elizabeth and if that meant saving Katie, then so be it.

              Liza’s eyes turned to me, shocked.

              “Excuse me?” George questioned.

              “You heard me,” I repeated, standing from the bar stool and stepping closer to him, “You let her friend go before I bust a cap in your ass.”

              “Sit down,” 
 

             
“Very well then,” I said, throwing a punch right in the middle of George’s face. He fell to the floor instantly, holding onto his nose. I have not done that in a long time, and it felt thrilling.

              “You little bitch, you broke my nose!”

              I smiled maliciously, sending him a couple more blows until he was bleeding and crying for his mom. I stood up triumphantly and turned around to see Liza’s reaction but she was gone, and so was Katie.

              Dammit.

CHAPTER SEVEN - LIZA 

              “Liza, you need to come see this.”
              I rolled my eyes in annoyance as I made my way into the living room. I plopped down on the couch and stared at the TV.

              ‘The parents of Ellen McHannon were found dead at the Lawrence River. It‘s a strange event considering their house was set on fire just a day before. More information as we get it…’

              “This is messed up,” I said to myself. “What is this person’s problem? Kill the girl and then kill the parents?”

              “There are some real mental people out there,” she said, “And not enough mental institutions.”

              “They need to catch this guy before he does it again.” I stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. “When are you going to go home? Your parents are probably worried about you.”

              She shrugged, “They know that I sleep over here all the time.”

              “Yeah, but what they don’t know is that you got ridiculously drunk last night and were going to go home with someone who was most likely going to rape you.” I snapped, “Promise me you’ll never go to a club again?”

              “I promise,” she whined.

              The doorbell rang. Once, then twice, then three times. I rolled my eyes, “That’s probably Sean with the food,”

              “What food?”

              “Chinese.”

              “In the morning?”

              I nodded as I made my way over to the front door. Before I reached it, it rang again. I groaned and opened the door. “That wasn’t--” I stared blankly at the nothingness in front of me. “Sean?” I poked my head out, looking around but no one was in sight. Just when I was about to close the door, a full pink carnation caught my eye. It was sitting on the welcome mat, obviously placed, with a tiny card attached to it.

              I picked it up and closed the door behind of me. “That was weird,” I said aloud. “Katie, check this out.”

              She tore her gaze away from the TV and looked at the flower in my hand, “Did Sean send you that?”

              “Probably,” I said, placing it on the counter, “He’s always doing crazy stuff.” I reached for my phone and sent Sean a quick message.

              ‘Thanks for the flower but hurry I’m starving!’

              Instant seconds later, he responded.

              ‘What flower? I’m paying for the food right now. Will be there in 10.’

              I furrowed my brows and placed my phone on the counter. He was joking, right? Who else would send me a flower?

              “You know, Sean’s birthday is coming up and I have no idea what to get him.” I announced.

              “Socks,” she said absentmindedly, “Guys love socks.”