Source
|
Prologue Chapter One |
Chapter Two Chapter Three |
Chapter Four Chapter Five |
Chapter Six Chapter Seven |
Chapter Eight Chapter Nine |
Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven |
After the events of the past few days and a newfound glimmer of hope, Brooke headed for the beach. She thought a nice long walk would be the perfect thing to help her process the situation and prepare herself for the hectic night ahead. She strolled, soaking in the beauty of her surroundings; the warmth of the sun on her skin, the sand between her toes and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. It was easy to forget the gravity of the situation she was in.
She had been walking for a while when she found a small spot free of tourists and sat down in the sand facing the Gulf of Mexico. This wasn't her first time at this beach and she was reminded of a simpler time not so long ago when her worst fear was not knowing when the monster she was living with would have another itch that needed scratching. The days of the past suddenly didn't seem so bad.
A vision of Jada lying on the floor dead in her dorm room flashed in her mind and she briefly thought about turning herself in. Not because it was the right thing to do but because she wasn't very confident in her ability to live a life on the run. Constantly on the move and looking over her shoulder. It would feel like an adventure for a while but she imagined that it would become rather tiresome.
She had not sought out any news since arriving and thought it would be a good idea to purchase one of those cheap prepaid cell phones she often saw at gas stations and almost every corner store in the city. She stood up, brushed the sand off, walked back to her car and drove to the first gas station she found. Luckily for her, she lived in a time when cell phones were a necessity and everyone felt the need to be connected at all times. It didn’t take long to find a phone she could afford with a couple hundred free minutes.
She sat in her car un-boxing the phone and doing the necessary set up to get it going. She scrolled through the headlines of the local news websites and there it was... “Young Woman Dead on Southeastern Campus in Hammond”. She stopped breathing for a few seconds, her heart was pounding in her chest and body was trembling as she pressed the link that opened the article. Her eyes opened wide quickly going over the words.
She learned that Jada had no identification on her and the authorities had no clue who she was. They interviewed Brooke's roommate. She told them she had been out of town for a week visiting fancily and that Brooke had not been on campus in weeks. They had no leads, no suspects and no weapon. Both Chopsticks were in Brooke's possession and her roommate unknowingly gave her the alibi she needed. She expected to see her name plastered all over the news but was pleasantly surprised to see that wasn't the case. She doubted that Jada had someone looking for her and the only thing that connected the two of them was the couple of years they spent in the girls group home. There was no mention of security cameras and she couldn't recall seeing any around campus.
She shut the phone off, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of relief. She was still worried because she knew things could change instantly, but at least for the moment, she could relax.
She went back into the gas station where they also serve food and got herself a shrimp po' boy before going back to the Hurricane Hole for a nap before her shift. The alarm gently woke her at eight o'clock. She got up, took a shower and was getting dressed when her nerves kicked into overdrive. The only thing she knew about being a waitress was with huge crowds, it wasn't going to be easy.
She checked herself one last time in the mirror and headed down to the bar to get her night started. The bar was already packed with mostly fishermen there for the rodeo. She glanced around looking for Roy when she heard him yell her name. Their eyes met and he pointed her in the direction she needed to go to get behind the bar. He lead her to the kitchen where it was a little quieter.
"You Ready?”
She didn't say a word, just nodded her head. He began to give her a quick training session on the tables she would wait on, handed her a notepad to write down the orders, gave her a little pat on the back and whispered in her ear, "Don't be nervous, you got this.”
She gave him a slight smile and said “Thank you." and off she went to take her first order. She had a group of ten tables to take care of. The first couple of orders went smooth. She didn’t drop or spill anything and she managed to give the right orders to the right people. Things were bustling and frantic but she did well and seemed to be liked based on the size of her tips. The tarpon rodeo attracted men from all over and many of them had plenty of money to spare.
It was three o'clock in the morning when the last customer left the bar and it was time to get everything cleaned and prepared for the next day. Roy had a tiny office behind the kitchen and called Brooke in for a chat.
"You did well, Brooke. When you told me you didn't have experience I was expecting tonight to be a disaster.”
She smiled, "Yeah, I actually surprised myself. I was so nervous."
"Well you did a great job. Same shift tomorrow night?"
"Absolutely.”
He reached into a box on the floor and pulled out a couple of the pink uniform t-shirts and handed them to her.
"Awesome! Then you'll be needing these."
"Thanks Roy and thanks for giving me this opportunity."
"It's a win for both of us so thank you!"
She gave him a warm smile and turned to head to her room and call it a night.
She was stretched out across her bed relishing in the fact that she just made almost five hundred dollars in six hours. There was no way she was sleeping. She was on a natural high. She jumped out of bed, grabbed her keys and decided to go for a ride. There were many places opened all night and she was in the mood for a drink.
She saw a flashing sign that said ‘live music’ and pulled in. The place wasn't overly crowded and the band must have been done for the night but the Jukebox was playing and the alcohol was flowing.
She sat at the bar and ordered a long island iced tea. Waiting for her drink she looked around at the small crowd. There was an older couple on the dancing floor. They were so in sync with each other it was evident they’d been together for years. There were a couple of college age guys hovering around the only pool table and some older gentlemen sitting at the end of the bar telling their fishing stories.
The bartender brought her drink, she grabbed some change from her pocket and walked over to the jukebox to play some of her favorite songs. She sat back at the bar and slowly sipped on her drink while enjoying the music that filled the air. The song ‘Into the mystic’ by Van Morrison began to play as she felt a tap on her shoulder
She turned around and saw it was one of the guys who was playing pool. He was attractive, blonde hair brown eyes with a nice tan and slender build. He reminded Brooke of a surfer type.
He smiled and motioned to the stool next to her, “Is this seat taken?"
She shook her head no. "It's all yours."
He sat down and extended his hand, “My name is Isaac."
She shook his hand, “Nice to meet you, Isaac. I’m Brooke.”
“The pleasure is all mine. Can I buy you another drink?"
She didn't want to be rude but she didn't want to be bothered either. She just wanted to drink her beverage and enjoy the music.
“Thanks, Isaac but No. Listen, if you want to sit there, be my guest, but I just want to be left alone tonight."
He looked a bit surprised by her words like he's never been turned down before.
"Oh. Okay. My Bad.”
He went back and joined his friends. She finished her drink and ordered another. When she was done she left a tip on the bar and went back to the hotel to get some sleep.
She had just laid her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes when she heard a knock on the door. She didn't realize while she was at the beach she garnered the attention of someone. The knock startled her. She got up without making a sound and made her way to the door to look through the peephole. Her fear turned to shock when she saw who stood on the other side.
She quickly unlocked and opened the door. She just stood there for a moment with her mouth hung open and tears in her eyes wondering if she was dreaming.
“Adrian, is that really you?"
Dear Loyal Readers,
Happy New Year Steemians! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have enjoyed Chapter 12. Please stay tuned for Chapter 13. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments as I love hearing what you all have to say. If you would like to be added, just let me know and I will be honored to tag you for the release of each new chapter. Thank you for all the love and support you've shown since starting this journey with me.
Thanks for stopping by y'all!
Love, Monch🐝
Awww @monchhichi23 you can't leave it like that - now I need to know more aarrrggghhh!!!! I'm glad you're back :)
Hehehe ... gotta keep you wanting more Andy. I'm already working on chapter 13 ... I will try to not make you wait so long. I'm glad to be back doll. 🖤
Well he can't kill her because then the story ends and she clearly can't get peace and quiet with him alive....
!tipuvote 0.5
Sorry, @tipU needs to recover voting power - will be back in 8 hours and 16 minutes. Please try then!
Why not just step on my nuts. See you in 8 hours and 17min.
Yeah, you're right.. maybe she needs to rid herself from him. Lol thanks for trying to tip and I hope they didn't step on your nuts
Holy shit balls, how the hell??? Somethin about this Adrian fella
Posted using Partiko Android
You ain't seen nothing yet hehehehe
I like the setting of this story. For me Hammond is always Indiana and Adrian is always Rocky's girlfriend, but in your story I am thrown off my norm and sitting at the jukebox listening to Van Morrison. Every detail of the story comes from you. I like the build up you are going for. The writing reminds me somewhat of S.E. Hinton's style. Anyway it caught my attention.
I have been following your story for a while and I wonder @monchhichi23 if you write this as you go along or did you write the whole story to the end and now publish little by little on Steemit?
You know that I absolutely love that you see me in every detail of this story and I am thrilled to have garnered your attention with it. Thank you for such a wonderful compliment ... S.E. Hinton has definitely been an influnce.
This story @mineopoly has been in my head since I was a teenager, I never put anything down on paper and until I was here on Steemit the thought of writing this was just that... a thought. The characters have been the same and the beginning and ending hasn't changed but everything in between changes constantly and has evolved over time. And to be completely honest with you I was actually afraid to publish the story that's been in my head all these years... I really didn't think I would get the response that I've gotten... it's been an awesome and humbling experience and I can't thank you enough for being a part of it all.
Stay Gold Ponyboy 😉
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!?!!!!
Are you kidding me???? LOLOLOL lady do NOT keep us hanging for all.this.time!!!! Write and release.please!!!!! Lololol
This story is soooo good and I'm.glad she got away from the Jada mess!!!
Oh please tell.me.she did!!!!!
I promise you will not have to wait long for Chapter 13 My Dreemie. I'm working on it and hope to have it out next week.
I'm so glad that you're liking it babe... that means an awful lot to me #am3ga🖤
Nice to see you back, Monchie. Story keeps me wanting more. U&R
Thank you my friend! I'm so happy that you're enjoying it Red 🖤
Ahhh, I was just thinking about you the other day, and wondered if you had written any more. Then I realized I forgot your user name lol, so couldn't check. Fortunately, you came up in my feed this time and I remembered. Turns out: I missed the last chapter too, so I had more to read. Somehow I had the feeling that Adrian would show up here, not sure why. Maybe my mind works similar to yours lol. Anyway, can't wait to read the next one.
Been playing with the thought of writing my story here. I once started writing my own life story but wearing a fiction jacket. Long story short: I've been writing the thing for the last 16 years and never got past 30 pages. Kept re-writing it and adding and dumping things. But since I'm on steemit, I've been thinking to post it in parts here, like you do. Or maybe just change it completely, and actually write my story instead. Not sure yet...
I would say that our minds definitely work alike. This is actually based on my life but with a fiction jacket. I would definitely encourage you to start your story. With our minds being so similar it makes me curious as to what else we may have in common.
I've had this story and various versions of it in my head since I was a teenager, never wrote it down though and it is constantly changing and evolving as I write. This one got changed a few times before I posted. I tend to add too much sometimes and when I read it, it's like I'm rambling... the most popular keys on my keyboard are delete and backspace lol
I would be very interested in reading your story. Please do tag me if you decide to take the plunge! Thanks for reading babe, I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Well, to begin, we definitely have @dreemsteem in common lol. And I 'found' her some time after I found you. There are more connections. I had been admiring your awesome banner/logo. I knew the name of the artist who had made it but never thought of getting in touch. Then I asked another friend if he knew of someone who could make a banner for me. He arranged the whole thing for me and guess what? It's Jim who did mine LOL. I guess that now that so many people have left Steemit due to the price of Steem, our world has gotten a lot smaller, and now it's easier to connect with people. I believe it's a good thing.
And also, I see @enginewitty in your 'list'. I've had the honor of meeting him at Steemfest. So ya: small world indeed.
But I'm sure that we'll find other similarities as time goes...it seems to be that way for me lately.
Hehehheeh
Yep we all have banners from.Jim and all write fiction!!!
And before you were my twin... monchie was my twin too 😂😂😂😂😂
So.im sure your minds DO think alike! LOLOL
I wanna read your story too! And yes!!! Release it in chapters!!! It will drive you to keep going! I agree with @monchhichi23 ♥️♥️♥️
Tag me too if you start writing !!!
Posted using Partiko Android
What do you mean was???? Am I no longer your twin??? Do you not love me anymore??
Hehehehe 🖤🖤🖤
your GIFS ALWAYS CRACK ME UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i meant - "was" meaning that you BECAME my twin in the past! hahahahaha you still is, girrrrrrrl. you still is. LOLOLOL
you know i always love my #am3ga! hahahaah
Woohoo! Chi Chi is amazing, been following her since Dreemy introduced us. Glad we have similar tastes sweets🤗😘🤗
Posted using Partiko Android
it was soooooooooo good!!!!! so so so so good!!!!
and yep - my monchie is an amazing writer... i can't wait to find out what happens with Brooke!!!!!!!!! Adrian better not hurt her or i'm gonna have to have some words! LOLOL
Ahhh ok... seems you and I have been running in the same circles. I have loved the connections I've made. I'm very glad our paths have crossed... and I truly look forward to getting to know you.
Congratulations @monchhichi23! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click here to view your Board
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
!tipuvote 0.3