Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1) (22 page)

The restaurant made their food to order, right in front of the customer. I ordered a massive burrito, full of chicken, black beans, lettuce, cheese and hot salsa. Annie joined in on my healthy eating; getting a taco salad, full of beans and veggies. Once we got our food and sat down, Annie looked up at me hesitantly.

“I guess it’s time we clear the air,” she said, placing a napkin in her lap.

Like her mother, she didn’t waste much time getting to the point.

“Okay, why don’t you start,” I nodded cautiously.

Annie inhaled deeply before she spoke. “The past month has been really hard on me. I’ve been trying to juggle so many things that I almost had a nervous breakdown during midterms.”

“Why didn’t you come to me?” I interrupted her.

“Normally I would, but you were so busy either studying for your religious studies stuff or sleeping that it was impossible to talk to you.”

Even though she was right, it didn’t feel good to hear. Making time for her had always been my top priority. But to hear those words come out of her mouth was like a dagger being driven straight through my heart. My eyes lowered in shame towards my burrito, which still lay there untouched.

“I’m really sorry about that,” I apologized.

“I appreciate it,” she replied before continuing. “But that was just the beginning of everything. Liam and I really started hanging out a lot right after the toga party. When things started going downhill for me, he helped me study and even took me out. We were doing so well that all of the stress from school just disappeared when we were together.”

“Right,” I nodded, doing everything in my power not to say anything disparaging about Liam.

“Then, right before your birthday, he started to ask me all sorts of questions about you. He wanted to know how we became friends and got to be so close. I told him about our parents being best friends and that after your parents died, you came to live with us. After he heard that, he then started to ask me about your parents and how they died.”

“Don’t worry, I never told him anything,” she backtracked at the sharp glare I threw her way. “I know how personal that is for you. But eventually, it started to get annoying because all of our talks were about you. It started to feel as though he was using me to get to you, so I got jealous.”

“Ann,” I said.

“Hang on,” she interjected. “What really bothers me the most though isn’t the constant questions; it’s the way he looks at you. Every time I’ve seen you guys together, either at the toga party, the double date, or the Halloween party, he stares at you like you’re Miss Universe or something. I know that you hate him, I really do. But I’m competing against you whether you accept it or not and I’m losing.”

Tears started to build in her eyes as she finished talking. I extended my hand out and covered hers. She took the napkin out of her lap and dabbed the tears away.

“Annie, listen to me,” I said somberly. “I love you and would never do anything to hurt you. Every time he tries to talk to me, I let him know it too. There is absolutely nothing going on between me and Liam and there never will be anything. I’d rather marry Damien than stab you in the back.”

A faint smile spread across her lips. “I know I’ve been stupid,” she sobbed. “It’s just that there’s something about you he likes. And since you’re so damn beautiful, can you really blame me for getting jealous?”

“That’s your problem,” I sighed. “You live in a dreamland.”

She chuckled and took a sip from her water.

“Bottom line is that you have nothing to worry about. As a matter of fact, there was something he told me that I forgot to tell you. He came to talk to me after our little incident at Hoover Dam. We got into a little argument about you, and when I told him that I didn’t trust him, he responded by telling me that he’s really into you and hasn’t met a girl like you before. So, you should cheer up. The guy really wants you, not me.”

Hope seemed to dawn on Annie’s tear soaked face.

“Really? Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

“Because I’ve barely seen you!”

“Touché,” she replied.

“I’m really sorry Zoe,” she finally said. “I’ve been a complete bitch and you didn’t deserve it. Will you forgive me?”

“No need to apologize Ann,” I smiled. “If anything, I should apologize to you. If it wasn’t for me, you and Liam wouldn’t have had any of your problems. Tell you what, from now on, I’ll make sure that I treat him extra badly, just to make sure.”

“Deal,” she laughed.

The rest of the meal was spent catching each other up on everything that had happened since our problems began. It was the most refreshing feeling to have Annie back in my life the way it was supposed to be. While she sat there and talked, I stared at her and smiled. There was nothing in the world that could ruin what we had together. Any fears of a guy coming between the two of us were squashed over dinner and I knew, at that moment, we’d be able to survive anything else that could be thrown our way.

A heavy gust of wind almost blew me right back into the strip mall when we exited. The ground was still dry, but the sky was a deep shade of lavender. The threat of a storm was still in the air, but it had yet to strike.

“So, what’s next?” Annie stretched as we exited the restaurant.

“You want to walk the Strip, see Vegas the way it’s supposed to be seen?” I smiled.

Annie returned the look and nodded feverishly. We decided to head north and follow the same path that had originally brought us up.

Nighttime had fallen on Vegas, and it was instantly clear what made it so special. All of the hotels and their spectacular ambiance glowed wildly under the bright, flashing neon lights, burning my eyes. The sidewalks appeared even busier than before and the types of people had also changed dramatically. As we walked, sketchy looking men kept trying to force little pamphlets into our hands. For fun, Annie took one and saw the phone number and picture of a private stripper. She tossed it in the garbage while we continued on, disgusted.  And similar to our last trip, there were groups of bachelor parties all over the place. It was easy to spot them as they were the loudest, most obnoxious people around. All of the guys were carrying plastic cups that were almost as long as my entire body and filled to the brims with some type of booze. A few random bachelorette parties even tried to get us involved, but Annie, of all people, politely declined the invitations.

“Sorry ladies,” she said to one very intoxicated soon to be bride. “But my date and I have places to go and things to do. Party on though!”

The girls all screamed and passed by, leaving the two of us behind, laughing hysterically. We continued to walk along, talking and gazing at the bright lights that lined the Strip. It was a completely different area at night than during the day, and the spirit of the people around us made it that much more enjoyable.

After what felt like hours of walking, we again stood directly across the street from the regal gold towers of Caesars Palace. We had made an entire loop up the Strip and were back in front of the restaurant. Annie reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone.

“Damn, it’s already midnight,” she said in surprise.

“Really? There’s no way we’ve been out here for three hours,” I replied.

“Yep, midnight on the dot. Maybe we should head back to the car?”

“Sure, by the time we get there and back to campus, it’ll be close to one.”

We crossed the same street from earlier in the night and started heading back towards Atlantis. While we walked, the busy part of the Strip quickly fell behind us. Before I knew it, we were back along the long stretch of sidewalk and the hazy lights of Atlantis gleamed off in the distance.

There was an eerie silence that filled the air. The wind had died away almost completely since we started on the path. Walking the sidewalk during the daylight wasn’t as daunting or scary as it was at night. With no hotels or stores around, that long and vacant path made me feel exposed and vulnerable. Fear built up inside my chest and the few people that passed by us had all become threats. I glanced over at an unexpectedly quiet Annie, who looked exactly as I felt. She hooked her right arm through my left and held it tightly.

“So, did I tell you that my parents booked our plane tickets home for Thanksgiving and Christmas?” Annie said anxiously.

“Oh that’s cool,” I replied edgily.

Suddenly, a loud clasp of thunder rumbled overhead.

“Holy crap!” Annie exclaimed. Her fingernails clawed into my forearm, sending a slight tingle through my body.

“It’s just thunder.”.

At that moment, I realized how much the air had cooled. We were still about a hundred feet away from the small grouping of inhospitable convenience stores that signaled the end of the dark path. Atlantis had come into full view, but was still a good five minute walk away.

While my gaze drifted away from the hotel and back towards the path, I suddenly noticed a short, dark figure walking towards us. Annie’s eyes and mine connected for a brief second and she uneasily started to pull me to the left to get out of his way. But the figure mirrored our actions with each step, and little by little he drew nearer. Fear flooded my entire body as a sudden feeling of foreboding invaded my mind.

Without warning, Annie stopped dead in her tracks and started looking around. I followed suit and noticed that there wasn’t another soul around. The lights from the convenience store were so dim that it was almost impossible to see if anyone was even inside. Before we could make a run for it, the dark figure approached us while pulling something out of his long black overcoat. A second later, he stopped dead in front of us and pointed a black pistol directly at Annie.

“In the alley, now,” the gunman snarled from somewhere under his black bowlers cap.  The revolting smell of tobacco mixed with alcohol made my nose burn.

Without moving, my eyes scanned over his head and down the sidewalk, but nobody was within earshot. There was nothing we could do but follow him.

Each step I took into the dark, dank alley forced another hair on the back of my neck to rise in fear. Everything about it chilled me to the bone. The alley rested between two one-story convenience stores and extended back for hundreds of feet into the open desert. Any remote but comforting lights from the road or stores had vanished the deeper he took us into the alley. The moon and stars were trapped behind the storm clouds, which were the only sources of light. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I noticed broken beer bottles and random pieces of trash strewn across the alley floor. Huge garbage bins lined the alleyway, leaning against the backdoor walls of each store. The terrifying silence was enhanced by the sound of rats scampering around the ground and through the trash. At that moment, beyond all of the horrifying feelings raging inside, déjà vu flooded my mind. I’d been in that alley before and it didn’t end well.

I shivered when the gunman finally stopped. We were deep enough in the alley that no help would ever come.

“Please, don’t hurt us,” Annie whimpered dismally.

The gunman laughed as though we were rats in a maze, and he was the cat watching from above, waiting to take our lives. His laughter triggered an unknown feeling that was buried deep inside me. For the first time in my life, I wanted to cause pain; excruciating, agonizing pain. My blood started to boil as my pulse quickened.

“This is what I hate about young chicks,” the gunman coughed to us, shaking his head.  “You think you’re better than everyone else! You have to be a pretty stuck-up bitch to think I’d want to hurt you. You’re nothing to me.”

His comments were lighter fluid being poured onto the raging fire burning in me. Each passing second that the gun remained pointed at Annie was just another reason to inflict as much pain as possible. Remembering my dream, I nonchalantly took a small step closer between the gun and Annie.

“Please!” Annie cried hysterically. A rapidly growing voice in the back of my head started yelling not only to attack the man, but to kill him.

“First, I want your purse,” he spat, holding out his other hand. 

At that moment, a soft, cool breeze drifted through the alleyway. All of a sudden, I could have sworn we were being watched. But as my eyes hopefully traveled around the alleyway, nobody jumped out to our rescue.

Annie, trembling with fear, pulled the purse off her arm and handed it over to the gunman. But, the purse slipped through the gunman’s clumsy fingers and struck the hard concrete. Without understanding why, I stepped forward in an attempt to pick up the bag.

Suddenly, a dazzling flash of lightning screamed across the sky, illuminating the pitch black alley. I gasped in terror as a pair of flaming red eyes appeared directly behind the gunman. A familiar, yet chilling voice filled the night.

“Drop the gun, now,” Liam’s frightening voice said. Even though I couldn’t see his face, the voice was unmistakable. My eyes glanced over at Annie who looked absolutely petrified.

“Who…who’s there?” the gunman stammered, widening his eyes in shock. His entire body, except for his gun hand, had started to tremble violently. Its aim went back and forth between Annie and me.

“Last warning, drop the gun,” Liam repeated even scarier than the first time. The gunman took a small step back and finally rested the gun on me.