Saving his life

Chapter 16

True to his word, Carlos was parked a few houses down, waiting to take me to work. I slowly walked down the road, holding my side and my bag in my other hand. He hopped out of the car and rushed over to me to take my bag.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” He nagged and I chuckled.

“Trust me, my house is more torture than what work would be” I joked and he took my arm, chuckling. He helped me into the passenger seat and drove towards town. Once we arrived, I took my seat belt off and delicately opened the door. He ran round to help me out.

“Thanks” I said and he raised his brow at me.

“Do you want me to walk with you?” He asked with concern in his tone.

“No, I can manage” I groaned as I stood to my feet. He gave me my bag and watched as I struggled to walk towards the store. 

“Gimme a ring ten minutes before you finished your shift and I will come and collect you” he called after me and I held my thumb up in reply. I heard him sniggering followed by his car door shutting. 

I reached the front of the store and Shelly had already done most of the heavy lifting. The shutters were open and the clothes rails were put out. Her eyes widened when she saw me hobbling through the entrance.

“Maria! f*****g hell. I thought you had died” she joked rushing over to me to give me a gentle hug.

“Nope, you can’t get rid of me that easily!” I smugly smiled. She giggled and let go of me.

“If you need anything, a break, some help... anything. Please don’t hesitate to say so” she fussed and I smiled at her.

“Thanks Shelly, but I’ll be fine. I’m mostly healed now, it’s just still a little painful to walk” I explained to her and she nodded.

“Okay, well just take it easy, it should be quiet today. Monday’s usually are” she finished and continued opening the store whilst I counted the float. 

The day was long and painful, I needed the hours to get my savings up. Hopefully by the end of this week, I will have enough money to buy the apartment I’ve had my eye on, thanks to my nan’s will. She passed away last year and I got a lump sum from when they sold her house and another from her will. The apartment I wanted was gorgeous. The area it was placed was quiet and peaceful. There was hardly any crime reported and the neighbours were generally spaced out. The tenants that live in the same block were of different ages, but they all seemed to be very polite. I went to view it last week with my mum. They were extremely welcoming and there were only three other apartments in the building. Every floor was someone’s apartment and the one I was looking at was at the top. The inside was very modern but homely. The kitchen had white cupboards with a black marble counter. The fridge had double doors and with plenty of room on the inside. The island in the middle of the kitchen had black and silver stalls tucked underneath. The cooker was also black to match the kitchen. 

The living room continued the black and white theme as it was connected to the kitchen. The sofas were of a soft white fabric, with a black coffee table placed in front. The tv was pretty big and stood on a long wooden base, painted black with white draws. The windows were huge and allowed you to see the amazing view of the nature that surrounded the block. The sliding doors between the kitchen and the living room, opened to a decked balcony. Glass panels ran along the rim of the decking, a table and two chairs sat beside it. I could imagine spending a lot of time out on the balcony, reading a good book with a glass of wine. 

When it comes to the bathroom, there were no limits as to how beautiful it was. The shower in the corner had glass sliding doors and the head of the shower had the waterfall effect. The large mirror on the all had a switch underneath it that stops the glass from steaming up when you are washing. A jacuzzi bath was placed in the opposite corner, next to the window. Thankfully the window always tinted so that no one could see in. 

The bedroom was fairly large but not too big. It was the right size to fit a double bed, some wardrobes and chests of draws. It was the perfect for me. The walls were white with a featured wall of chocolate brown wall paper with a flowered print. The flowers were of a delicate size and complimented the matching spread on the bed covers. The bedside table matched the chocolate colour of the walls along with the lamp. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the apartment and had paid a holding fee until the end of next week which gave me a little lee way to gather the money. 

My day dream was disturbed by a customer who had their hands full of clothes they were ready to pay for. I scanned each tag and folded them neatly before placing them in a bag. The woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes, took out her purse and handed me her card. 

“Please enter your pin ma’am” I instructed and handed her the card machine. I turned away whilst she typed in the four digits and handed it back to me.

“Would you like the receipt in the...” I was distracted by a dark figure standing at the display window outside the shop. He was of an average build and had a large tattoo curved around his eye which travelled to the back of his neck. His clothing was dark and loose, including his trainers which were tied in a knotted bow. 

“Bag?” The woman finished my sentence, I blinked and turned my attention back on her. 

“Please” she replied. I put the receipt in the bag and flashed her a smile. Once she walked away I looked back at the window. The figure was still standing there, watching me. A shiver shot through my spine, I couldn’t turn away from him. Why was he looking at me? As if he heard my thoughts, he smirked and turned around to head off out of sight. I was concerned, scratch that... I was frightened. What if he had something to do with José and his hang? I grabbed my phone and searched for Leon’s number. I know he didn’t want to speak to me but he would know who he was. I called out to Shelly and told her I was going out the back to have a break.

The phone rang, and rang, and rang... no answer. I gritted my teeth with frustration and called Carlos instead. 

“Hello chica, you finishing soon?” He answered cheerily.

“Carlos! How do you differentiate gang members?” I asked.

“What?” His tone turned serious. 

“I need to know how you can tell which gang a person belongs to by looking at them” I explained. Carlos sounded confused as to why I was ringing him with such a random question.

“By their tattoos, why?”he asked.

“What tattoo does José’s gang have?” I asked him, completely ignoring his question.

“Their tattoos involve snakes” he said and I dropped my phone from my ear. The tattoo that the man had was a snake that curved around his eye. My breath got caught in my throat and I was shaking. I could hear Carlos calling out to me down the phone and I raised it back to my ear.

“What’s going on Maria!” He called out.

“Carlos... come and get me... now!” I yelled.