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melissabik

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“You want to do what?” I gasped as I sat next to Sam in Zelda’s Pizzeria in a corner booth.  The table was covered with wedding magazines and a pad covered in scribbles from my frustration.  Sam laughed as he put his arm around me.  “We don’t need a wedding; let’s just elope,” he suggested as I lifted my fork to poke him with it.  “That is so distasteful…  I can’t just elope…  That’s not romantic,” I whined as I searched through all of the Bridal magazines.  Sam grabbed one from my grasp and pointed at the picture of the happy couple in a fun pose on some beach at sunset, laughing like there’s no tomorrow.  It was all fake, really…  “What; do you want us to be like this?” he asked, mimicking the groom in the picture.

I rolled my eyes as I hit him in the shoulder with another magazine.  “I just want everything to be perfect,” I replied, turning back to my notepad and doodling on it.  “We have to decide a date for the wedding,” I added, feeling like it wasn’t official until we had a set date.  (Even though I all ready knew what day our wedding was going to be…)  “How about in June?” I coaxed him as if I had no clue.  Sam nodded his head.  “You know, I was actually thinking that,” he muttered as he began rubbing his chin in thought.  “How about early June?” he suggested.   I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.  “June 4 sounds good to you?” I asked, knowing it was the perfect day.  Sam turned to me in shock.  He brought me into an embrace.  “Kat, are you really psychic, because this is freaking me out…  I thought June 4 initially…  That has to be the day,” he replied, still surprised.  I laughed as I felt the pleasure of knowing all of this information beforehand.

I sighed as I leaned my head against Sam’s shoulder and stared at the dresses in the magazines.  I was still bothered by the fact that I had no bridesmaids to fill them with, besides Sam’s cousin, Feta, from Italy.  Suddenly I was annoyed by it all.  “Ugh; I don’t want to talk about weddings anymore,” I muttered as I looked out the window at the beautiful sunny day in March.  Sam laughed his husky laugh as he placed his head on top of mine.  “Why?” he asked.  I shook my head.  “Well, I just don’t have very many friends…” I began, but suddenly I stopped.  I shot up and stared across the street.  It was hard to see, so I squinted my eyes to get a better look.  “Kat?  What’s wrong?” Sam asked, seeing my sudden change.  I didn’t respond; I just looked at the man across the street, staring back at me.

It was the man from the Bridal shop; it just had to be.  He looked exactly like that man; I hadn’t imagined him… he was real…  He was real and he was across the street, staring at me again.  Was he a stalker?  Had he been following me all week?  I felt myself tense as I struggled to place his face…  I had seen him somewhere before… but where?  I racked my brain when Sam interrupted me.  “What is going on, Kat?” he demanded, searching my face.  I refused to give him eye contact; the last time I turned away from this guy, he disappeared.  Sam followed my gaze out the window.  “Are you looking at the guy across the street?” he asked.  “I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before; have we seen him somewhere before?” I asked, still bothered by this man who was still staring at me.

First he was the hunter, now he was the hunted.  I wasn’t about to let this guy get off so easily.  He had no right to be staring at me the way he did.  It was bothering me, and I had to know who he was.  He obviously knew me in some way, and I had to get to the bottom of this confusion.  But I had to admit, I was a little terrified, roaming the streets, searching for this man who may very well be existing only in my mind… No; he existed; Sam saw him across the street too…  I sighed to myself as I made my way past Zelda’s and thought about the time Sam saved my life when the car tried to run me over—twice.  Sam was a wonderful man…  I wondered what was going on in the future at that moment; I was most likely all ready married and happy, living behind a white picket fence.

Suddenly I spotted the man off in the distance, walking strangely fast, wearing a brown over coat with a black beanie over his head.  He wore khaki slacks and some tattered old tennis shoes.  He was coming in my direction when he looked up and caught me staring at him.  His eyes widened as he panicked and turn sharply around and went the opposite direction.  You’re not getting away this time, I thought as I ran after him.  I had to know who he was; damn me and my curiosity…  “Stop!” I yelled as I closed up behind him and he turned a corner down an alley way.  I looked ahead and smiled as I realized he was trapped within a dead end.  The man ran straight into the wall and pounded the bricks, realizing his fight was futile.  He turned around towards me and put his hands up.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” he begged as he looked up at me with his bug eyes.  “Me leave YOU alone?  But you’re the one who’s been following me this whole time,” I countered, slowly inching my way closer to him, making less space for him to maneuver around me.  The man shook his head.  “I’m not following you, Kat,” he replied, catching himself and realizing he had just made the biggest mistake.  I froze; this had happened two times before.  There were only two other people who knew my name before I even introduced myself: future Sam and… Levi.  I felt a chill go down my spine as I thought about the scar that went down his face.  I thought about how evil he was and how manipulative he could be.  Then I thought about the man who stood in front of me.

Bug eyes…  I gasped as I suddenly knew where I had seen this man before.  My brain surged as it went to a memory of Jack and I, driving in his pickup, as a little red Camry drove behind us.  I remembered a man pulling up beside us and ramming the car, flipping it over.  I remembered a man pouring oil around said car and setting it on fire, trying to kill me.  “YOU,” I muttered as my eyes widened when I realized this man was not just any man; he was one of Levi’s so called “minions.”  The man kept his hands in the air to show he meant me no harm.   “You remember me,” he replied, sounding nervous.  This man was different from Levi; he had no smart-ass remarks or confidence.  He had an evil look about him, but it was nowhere as evil as Levi’s…  “Of course I remember you; you tried to kill me…  You were going to burn me alive in that car,” I stated, still in shock.  What was he doing here?  Why was he following me around?

I could only think of one logical explanation.  “You’re here to kill me, aren’t you?” I gasped as I started to move backwards, away from this dangerous hazard.  Bug eyes shook his head.  “That’s where you’re wrong,” he replied as he put his hands down and walked forward.  I searched around myself frantically looking for anything to protect myself with.  I found a two-by-four near my feet and quickly reached down and grabbed it, thrusting it forward.  Bug eyes shook his head.  “I’m serious, Kat.  I’m not here to kill you,” he assured me, coming closer.  I froze, threatening to kill him right then and there.  “Then what are you doing here?  Levi is dead; we changed the future; there is nothing you can do now,” I replied, fearful of what this man’s answer was going to be.

“Come on, Gabe, how are you going to answer this one,” the man muttered to himself as he began rubbing the back of his neck in frustration.  “Gabe?  Is your name Gabe?” I asked, searching for answers.  The man nodded his head as he looked back up at me.  “Gabriel, Gabe…  Gabe…” he replied, watching my hands tighten around the two-by-four.  Gabe sighed as he decided to give up.  “I’m not here to kill you, but you’re wrong about there being nothing for me to do,” he exclaimed.  I was growing impatient.  I didn’t want him to dance around the damn subject.  I felt a chill go down my spine as the wind whipped my hair across my face.  “What are you talking about?” I asked in exasperation.  Gabe shrugged his shoulders.  “I’m here to kill Sam,” he replied quietly.