Ding Dong!! Is She Dead?
Page 8
Justin had been distracted by one of the ladies pulling on his arm trying to get him to come over to her table, so when he turned to head to the pool table he collided with Allie. Steadying her, he was able to keep her tray from toppling over. There was so much noise around that all he saw was her mouthing the words, “Thank you”, before she moved on.
He took up a chair in the corner and watched all the activity going on around him. Occasionally, taking on his friends in a game of pool, he seemed more frustrated when Stephanie kept trying to draw him into her drama. She thought that by trying to be attractive, she would be able to keep his attention; instead she was just making herself look foolish. Finally, he nodded to Stephanie to walk outside with him.
Stephanie was so excited that he was singling her out. He was so handsome and very single; it was a place of honor if he took you out for dinner. A date was what she had been trying to get out of him all evening, so she was giggling so much she almost missed when he stopped just outside the doors. Walking past him, she quickly turned and then saw the look on his face. This wasn’t an invite to dinner.
“Ugh, don’t tell me. I’m not good enough for you. What do you guys really want in a lady? I work out and there isn’t an ounce of fat on this body. I do volunteer work and even help organize the church socials. What else could a guy like you want in a woman?” Turning back toward him, Stephanie waited for his answer.
“Well, since you asked me, I am looking for someone that doesn’t do good deeds just for the fun of it or for what she will get out of it. I want a lady that I can work with, not someone that I can put up on a pedestal and take down to dust once a week. I don’t have anything against how you look and I know there are lots of guys that watch every move that you were making in there. I’m just looking for someone that I can have a connection with and so far I haven’t had that with you.”
“You are really nice, but I think that there is some other guy out there for you. I’m not trying to be patronizing, I just don’t think that I’m what you are looking for.”
Justin hated when he had to let someone down like this. There was never any good way to tell someone that they didn’t measure up to your expectations. No, the word, expectations was too strong, more like ideas or dreams although he wouldn’t admit that to anyone ever.
Stephanie looked at him disbelievingly; then she reached up and slapped him hard across the face. “Maybe next time you’ll think before you lead a girl on like that.” Turning back toward the door, she raced inside to avoid facing him again.
Justin wasn’t that surprised to be slapped, since this way she could make herself feel better for having wasted an evening chasing after him with nothing to show for it. Justin went back in, but headed to the bar for a drink rather than have to deal with what he was sure was a wonderful tale about how he had been rejected by Stephanie.
Finding an empty spot at the far end of the bar, he could keep an eye on everything. He wouldn’t be ambushed by any ladies for the rest of the night. After instances like this happened, he always wondered why he had even agreed to come hang out with all of his guy friends. They were looking for such different things in life, that sometimes he wondered what they had in common.
Hearing a rippling laugh, he turned back to the bar and saw the girl that he had run into earlier laughing at something old Pete was telling her. He figured that she must be laughing at Pete, but when he looked closer he saw that Pete was telling her something and she was flirting with him in such a nice way. Pete was 75 at least, but what really caught his attention was the way that she focused all of her energy on Pete even though there was nothing in it for her.
Suddenly the evening was looking up since there might be some entertainment to be salvaged from the evening by watching what this waitress did with her evening.
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Justin spent the next two hours watching her clean up and take orders without showing any sign that she was working. She genuinely seemed to enjoy what she was doing. She managed to flirt with the guys while staying non-threatening to the women that they were with. She turned down many chances to dance meaning that she was used to such offers from the many customers that the bar saw on a regular basis.
When she could help out she worked behind the bar, mixing drinks and getting the poor girl behind the bar caught up before making another round on the floor. In the course of watching her work around the room, he made eye contact with Stephanie. Seeing that he was checking out the waitress, her eyes went wide and she got a crazy look in her eye. He decided it was time to hit the boy’s room before she could corner him.
Waiting as long as he could to return, he slowly made his way into the room hoping that Stephanie and his friends were gone. Sneaking out around the corner, he saw the area around the pool table was empty. The group that he came in with was still in the entry area so he stayed back in the hallway for a few more minutes before he headed back to the bar. Sitting back on the stool, he started looking for the waitress, when someone spoke close to his elbow.
“Did you want another beer?” The voice came from the one person that he was searching for.
“Yeah, thanks.” Justin wasn’t sure how to start a conversation with her, but he didn’t want to lose the moment.
“What’s your name ma’am?”
“Allie. Oh, that girl that you were hanging out with said to give you a message if you ever came out from hiding in the bathroom.”
Allie knew his type, they looked good and wanted you for a night, but when the next day rolled around he asked you why you were still at his house.
“She said, ‘that she hoped that you could find the right type of girl to take care of you. That God only knows that you will need someone to ride in and knock you off the black stallion that you are so proud of.”
Justin grimaced, this was so not how he had planned to see if Allie would go out with him. Now she probably wouldn’t ever look twice at him.
“She was mad that I wouldn’t take her out because there was no connection between us. She just wanted to be seen with me so that others would see her as something special.”
Ugh!! Way to go. Put down another girl so that she will take notice of you. That should make things go smoothly with trying to get a date with her.
“In my opinion, she is the one that needs to take the stick out of her butt, but what do I know. She didn’t seem to have much going for her except for her body”
Allie was sure that was exactly what she had going for her. This guy seemed nice, but you could never tell what someone was thinking. Most guys were into a girls looks so learning how to catch their attention was what pretty girls did best.
Handing him his beer, Allie took his money and went back to making the rounds without a second thought.
Trying not to stare at her for the remainder of the night was more difficult that Justin had thought. Allie wasn’t one of those that put on airs or tried to catch every guy’s attention. The other girl at the bar replaced Justin’s beer letting him know that last call was coming up.
Waiting so that he could think of something witty to say seem hopeless as closing time approached. He never really had any problems with women or striking up a conversation and he couldn’t understand what the problem was this time. Although, Allie was nice, she did give off a vibe that suggested that she was off limits. Since there were only a few people left it was becoming obvious that he was beginning to look like a stalker so he went ahead and left, leaving a tip for both of the girls.
Leaning against the building, he tried to clear his head, hoping that something plausible would turn up so that he could ask her out on a date.
The parking lot cleared out with only a few cars left. Just when he was wondering how long it would take to close up, Allie came out with the bouncer right behind her. He walked her to her car and waited until she was inside with the doors closed before he turned and saw Justin standing there.
“You need to go home or I can call the cops. Which option
do you want, Bub?” The Bouncer was a large man named, Stan, he blocked Justin’s view of Allie while he placed his hands on his hips.
“Oh, sorry. Got lost in thought, I’ll head home now. Didn’t mean any harm.” Justin started toward his car, but stopped hearings a cry muffled followed by a slam of brakes. Both men turned toward the commotion, watching as Allie’s car plowed straight into the dumpster. Someone jumped out of the back seat and took off into the night followed by a truck starting up and roaring off.
Chapter 9
Allie had forgotten that there was so much to do when someone didn’t show up for work. They had lost one of their regular employees and having only herself and Jessica to tend the bar and waitress had taken its toll on her.
Since Allie and Jessica had been working together for six months they had a good routine to make it go faster. Leaving the trash for the cleaning people the next day, they lined the cans up by the wall. Allie counted up the tips and split them while Jessica was finishing up the dishes. Jessica wanted to check with the owners about a day off next month so Allie had Stan walk her out, since they had gotten everything restocked and cleaned up that was urgent.
Normally Stan would walk them out and make sure that they were locked in their cars, but when they got there Allie checked under the car and the back as well to make sure that there was no one in it.
Climbing in, she told Stan goodnight and locked the doors. He waved and headed back to the building where that guy was just standing there looking out at the parking lot.
Starting the car, Allie pulled out, but was suddenly grabbed from behind by two hands holding a cord around her neck. As the attacker pulled harder, she stomped on the brake which only made the attacker tighten his grip. Releasing the brake she stepped on the gas as she lost consciousness before hitting the dumpster.
When Allie woke up, she had Justin in her face trying to make sure she was okay before he moved her. She moaned from the pain, not sure exactly where it hurt.
“Where is the guy?” Realizing that this was more than just an accident, she started to move not knowing where the guy had gone that was in her back seat. She heard Stan right outside her door calling 911, so she knew she hadn’t been out very long.
“Stan, don’t there is a cop across the street. Oh no. Where is Julie?” Allie pushed at Justin, but that just put him inches from her mouth.
Pulling back he moved to let her out, hoping that she wasn’t hurt. She fumbled with the seat belt and went to bolt from the car when her knees gave way.
Justin caught her and helped her stand up straight. “Where was she parked?” Glancing across the street, hoping to see a police car but all that he saw was another older vehicle with the door open.
Looking at Allie, he said, “Stay here and I’ll go check on her.” Justin leaned Allie against the car and took off with Stan across the street.
Julie was lying across into the passenger seat. There was a pulse, but it was faint since she had been lying there awhile bleeding onto the car seat.
Taking off his shirt, Justin quickly tried to stop the bleeding. He hoped that an ambulance would make it in time.
Allie had regained her equilibrium and slowly crossed the street to where Justin was working on Julie.
“Is she okay?” Allie couldn’t see in the car, but Justin was leaning over her pressing a shirt to her side. Stan had called 911 again and was telling them about the second attack.
Justin looked up and shrugged, not knowing how close the knife wound was to something vital, it could go either way. Turning his attention back to Julie, she was still breathing so he kept pressing the shirt into the wound. It hadn’t soaked thru yet so hopefully that meant she wasn’t bleeding as bad as it looked.
They heard the sirens coming closer; help would be there soon. No one had seen anyone across the street at the undercover car, but since everyone coming out of the bar was worried about driving home or were completely drunk they hadn’t noticed.
At that time of the morning there wasn’t much action so the other patrol officers got there quickly. The ambulance pulled up and they hurried to take Julie out of the car and get her to the hospital.
Allie knew that the sheriff and chief of police would show up, but since it was on Officer Julie’s watch across from the bar where Allie was at, this meant Mike was probably involved. The state troopers had been notified and arrived about the same time that the others got there as well.
Allie gave her statement about what happened while the others interviewed Stan and Justin. The second ambulance pulled up about the time they had all finished. Walking back toward her car, she was dismayed to discover that the entire hood area was smashed in.
Before she could process the damage, the paramedics were taking her over to the ambulance to get looked at. Allie knew that she had passed out, but didn’t feel that anything was terribly wrong. She would be bruised and sore for a couple of days, but she knew that Julie was hurt much worse. They started to take her to the hospital, but Allie protested knowing that her backpack was still in the front seat of her car with her phone and money. Just as she tried to get up, Justin appeared with it, handing it to her.
“I thought you might need this. Do you want me to come with you?” Justin was going to follow anyway, but figured that it wouldn’t hurt to ask just in to be on the safe side.
“Thanks, I’m fine. I just want to see how Julie is doing.” Allie might have felt fine, but now that she had no transportation to leave the hospital, she was afraid they would make her stay overnight.
“I guess if you want to come up there you can. You did help save Julie, so I’m sure that you want to check on her as well. ” Allie wasn’t sure what else he was expecting, but he had really helped when they needed him.
After an x-ray to determine if she had a concussion, the doctor declared her fit, although she would be bruised and sore. There was a line where the attacker had tried to choke her that would leave a large line around her throat that could possibly be permanent. They allowed her to go and check on Julie which is where she found Justin standing against the wall.
“Helping hold the wall up huh?” Allie queried.
Looking to make sure that she was speaking to him, Justin straightened up. “Oh, yeah it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.”
Justin held out his hand, “Hi, I’m Justin.”
Allie shook his hand and said, “I’m Allie. Have you heard anything about Julie yet?”
Justin shook his head, “They wouldn’t let me know since I’m not a relative. I was hoping that you would be able to find out what was going on.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long week. Let me see what I can find out.” Allie walked over to the nurse’s station and they led her on back to the ER. Since she had security clearance because of Megan, there was no problem with her going behind the locked doors.
Julie was awake although she looked terrible. Her face was pale and she looked exhausted. The attacker hadn’t hit anything major when he slid the knife in so other than blood loss she would recover. They would give her transfusions to make up for the loss. She would be off duty for a while due to the 40 stiches that she had to have to close the knife wound. It was like he had stuck it in and pulled upward, but hadn’t had enough force to move the knife more than an inch or two upward. Her ribs had caught the knife saving her from having her organs cut open.
Allie was so thankful that Julie hadn’t been killed. “I am so glad that you will recover. Do they think that Mike did it? I couldn’t see who was behind me or in the mirror.”
“I was just sitting there when the door was yanked open and the knife was shoved in. I had no to way to defend myself. I think that he was certain that by the time anyone figured out that I was incapacitated, I would be dead. Thankfully, he didn’t do as good a job as he thought that he had. I had slapped at his face when he put the knife in and he hit me with the butt of his gun. I think that he would have continued stabbing me if he hadn’t been distracted.”
“Well, his name is Justin and he was at the bar all night. Stan went to tell him to go home then I got attacked and they both ran to help. I’m not sure what he thinks he will get from being nice now that the danger is past. He is out there waiting for me to tell him that you are all right.” Allie shrugged, frowning at the thought of some stranger just waiting around.
“Girl, you had better get out there and let him know that I am just fine. If for some crazy reason you decide that you don’t want him, tell the nurses that he can come on in and I’ll take him.” Julie grinned at Allie.
“I’ve seen Justin around town and he is really good looking.”
Allie just rolled her eyes at Julie. “I think that the drugs that they’ve got you on have gone to your head girl. He is good looking, but with all that is going on I’m just not looking for any kind of relationship right now. We have so much going on. I’ll go get rid of him and check in on you whenever they will let me. I still have the phone with the new number so you can call me if you need to.” Squeezing Julie’s hand, Allie left and went back to find Justin holding up the same wall.
“I would have thought that the wall would have collapsed by now. You just aren’t putting your back into your work to keep it from falling down.” Allie smiled at him. She always joked when she was uncomfortable so that she could deflect the conversation and the attention away from her.
Justin reached down and handed her the back pack that he had hung on to while she had been looked over by the doctor.
“So is she okay?”
“Oh, sorry. Yes, she is doing fine. You helped by finding her quickly and stopping the bleeding. Thank you for taking good care of her when I wasn’t able to.” Allie was trying to give him a way out so that he didn’t feel obligated to hang around.
“Did I miss something? Are you and Julie together?” Justin was sensing that Allie was trying to put up a wall so that he wouldn’t get closer to her. Justin was really hoping that they weren’t together as a couple because he was really interested to see what other layers were under this very unique lady.