AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1
Alessia
In the middle of the produce aisle at a small-town grocery store, I stare unblinkingly at an onion. I’m frozen in fear, and I dare not turn my head. Two men with leather jackets and a Brooklyn drawl entered the store minutes ago, immediately splitting up to better scan the isles. I have seconds before they find me.
There are five, maybe ten others in here – at eleven a.m. on a Tuesday.
I already know I’m dead.
If I run for the door, I’ll be gunned down by whoever’s waiting in the getaway car. If I make a scene, the whole store will be lit up. There’s enough on my conscience. I don’t need a massacre to weigh my soul down any deeper into hell.
Joey… I hate you for doing this to me. I curse my ex-husband for putting us in this situation.
Where are they now? Maybe they didn’t notice me… I’m too terrified to look and end up biting my lip so hard I break skin. Act normal, I beg. My shivering hand lifts to inspect one of the onions. The skin frays from my vibrating fingertips, exposing a big black spot in the center. Rotted from the inside, like me. Dead and alive at the same time… like me.
Every time my heart beats, my vision pulses like a cascading curtain. I wonder if I’ll pass out. If I do, at least I’ll die in my sleep.
“Hey, Tone, how you doin’ over there?” one of the men call from across the aisle.
My breath catches in my chest. I don’t recognize the voice, which in some cases is worse. Usually, the hitmen are outside hires.
Oh God…
I say a prayer to myself as I delicately put the onion back. Wrapping the scarf tightly around my neck covers at least part of my chin. It’s cold in this section, it makes sense to be bundled up. I pray the odd braid in my hair and lack of make-up coerces them to look past me. I’m nothing of what I was. I used to be pretty. I relished in men falling over me.
Now? I’m on the run with an awkward haircut and fear running through my veins. My cheeks are gaunt, the black shadows under my eyes make me unrecognizable.
“Why don’t we get a few apples and call it,” the other man says as he rounds his way to the produce section.
I still can’t remember how to breathe.
Lord, hear me. Joey is to blame for my impending death. I hate him. But I hate myself more for following him into hell.
“Ah, here we go, Lenny. Right over here,” the man’s voice gets louder.
I shut my eyes tight. When I inhale, my teeth clatter. He’s going to whack me in cold blood, in the middle of the day.
The clack of his loafers makes my stomach sink, and I grip my cart to keep myself standing. Dammit, the whole thing’s rattling thanks to my quaking limbs.
“C’mon,” he says right next to me, and I yelp.
A black-gloved hand reaches over me, grazing my arm to grasp for an onion. “Oh, ’scuze me, miss.”
I cower.
“Didn’t mean to scare you.” He laughs awkwardly, and I glance a white smile, big nose, and five-o’clock shadow looking straight at me.
“Mm.” I nod and turn away to hide the tears leaking from my eyes. Sobbing silently to myself is an involuntary compulsion at this point. What have I become?
As soon as the coast is clear, I leave my half-filled cart and speed-walk to the exit with a giant pit weighing in my stomach. I’m a mess. Sweatpants shoved into my Uggs, oversized jacket swishing back and forth. Get me out of here!
I imagine the two men stalking close behind me, but I can’t hear or see them. It’s like the boogeyman chasing me up the stairs when I was a kid. Only they’re real now.
My Hyundai minivan is my saving grace. The white, beat-up, beautiful machine that’ll preserve my horrible life.
Chr—Chrt. The car chimes when I click the button, and I rush in to start the engine. I hardly have the wherewithal to look at the rear-camera as I speed out of the parking spot. The tires screech as I pull away.
I hold my breath until I finally turn onto the main road, and exhale audibly once I’m free. “My God.” I sigh into more tears.
