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  Luke gave a quick laugh and wrapped his arm around her waist. “You’re not done yet,” he said, taking her back out the door. “You have another job to do.”

  Luke drove up to a modest house and parked in the driveway. Laney knew better than to ask questions. She followed him out of the vehicle and to the front door.

  Julie’s breathing became labored as she remembered the events that took place that morning.

  Luke had taken the gun out from his jacket pocket. He kicked in the front door, setting off an alarm. “Type in the code,” he ordered Laney. She did as she was told, the disarming code dancing in front of her eyes. Laney stood still as she heard screams and then gunshots before running toward the sound. She stared in horror as Luke pumped two more rounds into the bodies on the bed. Her instinct to run over and help the victims was about to kick in when she heard a sound behind her.

  Standing in the hallway was a small child. She was rubbing her eyes. “Mommy,” she said, sleepily. Laney scooped the child up and quickly went down the hall with her. She didn’t want her to see the carnage Luke had created.

  Tears streamed down Laney’s face as she put the child back in her bed. “Shh. It’s okay little one. Go back to sleep,” Laney consoled.

  “I want Mommy,” the little girl said, but turned over and drifted back to sleep. Laney’s hands were shaking as she covered the little girl before closing her door.

  Luke was standing in front of her. “Why did you do that?” Laney whispered. “What did these people do to you?” she cried.

  “They pissed me off. Bad things happen when you piss me off,” Luke answered. “Now move out of the way,” he ordered.

  “You are not going to hurt that child,” Laney blocked the door to the little girl’s room. Luke pushed Laney against the wall.

  “You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do,” he seethed. He reached for the doorknob.

  “Luke, please… don’t. She’s just a little girl. Please, I’ll do anything,” Laney pleaded.

  “You already do anything I ask,” Luke grinned.

  “What if I told you something you didn’t know.” Laney tried to think of something that would prevent Luke from harming the child.

  Luke narrowed his eyes. “Let’s hear it,” he ordered.

  “There’s a safe… in the bedroom… I saw the numbers,” she confessed.

  Luke smiled and gestured toward the bedroom. “Well, let’s go then,” he said. Laney kept her eyes on him as they walked back to the bedroom.

  The memory began to fade then and Julie opened her eyes. Her face was wet from freshly shed tears.

  “Julie!” she heard Eli’s voice in the other room calling out to her. She sat up on her bed a bit dazed as Eli came into the bedroom. “Julie, I got concerned. I knocked and called out to you, but you didn’t answer,” he said.

  “I, um… I must have fallen asleep,” Julie said, still weary. “How did you get in here?” she asked.

  “I’m sorry, Julie. When you didn’t answer, I feared you may be in need of something. I got the key from Mrs. Gosley,” Eli explained.

  “Oh, I guess that’s okay,” Julie replied.

  Eli’s hand touched her face. “You’ve been crying,” he noticed.

  She wiped her face and sniffed. “Yeah, just another memory thing. It’s fine,” Julie said, not wanting to explain further.

  “I noticed you didn’t eat anything either,” Eli commented.

  “Oh, shoot, I was going to and then the delivery man came. I gotta stop doing that,” she said, getting out of bed. Eli followed her out of the bedroom.

  “Nice television,” he said.

  “And stereo,” Julie added, “Austin’s big idea. I am, apparently, holding it for him until he gets his own place,” she said.

  “You fell for that one? I’m surprised. I thought you were smarter than that,” he teased.

  “Shut up,” she replied and laughed, punching him lightly in the arm. “How’s Michele?” she asked.

  “She is doing remarkably well. We are starting her on the final treatment tomorrow. I think she is going to be just fine,” Eli said.

  “That’s music to my ears,” Julie said. “Can I ask you a favor?” she then asked.

  “Of course,” Eli replied.

  “Would you mind if I came over and had some of the food you bought? I’m really starving, now,” she said.

  “Julie, I bought it for you, please eat it,” Eli said and opened the door, catching Mrs. Gosley off guard.

  “I don’t know about this one, doctor. She seems to be a handful,” Mrs. Gosley said, holding out her hand for the key.

  “That she is, Mrs. Gosley,” Eli said, returning the key to her. Julie followed Eli into his apartment.

  “Thanks for that, as if she didn’t hate me enough already,” Julie said. Eli laughed and pulled out a pan. Julie got the eggs and bacon from the refrigerator.

  The two continued a light banter as they cooked. Julie was surprised that Eli even ate a little. “I think that is the first time I’ve seen you eat,” she commented.

  After finishing off the food and cleaning up, Julie checked the time. It was almost four o’clock. “I’m going to head on back. Austin and his friends are picking me up soon. We’re going to the school carnival,” Julie said. She took out the key to Eli’s apartment. “Here’s your key back,” she said.

  “Keep it,” Eli replied. “For emergencies,” he added.

  “You mean if I get a midnight craving for some of the cheesecake I saw in there?” she said and laughed.

  “I forgot about that.” Eli laughed with her.

  “Thanks… for everything,” Julie said.

  “Have a good time,” he said. She smiled and went back to her apartment.

  Eli stayed in his apartment for a few minutes, listening to the silence. “Now, it’s too quiet,” he said to himself and decided to go back to the hospital.

  Julie decided to wait outside for Austin. The night was beautiful; perfect weather for a carnival. Before long, a car that was going a little too fast entered the parking lot with music blasting from its stereo. Julie cringed when it pulled up front, and Austin got out of the back seat. “Hey, Jules,” Austin greeted with a smile, and a kiss.

  “Should we be letting him drive?” Julie asked, partly serious.

  “It’ll be fine,” Austin promised. With trepidation, Julie approached the car.

  “Neal, turn it down,” Austin ordered.

  “It’s a good song,” Neal complained.

  The girl in the front seat turned it down. “Don’t be rude, Neal,” she admonished. Julie decided that she liked that girl already.

  Austin began the introductions. “Everybody, this is Julie,” he started. “In front with Neal, is Annie. In the back here is Melissa,” Austin introduced. “Everyone else is meeting us there,” he finished.

  “Yeah, the smart ones, who refuse to ride with Neal,” Annie said.

  “Hah! You just called yourself stupid,” Neal said and laughed as he put the car in gear.

  “I’m apologizing for my brother ahead of time,” Annie turned and spoke to Julie.

  “Neal’s your brother?” Julie asked.

  “Unfortunately,” she sighed.

  “Apologize for Rick too, he hit on her the first day she was here.” Neal laughed, as he remembered when his brother told him of the incident.

  Annie gave Julie a sympathetic look. “Don’t hold it against me that I’m related to them,” Annie pleaded.

  “Don’t listen to her. She’s Rick’s twin,” Neal piped in.

  “Hello? Fraternal? Meaning not from the same egg? Idiot,” Annie explained. Julie couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them.

  Julie was sitting between Austin and Melissa. “Are they always like this?” Julie asked Melissa.

  “Always,” the cute brunette said and smiled.

  Neal did drive at a somewhat safer speed on the way there.

  Julie’s eyes lit up as she saw the
ferris wheel looming large on the school grounds. The experience intensified as they got out of the car. The sounds and the aroma added to the sensations. Austin saw the excited look on Julie’s face. “Ready to have fun?” he asked, wrapping an arm around her waist.

  “Totally ready,” she said and smiled.

  Annie walked beside Julie and Austin, animatedly talking about the haunted house ride she had seen being set up. “They have some pretty gruesome scenes!” the fiery red head exclaimed.

  “I’m not into gruesome,” Julie said. She had seen enough real life horrors and had no desire to see anymore, even if it was make-believe.

  The group met up with four more friends. Rick, Neal’s brother and Annie’s twin, whom Julie already knew, greeted her warmly and friendly. There was no mention of their first encounter. She was glad he seemed to have moved past it.

  Rick was accompanied by Maureen, who seemed shy. Next, she was introduced to Leif, a tall boy with long chestnut brown hair. He was with a smaller girl with short black hair whose name was Wendy. Julie hoped she would be able to remember everyone’s name.

  A vote was taken as to whether to eat or go on the amusements. Amusements won unanimously. “I would have thought you would have said food first,” Austin whispered in her ear, as they got in line to buy tickets.

  “I know I have a strong stomach, but I don’t know if anyone else does.” Julie laughed.

  “Good point,” Austin agreed. “Just for the record, I have a stomach made of pure steel,” he gloated.

  “More like aluminum,” Neal said, giving Austin a playful punch in the stomach. Austin pretended to double over in pain. Melissa giggled while Annie rolled her eyes. Julie took note of the way Melissa looked at Austin. She smiled at Melissa, who quickly blushed, looking as if she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

  After purchasing ride tickets, the next decision was which amusement to go on first.

  “Haunted house!”

  “Roller coaster!”

  “Ferris wheel!” were some of the suggestions shouted out. Julie kept quiet. She was up for anything except the haunted house. “Since Julie’s the newbie, let’s have her pick first,” Leif suggested.

  Everyone turned to look at Julie. “Feel the pressure,” Neal teased her.

  “Um, I’m up for anything… except the haunted house,” Julie said, looking at Annie.

  “Damn it,” Annie cursed. The group was still waiting for her to make a suggestion.

  “Roller coaster sounds cool,” she finally decided.

  “Yeah!” Rick and Austin shouted, giving each other a hand slap.

  “Total speed junkies,” Maureen said, cluing Julie in on the reaction.

  The group of nine made their way over to the coaster. It was a decent size, considering that it was a traveling one that needed to be assembled and disassembled on a frequent basis. It had five attached carts. The seating was two per cart. “Dibs on front,” Austin called. Julie was beginning to regret her idea. Neal ended up being the one to sit alone, but seemed happy to be in the very last cart.

  “Last is the next best seat to the front,” he justified.

  As the coaster began its ascent, Austin put his arm around Julie’s shoulder. “Are you a screamer?” he asked.

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Julie remarked, not knowing the answer to that herself. As they rounded the crest of the first hill, Julie’s adrenaline kicked in at the sight of the drop. She found out… she was a screamer.

  The ride seemed over too quickly as they were soon back on the loading platform. “We have to go on that again!” Julie exclaimed.

  “Yeah, as soon as my eardrums stop vibrating,” Austin said, shaking his head.

  She touched Austin’s face. “I’m sorry. Did I scream that loud?” she asked.

  “Lucky man,” Rick said, punching Austin in the back as he walked past him. Julie looked perplexed at first, then saw Austin blush and figured it out. Austin draped his arm around her shoulder; she was now as red as he was.

  “C’mon.” He laughed and followed the group.

  After a few tamer rides, they were now standing in front of the Haunted House. Everyone was getting in line, but Julie held back. “You go ahead, I’m gonna wait here,” Julie said to Austin.

  “I’m not going on if you’re not,” Austin said.

  “Oh yes, you are!” Julie argued.

  “Then come with me,”Austin pleaded.

  “I… can’t, Austin. Please, just go on with your friends. I’ll be really upset if you miss out on something because of me,” Julie stated. “Go,” she said, pushing him toward his friends. He reluctantly joined the group, looking back to check on her one more time before entering the attraction.

  The sound of a child crying drew Julie’s attention. The child was being held by a man who was trying to console the toddler. “Please, Daddy, please. Try again. I really want it,” the little boy cried.

  “I tried, buddy. I spent twenty dollars already. It’s a hard game,” the father replied.

  “One more time, please, just one more try,” the child pleaded.

  “One more try, and that’s it. If we don’t win, we walk away, okay?” the father said, putting the child down. The little boy nodded sadly. Julie moved closer and saw the man place a dollar on a number she knew was not going to win. She quickly took out a dollar of her own and placed it on the number she knew would come up.

  “…And, we have a winner,” the barker shouted when Julie’s number hit. “Which prize do you want, pretty lady?” the man behind the counter asked her.

  “Oh, that’s not mine, that’s his,” Julie said, looking at the man with the child. The father gave her a puzzled look. Julie winked and smiled at the little boy. “Pick out your prize. You won,” Julie encouraged him.

  “We won daddy?” the little boy asked him.

  “Yeah. I guess we did, buddy” he said. He mouth the words ‘thank you’ to Julie. Her smile grew wider as the little boy clutched the stuffed animal he had wanted to win.

  “You’re the best daddy ever!” the little boy said, hugging his father.

  “How did you know?” the man asked Julie.

  She shrugged her shoulders, “It was just a guess. I’m glad it paid off,” she said, rubbing the little boy’s back.

  It was at that time that Austin and his group exited the haunted house. He looked around and began to panic. He didn’t see Julie anywhere. Neal tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to where she was. “Told ya. You shouldn’t have left her alone. Already, a guy’s hitting on her,” Neal commented.

  Austin quickly made his way over to Julie. “Hey,” Austin said.

  “Hey. How was the scary house?” she asked.

  “Lame, actually,” Austin replied.

  “Thank you again,” the man said to Julie. “You’ve got one lucky girl there,” he said to Austin before walking away.

  Austin looked at Julie. “You wanna explain that one to me?” he questioned.

  “I helped him win that toy for his son, no biggie,” Julie answered.

  Austin put his arms around her. “Well, he was wrong anyway. I’m the lucky one,” he said, kissing her. The kiss lasted longer than it should have.

  “Get a room,” Leif shouted at them, breaking the moment.

  “Can we get some of that ‘bad-for-you’ carnival food you mentioned?” Julie asked.

  “Your wish is my command,” Austin replied.

  After eating, the group played some games. Austin was quite good at winning. His accuracy at picking numbers surprised even himself. “Man, I should play the lottery,” he commented, winning again. Julie had not steered him at all towards a particular number. I guess some people are just naturally lucky, she thought.

  After packing all the prizes won into the car, the group went on one last ride on the ferris wheel. Julie and Austin’s seat was paused at the very top. “What was your favorite part?” he asked, nuzzling her ear.

  “All of it,” she laughed. “I
f I had to pick one,” she continued, “I would say… this. Right here, right now,” she replied snuggling closer.

  “Not the roller coaster?” Austin teased.

  “That was fun. A wild, crazy, intense, kind of fun, but this is the best,” she said softly. “What was your favorite part?” Julie asked.

  “Seeing you smile,” Austin replied.

  They all gathered together after the ride and made their way to their cars. Plans to get together again were discussed, but nothing definite was set-up. Melissa was dropped off first, then Neal continued on to Julie’s place. It took all four of them to carry in the prizes Austin had won.

  “Nice place,” Annie remarked. “We have to do a girl’s night here soon,” she decided.

  “Sounds good to me,” Julie said. She had never had a girl’s night before, but it sounded fun.

  “Make sure you invite me,” Neal said. Annie whacked Neal lightly in the back of the head, and Julie laughed.

  “Can you guys give me some privacy while I say goodnight to my girl?” Austin ushered Neal and Annie to the door. “I’ll be out in a second,” he said, closing the door behind them.

  “Meter’s running!” Neal yelled through the door.

  “I like your friends.” Julie laughed as she slid into his embrace.

  “Even Neal?” he joked.

  “Somebody described him as a puppy dog,” Julie said. “It suits him,” she added.

  “Complete with yapping sound effects and all.” Austin laughed with her.

  Austin brushed Julie’s hair back. “I wish I didn’t have to go,” he said softly.

  “So don’t,” she replied kissing him.

  “We both have work tomorrow,” Austin said, returning her kisses.

  “Work, shmerk,” Julie joked, trailing kisses along his jaw.

  “You are not making this easy,” Austin moaned.

  “Good,” she whispered, moving to his neck.

  “Jules,” Austin breathed, closing his eyes.

  Suddenly, hearing a sound, Julie stopped. “He didn’t just do what I think he did, did he?” she asked, listening. They both heard the sound again. Neal was beeping the horn. “The landlady is gonna kill me!” Julie exasperated.

  “Not before I kill him,” Austin said. “I’ll see you after work tomorrow,” he added with a quick kiss and left.