CHAPTER EIGHT

SOME NEW INFO

April

....

I sigh as I color outside of the lines of the rose I was coloring. I finished all my work for the day and I had nothing to do. I could go home but then I wouldn't have nothing to do either so what was the point?

I ignore my little mistake and continue coloring the rose a dark shade of red, I was trying to go for that dead look just like the roses I have received everyday since last Thursday. It was annoying quite frankly and also terrifying. I had no idea who was sending me these dead flowers. Well that's a lie, I have only one idea and that is that they have some connection with Nicole. Each box of flowers I get comes a small note threatening me. I should probably report it but I just have a feeling if I do something awful would happen.

Nicole's nails clicked rapidly against the keys of her computer. She bit her lip as she read over what she had just written. Nicole for once looked stressed. I didn't know from what from but I probably assume from the release date of her and Colby's collaboration.

Her dark hair framed her face in pretty long waves. I wanted to run my fingers through her silky hair. I rested my fingers on the palm of my hand tiredly. I was sitting front of Nicole and her desk. I had my own office but I just didn't like being in there alone so I do most of my work in here instead. She doesn't mind that, she told me she feels quite lonely in here so having my company was nice. She mouth what she just typed over and over again. Her dark brown colored nails tapped the side of the computer as she was deep in her thoughts. Her beauty was so effortless, I wonder how she did it without realizing it.

I was cut away from my thoughts once the alarm on my phone went off indicating it was time for my two hour lunch break. I stood up and popped my back. I gathered my papers and colored pencils and placed them back into my small book bag.

"Well I'm off for lunch." I announced, "Are you going to join me or do you want me to bring you something back?" I asked hoping she would agree to come with me so I can be with her longer.

She looked up at me from her computer screen and then glances down, "Um I think I'm gonna stay here. I got a very important email to finish and I don't want to get distracted. Don't worry about bringing me something back. Just enjoy your lunch sweetheart." She tells me with a kind smile.

I nodded my head in disappointment but quickly wiped that emotion away. "See you later Nicole." With that I walked away from her desk and out the door.

Before I could leave the building, Danielle called me in her office.

"Sorry Miss April from taking you away from your lunch break but I just needed a second input on something. I promise it won't take long, not longer than five minutes." She says apologizing.

I shook my head, "Don't worry about it, five minutes isn't gonna cause harm. So what is it you needed to get a second input on?"

She pulls out a folder and inside held five different colors of ribbons. "Okay well Ms. Garcia placed me in charge of setting up the packaging for the collaboration with Desire. I have the box and wrapping set up but I just don't know what color of ribbon to go with it. I mean all of these colors go with it but I just don't know which one to choice. Could you help me pick?"

"Of course." I ran my finger down a pinkish reddish one. I admired the silliness of the material. My eyes then traveled to a dangerous looking mauve color. My mind flashed back to the threatening dead flowers. It was almost the same color as the dead roses. I hated it.

I picked up the material and tossed to one side of the desk, "I don't like this one, it reminds me of dead roses."

Something flashed between her eyes, "Dead roses huh?"

"Yep. Their a pain in the ass."

She laughed, "Okay you have something against dead roses."

"Their just annoying." I scanned over the rest of the three ribbons. "That color would go perfectly. It fits both Nicole's and Colby's personalities." I said pointing at the light pink ribbon.

Danielle picks up the ribbon that I had pointed too, "It's perfect actually. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Just as I placed my hand on the door handle, Danielle spoke again.

"April?"

"Yes Danielle?"

"Have you been receiving dead roses?"

My heart stopped. My hand stayed on the door handle. She knew. How did she know?

"How do you know?" She stayed quiet after I asked that. "Have you been sending me those notes along with roses?"

She quickly shook her head, "No I haven't."

"Then how do you know?" I ask suspiciously.

She stuttered at first but then says what she wanted to say clearly, "Because I have received those roses and notes myself before."

I opened my mouth to say something but no words were able to come out. It was like my mouth went dry as sand paper.

"Their were threats when I first started working here. Don't let them freak you out, they will stop. I promise."

"Does Nicole know about that?"

"Yes." Her eyes were wide and lock onto mine. Her hands were intertwined in the front of her jean skirt.

"And what happened?"

"I-I exactly don't know. When I told her she nodded her head and told me she would take care of it. After that, they just stopped."

"What did they say?"

"Just that it was a um mistake coming here and that they would ruin my life. Stuff like that. It was never something violent or anything like that if that's what you're wondering."

My stomach dropped because hearing what this person has sent to Danielle seemed like heaven compared to the things they have been telling me.
Danielle noticed that I didn't say anything.

"Have they told you anything gory or violent April?" She asked me seriously. "April?" She said sternly once I didn't say anything back.

I shook my head, "No, they have just been telling me the same things they told you." She let out a sigh of relief.

"Danielle?" I said, "Do you know who this person is?"

She hesitated at first, debating if she should say something or not. "No I do not." She finally answers. A wave of disappointment hits me.

"Please don't tell Nicole about any of this. It will stop soon." I said shaking in my high tops.

Danielle nods her head in agreement, "As you wish." After that I quickly walk out of her office.

My hands were shaking. I wasn't the only one who has received these dead roses, Both Danielle and I have. But why we're mine more threatening than hers. I was honestly so freaked out. I needed something to take my mind off of this.

It seemed like the universe was listening because out pooped Nick. This is not what I meant by taking my mind off of this whole situation.

"It's your lunch break right?" He asked once we got into the elevator and I clicked on the button to go down to the lobby.

"Yep." I answered.

"Well it's mine too, I say we go out to eat or something to get to know each other better." He says.

"I thought your lunch break was at two?" I asked.

He smirked, "So you know when I take my lunch break huh?"

"Oh I only know that because that's the time I go to mail room to see if there's something for Nicole. I usually see you walking back to your office." I say honestly.

"So you watch me now?"

"No."

He chuckled, "It's alright babe, I do catch a lot of woman's eyes." I had the urge to give him a nasty look. Ew.

"Um not me. I just noticed you because you always talk loudly to one of the security guards."

"It's okay babe, you're secret is safe with me." I was about to say something back but the elevator's doors opened. I walked out but unfortunately Nick decided to follow me out.

My eye caught Phil as he starts walking my way. I waved at him and he waved at me back.

"But seriously let's go grab something to eat. I don't care if it isn't my lunch break yet. Ms. Garcia won't fire me." He says as he almost bumps into someone.

A plan quickly came into my mind, "Sorry but I um already promised Phil to go have lunch with him, right Phil?!" I asked calling out to Phil who looks up at me.

"What?" He asks as he walks up to us.

"We we're going to go out to lunch." I said with begging eyes for him to go with it. Thank god he gets the hint because I would be embarrassing if he didn't.

"Oh yeah we are." He turns to Nick and pats his shoulder, "Sorry buddy." Nick moves his shoulder away from Phil's hand and looks at him in disgust.

I turned at looked at Nick, "Sorry dude maybe next time we can go out to eat?" I wanted to slap myself after saying that because I know he would hold onto that promise. He smiled at me and touched my cheek lightly.

"Of course." With that he turns around and walks away.

I sigh in relief and turn back to face Phil, "Thank you so much."

He smiles down at me, "It was no problem at all. Now come on." He says walking away.

I walked fast to catch up to him as we exit out of the building. "Where are we going?" I asked once I finally caught up to him.

"Well we're going out to have lunch aren't we?" He says with a playful smirk on his face.

I stuttered a bit not really thinking he was serious. I then looked up at him and shot him a small smile, "Where do you plan on getting?"

"Hotdogs...duh."

———

"I still can't believe you don't like pizza." Phil says as we walk away from the hot dog stand.

"Correction," I say holding up a finger, "I like pizza. it's alright I guess, it's just not all that great."

"Oh your poor poor girl." He says.

"It's fine, I can live without Pizza." I say as we sat on a bench in the park we were out.

"Well I can't live without food." He says as he takes a bite of his hot dog.

"Well no duh Phil, we kinda need food to survive and shit."

He looks at me with a mischievous look in his eyes, "Oh you right or whatever."

"You didn't graduate kindergarten or something?" I said chuckling.

He stayed quiet for a bit before swallowing whatever was in his mouth. "Yes but I dropped out of school when I was fifteen."

"Why?" I asked probably getting too noisy.

He shrugged his shoulders, "For reasons."

"Oh. Sorry for asking. I get a little bit too noisy."

"Nah it's alright Ape."

We stayed silent for a bit just enjoying each other's company. It wasn't long before Phil broke the silence.

"I dropped out because my father made too." My eyes snapped onto him. How could someone's father make someone drop out of school?

"Look I'm gonna tell you about my past because I trust you. You seem like a very honest person. I'm gonna leave some stuff out just for privacy reasons. Just let you know that I'm not the same reason as I was before. Do you promise not to tell anyone about this?"

I nodded my head in agreement, "Of course."

"Okay. My father was part of this huge gang. This gang was like no other type of gang. This gang was a worldwide thing. The leader was extremely powerful. He was probably more powerful than our own president when I was younger. If you had done anything to him or his family, he would have you just vanished into thin air the next day and no one would be able to find any trace of you. When gang members had children they would be born into the gang whether they want to or not. You have no say so in it at all. As you would assume, I was born into this gang. From an early age they taught me what was right in their books and what was wrong. If you violated these rules, you would face great consequences. These punishments made you wish that they would just shoot a bullet into your skull than you having to face your punishment. I wanted out. I didn't want to live to the expectations of what they wanted from you. I wanted to be free."

I was too shock to say anything to this. Phil took another bite of his hotdog and then continued.

"One major thing you should know about me is that I don't drink what so ever. My father was a huge alcoholic. It was like when he had that liquid consumed into him, he was more of monster than he was already was. I vowed to never become like that. I would never turn into that monster he was. I was often in trouble due to this. It was proper for a teen to drink all the time and do drugs but I didn't do that. I was straight edge. My father would be embarrassed because of that. That embarrassment turned to anger and that anger turned into hatred...towards me."

"It was some time before I met Saraya, my wife. I'm not going to go into how I met her because again privacy reasons. After what I seen happen to her, I knew I had to save her but instead of saving her, she ended up saving me."

"Nicole is also a big reason on why I'm out of that sinful gang. She helped my family and I get out of that awful situation. I owe my life to her. She helped a lot of people in fact." He pauses, "I left everything behind I ever knew. Both Saraya and I had to start from the bottom. Nicole had given us a place to live but I wanted to work. Saraya's biggest dream was to be able to attend college and I bust my ass off for her to live that dream. I don't care if I'm bleeding and nearly breaking, all that matters is both her's and Evelyn's happiness."

"Speaking of that little beauty, god April she's so smart. She's so incredibly smart. The things she says and comes up with is just so clever. I am so lucky to have her in my life. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me. I've lost a lot of things in life but I have become greatful for what I have now."

I was speechless after his story. What exactly do you say to something like that? Phil had been through so much and he has managed to survive it all.

"You are so strong." I said finally.

He shrugged his shoulders, "You have too when you grow up in that environment."

"Have you had any contact with your father?" I asked curiously.

"No and I don't want too." He takes his lip ring between his teeth. "Nicole has helped us all in a way that we could never image. I hope you know that." He then smirks, "I've seen the way she looks at you and how you're always attached to her."

"So?" I ask while sipping out of my Powerade.

"Do you have a crush on her?"

"No?"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"If you say so Ape."

"Phil?" He looked down at me. "How did Nicole get you and Colby out of that situation?" I asked figuring that he knew Colby.

"Hmm Colby, I miss that cheeky bastard. Um she got us out of that situation with sweat, blood, and tears. That's all you need to know."

"Okay."

"I still think you have a crush on Nicole."

I rolled my eyes, "You're insane."

"Just stating facts."

"Huh whatever." I said with a small smile.

We sat there on that beach, side by side. Soon I found my thoughts wondering around the center beauty that for the past few days I couldn't get out of my head.

END OF
CHAPTER
EIGHT.

AUTHORS NOTE |
Sorry there wasn't much interaction with Nicole and April, THERE WILL BE MORE I PROMISE. I just wanted to focus this chapter on Danielle, Nick, and Phil due to some reasons that I just can't say YET. Phil's background is incredibly important for later on so I hope you guys don't think it's unnecessary because it's VERY necessary.

xoxo, sam