•OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA•

Julia's POV

"So let me get this straight. You told him about Adrian and he was just...chill with it?" Olivia tilted her head as she stirred the bottom of her mocha iced coffee.

"You didn't hear anything I said." I sipped my morning tea as I grabbed Nick's snack.

"You didn't explain it right. Say it again."

I huffed and leaned my butt against the kitchen counter, "I told Mat that Nick's dad worked for the Maniscalco family- he was their driver, but he was killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver."

"Did you use any names?"

"Do I have stupid written across my forehead- better yet, don't answer that. He didn't ask, I didn't tell."

Olivia held the straw at the edge of her tongue as she looked up to me, "And Matìas bought it?"

"He seemed to. I made sure to mention that Nick's dad never let me get close to the family, so the only thing I know about them is their name."

"Hmm...so now what?"

"What do you mean?" I took a sip that burned the tip of my tongue.

"Are you two still gonna keep seeing each other?

"I want to- like, I really want to, but his dad..." my eyes fell to the sinking tea bag in my owl shaped mug, "I can't forget about what he said and how he...made me feel."

Olivia came over and stood beside me, "I'm sorry about that. If I would've known that's where he was  taking you I would've tried convincing him to wait."

She shook her head and closed her eyes, "Matt's sometimes got a problem thinking about the effects of his actions."

"I think we have that in common..." -I picked up my purse- "Did I get any calls last night?"

Olivia shook her head, "Nope. No calls, no texts, no emails- well one email. It was from Candace? She said 'cafeteria, deep cleaning, bag lunches all week'."

"Well I guess I'll be buying lunch out today."

"You'll take any excuse to spend money at Tian's Seafood."

I took half a sip and dumped the rest of my tea down the drain as I broke out into a bright smile, "I sure will! How am I supposed to resist their lobster bisque? It's almost better than-"

"Please don't say better than sex. That is so overused!" Olivia shook her cup, adjusting her straw to get the coffee at the bottom.

"Well...it is."

"With who; Andres, Adrian, or Matìas?"

I nearly broke my neck as my head spun to face Olivia.

"Low blow even for you Liv." -I growled and shoved her harshly to the side- "Way to ruin the moment puttana. Go to work."

"That was low, my bad."

Olivia chuckled as I stomped out of the kitchen to get Nicolai and leave for school.

"Pick me up a crab cake please."

Like I said, she was my best friend. I knew everything she did originated from love or a craving to piss me off. 50/50.

• • • •

"Liliana you don't need your umbrella in the cafeteria! That's how you lost the other two!" My strained voice rose above the loud ramblings of the sixteen five-year-olds in my classroom.

My teacher's aid, Candace, jogged to my door as I waited in the frame, trying to keep the kids in a straight line.

"Sorry, there was a mix up with the schedules." Candace gasped, but quickly composed herself and led the children down the hallway.

"See you in an hour. Have a good lunch." She waved.

I plastered a forced grin across my lips and gave a polite wave.

The classroom had been on level ten since the day began and I was way too eager to get my hands on my bisque.

I gathered my purse and keys. I'd opted for my purse that didn't zip. Yeah, my stuff was exposed and sometimes fell out, but it was so cute- plus it was a gift.

• • • •

The line for Tian's was longer than usual- almost out the door. I hadn't planned on being here long, but I really wanted Tian's. He made everything from scratch and the lobster was the freshest in the city.

I craned my neck around the line again for what felt like the billionth time in ten minutes as my leg began to shake.

Between the classroom being on X-Games mode and my aid being late I had zero time to use the bathroom, and now I was paying the price.

Why'd I drink so much tea this morning?

The bathroom was only a few feet away from the front counter, hidden behind a small hallway, and I was about six people away.

I battled in my mind between holding it, eating and getting a UTI or getting out of line, still eating, and being late coming back from lunch. At least I'd be UTI-less.

I give.

I tipped out of line and skipped to the bathroom, racing into the stall.

The second I was done, a commotion and few screams sounded.

Tian's food was known to spark emotions that sometimes broke out into fights, especially if someone was skipping the line.

I hurriedly wiped and ran to wash my hands so I could watch. As the soap lathered, the ruckus died down to almost a whisper as I anxiously rinsed the soap away.

My hands flapped in the wind as I speed-walked to the door and swung it open to find the line completely gone.

In its place was a group of about four men standing around a table closest to the front of the restaurant as a man sat with his ankle setting on his opposite knee and his back resting comfortably in the chair.

Every ounce of liquid that was in my mouth and throat dried up as my breath seized my lungs.

Blood pulled away from my clamming skin and pounded my heart at a rate I'm sure could kill if I thought about it too hard.

The men around the table seemed unfamiliar, but I knew the one in the middle. I knew him well.

Adrian.

I plastered myself against the wall as I my brain fought to recover some perfusion. My eardrums numbed as I took shaky steps backward and ran into the a bucket and mop left right outside the restroom.

The handle crashed to the cracked brown four-by-four tile, screaming my location.

"Who else is here? You said there wasn't anyone in the back."

Adrian's frigid voice stung my bone marrow and bile rose to the far end of my esophagus as I fumbled back into the restroom.

"It's probably the wind or just a huge rat..." Tian croaked.

"...go check it out." I heard his now faint voice say.

I saw a window and thought about how Tom Cruise would escape in Mission Impossible. It was placed high on the wall with nothing to boost myself up on.

I wasn't Tom Cruise...

I rushed to the stall with a railing on each side, locking the half broken lock, and slammed one foot on each of the rails. I tried holding my balance while keeping my non-zip purse clutched to my chest.

The hinges of the restroom door squeaked open as firm footsteps paced across the floor of the compact ladies room.

My arms wobbled and I pushed against the stall walls as my lipstick teetered to the edge of my purse and eventually crashed to the floor.

The time to curse myself for even bringing this dumb thing passed within seconds as the person behind the footsteps snatched the door open greeting me with the open end of a pistol.

The familiar eyes behind the weapon flickered before lowering the gun.

"Everything clear Andres?" Another man called out.

Andres looked me up and down, smirking, as my foot began to slide.

"Yeah, it's all clear."

He reholstered his gun and slid his arms under mine, helping my feet to the floor.

Andres held his index finger to the center of his lips and shoved me into the corner of the bathroom, lowering me to my knees.

"Stay here, and stay quiet. I'll text you when we leave." His voice commanded in a hushed tone.

I hugged my knees against my chest and kept my mouth covered as Andres eyed my purse and gave a relived smile then quickly exited the restroom.

A/N: 🙂 thanks for reading my loves! Please vote and comment!