A nine-millimeter pistol now resides under Ellie’s bed.  Its owner is now living in her house.  Last night, he had a brush with death.  Fortunately, he will see another day.  During that new day, he will have to find a way to get along with his two new roommates.  He has pain along side him and his recovery will take a while.  However, his time runs short.  Two days until Tuesday.  He will even have a name now.  It has been long enough.

 

Chapter 3:  Contacts and Karma

 

            A stranger contemplates alone in the dark.  Mummified beyond movement by his saviors, he is unable to move.  He welcomes his disability, though.  He does not care to move.  For now, he is content lying in a strange bed in a foreign room.

            Though after a while of laying, he became restless.

            The vastnesses of his dreams did not help to comfort him, nor did the softness below his body.  The stranger lies and allows his mind wander.  His mind wanders in hopes to find comfort.  During a night like this, comfort was his only goal.  A seemingly unattainable goal.  Soon, his mind began to wander to heavy topics.  These topics made him uneasy.

As such, this uneasiness is interesting.  Intriguing, even.  Uneasiness easily controls the mind when there is nothing familiar.  Moreover, nothing familiar lay beyond the veil of darkness.  A room feels unfamiliar when there is no history of this room in man’s mind.  Thus, a room with no history to a person makes that person uneasy.  Similarly, events with no history make a man ill at ease.  These were the current circumstances to a stranger in bed.  So he became uneasy.  An uneasiness that dominated a person’s thoughts.  An uneasiness that slows time and amplify noises.

Therefore, even though it was impossible for him to hear through the doors and walls to the room that held the central heater, he swore he heard it kick on right then.  Then, the vent in the wall blasted out hot air, confirming his speculation.  He had heard the heater start and thus he knew he was uneasy.

In an attempt to calm himself, he sighed and surveyed the dark.

Stillness completely controlled this room.  Nothing moved and nothing wanted to move.  Every single item inside sight, from the desk on the other side of the room to the frilly light fixture that dangled from the ceiling, seemed homely, practical, and still.  The only light in the room was a faint green light from a wooden shelf.  The light gave a green tint to every object it touched and each of these objects was given only a faint resemblance in the dark.  The light not only gave needed light to the dark, but when he concentrated on the light, his uneasiness faded slightly.  The green light came from the face of a digital alarm clock, and the clock told him that today was actually yesterday’s tomorrow.

Thinking about the date made the stranger’s mind increase in pain.  He was too tired, sore, and injured to think about what day it.  So he turned over and his limbs screamed at him for doing so.

The man groaning and lying in a strange bed, bandaged like a mummy, is named Derek Baum.  As of a few days ago, he celebrated his twenty-second birthday.  He looked older for his age.  Partly due to his dark green eyes.  These eyes were described best as looking at glossy porcelain, and that description was too accurate for its own good.  His eye color was what belied the amount of years the owner actually had.  The porcelain look to his eyes made them look faded.  Above his eyes were thick eyebrows and his hair was a smoke-like brown.

These features crowned a slim, but toned body.  On which was wrapped a hefty amount of bandages.  Derek’s clothes was shredded beyond use.  Derek would have to buy new clothes later.  The thought of running around in borrowed clothes did not appeal to Derek.  Nothing the girls might have would cloth his toned body.  A kind of tone a person gets from having little work to do, but eating healthy.  Though the tone could be from being well fed, but worked daily.  Derek’s physique made him not overly strong looking, but not overly weak looking.

            Derek was fortunate to have a body like his.  Tonight, that body saved his life.  He survived bruises, cuts, and loss of blood.  Derek also had a broken left leg.  His mind told him so, and he had no doubt about it.

With his leg broken, Derek would be on crutches for the next few weeks.  Tomorrow, he would have to find a splint and set his leg immobile.  With this on his checklist, he contemplated materials that he could use for a cast.  Playing boards from board games were always useful.  Perhaps several meter sticks would work for a splint.  Derek was thankful for his resourcefulness.  He would have to see if the girls had any materials to spare.

That resourcefulness brought him this home.  Thus, he ended up in this bed.  Now, if only this bed was not behind a veil of darkness.  Derek recollected himself.  His mind really was wondering.  Now he was positive about it.

            His wandering mind moved to the two girls that helped him.  He wandered to very little, however.  It dawned on him that he knew little of the girls.  He had only seen one of the girls, and that was not during this night.  He knew that Wren’s name was, well, Wren.  Wren Lydel, to be exact.  He distinguished her between the two girls as the girl with longer hair.  The same smokey-brown hair he had.

            With Derek’s mind on Wren, something clicked.  He had to give back a possession of hers.  However, in light of his current state, he would have to wait.  His gift to her was in his coat and his coat’s location was unknown to him.  So, he moved the chore to the back of his mind.

Derek’s thought train moved on to the events of his day and onto a certain individual that he crashed into not twelve hours ago.  He detailed the event and concluded that Wren was definitely the person he ran into when he was in the city.  When Derek reviewed the incident over in his mind, he remembered more of Wren than he previously thought he knew.  He had a feeling that Wren was the shorter one of the two girls.  She was shorter of the two, but not by much.  Wren was only an inch or two shorter than the other girl.  Though Wren was shorter, the two girls had the same body build.  Wren had the same color brown hair he had.  Derek also noticed Wren kept her hair styled very well.  Her hair was tied to the back today with a red ribbon.  The ribbon was fashioned in a bow.  Derek agreed on her hairstyle.  She had a very good reason to keep her hair out of her face.  Nothing should get in the way of those gorgeous blue eyes.

            When he imagined those eyes, Derek smiled.  He found them unusually comforting.  He loved that color of blue.  The color reminded him of the tear pendant that was on his necklace.  The two colors matched so vividly.

            Derek smiled yet again.  He smiled against pain, though.  He began to roll over on his back.   He brought his hand up to his chest.  His hand only hit gauss and his smile faded.  He continued to feel around his neck for the thin-chained necklace until his fears were certain.  Though the bandages would hide the feel of the chain, he knew.  The chain was not there.

            His necklace was missing.

            “Shit…,” he thought.  He decided to recheck for the chain.  However, he began to repeat himself every time he rechecked his neck and came up with nothing.

            Derek desperately raced though the events of his day.  He was searching for the time where he may have dropped his necklace.  Only he could not remember the last two days.  Just two scenes came up clear to him.  One scene was running into Wren, and the other scene was struggling up to her house.  Both memories included the knowledge of him having his necklace.  Since he remembered having his necklace when he wandered up the house, he concluded that he lost the necklace after he came to the house.  His necklace was somewhere around this house.

            Derek now was even more uneasy.  He did not know where his necklace was exactly.  Knowing only a vague location served to stress his mind even more than the unfamiliar room.  Now he jumped from thought to thought randomly.  He felt the veil of darkness and his bandages closing in around him.  He started to panic and feel guilty.

            That necklace was a gift from his girlfriend Naomi.  When Naomi owned the necklace, she cherished it.  When Derek received the necklace as a gift from her, it was a very special gift.  So Derek loved it.

            The necklace was universally appealing.  It suited anyone.  The necklace’s style was neither masculine nor feminine.  It also added the right touch to any wardrobe, and most importantly of all, as a gift, it reminded Derek of Naomi.  As such, Derek felt even worst now that is was missing.

            Common knowledge dictates that when a person becomes uneasy, one begins to ponder the worst possible scenarios.  To Derek, the necklace was already washed away to place were it would never be found.  If his imagination came true, Derek would never forgive himself for this mistake.

            Derek’s uneasy restlessness turned into helplessness.  Then soon enough, that feeling turned into defeat.  The darkness he stared at turned into a void.  He did not even see the darkness anymore.  His mood shifted to depression and he shut his eyes in contempt for himself.  The necklace dominated his ability to think.  The pain of his heart overpowered his body’s pain.  Naomi’s face came into view.  He apologized for the missing necklace.  As quickly as she came into his mind, she disappeared from his mind.  Derek’s heart ached.

            He abruptly opened his eyes.  “That other girl! She looks awfully a lot like Naomi…”  Or else Derek was just seeing things.  Although unsure, he swore that the girl with the longer hair looked eerily similar to Naomi.  Derek connected the two by their hair.  Their hair had the same color and appearance.  Their eyes were also similar in color.  Both Naomi and this girl had light green eyes.  The only difference between the two girls was their physique.  The girl was just a tad thinner and Naomi’s face was slightly different as well.  Placing the girls next to each other, however, would cause people to confuse them as sisters.

            Thinking about Naomi made Derek’s heart felt punched.  He longed for his necklace back and he longed for Naomi back.

            Derek began to hope his necklace was in the house.  If it was indeed in the house, one of the two girls would find the necklace soon enough and return it to him.  Same with his coat.

            “My coat!”

              Derek opened his eyes in dread and panic.  His mind traveled into the pocket of his coat and slid over the metallic grip and slide of his handgun.

            Derek forced his body to roll over so he could hide his face.

            “Oh shit!”

            Derek’s stomach began to ache fiercely, which caused Derek to notice the pain from his injuries.  If the household painkillers helped him only this much, tomorrow morning, when the drugs have worn off, was going to be hell.  Derek dreaded tomorrow morning.

            His mind’s topic soon changed.  His lost necklace occupied his mind once again.  He decided that tomorrow, he would search the house.  Assuming that he found the power to get up in the morning.  His only salvation was that he did not need to search much.  The house was not that big.  He was determined to find his necklace and hide his gun before the girls found them.

            Derek currently resided on the bottom level’s guest bedroom of Wren and Ellie’s split-level home.  Derek was now lying in bed, beneath the only window in the guest bedroom that faced the street.  The door was in the corner of the room.  It was perpendicular to the closet and kiddy corner to Derek’s bed.  The door led to an extension of the television room that served as the bottom level’s hallway.  The hallway connected all the rooms on the bottom floor to the television room and bottom entrance.  Adjacent to Derek’s current room were the steps that lead from the bottom floor to the upstairs.  The downstairs bathroom was a straight shot across the hallway from the stairs.  The downstairs bathroom happened to hold another shower.  It also contained a door to the water softener.  Adjacent from the bathroom and across from Derek’s room, thus making the room the other corner room, was Wren and Ellie’s makeshift storage room.  Stored in the storage room was accumulated junk the two girls threw in there.  Some stuff inside was still useful, while other stuff was not.  One could barely step inside the room.  Stepping out of the storage room placed one at the end of the extension to the television room.  In the center of the television room, two couches sat.  The couches faced the television, which was located at the left wall.  The room was painted an off white and had grey carpeting speckled with small dark spots.  Beyond the two couches was the back entrance to the house.  To the right of the hallway were two wooden, gliding doors.  The doors hid the laundry room and the water softener.  These rooms were the entirety of the basement and since the house was split level, Derek’s room was half way underground, while the television room and downstairs entrance was flush with the ground.

            The main entrance to the house was located in the foyer.  This was where the officers had stood this very night.  A bench was the only furnishing of the foyer.  One would pass this bench while descending to the lower level.  This bench currently held Derek’s coat.  Additionally, both the bench and the white tile of the foyer were still blood stained.  Miraculously, both the coat and the bloody floor are not in view from just outside the front entrance.  From that front entrance, entrance into the garage was located to the left.  Across the foyer to the garage entrance was the stairs leading up onto the first floor, with the stairs leading downstairs to the right of ascending stairs.

            Ascending the stairs and to the right was another hallway, mirroring the same hallway in the basement.  Ellie’s room was located at the end of the hallway and to the right.  Wren’s room was across from Ellie.  Adjacent to Wren’s room was a small closet.  Across from this closet was the bathroom, which was adjacent to Ellie’s room and was located right above the downstairs bathroom.  Going up the stairs and continuing straight landed a person inside the kitchen.  The kitchen was rather small, but it served the two girls well.  The room was also open to the living room.  Only a small section of wall divided the two rooms.  One could enter the kitchen by going straight from the stairs or one could enter from the living room.  By entering from the living room, one would run straight into the round kitchen table.  Leaving through this entrance and back into the living room would have one pass a television and a coffee table.  Surrounding this coffee table was a couch and chair.  It was during this very night, in these chairs, that the girls decided to run in the rain.

            In this living room, right at this moment, blood was seeping its way into the carpet.  Muddy footprints surrounded the stain.  This mess came about from the girls dragging Derek inside through the upstairs entrance.  The entrance itself was right by the kitchen table.  In this living room, Derek almost died.  In this kitchen, he asked Wren not to call the authorities.

            This completed Wren and Ellie’s residence.  Derek had not seen much of the house.  His travels through the various rooms were mostly in a state of comatose and he was unable to retain any of his bearings during this state.  What he did retain was that he was downstairs and his room was located street side.  Derek’s room also appeared to him as a guest bedroom.  Derek deduced it was a guest bedroom because no one had come calling the bedroom their own.  In addition, Derek was confident that no one would come calling this late.

            No matter how lucky Derek was that the girls had an extra room, he could not stay long.  Before tonight, Derek was homeless, but he could not stay here.  Wandering mind aside, Derek made his decision about leaving.  These girls were just helping the injured heal.  The injured must be released sometime.  Derek vowed to find out what happened only a few nights ago.  Staying here would not help him or the girls.

            Derek shifted his weight and his body screamed at him.

            Derek groaned.  He forgot his leg would hinder any attempt to investigate.  If fact, until its healing, his leg made it unwise to actually leave the premises.

            Derek sighed at the inevitable.  Derek must stay in the house for a while.  So much for his minute-old decision.  Time was the only factor before Derek could start his search.  His leaving depended on how long it would take for his leg to heal and that amount of time depended on how broken his leg is.  Although unsure, Derek figured the fracture to be a spiral fracture.

            Derek became worried.  When his leg healed, he might not have the full amount of movement he had.  His leg may end up hindering him.  The fact that Derek did not have professional help or professional equipment for his broken leg made his worrying increase.  His chances of his leg not fully healing were a lot higher as well.

            Even if he got his leg fully back, Derek had no clue where to start his search.  Try as he might, his mind would not remember what happened during the last few days.  The pain, darkness, and uneasiness did not help keep his mind on track also.  He decided to concentrate on the dates.  He knew today was the twenty-fifth of October.  A Monday, to be exact.  His birthday was four days ago, on the twenty-first.  His birthday was Thursday.  He remembered that Thursday and the late end of tonight perfectly.  However, the time in-between those two times did not exist.

            Derek did recall running into Wren and her grocery bags at the park.  He also recalled having a dream about Naomi.  He recalled about what he dreamed about.  Those times with Naomi happened only a few days ago.  When those memories happened eluded him.  He was not even sure they were in the correct order.  Except for one.  One memory he knew was in the correct order.  At the end, with Naomi’s blood on his hands.  A deep feeling in his stomach told him that happened sometime Saturday, two days ago.

            Derek’s mind spun.  A combination of recalling all his memories, his injuries, and the medication made his head flip and hurt.  So, he turned over again.  At this moment, Derek longed for his necklace back.  He also wanted Naomi back.

            “Maybe she’s still alive…”

            Derek frowned after thinking this.  After a few moments of contemplating her survival, his senses slapped him in the face.  Her heart beating was blind optimism.

            Soon, everything felt like blind optimism.  Actions like Derek finding out who is responsible, Derek finding himself back to a normal life, and Derek simply finding his necklace; these all felt pointless and impossible.  So Derek himself felt pointless.  His pain was meaningless.

            Derek turned over again, but faster this time.

            In this dark room, full of possessions not belonging to him, Derek wanted nothing more than to be back at his own house.  He did not even want to awake in this bed, he did not want to face his two saviors in the morning, and he did not want to stay at this house because of a broken leg.  Derek just wanted to be somewhere that was not here, but also at a place that felt like home.

            Sadly, on this note, Derek fell asleep.

 

            The morning of October the twenty-fifth.

            “Wait, what are we going to with him?”

            “What do you mean ‘what are we going to do with him?’  I know exactly what we’re going to do.  We are going to tell him to leave.  I don’t trust him.  He shows up out of the blue and he probably comes here bringing God knows what with him or after him!”

            “Wren.  He did nothing wrong!  We took him in.  We decided not to call the damn police, and we decided to tell off the officers that did come.  Listen, we need to wait until he’s healthy again before we just… just kick him out!”

            “It’s not that we’ll kick him out, but seriously, Ellie, look at the shape he came to us in.  He’s obviously involved in something we don’t want to be in.  The sooner he leaves, the sooner we can stop worrying about cops showing up and taking him away, and thus, by extension, take us away!”

            “They are yelling a little too loud…”  Derek thought, opening one eye.  His body did not hurt nearly as much as he thought it was going to hurt.  Derek was happy about that.

            “Like hell that’ll happen…”

            “Not going to… Not going to happen!  Ellie… - I can’t believe I’m hearing this- Yes, it will.  If not now, then later!”

            “Man, they are noisy.  What time is it?”  Thought Derek, rolling over.

            “Shh… you’re yelling too loud this early in the morning.  Besides, you’re not going to tell him now, are you?  He’s probably not even up yet.”

            “Jesus, it is six in the freaking morning…”

            “Oh, trust me, he’ll be up very soon.  Before I head to work, I’m going to tell him what’s on my mind…”

            Wren got no reply.  Then, Ellie spoke.  “And that is?”

            “For him to leave ASAP!”

            “Don’t you think that’s a little harsh?  At least let him stay one day!  He’s fricken injured!”

            “…”

            “One day won’t hurt.  Come on.”

            Derek rolled back to his original position.  He began to wait for Wren to enter the room, and soon enough, she entered.  Ellie followed, but less forcefully.

            Derek did not even act startled.  He just turned to Wren, who became a thrown off from Derek’s awakened state.  Wren was wearing a very sterile looking uniform and she had placed her hair up.  Ellie followed her in, but in a less violent manner.

            “Hey you…”

            “Hey you?”  Derek frowned and becoming peeved.  “What’s her problem?  Can’t she be a little nicer?”

            “You up!”

            Derek himself became thrown off by her attitude.

            “Uh…  Yeah, I’m up.  And before you say anything, I would like to thank you very much for last night.  I’m not really sure what exactly happened, but I know someone took a great risk to save me.”

            Ellie leaned up to Wren’s ear and whispered.  “Does this mean he doesn’t realize he almost died last night?”

            Derek looked at them.  “They are talking about me…”

            Ellie’s comment did not faze Wren.  Instead of replying to Ellie, Wren moved so Derek could see her.

            “Listen, you!  You have no idea of the amount of danger we placed ourselves in to save you.  We placed ourselves in great legal risk because of you, and it isn’t only that.  The two of us also have a very good idea of your situation.”

            “Situation?”

            “So, because of what happened last night, I want you out of my house.  By tonight.”

            “Tonight?  What?”

            Ellie stepped in.  Wren ignored her and stood solid.

            “She doesn’t mean by tonight, y’know.  She really means as soon as you can.”

            Wren said nothing to this.

            “Ah…  I’m sorry about what has happened, then.  It’s just that…”  Derek said sincerely.  “It’s just that I may have a broken leg.”

            Ellie said nothing and Wren kept looking at Derek with contempt.  She did not buy his condition.  “A broken leg, huh?”  Wren asked, and then paused in consideration.  “If that’s true, how did you walk out into the kitchen?”

            Derek thought for a moment.  He could not recollect walking into a kitchen, but he gave an answer that seemed reasonable anyway.  “I walked into the kitchen on my leg.”

            “So how can you have a broken leg, huh?”  Wren accused, annoyed by Derek’s answer.

            Ellie chimed in.  “Didn’t it hurt?”

            Derek clammed up.  After a few seconds, he spoke.  “I guess it’s not a bad break…  It really hurts now.”

            “I guess you can limp just fine, right?”  Ellie added to Derek’s sentence, smiling at him.

            “Sure,” Derek factiously said.

            Wren did not accept his excuse, but she held her tongue.  Wren decided to heed Ellie’s words.  If what he said were actually fact, he would not have to leave immediately.  Just as soon as he healed.  However, spiting her was that a broken leg required weeks to heal.

            “Whatever,” Wren said, dropping all together her assertions.  “I need to go to work…  So, I suppose you can stay here for a little while longer.”  She looked at Ellie, then started for the door.

            “Go to work?  -Ah, damn I’m sleepy…-” Derek yawned and thought, then spoke.  “Wren… right?”

            Wren frowned and looked at him.  “Yeah what is it?”

            “What’s with her attitude?”  Derek thought.  “Uh…  Actually, I have something for you.”

            “You do?”  Wren said, her frown fading.

            “Yeah, I have something for you…  It’s in my coat, but I can’t get it with my leg… but if you look in my coat pocket—“

            “Shit!  –Pocket-?”  Ellie abruptly yelped, startling Wren and interrupting Derek.  Both turned their attention to a startled Ellie.

            Derek coughed.  “Yeah, my pocket.  Why do you ask?  Inside my coat pocket there is something for Wren.”  Derek turned to Wren.  “It’s just that I don’t remember where I put my coat.”

            “Your coat…  Your coat pocket?  Inside?” Ellie said in fragments.

            Derek again looked at Ellie.  “Yes.  Do you know where my coat is?”

            Ellie’s brain was racing.  She was jumping to many conclusions.  Although she wanted nothing but to think positive thoughts about this man, she could not help but connect what he was saying to what she found in his coat pocket.  Her brain raced to assumptions before she could rationalize them.

            She thought about Derek’s intentions with his coat.  He would not know that she removed his pistol the night before.  There was no gun in his coat anymore.  Why would Derek need his gun anyway?

            “Does he plan to shoot us?”  Ellie thought, quickly and mindlessly placing her hands over her mouth.

            “Ellie, what’s the matter?”  Wren asked.

            “I need to do something!  Oh shit…  Wren’s in danger… maybe.  Or maybe not, I’m not sure!”  Ellie thought quickly of what to do next.  An idea came and Ellie acted.

            “Wren!  Work, remember?  You need to be heading off now!”

            “What?”  Wren looked at her watch.  “Oh, yes… but wait.  You were saying something, right?”

            “No time for that!  Wren, you need to go!  You’ll be late!”  Ellie yelled, moving behind Wren and started shoving her out the door.  Wren was very reluctant to budge, but Ellie kept doing what she was doing.

            “Wait!  Ellie, what’s wrong with you?  He has something to give me and I would like to have it!”

            “Hell no you want it, Wren…”

            “Hey, wait!  Girls!”  Derek said.

            Ellie looked back at him and said, “Wren needs to get to work quickly.”

            “Ellie, hold up,” Wren said, stopping Ellie’s shoving right before the doorway.  “Whatever you’re going to give me, give me it later.  It’s not like you’re going anywhere.”

            Derek watched Wren reach into her pocket and pull out a necklace.  Derek’s eyes widen.  She brought the necklace up to her neck and fastened it.  A deep blue teardrop pendant dropped down onto her chest and then Wren hid the charm under her shirt.

            Derek was both speechless and in shock.

            “Did you hear me?  -You’re zoning out-  Give it to me later.”  She turned her attention to Ellie.  “I’m off.  See you when I get back…  From my job.”  Wren then pulled in closer to Ellie and placed on a serious face.  “You should really consider getting one.”

            Ellie just placed on a dumb, innocent face.  Her only response was to giggle with guilt.  “No time for talk now Wren!  You need to get going!”

            Derek was able to break his shock.  “Wait a second…”

            Ellie began shoving again.  Wren just sighed and allowed herself to be pushed.

            “Wait!  Seriously…”  Derek said, coming fully out of his stunned state.

            Ellie ignored his cry and shoved Wren right out the door, closing it behind her.  Ellie was able to seal off Wren from Derek.  Ellie then ran a hand through her hair and leaded back against the door.  She looked at Derek.

            “Uh…”  Derek droned.  Ellie kept on staring Derek.  He changed his tune.  “Um…”

            “What?  I’m not getting your coat,” asked Ellie.

            “No, your name is…?”

            Ellie’s tension dropped in surprise.  Had she not introduced herself?  Ellie removed her weight from the door and moved closer to him.  “Sorry about that.  My name is Ellie Thompson.  But, enough about me, though.  What could you possibly have to give to Wren, if you don’t mind my asking?”

            “It’s nothing important.”  Derek said bluntly.

            “Oh…  I-“ Ellie cut short and let out a strong yawn.  “Dammit, so damn tired.  –I slept with my contacts in again too­- Never mind my question.  I think I’m going back to bed.”

            “Yeah, good idea.  Today, we’ll have to find me something I can use as a splint.  I’ll also need some crutches as well.”

            “Huh?  Oh yeah.  You just haven’t had the best of luck, have you?  Sorry you have a broken leg.  I had one back when I was twelve, so I know how shitty it is.”

            Derek looked at her, then he rolled back over.  “I’ve had many broken legs before…”

            Suddenly and inexplicably, Ellie felt bad about his injuries.  Additionally, images of last night flashed into her head.  “Uh… listen.  I’ll try to find something today.  We’ll have you up and about in no time.”

            Derek hesitated.  “Uh… thank you very much.”

            Ellie yawned again.  “Listen, I’m going back to bed.  I was up just to calm Wren down.  One of the reasons she’s in such a bad mood is because she lost her business cards yesterday.  She’ll have hell to pay at her work.  Plus, I don’t think she likes the fact that you’re going to be here a while.  Oh, don’t let her get you down.  She may seem like a total bitch and hell-bent on you leaving, but she’s a lot nicer than she seems.”

            “Ellie, thank you for being so kind.  I have just one more thing to say, though.  Sometime between yesterday and today, my necklace became lost to me.  Have you seen it?  Or has Wren found it?  Maybe she found a necklace lying around…”

            Ellie thought for a second.  “Sorry, but no.  How about I look around the house for it.  Don’t worry, it has to be here somewhere.  But before that, I need to sleep.  Around nine or so, I’ll make you some breakfast, then I’ll search for your necklace.”

            “­- Is she really serious?-  Did she not pick up on my hint?  I don’t believe it, she didn’t!  Wren obviously found my necklace!  Wow, some people.- Well, thank you again. Don’t feel like you need to do that.”  Derek said, not pursuing his point any more.

            “Don’t worry.  I’m making breakfast ‘cause I want to.”  Ellie smiled.

            “Well, in that case, if you want to, I could really go for some pancakes.”

            “Oh, don’t tell me now.  Knowing me, I’ll forget by the time I wake up.  Just tell me later.”

            “Are you really that tired?”

            “I’m very tired.  I’ll be back when I get up again.  I suggest you sleep too.  Oh, and sorry for waking you up.”

            “Uh… yeah.  Thank you.”

            “Don’t mention it,” Ellie said.  She smiled once more and left the room.

            Derek groaned as he rolled over.  “I cannot believe she did not get it.  Living here…  I really have my doubts now.  And breakfast is starting to sound like a very bad idea to my stomach...”  His leg shot him some pain.  “Well, I guess I’ll just ask for my necklace back when I give her back her cards.  It is good that I know where it is but it is certain bad that Wren was the one that found it.  Well, it is not just her.  The whole world seems to not like me at the moment.”

 

            Ellie forgot to take her contacts out again before she plopped down onto her bed.  She pulled the covers over herself and from under them, she checked to see if her clock was still set for nine.  It was.

            Ellie laughed.  She was actually scared that the stranger was going to use his gun on Wren.  She was surprised at herself for having her guard down as much as she did.  For someone she suspected for having a gun to kill innocent people, she sure acted casual around him.  Talking to him changed her suspicion.  He was not talking about his gun.  He must have something else in his pocket besides the gun.

            Ellie laughed again, but this time at him.  She was surprised that he was such a delicate guy.  He seemed quite nice.  Ellie decided that she would get to know him over breakfast.  He seemed like an ordinary person that just ran into some serious trouble.  In actuality, she never even picked up his name. 

            She also pondered about Wren being so worried.  However, taking into account last week’s events, Ellie could see why.  Wren’s latest week had been hell, and Ellie could not help her out.  She could only do one thing for Wren during that time.  She blamed Wren’s karma.

 

 

End Chapter 3

 

            I want my necklace back.  I want it back bad.  However, I have a real dilemma on my hands.  The person who has my necklace wants me gone.  Ellie does not understand that she has it.  And I have a feeling that she would get angry if I accused her friend of stealing my necklace.  The longer she has my necklace, the harder it will be to ask for it back.  Plus, I still need some freaking crutches!  Chapter 4: On Account of Stolen Items and Holding Still…