2 Chapter 1 - The Encounter

Athena

I bolt off downstairs and immediately goes straight towards my mother, leaving a soft peck on her cold, wrinkly cheeks.

"Athena, you don't really have to do this", she says with concern eyes.

"It's okay mom. This is the least I can do to repay your sacrifices in raising me, up until now" I say, reassuring her.

"Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will mom."

I may be 18, but it's normal for her to be worried. This will be my first time outside the house, anything can happen. But I won't let her worry.

I walk down the pavement to my workplace with delight as I ingest the glorious view around me-pebbles were bouncing with every step I take along with the sound of the blowing wind, creating harmonious melodies in my head.

"Watch out!" shouts a voice behind me, making me turn my back on whoever the voice belongs to.

***

I can feel my body being shaken by someone as I try opening my eyes, with my brain still processing what just happened to me. Somehow, my left foot seems to be throbbing as I try standing up.

"Hey!"

"Are you okay?"

I squint my eyes, trying to find the owner of the voice. Instead of the owner, my eyes land on an overthrown bike by the fence, with its wheels still spinning. Just then, the voice once again greets me,

"That's mine."

"What happened?" I asks as I finally see the rightful owner of the voice. He's wearing a school uniform so he must be on his way to school.

"You fainted," he says with one of his hands rubbing the back of his neck, maybe trying to figure out what to say. He then continues, "I ran over you with my bike, the one you just saw by the fence. I'm sorry," he says, with his whole body already bowing to me.

"It's fine, I'm also at fault for blocking your path. But, aren't you late for school?" I asks as I take a glimpse of my wristwatch which is already half past 8 in the morning. Just then, I can see him facepalming his head as a sigh escapes his mouth.

"But what about you? I should take responsibility for hurting y-"

"I'm fine. I've already taken most of your time, you should get going now." I say, trying not to worry him. Just then, I can see him stretching one of his arms out, trying to help me get up.

With his help, I try my best to stand on my own feet, wobbling from side to side as I regain my balance, with my hands still holding on to his arm, using them as support. My teeth clench, while one of my hands rubbing the back of my head. Bruises can clearly be seen on my left foot, flawing my fair white skin. Without even saying a single word, I manage to stand straight, but only thanks to him. I then try letting go of his arm, only to find myself almost kissing the ground, as his hands quickly catch me.

"I don't think I'll be leaving you by yourself right now. You can't even stand on your own." He says, eventually making me surrender and admit the truth he just said.

"By the way, where are you heading to this early in the morning?" he asks with furrowing brows.

"The park." I said, feeling perplex in telling him about my workplace. Besides, the park and the store I'm working at are facing each other, so I can just walk on my own there.

"To the park we go!"

He pulls my arm and wraps them around his neck as he rests his hands on my waist, eventually turning my face red. Because of his long legs, I can see him hunching his back, trying to stand at my height, as he walks me to his bike. He sits me down on the back seat as he once again pulls my hands towards his waist, forcing me to hold onto them as he paddles his bike.

"Hold on tight!"

***

After waving him goodbye, I make my way to the store which is just about ten steps away from where I'm standing. However, I can feel great affliction with every steps I take, resulting me in limping all the way to the store. The ten steps feel like a thousand to me as I finally arrive in front of the store, panting as I regain my breath. Suddenly, a middle-aged woman appear on the other side of the glass door, with hands blocking her widely opened mouth.

"Whatever happened to you?" she asks while leading me to a room and asks me to wait for a little while. She then returns with a water bottle, a bandage and a towel in her hands.

"Let me disinfect them," she says while carefully wiping the dry blood on my hands which eventually make me shrieks in pain.

"Umm... thank you..." I thank her while glancing over at the name tag pinned against her chest.

"Eve, just call me Eve," she says with her eyes still on my hand.

"You're Athena aren't you?" she asks which make one of my brows raise.

"How do you know my name?"

"Duh, I'm the one who hires you. The least I can do is remember my employee's name," she says as she lets out a slight chuckle which actually bring embarrassment to my face.

"So, where did all these bruises come from?" she asks.

"I was ran over by a bike while on my way here, and-"

"There you go," she says after she finishes bandaging my hands.

"By the way, did you walk all the way here by yourself?"

"Nope, the guy who ran me over sent me here." Suddenly creating an awkward silence between us.

"So, can I start my shift now?" I asks, breaking the silence.

"Sure, but please don't push yourself."

"I won't," I said as I rise from my seat, finally making my way for the cash register.

"So here's what you need to do," she said as she explains to me everything I need to do in details.

***

"Thanks for shopping here, please come again." I said, while handing the paper bag back to the customer.

I hope that is the last customer for today, as I can feel the pain in my foot getting worse as time passes. But just then, the store's doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of another customer as a guy glides in through the door. My eyes automatically follow him around the store as he chooses the things he wants to buy, but I make sure that my eyes stay hidden under the shade of my cap.

While he's busy choosing his stuff, I take the opportunity to devour his appearances. He must have been a high school student as he's in his school uniform. His skin's fair but quite tanned, maybe because he's a jock. His loosen necktie reveals some of his sculpted chest, which is irresistably pleasant to the eyes, suffocating me with every second I lay my eyes on them.

Somehow, he seems so familiar that my eyes can't even leave him, even for a second. Just then, the face of the guy who ran over me with a bike come to mind.

IT'S HIM. HE'S THAT GUY!

It's not that I'm afraid of him, I just don't want to be seen here of all places on earth. I try acting normal, but the increase in my heart beat can't seem to hide my nervousness from taking over me. My heart beat increases with every step he takes, approaching the counter.

As I take a glance at him, I can see his eyes staring intensely at me, with his eyes in slits, as if trying to figure something out. His stare seems to have dig a hole through me, as I pray for him not to recognize me. As soon as I put all of his stuffs into the paper bag, I quickly return it to him without even making eye contact. Thank goodness, he doesn't seem to care about me and calmly exits the door.

A sigh of relief escapes my mouth as I'm finally done for the day. I can see Eve's smiling face as she looks at me proudly.

"So what do you think about today?" she asks, patiently waiting for me to answer.

"I have some fun and I can't wait for tomorrow," I reply honestly, which eventually carve an even wider smile on Eve's face.

"Glad you're liking this job. See you tomorrow then!" she said as she disappears into the staff's room.

I pack all of my things and head to the back door to go home. As I close the door, I can suddenly see a silhouette of a guy, standing not far away from me. Although it's dark, I can actually see him staring at me, but I can't see who it is though. I ignore it and continues walking home, but at a faster pace, as I can feel someone following me from behind, eventhough my foot's been throbbing like crazy. I run as fast as I can, but the pain I'm feeling doesn't allow me to go too fast. After for about two minutes of running, I let out a sigh of relief as I finally lose sight of him.

Just then, a hand suddenly grabs me from behind, making me stumble upon my already hurting feet.

"Wait!"