Simone
Have you ever felt like something was different about you but you could not quite put your finger on it, Simone felt that way since her 30th birthday, something was coming, she could feel it. She did not know if it was a good thing or a bad one, but she knew it would be there soon and life would never be the same after. Pushing the thought away she got ready for the day; her friends were going to a day party, she hated parties but her friends would not let her stay home. Going out always made her feel self-conscious about many things, most of all her looks, because she still felt like an ugly duckling.
The party was full of people Simone did not know and more than one guy tried to offer her a drink despite her wearing a t-shirt that said “Think don't drink”, it was one of her favorite shirts. Before she could voice her concerns about being at the party one of her friends came over and gave her what she thought was a pep talk.
“Hey girl, I know this is not your thing but try to have some fun for once”
“I have been offered three drinks so far, what is more fun than that?”
“OK, I get it, but maybe have one drink and see how you feel”
“You know I'm a lightweight, which is why I don't drink”
“OK so maybe half a drink?”
“Or I could just go home and call it a night”
“We just got here and I am your ride so how are you going to get home?”
“There is this thing called Uber ever heard of it?”
“Very funny, but seriously just stay for a little while, we can find a corner and just hang there”
“I don't want you to have to give up your good time for me, just stay and I will go home”
“If you leave then I will too, you are my girl and if you’re not feeling it then neither am I”
“Fine, I will stay but only for an hour, and then I'm out, now let us find me some soda”
“An hour is all I need to find my ex and try to make him jealous”
“Brandy no, you have to let that man go, it’s been six months”
“I know, but I can’t help it, maybe this time he will see me realize his mistake”
“I doubt it, he’s over there making out with some random girl”
“What? That dick”
The party got a lot fuzzier after that, the promise of soda went out the window replaced with consolement shots to make her friend feel better. By the time the night was over they were good and drunk, Simone was barely standing when she headed to what she thought was the uber. The man helped her and her friend into the backseat and ensured they were good before he started driving. At some point, they began to notice that he was not taking them in the direction of Simone’s house and panic rose up instantly.
“Hey, this is not the way to my house”, Simone started to say.
“Just relax, I'm taking a shortcut”, the man was calm.
“No, stop the car, we are getting out”
Once Brandy said they were getting out, the driver sped up the second she tried to open the car door which threw them back a little and made Simone feel a bit sick from the motion. The car began to make erratic lefts and rights like they were being followed and trying to lose the person on their tail. Her friend was cursing at the driver the whole time trying to get him to stop the car but he was just ignoring her while looking out the window for whoever was following them. This is why he didn't see the man standing in the middle of the road until it was too late to stop and ran right into him.
The car made a complete stop with a dent where the man’s body was, Simone and Brandy instantly tried to get out the back but the door was locked with no way to open it. The driver’s side door was torn open and the driver was pulled into the darkness of the night making both women try even harder to get the door open. When they heard the blood-curdling screams of the driver they stopped trying to escape for fear of whatever was out there chasing them down. Someone who was not the driver appeared at the car, he was a tall man with mesmerizing eyes who had a predatory look in his eyes.
“Please don't hurt us, we just wanted to get home”, Brandy began pleading.
“I'm not here to harm you, I have come to collect my bride”
“Your bride? Look sir we just want to get home”, Brandy said once more.
“Why have you come for her now?“, Simone finally spoke up.
“Simone, who cares, this man could kill us right now”
“He won't kill us, he just wants his bride, remember?”
“We don't know where this woman is”
“Yes we do”, Simone reached out her hand to the stranger and he took it without hesitation.
There was a jolt of electricity the moment their hands touched and the feeling of home hit her hard, the word “mine” flew into her head and she instantly felt at peace with everything. Her friend was still freaking out trying to figure out her friend had just given herself willingly to a stranger they had just met. She snatched her friend back from the man and stood in front of her staring the man down, almost as if challenging him to try and go through her for her friend. Simone just stepped around her and once again took her place with the man, the look in her eyes said that everything was OK and not to worry.
“Brandy, everything is OK, Aristotle won't hurt me”
“How do you know his name? What is going on?”
“I will explain everything soon, for now, I must go with Aristotle, someone will be by in a few minutes to take you home”
The time had finally come for her to meet the person she would be spending eternity with; her mother had always talked about this but she thought it was her medication talking. Her mother had been called crazy for thinking she could see the future when Simone was a child, which forced them to live with her grandmother. Now she knew her mother was not crazy and in fact, her mother had predicted this very moment of her meeting this man and being taken away. She could not wait to tell her mother all about it although she suspected her mother already knew what was happening.
Aristotle took her to a gated community that looked like something out of a magazine; she could not remember how they got there, she just looked up and they were in front of a large gate. He took her to the biggest house she had ever seen, which was much bigger than the houses around it, the house felt warm but empty. There were people scattered about when they walked in, no one even looked up to greet them but a man appeared at once to welcome them in. It was the start of the rest of her life and she was ready to take it on full throttle and see where the crazy ride was going to take her.
