Lethal Habit - Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Nadine dreamed she was in a movie being kidnapped and taken somewhere off the beaten track and raped. She awoke with a start. She saw Erik’s card lying on a small chest of drawers next to her bed. She thought of calling him but dismissed the thought. Let him wait awhile; she needed to think things through. Who was this Erik? She had a history of acting on impulse which was good and bad. She had to weigh her options. Her mind was a jumble of conflicting thoughts. She prayed for guidance, but no answers came. She got out of bed and took a cold shower.
She walked out of her apartment and stopped by a local coffee shop, ordered a latte and a croissant and checked the newsfeed on her phone. War in the Middle East, a celebrity caught cheating, same boring stuff. She closed it and started to text Erik, then changed her mind. A girl sat on a nearby table arguing with her boyfriend.
“You don’t care what I think, that’s the problem.”
“What do you mean? I’m constantly asking your opinion about things.”
“You ask me only about things you care about.”
“That’s not true.”
On and on it went. She got up and moved to another table to get away from the noise. She’d never have a relationship like that; actually, that wasn’t a relationship - just two members of the opposite sex arguing. It’s amazing to her they were together. Maybe that’s what they wanted. Arguing was better than the nothingness they’d have to deal with if they were alone.
She opened her kindle app and started reading the Bible. She highlighted the passages that resonated with her. One in particular struck her - James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
She thought of those who paid lip service to God but when it came to the hard work, they were elsewhere, Christians in name only. She was going to be true to God to the best of her understanding. She closed her eyes and thought about where she’d come and what life had in store for her.
A troubling thought occurred to her just then - about the man she killed. She asked for God’s forgiveness and thought of what she could do to make up for it. She’d become rich and famous and anonymously send money to the man’s widow. She felt a heaviness lift from her and knew that was what she had to do.
As she was thinking these thoughts, a young man noticed her and said something to break her reverie.
“Looks like whatever you’re thinking’s got a hold of you.”
Nadine opened her eyes and looked in the direction the voice was coming from. She assessed if this was a threat, and seeing it was just a young guy trying to make a move on her, dismissed any danger present. She spoke:
“Is this just idle curiosity or do you really care?”
The young man didn’t know what to say and was suddenly tongue tied.
She asked him, “What’s your name?”
He said, “Aaron.”
“Aaron, do yourself a favor - the next time you want to pick up on a girl, first observe her closely and say something that might gain her interest. Consider this a kindly lesson. Be thankful I didn’t kick your ass.”
With that she left, leaving him with his head spinning trying to process what just went down.