PROPOSAL III

FOUR DAYS AGO,

Ding!

The door of the grocery store opened to an averagely good-looking man who looked like he was in his early thirties. His broad shoulders complimented his tall figure, and he strode into the grocery store gracefully in his well-dressed black suit.

His steady steps as he picked up items in the store, piqued my interest as I took note of the items he returned to the shelf after taking a glance at them.

Satisfied with the last item he picked, he walked to the counter where I stood. A smile broke from his lips as he set his eyes on me, and I returned it as he got to the counter.

"You don't look very excited to see me, Abby. I can tell how pretentious that smile is from the look on your face." His light brown eyes scorched my face as he leaned in on the counter. With one of his arms well-rested on it, he dropped the item on the counter for me.

"It's good to see you, Zeke," I rolled my eyes at his sarcastic observation, and that only broadened his smile. "How have you been? It's been a long time since I last saw you. Three weeks, right? Correct me if I'm wrong." I placed his item on the barcode price scanner in front of me, and the total sum appeared on my computer screen.

Zeke leaned in further, a smile still on his lips, "I didn't know we had that kind of relationship, where you get to question my movements."

"Of all the questions I asked, you chose to answer that?" I let out a frustrated sigh as I stared at his livid face. I didn't know why he was always sensitive about topics relating to his movements, and I try not to think about it, just as he said, we don't have that kind of relationship.

"Don't get me wrong, Zeke, I just don't want my efforts of saving your life to be futile." My eyes went to the left side of his neck, which had a long, scary scar, and I frowned upon seeing them. They brought back memories, bad memories I intended to forget, but couldn't.

I could still remember vividly how it was when it was freshly made, with blood oozing nonstop out of it on that rainy day when he lay almost lifeless on the cold, wet floor in a dark alley. It still felt like yesterday even if the incident happened almost a year ago.

★★★A year ago★★★

When I was returning from my night shift, I had just gotten off the bus and was walking down the deserted street with my headphones around my neck when I noticed blood trails on the sidewalk. I stopped dead in my tracks as my eyes followed the blood to the dark alleyway that just so happened to be the source of the blood.

I was ready to leave the area, still reeling from the atrocity and not wanting to get involved in whatever was going on there, when I heard little cries coming from inside.

It took all my courage to walk into the dark alley and I trailed the blood with my phone's flashlight, alongside the whimpering to the source. The sight I beheld as I flickered my flashlight on a body on the floor, had my body trembling.

Zeke's whole body was wet from the rain that fell mercilessly on him, but that wasn't what got me shivering. I was shivering from the fact that he was covered in both blood and water. The place where he had a cut on his neck had thicker stains than the rest of his body, and I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me that's where he was injured.

"H-help me!" His low pleading voice made me quickly bend down to his body, unwrapping my scarf which was tied around my neck, and placing it on his neck where the blood oozed from.

He had lost a lot of blood, and I needed to secure the ones left. I applied just enough force to hold his blood in. With that, I lifted his head from the cold floor, placing it on my thighs, and I called for an ambulance.

As I waited for them to pick up, my eyes never left his dimly lit ones which got dimmer with every second that went by. I could hear the rapid beating of my heart as I stared into his eyes which were now slightly closed.

"This is 911, State your emergency," the male voice from the phone pulled my attention back.

"H-hello," I stammered as I tried to steady my hands which were vibrating. I paused for some seconds to steady my voice, taking deep breaths, before continuing, "There's an injured man here in an alley in Elyse Street 55, he's lost a lot of blood and needs an ambulance."

"Have you tried applying some first aid, miss?"

His question made me more aware of Zeke's state, and as my attention was pulled to the man who lay almost dead on my legs, I lost composure. "I-I'm trying my best to hold his blood in," my trembling voice matched the intensity of my quivering hands when I realized Zeke's blood was on my hands, and tears swelled in my eyes.

"We'll be right there, miss." He hung up.

I pulled my phone away from my ears in dismay, and my eyes rummaged through Zeke's face, which was pale and cold from being drenched in the rain, coupled with the fact that he had lost a lot of blood.

I felt pity for him, but more sympathetic towards myself for getting into this situation. With every second that went by, I became more alert from the situation I involved myself in, praying for a miracle for Zeke's life.

I was happy when I heard the loud wails of sirens from the ambulance a couple of minutes later, less than 7 minutes, and sooner than I thought. Zeke was fortunate cause an ambulance happened to be close by. According to them, they had been prank-called and were leaving when I phoned them.

He was quickly taken to the hospital, but I couldn't go with them that night cause it was already very late, and I needed to wash off his blood that was stained on my clothes. I went there the next morning and the days after that.

Those were disturbing memories, but in these bad memories, there was a good one; the part where he opened his eyes after being in a coma for a month. I was happy I got to save a life, even if I didn't know the full story of how he got to that situation, and I didn't bother asking.

It was better if I knew less, seeing the kind of situation he was in. One thing I was certain about was that whoever did that to him wanted him dead, and also happened to be a dangerous person.

*******

Zeke's hearty laugh at my last remark, made me crumple my brows slightly in confusion as I stared at his face. "You're the one who looks like you need saving."

My eyes moved from his neck to meet his once again docile gaze on me. I couldn't fathom where this conversation was headed, but one thing I knew was that Zeke wasn't wrong when he said my ass needs saving. My family's in huge debt, and we're lacking in the supposed amount and time.

We stared at each other for a few seconds with neither of us uttering any word, until Zeke broke the silence, "I heard your family's going through some shit right now," he paused to look at my puzzled face, "I did some research."

"You looked me up?"

"Well, the job offer I have for you required some detailed info about you, and you wouldn't tell me about it if I had asked." His calm eyes peered directly into mine.

I placed his item on the table in annoyance, the loud thud attracting the eyes of the other shoppers as a scoff escaped my lips, "I thought we didn't have that kind of relationship? You had no right to do that! This is crossing the boundaries!"

"I'm sorry," was his insincere apology which only seemed to get me more upset, "but as I said earlier, the job offer I have for you required me to do this..."

"Fuck you and your job offer!" My eyes darted sideways at the other shoppers who were now staring at us both, and I tried to calm myself, but it felt impossible as I stared at his unremorseful face.

"I know you're mad right now, but think about it when you're calm." He placed some cash on the counter, alongside a card that contained his contact info, and took the can of beans from the counter without requesting a carrier bag. Turning away from me, he walked out of the store.

My right hand on the counter balled into fists as I stared at what he placed on the table, but my attention was suddenly pulled from my thoughts to the angry old lady who stood in front of me when I heard her nasty comment.

"Are you gonna keep standing there like a statue? I don't have leisure time like you pathetic youths, you know?"

"I'm so sorry." I quickly picked up the money, alongside Zeke's card from the counter. I placed the money in the cash drawer, and the card in the back pockets of my pants, before quickly attending to the lady.