Reid
It has been several days since that incident in my bar, and I still can’t wrap my head around what happened. Despite not wanting to think it, I’ve had no other choice but to put the whole thing down to the strong marijuana I’d gotten from Akilah. I did Google it, and although it’s not common to hallucinate on marijuana, it is possible.
I’m desperate to see Dr Mercy. A part of me wants to see her to ask her about what’s happening, but another part of me misses her. I hate that. I don’t miss people. I normally don’t give a shit. I keep telling myself that it’s just because of everything that’s been happening. She’s my calm after a battering storm.
I missed seeing her last week. She had to visit her family in Scotland. I’ve been tempted to call, but so far, I’ve managed to stop myself. I’ll be seeing her tomorrow, so today, I feel brighter. It also helps that it’s another beautiful day. There isn’t a cloud in the sky as I walk around the local Sunday market. As usual, it’s packed with people who want to do some weekend shopping. Unfortunately, all of the shops here are closed on Sundays, so there are very few things to do. At the market, at least everyone can still get fresh produce or pick up a bargain item or two. Me, I sometimes like to just walk up and down the aisles and feel the buzz from the people. Sometimes, I manage to pick up some lemons and limes for the bar real cheap. In fact, I have two bagfuls with me now.
One of the men at a market stall offers a blue and white striped shirt to look at, but I shake my head, offering a smile. When I turn to look where I’m walking, my smile fades. I see her.
Scarlet.
With a beautiful orange and red maxi dress on, she stands tall with another man by her side. Her hair is the same, but somehow different like it’s not really her hair. A flashback flitters across my mind of her bouncing on my cock when I was drunk off my face. She looks the same as she did then.
When she catches me staring, she locks her bright green eyes with mine and smirks. At first, I can’t move. My feet are locked into place.
“Scarlet,” I whisper, knowing she must be real. She’s alive. She’s fucking alive.
It’s only when the man she’s with grabs her hand and pulls her through the crowd that my feet find movement, making me drop my bags. I have to get closer—to definitely see for myself. I was a good twenty yards away from her, but enough to know it was her.
It has to be her.
Cursing under my breath when I lose them in the crowd for a second, I keep pushing through ignoring the grunts of displeasure from a couple of the locals I push aside. My stomach drops when I think I’ve lost them, but then I spot a strand of red hair bouncing from the sun. I know Scarlet was brunette, but her hair used to always flame red in the sun. I always used to marvel at that.
Keeping the momentum going, I see the dress, and I know I’m close. I can only see their backs, but I know it’s still them. The guy’s wearing a pair of navy khaki shorts and a white polo shirt, and he’s still tugging on her hand through the crowd. My blood boils thinking that she’s with someone else.
Is it that fucker Stuart? He has the same hair and the same build. If it’s him, I’ll kill him. I had originally planned on killing Stuart, but after I took my rage out on Scarlet, I knew I needed to flee. But now, thinking it’s him, my murderous rage surfaces, causing me to practically run towards the couple.
And I never run.
My smile grows wide as I get closer. I’m almost within striking distance when a kid falls over in front of me and starts crying. The mother, noticing this, bends down and starts soothing the wailing kid. I try to scoot around them, but there’s nowhere to go.
“Shit,” I curse under my breath, tip-toeing up to see if I can still see them. They’re there still, holding each other’s hands as they disappear from sight.
I’m not fucking giving up yet.
In my desperation, I pick the kid up and push him towards his mother. She starts shouting at me in Spanish. I apologise, but this just makes her angrier. I can’t stay here much longer as it’ll attract attention, so I push through and sprint towards the end of the aisle and out towards the corner of the street they’d turned onto when they disappeared. Once there, I look everywhere for them, but I can’t see them. I run down to the end of the next street, and that’s when I spot them, hand in hand.
Wasting no more time, I run towards the couple, and this time I know I will reach them. I have no obstacles in my way now.
Triumphant that I’m finally going to catch her—and murder Stuart in the process—I close in on them, my hand reaching out before I’ve even caught up.
As soon as I’m just close enough, I tug hard on Scarlet’s shoulder and spin her around.
But it’s not Scarlet.
She gives me a disgusted look. “What the fuck?” She seethes, looking angry at me.
The fucker she’s with—who I realise now isn’t Stuart—closes the gap between us and practically moves up in my face. “What the fuck’s wrong with you, man?”
I move away, apologising. “I thought she was someone else.”
He closes the gap between us. “That doesn’t give you the right to pour your hands all over my girl. I could fuck you up for this.”
I start laughing. I can’t help it. “Give it your best shot, arsehole. You’ll see what happens.” I look at the girl, realising that although there are similarities, there is no way that this is Scarlet. “I thought you were someone else. I offered my apologies, now I suggest we forget the whole thing and walk away.”
The idiot she’s with stands his ground, so I flit her a look that tells her that she better get him out of my fucking way. Instantly, she starts tugging on his arm.
“Eric, we’d better go. No one was hurt and he apologised. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Grabbing her hand again, he huffs in my direction. “Okay. I’m going to leave it just this once, but you were this close to getting a fucking smack,” he says, showing me with his finger and thumb just how close. I have this overwhelming urge to break into laughter again, but this time I quash it.
As they both turn and walk away, I let out a breath. I lean against the wall for support and rub my hands over my face. I could have sworn it was her.
I really am going fucking crazy.
Shaking my head, I fetch my iPhone from my pocket where my thumb eventually hovers over Dr Mercy’s number, I know I’m seeing her tomorrow, but I’m also fucking desperate. I’m about to click on her number when my phone starts ringing. It’s from the bar, so I immediately answer, knowing it’s Akilah.
“Brother, we have a problem.”