Color Me Blind (A Divine Love Story Book 1) (21 page)

Ahmed
was the only one she knew up close and personal even though she was acquainted with others.  Carmen was an avid reader.  She loved spy novels and political thrillers.  They probably didn’t help her paranoia for terrorists.  If it hadn’t been for her close friendship with Ahmed she would likely not give any of them the benefit of the doubt.  She didn’t want to add to the tension in the house because Blake and Jasmine left it ice cold that morning.  It hadn’t warmed up since. 

She didn’t understand the depth of the buttons they’d pushed for each other but she knew it was pretty bad. 
One thing about Blake and Jasmine, they protected each other’s secrets like they were state secrets.  They had always been fiercely loyal to each other.

She
didn’t think they would give up each other’s secrets if they were tortured.  She believed the only reason they heard what they did was because the two were unaware anyone was listening.  She really hoped they could find a way to deal with whatever was going on between them.  She just thought the tension between them was sexual.  They should just bounce on each other and be done with it. 

She didn’t want the image of them getting their freak on in her mind so she nixed that thought process.  She was about to change the channel when her phone vibrated on the couch next to her.  She popped a
hand full of popcorn in her mouth as she picked it up. 

She opened the text from Lucy and began to choke on the popcorn that was now awkwardly lodged in her throat.  She began to cough violently
.  Her mind was on what she’d just read.  She thought meeting her demise because of a popcorn kernel was too much to fathom.  She got down on her hands and knees and continued to cough. 

H
er eyes were beginning to water.  She started to get scared that she would choke to death. She didn’t have time to choke to death.  She had to go and she had to go now.  She knew she couldn’t panic because she was all alone and she was her only hope.  She tried to think. 

She put her finger down her throat and made herself vomit up the popcorn.  She plopped down on the floor trying to
catch her breath, but she was still coughing.  She put her head between her legs and took slow deep breaths. 

The words from the text message were like a flashing billboard in he
r head.  She knew the feelings of guilt would surface any moment.  She got up to get a wet paper towel to clean up her mess.  When she finished she shoved her feet in Lucy’s flip flops by the door and headed out.

Ahmed was waiting for the
clerk in the seafood department to hand him his order.  It was the last thing on his list.  He was more than ready to leave.  His confidence in people had once again been tested.  As he walked through the aisles of the grocery store minding his own business he got a variety of nasty looks from every race and every gender. 

There was even a woman who
actually pulled her kid closer to her when he walked by.  That was the last straw.  He would never harm a kid.  The assumption that he would completely destroyed his faith in his fellow human beings.  He could feel the bitterness settling in. That couldn’t be a good thing because he would be just like the people that were ticking him off. 

At least
the clerk in the seafood department who handed him his food was pleasant enough. 

He grabbed
it and said, “Thank you.” 

When he turned to leave there was a
n African-American woman standing not too far from him.  He made eye contact with her. 

S
he said, “You might want to hurry up and get home. It’s probably not safe for you.” 

His mouth went slack.
Was she threatening him or warning him?  He didn’t respond, just walked toward the check-out lines.  He was so irritated he just wanted to go home.  When he got to the front of the store there were quite a few short lines but he chose the long one because it was the lane of his favorite cashier Alyssa.  He needed to see a friendly face and hear a friendly voice to restore his faith in humanity.  As he patiently waited for his turn he purposely ignored everyone around him because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could contain his resentment.

Alyssa d
idn’t disappoint. Her beautiful smiling face was just what he needed. 

She greeted him, “Hi Ahmed.
How are you today?” 

“Not so great
, but I’m sure it’s about to get better.” 

Alyssa looked at his purchases.

Her
gray eyes sparkled with mischief, “Looks like someone has a hot date.” 

Ahmed smiled genuinely
for the first time all day long.

“Looks like.” 

“Well, when you come in here next week I want to hear all about it.” 

“Well
maybe just the PG highlights.” 

She laughed, “Ahmed you
so are crazy.” 

He grinned and paid for his purchases. 

She said, “Get home safe.  See you soon.” 

“Bye.”

He walked out feeling slightly better.  He remembered his night promised to be amazing.  He couldn’t wait to see Victoria.  Even though his day royally sucked he walked out the store with a smile on his face.  He was crossing the parking lot to get to his car.  As he began to pull his keys out of his pocket something struck him hard in the back of his head. 

He dropped the bags and automatically reached back to touch his head.  Fighting hard to keep his balance he saw the can of soda laying on the ground near him spewing out its con
tents.  His head began to throb.  He turned around slowly to see three young men quickly approaching him.  He saw them in the store a few times.  Had they been following him?  Panic began to set in. He couldn’t figure out exactly what was happening. 

H
is car was only three parking spaces away.  He knew he had to get there and fast.  His keys never made it out of his pocket. He reached to grab them and started moving as fast as he could towards his car.  He remembered the gun in his glove compartment.  God help him because he would use it today. 

He heard three sets of f
ootsteps approaching behind him.  He was trying to fumble for his cell phone in his breast suit pocket.  He looked around to see if anyone was in the parking lot that could help him.  He pulled his hand away from his head because he needed both hands and saw his own blood stained them.  He really began to panic.  There was no one in the parking lot except him and his attackers. 

As he approached his door his keys slipped from his hand
because it was slicked with blood.  He was also starting to feel dizzy. He bent down to pick them up and saw the kick coming for his face.  He went down.  He felt fists and shoes hitting him all over his body. 

All he could do at
this point was try to protect his head.  He heard and felt something snap.  The pain was a hellish burn that caused his consciousness to initiate retreat.  He was slipping quickly. 

He heard a scream coming from a distance yelling, “Stop!
Stop!  Somebody help him please!” 

It was the last thing he heard before everything went black.

Alyssa had noticed the three guys loitering outside the door as Ahmed was heading out, but her attention was taken by the toddler in the basket screaming at the top of his lungs.  When she looked back outside she saw one of them throw something. She couldn’t really see what it was or where it landed.  Something felt off to her so when she finished ringing up that customer she excused herself to get a closer look.  That’s when she saw it. 

She ran out of the store screaming for them to
stop.  She couldn’t believe it. They were beating Ahmed.  She had never seen anything so horrid in her 21 years of life.  She fumbled for her cell phone in her pocket and dialed 911. 

The dispatcher answer
ed.

“Yes hello.
They’re gonna kill him.” 

“Ma’am, can you calm down and tell me
what happened?” 

Alyssa
felt helpless.

“My customer is being beat up in the parking lot
.  He’s not moving.  Help him, someone please,” she screamed into the phone. 

“Ma’am what is your location.” 

Alyssa yelled out their location and said, “Please hurry.” 

The three young men were running away from Ahmed’s limp bod
y.  Alyssa rushed over to him.  She had to stop herself from vomiting.  There was blood everywhere.  She could barely recognize his face.  With great effort she reached down and touched his neck to see if she could find a pulse. 

“Ma’am are you still there,” the dispatcher asked. 

Alyssa took a deep gulp.

“Ye…Yes, I’m here.” 

She was crying now and seeing his blood on her hands was a bit too much for her. 

She softly said,
“He has a very weak pulse.  You guys need to hurry.” 

“The paramedics and police are on their way ma’am.  Can you tell me your name?” 

“My name, uh…my name is Alyssa.” 

Alyssa wa
s terrified and she didn’t know CPR.  She was afraid to even try to move him. 

She
whispered a silent prayer and said, “Hold on. Help is on the way.  I’m so sorry I didn’t get out here sooner.” 

“Ma’am can you describe the people who assaulted him.” 

She reached out and held Ahmed’s bloody hand because if it had been her she would want to know someone was there. 

“Um yes, n
ot good though. There was a white guy and a black guy and I’m not sure about the other guy.” 

“Can you give any other additional descriptions?” 

Alyssa was getting annoyed. Who cares, Ahmed was literally dying in the street. 

“Um, no I can’t I was trying to help my friend not get details.” 

“I understand Alyssa. We just need to get all the information we can to help your friend.” 

Alyssa could hear sirens in the background heading her way
. 

She
whispered, “Hold on Ahmed.  They’re almost here.”  An idea occurred to her. “Wait, we have cameras that monitor the parking lot. You can have them pull the tapes.” 

Alyssa stood to
frantically wave down the paramedics.  She was jumping up and down.  Patrons were beginning to crowd the front of the store as the EMT and two police cars pulled up. 

The paramedics pulled up to her and
hopped out.  They began to work.  She heard them say he was still breathing.  When they lifted him to put him on the stretcher she saw his keys were on the ground.  She bent down to pick them up and a glint from under the car caught her eye. 

She got down on her hands and knees and pulled his cell phone from under the car.  It
was surprisingly intact save for a little blood.  The paramedics were loading him and the two police officers were coming toward her.  She looked down at herself and saw the blood on her shirt and all over her hands.  It made her outraged.  She couldn’t understand how anyone could do that to another human being, especially one as sweet as Ahmed. 

He had been coming to her register for over a year now.
He was always polite, always had a smile, and never treated her like she was beneath him even though she knew he made a lot of money doing whatever he did.  He was always impeccably dressed in a tailored suit whenever he came in on a weekday. 

The police officer asked, “Ma’am
, could you please tell us what happened?” 

Before she could respond, her boss, a portly man came running over. 

Sweat poured from his face from the run.

“My God Alyssa, are you alright?
What in the world happened out here?” 

The other officer responded, “Sir we need to ask her some questions if you could just let us speak with her first.” 

He nodded.

“Sure officer, I’m sorry.” 

Alyssa ran down everything that she remembered trying her best to remember every detail, but her emotions were all over the place.  They asked her question after question and she answered them the best she could. 

One of the officers asked her boss, “Sir, can we get the surveillance tapes please?” 

“Yes sir officers. Please give me just one moment.”  He turned to Alyssa.  “Listen honey, why don’t you go on home, try to get cleaned up and maybe go see Ahmed at the hospital.” 

She wiped at the tears that neve
r stopped running down her face.  She realized she had just smeared Ahmed’s blood on her face.  The nausea she’d been fighting won out this time.  She turned, bent over and was viciously ill.  Her boss pulled her curly blonde hair away as her system purged itself.  This whole ordeal disturbed him to no end.  He couldn’t imagine what would possibly make someone do something like this.  Ahmed was a nice young man who they saw every week. He really hoped he would make it.

Alyssa apologized and told her boss she would be okay.  When he and
the officers headed back to the store Alyssa followed to get her purse and keys.  She made herself have tunnel vision.  She ignored the questions, the stares and the murmurs.  She could only imagine that she looked like a walking nightmare, except this was her reality. 

All she could think about was if Ahmed was going to die.  She realized she still had his phone in her hand.  She had given the keys to the officers but kept the phone.  She remembered that he ha
d a very close group of friends. She met all of them on one occasion when they all came in for a big party they had one time. 

Sitting in her car
now she tried to remember the name of the friend she saw Ahmed with the most.  She was a black woman with big curly hair. 

“Come on Alyssa think, what was her name?” 

She pressed a button and made the phone light up.  She was so grateful it wasn’t locked.  She began to scroll through his call log and when she saw Jasmine Monroe she remembered her name.  She took out her cell phone and dialed Jasmine’s number.

She answered on the second ring. 

“Hello.” 

“Hello?  May I speak to Jasmine?” 

“This is she, who’s calling?” 

“My name is Alyssa and I have Ahmed’s phone.  He was attacked tonight in the grocery store parking lot.” 

“Oh my God!  Is he okay?  Is he conscious?” 

“I’m not sure
.  He lost a lot of blood but he has been rushed to University Hospital.  I am on my way up there now.  I didn’t know who else to call.” 

“
Okay, we are on our way right now.  I will contact his next of kin.” 

The phone hung up and Alyssa just stared at it.  She sent up prayers and turned on her car to head to the emergency room.