The Journey( A bolt from the blue)

Sophie Magaña

Trembling in fear, sweat dripping down her face and body, Sophie ran out of her house. She wasn't ready to put the images in her head together as it was too much for her to deal with. She was barely alive at this point and she could feel she was going nuts while muttering some words.

"No! I am not a murderer. I did it out of self-defence. He came at me first. He was going to kill me first if I didn't and...no, no, no, I didn't mean to, I never wanted to... argh!"

She made a stop, trying to catch her breath and regain a little energy, and at the same time soothe her thoughts but continued racing immediately at the sound of a gunshot.

She didn't even look back to find out who it was or where it came from because she only cared about her life and getting out of that environment was her only priority.

About three miles away from the house was the distance she was able to cover when a black SUV drove past her and stopped.

For a second, she stopped but at this point, weak in her knees and extremely exhausted.

She bent down placing her head and both of her hands on her knees as a form of supporting her stance but suddenly raised her head at the sound of the car door.

Her eyes were opened widely, moving in different angles of the car and the figure in front of her as she tried to figure out who it was. She was terrified by the thought of her being caught without a chance of survival.

But then her mind was already made up to rather die while trying to save herself than die without trying to survive and so, she continued running.

"Excuse me, my boss would..."

Christiano's right-hand man who was his closest bodyguard said and stopped in awe as he watched the petit lady run away.

He shrugged his shoulders while leaving both hands suspended in the air and shook his head as an involuntary action that came alongside the shock of her reaction.

Gently making his way back to the car, he opened the front seat and sat down, holding onto the seat belt to strap on himself for safety precaution.

"What's going on?" Christiano, the most feared and respected billionaire asked.

"She seemed to be in a hurry and scared at the same time. I think something's wrong boss". Damien replied.

"Follow her now!" Christiano ordered.

With a high speed enough to meet up with the young lady who had run past them, Christiano's car darted out.

"Look at her, look at her" Damien uttered with a smile on his face and unknowingly clapping his hands, pointing in her direction like he was happy to see her again.

After a few seconds, he realized how excited he seemed just by finding her and felt embarrassed but became more embarrassed as he noticed that everyone in the car was looking at him, shocked at his reaction as it was a first for the sturdy, disciplined Damien to be seen in such a manner.

While scoffing with his two fingers placed on his forehead, Christiano muttered some words "Damien, seems you've found the one, huh".

"No boss", Damien replied Christiano immediately trying to clear the situation.

"Well, get her then". Christian said with a chuckle.

Sophie was sitting on a block along Malderin Street, trying to rest as she was exhausted and her legs were numb.

It was a sunny day in Los Angeles, California which was supposed to be a good day for her but clearly, it was the opposite.

Lost in thoughts, Sophie was long gone as her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were stained with tears. Quietly sobbing was all she could do at that point of remembrance of how her day had been which even made her unaware of her environment.

"Excuse me miss, excuse me miss" Damien said while snapping his fingers in her face trying to bring her back from whatever place she was lost in.

Grabbing the block, with her eyes wide open and her mouth trying to utter a word, Sophie looked up at the man in front of her with her heart skipping very fast and her palms getting sweaty.

"Who are you?" Sophie asked with a shaky voice as she tried to be calm in front of the strange man.

"Hi, I'm Damien, and my boss wants to speak with you", Damien replied while pointing in the direction of the car.

Looking around in wonder at what the young man had said but wasn't understanding him or his gestures, Sophie asked," What bo...ss, Damien?"

Damien smirked and turned to show her Christiano's car but was shocked as the road was empty.

"Uhmm, excuse me, let me make a call", Damien said while reaching out for his phone in his pocket.

"Bring her home" was the message he saw immediately he opened his phone and of course, he knew that it was an order from Christiano that was to be carried out immediately.

At this point, he was the one lost in thought for a few seconds until Sophie called his name.

"Damien?" she called, hoping to get an explanation for what was going on as she already figured out that he wasn't there to harm her due to the situation earlier.

"I'm so sorry about this, but can you follow me to meet my boss. We mean no harm and he would love to speak with you. It's not a long distance from here".

Damien told Sophie with his eyes narrowed at her face, leaving a perfect shape to reveal his golden brown eyes as it was something he used on ladies to get them to do his bid without hesitation.

With different thoughts in her head, Sophie looked at Damien, hoping to see something that would have stood as a red flag for such a request he made, but after a minute of finding nothing, she decided to make use of the opportunity to get off the street.

"I don't mind following you but it'll be on one condition". Sophie told Damien with her heart racing as she was unsure of how Damien was going to take her negotiation.

Damien's eyes opened wide as he was not expecting the petit lady to have some nerves, even though he could sense she was scared.

"I'm in", Damien said to Sophie with his right hand stretched out as a gesture for a handshake.

"You didn't even ask what the condition is," Sophie told Damien as she looked at his hand hanging out for support from hers to save him from some embarrassment later on.

"Well, there's nothing, you'll ask for that can't be done, provided you follow me", Damien said while taking back his hand and folding them across his chest.

Sophie looked at him not sure how she felt about his response but decided to give it a try, after all, her life was already at risk.

"Fine. It's a deal then". Sophie said with a smirk on her face and stretching her hand out to reach for a handshake as she thought about what she was going to request from Damien and his boss.

Damien shook her immediately while saying, "Yes, it's a deal Miss. We have less than 30 minutes to make it there on time. Let's go".