“Just hurry the hell up and get over here. I've covered for you for a minute but it's starting to get packed in here. All the locals are starting to come back and most of the tourists haven't left yet, so we're getting freaking swamped.”
“Rose! Need you over here!” Came a muffled yell through the phone.
“Coming!” she yelled back, causing me to move the phone away from my ear. I found a semi-clean uniform and hurried into the bathroom, stepping into my pants and jumping to pull them on while holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder. “I'll be there in fifteen.” I hung up without waiting for a reply and slipped my uniform top over my head then quickly ripped a brush through my hair. I winced as it ripped through tangles and took part of my hair with it. I threw it up into a quick, messy ponytail, grabbed my keys and shoes and ran up the stairs.
I got both of my shoes on without stopping as I hopped to the door, which was a feat in itself. Racing to my car, I quickly started it, threw it into drive and sped off.
******
I arrived at The Nook and stared wide eyed at the multitude of customers. I pushed through the throng of people and made my way to the coffee counter. “Geez, you weren't kidding when you said it was packed.” I called out to Rose. She looked up in relief and gestured for me to hurry as she handled taking orders and cashed people out.
“Thank God you're here woman! This place is freaking nuts today!” Brandon called out from the middle of the counter, quickly fixing peoples order. I looked around and noticed that there were more employees there than normal. “I'll say. Did Mary Beth call in the others?” I gestured with a nod to the other employees who were scurrying around.
Smiling in thanks at a customer, Rose answered, “Yeah, Mom had to. We were completely bombarded first thing this morning and since somebody decided to play sleeping beauty we were sadly understaffed.” She sent a pointed look my way then quickly wrote down a drink order on the side of a disposable cup, rang it in and gave the customer back his change. Seeing a line of drinks waiting to be made, I hurried over to Brandon’s side.
“Hey.” I said as I picked up the next cup and quickly put the order together. A line of customers stood at that end of the counter, waiting impatiently for their coffee. He nodded in return as we started to fill the orders in silence. We made our way through the orders. The line sped up with both of us working in tandem to get the orders out as fast as we could.
I glanced over at the clock and noticed that I had been there for nearly two hours already. The line was finally slowing down. “Go on and take a break, Brandon. I can handle the last of the orders.”
He looked at the line then sent a hopeful glance my way. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I got it. If any more come in and I start getting overwhelmed, I'll just yell for you.”
“Thanks babe, you're the best!” he pecked me quickly on the cheek then hurried out from behind the counter, making his way to the break area.
“Another admirer I see.” Came a warm voice, the sound of it sent delightful shivers down my body. I looked up into the obsidian eyes of the jerk. A teasing smile warmed his strong face, causing a fluttering sensation to erupt low in my stomach.
I resisted the urge to go to him and turned back to my work. My God, if anything he was more attractive than when I first ran into him. I half hoped I'd never see him again, but the fun side of me had drooled over the possibility. Looks like the fun side wins this time. “No, he's just a friend. That’s all.”
With a quirk of his brow he leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his strong chest. “Oh really. And what about Gabe? Is he just a friend too?”
I looked up at him with a glare. “I hardly know Gabe, have just ran into him a couple times, and yes, he is just a friend.” I didn't know how he knew about Gabe. It kind of freaked me out until I remembered Rose's words the night before. Everyone knows everything when you live in a small town. No privacy. Great.
He stayed silent as I worked through the orders, content to watch me. I tried to quell the guilty feeling that churned in my stomach and refused to acknowledge him again. Although I could feel his presence like he was standing flush against me. I didn't even know why I felt guilty. I had nothing to feel guilty about. I didn't mean anything to them and neither of them had a claim over me. Nor would they. Besides, I didn't need anyone right now, even if they were hot. I looked up as I felt him move away, his lingering gaze seeming to burn through me.
Hours later, the line finally slowed to a trickle. I was exhausted. “Hey, Mike. Do you mind taking over for a minute? I haven't even got any coffee yet.” I was tempted to pout, but held back. Barely.
“Go ahead, Star. I'll cover your break.”
I smiled brightly at him and gave him a quick hug in thanks, then grabbed a coffee and made my way over to a side table. I sat down and propped my tired feet up on the chair across from me, sighing in relief as the pressure faded.
I glanced around and noticed the jerk was sitting at a table near the front with a group of other people his age, one of which was of particular interest.
She was gorgeous. Pin straight golden blond hair hung softly down her back, resting in a perfectly straight line at the beginning of her perfectly curved hips. She was leaning back in her chair, poised in relaxation with her hand trailing slowly up and down his arm. They looked like the perfect couple, her lightness making his dark hair and eyes even darker.
I was beginning to hate the word perfect, and as I watched her hand trail up his arm once more I felt the urge to rip it off and smack her with it. My eyes widened as that feeling ran through my body. I didn't know why I was now jealous. There was no reason for it and as I replayed my earlier self-talk in my head the jealousy seemed to laugh at me, mock me.
Her royal blue eyes locked onto my violet ones as she looked over her dainty shoulder. She smirked, watching my expression as she increased her petting of him. I wanted to flip her off but thought better of it. It would only entice her, whoever she was, so I did the mature thing. I sat back and rolled my eyes at her. Her laughter floated back to me as she turned back to the table.
I picked furiously at the top of my coffee cup and tried to not let the waves of jealousy consume me. He's not mine, stop acting that way, I chastised myself.
My inner voice popped up. If he's not yours, and he's hers, then why the hell did he act that way toward you the other day?
I frowned and thought it over. Well, maybe he's a player. I so don't have time for a player.
You don't have time for any type of guy.
Touché, I froze when I realized I was talking to myself. At least it wasn't audible.
“I'm losing my damn mind.”
“Well, that isn't very good.” Came an answer. For a moment I thought it was my inner voice again and almost panicked at the thought that it sounded like Gabe. I looked up, relieved that Gabe hadn't taken over my inner voice, but didn't want to see him in person either. I sighed and moved my feet so he could sit down.
“What's up?” I asked, looking into his warm amber eyes. The reflecting light from the front windows cast him in warm tones, bringing out the natural blond highlights in his hair and warming up his tan. Giving his already good looks an almost unearthly appeal. He cocked a brow at me and I noticed that I was staring. I blushed and looked away.
“You didn't hear anything I just said, did you?”
“Of course I did.” I crossed my arms over my chest and hoped he'd buy my bluff.
His eyes started to drift down but he quickly raised them to my face. “Uh huh. So if you were listening, oh mighty astute one, then what did I say?” I had no luck today.
“Um—that you're awesome?”
He laughed and leaned closer to me. “Good answer, but sadly, that wasn't what I said. I asked why you think you're losing your mind.” As I looked into his warm eyes I felt an urge to tell him everything. To just, for once, be completely open about everything that was happening to me and everything that I was afraid of.
I broke eye contact and looked away. I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell anyone. “It's nothing. I was just talking to myself.”
His smile faltered a little. “Okay. But just know that if you ever want to talk that I'm here for you.”
“What, you're going to move into The Nook now just to 'be here' whenever I need to talk?”
His laugh warmed a small part of me. I noted that when he laughed, his entire face seemed to light up, making me want to laugh too just to feel that same carefree joy. I smiled and looked back toward the jerks table only to lock gazes with him. He was glaring at me, looking pointedly between me and Gabe.
My smile fell. I raised an eyebrow at him and gestured to the girl still sitting beside him. His glare fell as his face became an unemotional mask. He shrugged and turned his attention back to his table.
“What was that about?” Gabe asked, looking over at the jerks table.
I sighed and relaxed into the chair. “Honestly, I have no idea. I don't know what's going on with him.”
“How long have you known him?” There was a slight edge to his voice.
I laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Hey, none of that. I don't know why you guys hate each other so much. But to answer your question, I've ran into him once.”
“That's all? And why do you think we hate each other?”
“Yeah, that’s all. Besides, I don't even know his name. And to answer your question you guys look like you're going to attack each other at any given moment.” I shrugged and looked at Gabe expectantly.
“What?”
“Are you going to tell me why you two hate each other and what his name is?”
He sent a glare over at the jerk which was happily returned. “His name's Andrei, and we don't hate each other exactly. It's more like were from different fractions.”
“Um, okay, can you please speak English instead of Modern Warfare?”
He laughed and lightly traced the dimple in my cheek. “You're cute when you're being all dorky, you know that?”
I blushed as I swatted his hand away. “Well isn't that the sweetest thing I've ever heard? Spill it, Gabe.”
“Okay, so you're going to be going to Shiloh High, right?” he looked almost hopeful.
“Yeah, I'll be a senior. Why?”
“Well, those kids over there,” he said with a nod toward Andrei's table, “are the private school kids. All rich, all spoiled, all of them thinking their better than us. They only come down to mingle with us 'common folk' on the weekends and on school breaks, which is why I personally don't like them. Plus, they're just weird.”
“Weird? Weird how?”
“I don't know, they just give off this vibe. Like there's something more to them, something buried in them that no one can see.” He laughed the subject off. “Stupid, I know.”
My face paled as I looked over to the table where Andrei and all the others were getting ready to leave. As I caught his gaze, he looked at me, a question burning in his eyes. This is why I could never tell anyone. The scorn that would be shown to me would more than likely surpass those shown between the schools rivalry. “No, it's not stupid. I know what you mean.”
I didn't think I could take another look of horror from someone else. With one last look at Andrei, I turned back to Gabe. He was watching me silently. It was kind of creepy. I rose and pushed the chair back under the table. “Well, I've got to get back to work. I'll see you later.” I hoped not.
“Definitely.” Damn it.
Chapter Seventeen
I waved goodbye to everyone as my shift finally came to an end. I paused as I stepped out into the late afternoon sun, closed my eyes and soaked in the warmth of the sun's rays.
I sighed as I stretched out my aching muscles. It was one hell of a day and it wasn't over yet. I got into my car and slumped forward, banging my head against the steering wheel. “This is just fabulous. All I want to do is go home, take a shower, and pass the hell out.”
I drove to the therapist office and stormed through the doors, heading straight to the back where James sat behind his desk. The sputtering of the receptionist was cut off as I slammed the door behind me.
James jumped, obviously startled. I sank into my chair and sent a pointed look his way. “Look, can we just hurry up and start without the normal lead in’s? I'm exhausted and all I want to do is go to bed.”
“Okay. You seem more on edge today.”
“No, I'm not on edge, I'm worn the fuck out.” I snapped, the darkness returning with a vengeance. I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself. I'm in control… I can deal with this. The breathing didn't seem to be helping much anymore, but I clung to it. I hoped that it would offer some type of relief from the building darkness.
“Okay, you're worn out. Got it.”
I shook my head. “Look, if I just finish talking about what Becca was doing, can I leave early.”
He thought it over for a moment then nodded his head. “Sure, we could do that.”
I closed my eyes and threw myself back into the past, not prepared for all the emotions that came with it. “So she started out destroying my reputation, going around saying that I wasn't the 'good' girl that I claimed to be. I quickly became known as anorexic. The only reasons I was in advanced classes was because I was fucking all the teachers, the females included.”
“It didn't bother me at first because I didn't really care about any of her so-called friends. I didn't know them, and they didn't know me, so why should their beliefs bother me? But then, people who were my friends started getting messed with. By simply being my friend they were getting hurt in the crossfire.”
“How so?”
“It started out small, some of the rumors that were going around about me started to spread to them too. At first, they were adamant in protecting me, standing up for me when everyone else were turning away. But then, they slowly started to walk away too. One of the worst things that happened was one of my ex-boyfriend’s had his car set on fire just because he dated me—” I breathed deeply again. The rising anger was fighting against me, trying to lash out as all the pain came back with the emotions. I thought I had all the feelings locked away for good, that I was free of them. I was an idiot.
“How old were you?”
“I had just turned seventeen when they all abandoned me. I was left with no friends, no one to talk to, laugh with, or go out with. My parents started getting worried, sending me to different therapists trying to 'fix' what was wrong with me.”
“What do you mean by fix?”
I looked over at him. “They thought I did something to cause the break with everyone. Sure, at first they believed me and stood by my side. However, when everyone turned on me, they became swayed by the vote of the masses. I couldn't blame them, really. After all, when there's so many people telling you with conviction that the sky isn't blue, it’s orange, even though you know the skies blue, eventually you'll start thinking its orange too.”
“You're telling me you honestly didn't blame them?” he sounded doubtful.
“No, I didn't blame them, but that doesn't mean that I never hated or resented them for it.”
“Good point.”
“So, the therapists didn't know what to do with me. My rising anger didn't help anything or sway any more people my way. They started putting me on anti-depressants, thinking I was manic-depressive.”
“I take it that didn't work?”
“If by 'worked' you mean making me completely emotionally void, then yeah, it worked perfectly. I was like a walking zombie. The most messed up thing about it all is that I remember everything during those days. I remember everything people said and did, and I would just sit there, outwardly not caring. It was like I was locked inside myself, and no matter how much I fought, I couldn't break out.” I stared up at the ceiling, ignoring the tears streaming down my face. I curled into myself, folding so I could lay in the chair.
“What happened, Star? What got you to this point?”
�
�That's the whole thing, I don't know how any of it happened.”
“What was the final break?”
I looked him squarely in the eyes, my voice completely void of the tornadic waves of emotions rolling through me. “They tried to have me arrested for the attempted murder of Becca.”
><><><><
The days started to blur into each other as the rage within me grew. I became numb to all outside influences and fell into a seemingly endless routine. Work, therapy, sleep. The tourists finally left, causing The Nook to fall back into a more subdued pace.
I didn't think that all the days I spent numb were a good thing exactly. It wasn't normal and wasn't what I had become used to. It almost felt like the calm before the storm. Everything had been quiet, too quiet as the breathless anticipation of destruction mounted.
I leaned against the back counter, immersed in the latest paranormal romance release. Working at a book store definitely had its benefits.
“Excuse me.” I looked over the top of the book and stared into the most perfect cornflower blue eyes I'd ever seen. Long, thick lashes framed them, making them seem to pop. I would have found them beautiful if it wasn't the complete look of disgust that was shining through them.
“Can I help you?”
“I doubt it.” My hackles rose. She crossed her arms over her well-formed chest and tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder.
Great, it's a pissed off Barbie. I frowned as I took in the obvious hostility the girl was projecting.
”Um, okay. Well if there isn't anything I can do for you—” I gestured vaguely, hoping the girl would just take the hint and leave. No such luck.
“I'm waiting for my boyfriend.” She stated simply, returning her glare to me again.
“Well that's nice.” I was confused. Was I supposed to throw confetti at her statement or something? I didn't know why she thought that I would care. I shrugged and turned back to my book.
“Gabe.” I stiffened at his name and put the book down.
“You must be Jenni.”
The Prophecy Page 12
