by Jack Parker
Val.
Damien and Val.
Shit.
CHAPTER 12
Lia groaned and turned over, digging her head into the pillow. The sunlight penetrated the thin curtains and shone in her face, blinding her and stopping her from going back to sleep.
But sleep was so good.
She frowned against the pillowcase, then slid her head out from under the covers. She creased her forehead. She could hear something: a soft noise. Lia slipped out of bed, then rubbed her eyes with the back of her palm.
The noise grew louder as she approached the door. She slid it open. The main room was empty, but the noise continued. It sounded like…sobbing. And it was coming from the kitchen.
She made her way toward it and eased open the door, warily. She ran her eyes over the small kitchen, then spotted Lacey. She was sat on a stool crying and sniffing into a handkerchief.
She bit her lip. What was she meant to do? She didn't know how to handle a crying person. Hell, she didn't know how to handle a person in general.
"Lace, what's wrong?" she said softly. She ran her tongue over her teeth.
Maybe it was something to do with what had happened yesterday.
Lacey sniffed louder and practically dug her head into the handkerchief. She pointed a shaky finger toward the tabletop.
Lia followed it, then rolled her eyes. A chopping board was sprawled over the table top and resting on it was a single onion, sliced down the middle.
"The onion made me cry." Lacey sniffed harder.
Lia frowned. "You woke me up for this?"
Lacey looked up from the handkerchief. Her eyes were red and swollen. "I woke you up?"
"You look a wreck."
"I have sensitive eyes." Lacey grinned, then sniffed again. "Now let me mope in peace."
"What's the onion for?" Lia shuffled her feet.
Lacey knitted her brows in concentration. "I've…forgotten."
"That's clever."
Lacey smiled sheepishly. "I'll figure it out. Anyway, don't you need to go to work?"
Lia's eyes widened. "I totally forgot."
"I can tell."
"I'll go get dressed."
Lacey nodded and dug her head into the handkerchief again. "That's a good idea," she said dryly, her voice muffled.
Lia made her way back to her room and pulled on some trousers and a red tee-shirt which had GANNERS sprawled across the front, then left the building.
She arrived just in time.
"You're early," a voice commented sarcastically. Kel bent down and lifted up a crate.
Lia ran a hand through her hair. "I overslept."
"Help me with these, will you?"
Lia nodded and helped her take the crate toward the storage room, then kicked it open and put it onto the floor.
Kel ran a hand through her hair. It was black, like most Cadlian's hair, and cropped short like a boy's. "Can you do me a favor, Lia?"
"Depends what it is."
She didn't trust Kel. She smiled too much and she seemed too…nice, too nice to be real.
"I need to leave early today. Can you cover up for me?"
"Why do you need to leave early?" Lia asked, curiously.
Kel shuffled her feet. "I just do. So can you?"
Lia bit her lip. "I guess…but only this once."
Kel's face lit up. "Thanks, Lia."
Lia shrugged. "Only this once."
She pushed open the door and made her way behind the counter. The place was beginning to fill up by now so she had to be ready to take orders. Lia propped her elbows on the counter and sighed. She hated this job. She ran her eyes over the counter's wooden surface, observing the dust. It was so yellow…
"So this is where you work?"
Her head shot up. Her eyes widened, then narrowed. "What are you doing here?"
"It's a free country," replied Cal. She continued to glare. "I wanted coffee?"
She raised an eyebrow. "There are plenty of other places."
"Lia, are you scaring away customers?" a voice shot from behind her. Lia frowned as Kel joined her by the counter. She ran her eyes over Cal, then clucked her tongue. "Nice. Don't you think, Lia?"
Lia's eyes widened. He was right in front of them for God's sake. She shuffled her feet. "K-Kel, what a thing to-" She caught sight of Cal's smirk. "What the HELL is with the smirk?!? STOP SMIRKING." She buried her head in her arms and began to take in a few deep breaths.
Cal and Kel regarded her quizzically.
Kel ran a hand through her hair. "She's not usually like this…"
Lia continued breathing deeply. "Sleep…"
"She's just-"
"Tired?" he supplied, the amusement evident in his tone of voice.
"Yeah…"
Lia looked up and glared at him with all the venom that she could muster. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted coffee."
Lia shook her head frantically. "But you didn't, you didn't, you didn't. You're lying!"
Kel ran a hand through her hair. "I think I better leave now…Thanks for covering for me, Lia."
Before they could reply, she ran from behind the counter and toward the door, then left. Lia smiled and smoothened out her hair. Cal regarded her with furrowed brows.
Lia smiled sweetly. "It got rid of her."
The corner of his lips tugged into a grin. "Was that necessary?"
She shrugged. "Not really. But it was fun."
"No-" he creased his forehead "-it was weird."
"Weird, but fun," she said, still smiling. "Now, seriously, why are you here?"
He dug his hands into his pockets. "Why did you want to get rid of her?"
"She's too nice," she replied,"I don't trust her."
The door opened again. Kel stepped back in and made her way behind the counter. A few customers were watching them warily.
She ran a hand through her hair and grinned sheepishly. "I just remembered. I have to stay for a little longer because I'm meant to meet some of my friends here."
Lia nodded slowly. "Okay…" Why did Kel look so nervous?
Cal was watching her as if in deep thought. After noticing Lia's gaze, he snapped his attention back to her. "Can I have that coffee now?" he drawled.
"As long as you pay for it," Lia bit.
He raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I pay for it?"
"I don't know. You tell me."
He regarded her closely. "Are you okay?"
"I-" Lia grinned sheepishly. "I'm…hyper…"
He nodded slowly. "I can tell." He was speaking slowly, too.
Lia frowned. "Don't talk to me as if I'm thick."
"I talk to you as if you're thick because you are thick," he commented wryly.
She pouted. "I'm… unique."
He arched an eyebrow. "How long did it take for you to come up with that?"
"I don't know. I'm not sad enough to count the seconds it takes for me to come up with something." She grinned.
He rolled his eyes. "If you want to use my insults, use them properly." He looked amused.
"Why do you look so amused?"
"You're amusing."
"You're not meant to tell me that."
He shrugged. "You asked a question and I answered it."
"It was rhetorical."
"It didn't sound rhetorical."
She rested her head on her elbows, then tilted it to the side. "Well, you need to get your ears checked, then."
"And you need to get your brain checked."
She feigned confusion. "I'd need to have a brain to get it checked."
The corners of his lips turned up into a grin. "I hear monkeys are good substitutes."
"For what?"
"For brains."
"I don't get it."
He brushed a stray bang from before his eyes. "You never get it."
She laughed. "I know…"
"Know what?"
"That I never get it."
He shrugged. "What do you propose we do?"
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She bit her lip and pretended to think for a moment, then replied. "Why don't you make me get it?"
His voice dropped. "And how do you propose I do that?"
She smiled lightly. "Why don't you tell me?"
A voice cut through their conversation. "Children, no flirting over the counter."
Lia flushed and shot her head up, then flattened her arms against the counter. "We weren't flirting."
Kel raised an eyebrow. "Of course you weren't," she said dryly.
Cal ran a hand through his hair. "I better go now." He sounded wary.
He took a step back and dug his hands into his pockets.
Lia frowned. "I thought you wanted coffee?"
He cocked his head to the side, causing a few chestnuts bangs to fall into his eyes. He brushed them away. "So did I."
She knitted her brows in confusion. He pulled some money out of his pocket and placed it onto the counter. She raised an eyebrow.
He smirked. "You need coffee."
She opened her mouth to retort, then snapped it shut.
"It might wake you up and make you less hyper."
She smiled and bit her lip. "Coffee makes you hyper-er."
He creased his brow. "There's no such word."
She laughed. "There is now." She lifted up the note. "Now take back your money. I'm not having coffee."
He shrugged, then grinned. "Consider it a tip."
She pocketed it and sighed dramatically. "Since you insist."
"You were meant to insist I take it back."
She pouted. "Aww, but I didn't, did I?"
He laughed. She had never seen him laugh before. It was deep and husky, yet rough at the same time, but he sounded playful and carefree. She couldn't describe it. Lia found herself looking at him closely. The corners of his eyes creased up when he laughed. It was cute.
"You can stop looking now."
Lia stuck out her tongue. "I might just buy that coffee and tip it over your head."
He grinned and took a step back, once again digging his hands into his pockets. "Not if I get away beforehand."
She cocked her head to the side. "What's stopping you?"
"I just wanted to watch you make a fool of yourself in front of your customers."
"And why would I do that?"
"You're prone to accidents."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm touched by your concern."
His grin deepened causing the corners of his eyes to crease again. "Bye."
She waved. "Good riddance."
He sauntered towards the door, then waved back. "You know you love my company."
"In your dreams."
"In my nightmares," he retorted. He closed the door behind him.
Lia sighed and pulled out a cloth to wipe the counter. It was way too yellow. Dust wasn't meant to be yellow; it was meant to be brown; therefore, there was seriously something wrong with the dust on the counter.
Kel patted her on the shoulder. Lia turned to face her.
"Who was that?"
Lia shrugged. "A friend of a friend," she replied absently.
Kel narrowed her eyes. "It didn't seem like that."
"What do you mean?"
Kel seemed to be contemplating something, then she began to reply, but was cut off. An Elonsican flung open the door, causing it to slam against the side. All attention was focused on him.
"There's a proper bitch fight going on out there," he panted.
No further word was needed. Everyone rushed out of the shop to watch.
Lia rolled her eyes and turned to face Kel. "How imma– "
But Kel was gone. The shop was empty. Lia sighed. She was a bit curious, she couldn't deny that. Anyway, the shop was empty. There was nothing she could really do there. Unless you counted wiping the counter, but she could do that later. Lia rushed out of the shop and spotted the crowd instantly. She sprinted toward it, hoping that she hadn't missed too much.
It felt like high school again.
Most people were hooting and catcalls filled the air along with the continuous chanting of the word "FIGHT." She managed to see through most of the crowd. In the middle were two girls: An Elonsican and a Cadlian. They were both extremely pretty. The Cadlian had straight golden brown hair and a rich Cadlian tan and the Elonsican had thick blonde hair streaked with brown.
"So you choose a fucking guy over your friends!?!"
"What the hell are you talking about you slut. You're the one who chose this!" screeched the Cadlian.
"It's not my fucking fault that your fucking boy friend wanted some from me over you!"
Lia spotted Kel standing within the inner ring, a look of pure shock plastered over her face. Did she know them? An arm was suddenly flung over her shoulder. She wrinkled her nose.
"Amazing, isn't it?"
Lia rolled her eyes. "You're so sadistic."
He cast his gaze over the two girls. "The Cadlian, she doesn't know what to say. It makes the fight pretty boring."
Lia jabbed him with her elbow, causing him to drop his arm. "Sa-dis-tic."
Cal shrugged. "I never said I wasn't. Anyway, it's not like you're any better."
"Meaning?"
"If you were so great you wouldn't have come out to watch it."
She sighed dejectedly. "We're just as bad as each other."
"That we are."
"Why have you come back?"
Cal dug his hands into his pockets. "Jude just called me and asked me to tell you that he wants to meet you."
She narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
He shrugged. "He didn't tell me."
"Okay, but where?"
"Outside the main building."
She sighed. "But the walk is so long."
"Exercise is good for you," he said, the corner of his lips tugging into a grin.
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you mocking me?"
He cocked his head to the side and grinned. "Of course not."
Lia huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "I guess I'll just walk then."
He rolled his eyes and pulled out a pair of keys. "I'll drive you, your majesty."
She batted her eyelashes. "You live to serve."
She followed him down the road and around the corner, the sound of the cat calls and shouting growing fainter. A car was parked on the side of the road.
Lia sighed dramatically. "I guess it'll do."
He unlocked the front door. "I could easily run you over with this baby."
She creased her forehead. "You can run me over with any car."
He rolled his eyes. "I'm guessing that retort made you feel clever?" he questioned wryly.
"Oh, but you're forgetting, Cal dear. I need to possess a brain to feel clever."
He sighed. "Get in." He indicated the passenger seat.
Lia made her way toward the car door and pulled it open, then slid into the seat and closed it.
She leaned back. "Pretty comfortable."
He arched a brow. "Aren't you going to wear a seat belt?"
She tugged at the belt, then grinned broadly. "No."
"Why?"
"It's tradition. I never wear a seatbelt."
He shrugged. "Okay." He turned the key, starting up the engine. "This baby purrs like a kitten," he commented.
"A constipated kitten."
"Can kittens get constipated?"
Lia bit her lip. "I don't know."
"I'll look it up."
She opened her mouth to reply, but found that she had no answer. That had to be one of the weirdest things he had ever said. He pushed the accelerator and changed the gear and then they were off.
