The General Store: Where Innocence Goes to Die

by A. L. Moore

  His jaw tensed; the color drained from his face. My words had clearly not helped my case. About that time, Tyler scrambled out the door, knocking into the metal railing before coming to a stop.

  “Jayson told her we help deliver to other store locations,” Tyler explained quickly.

  Mr. Smith’s shoulders relaxed, but the look he gave Tyler was menacing. He didn’t say another word, glancing between Tyler and myself before going back inside the store. I stared at the closed door, dumbfounded. What had just happened? Was Mr. Smith paying the guys under-the-table or something?

  “How’ve you been?” Tyler said with a crooked smile, hoisting himself over the guardrail.

  “Fine,” I hedged, still watching the store as if Mrs. Smith might come back out and apologize. After all, it wasn’t like I worked for the I.R.S. What he did was no business of mine.

  “I’m just ready to go home,” I added. Now more than ever.

  “Didn’t you say that the last time I saw you,” Tyler smirked. “You’re not much for work, huh?” I shook my head, taking a step away from him and toward the road. I could see couples strolling in the distance, enjoying a warm summer evening, completely oblivious to us lurking in the alley.

  “I’ve thought a lot about you since the other night,” he said.

  I didn’t know what to say to that. I’d thought about him too, but I was sure it hadn’t been in the same way.

  He propped his large hand against the brick above my head at the same time my back reached the wall, trapping me. “You going to Robyn’s tonight?” he asked, towering.

  “I wasn’t planning on it.” I shrank away from his lips, afraid he was going to kiss me again. “I haven’t talked to her lately.”

  “Ty?” Liam’s voice called from behind Tyler. The annoyance and fear fell away when I caught sight of Liam leaning over the metal railing. His black shirtsleeves were rolled up to his shoulders, and his face was wet with sweat. I couldn’t help but watch as he ran his fingers through his damp hair. Perspiration blew from his lips as he said, “We’re ready to roll when you are.”

  I ducked under Tyler’s arm while he was distracted, careful to avoid his questioning eyes.

  “My ride is waiting,” I invented, when he turned back to me, taking another step toward the road.

  Tyler stuck his hands in his front pockets and called after me, “I’ll see you tonight though, right?”

  “Maybe,” I said, glancing past him to Liam. Liam’s eyes bore into mine as if he were going to set me on fire.

  I would definitely be there.

  ***

  I was one of the first to Robyn’s. I wanted to talk to her before everyone else arrived. Set her straight about Tyler. I didn’t need any favors from her, and I certainly didn’t want any from him. I smoothed my straightened hair and gave my jean shorts and navy camisole a once over before knocking. Robyn looked surprised to see me standing at her door. She wiped her red eyes and scratched the mess of hair sticking out of a hairclip on top of her head.

  “Have you been asleep?” I asked, checking the time on my phone. It was barely after nine.

  She was wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, without a stitch of make-up. Not that she needed it.

  “What are you doing here?” she yawned.

  She looked much younger without make-up crowding her eyes, closer to my age.

  “Tyler said the guys were coming over tonight, and I wanted to talk to you before they got here.” Following her up the stairs, I wasn’t sure she’d heard me. I paused outside the bathroom, while she splashed water on her face.

  “You don’t have to thank me,” she said, patting her face with a towel and wetting her toothbrush. “The ride was Ty’s idea. I didn’t do anything.”

  “That’s just it,” I started. “I’m not really into Tyler.” Robyn froze, the toothbrush dangling from her mouth. “Don’t get me wrong,” I said quickly, not wanting her to think I was bashing her friend. “He seems like a great guy, but… Is Liam seeing anyone?”

  Robyn’s door opened at the end of the hall and my heart stopped. Who else was here? The driveway was empty.

  “Why do I feel a strong sense of déjà vu?” Tyler said, his hands grasping the top of Robyn’s doorframe.

  As bad as it was that Tyler had heard me, it was the next voice that made me want to tunnel into the ground.

  “Here we go,” Liam snapped. “You know it’s not like that.”

  Tyler didn’t give Liam a second glance. The anger in his eyes was focused on me as he made his way toward the stairs. Robyn’s breath came out in one audible gasp as if she’d been punched in the gut.

  “I didn’t realize he was here,” I said quickly, crossing my arms. I could feel my face burning. “His bike wasn’t in the drive.”

  “Their bikes` are in the garage,” Robyn said between her teeth before taking off after Tyler.

  I hesitated in the empty hall. I was afraid to go down the steps, but at the same time, wanted desperately to get as far away from her room as possible. I ran my fingers through my hair and took a slow breath just as Jayson rounded the corner in nothing but a pair of worn jeans and a stomach-churning smirk on his face. We both looked toward the window when an engine revved angrily outside.

  “He’s gone,” Robyn said breathless, appearing disheveled at the top of the steps. Spotting Jayson, she didn’t instantly attack me. Jayson met her in the middle of the hall, his face completely void of the panic attack she was on the verge of having.

  “Don’t worry about it, Rob,” Jayson said, stooping down to her level and grasping her shoulders. “He’ll calm down.”

  Tires squealed loudly in the distance, and Jayson glanced at me with an arched brow. “I wouldn’t have blondie here when he gets back.”

  All eyes were on me as I stood nervously against the wall like a fly under a swatter. Jayson’s were clearly amused, and Robyn’s were near boiling. I didn’t get what was going on. Why was it such a big deal that I didn’t like Tyler? Sure, it was embarrassing. I’d shot him down in front of…apparently everyone, but his attitude seemed like an overreaction. Especially, since we weren’t twelve.

  “I can go home,” I managed, my breath catching in my throat when Liam appeared. He grabbed the top of the doorframe as Tyler had, but the picture it created was completely different. I wondered how easy it would’ve been for his massive hands to bring down the sturdy-looking woodwork. When his eyes landed on the one-hundred and three pounds of trembling nerves I’d been reduced to, I felt the brimming heat in my face boil over.

  “It’s your dance,” Jayson called to Liam, over his shoulder.

  Stretching enough to expose the abs I’d slammed into the night before, Liam stifled a yawn and leaned casually into the doorframe, one unlaced boot crossed over the other. I cringed internally at the murderous look that passed over Robyn’s face when he didn’t answer right away. She clearly wanted to avoid any trouble with Tyler. After his overreaction, I couldn’t much blame her.

  Liam's dark eyes ran over me as he chewed on his bottom lip. I tried to decipher if he was mad about Tyler, too, or if beyond all my wildest dreams, he was a little intrigued. It was impossible to tell. After a long minute, Jayson whispered something to him on his way through the door. Liam’s lips started to curve into a smile, but he seemed to think better of it and shook his head. “You better take off, kid,” he said, nodding toward my house.

  Stunned that he was actually speaking to me, it took a minute to fully register the words coming out of his mouth. When I did, I was mortified. How many ways was I going to be humiliated tonight? I didn’t wait for an explanation. I had to get out. It was insane to have come back. What was I thinking? These guys were older than me, and Robyn seemed to be experiencing a hormonal imbalance. Tyler, too. I bolted for the door.

  Breathing the fresh night air, it felt like I’d slipped out of an insane asylum. Granted, it was an insane asylum with very attractive patients, but a looney-bin, nonetheless. I started t
oward Anna’s. I couldn’t go home. I’d never been rejected before, and the sting was worse than I’d imagined. I suddenly had sympathy for every boy at school I’d turned down while dating Mason. Not that there was a line or anything, but there were a few.

  Maybe I was the one who needed to be committed. After all, to consider the possibility that someone as worldly and mature as Liam, would ever go for some run-of-the-mill high school girl, surely meant I was crazy. He probably thought I was a nun or something, and compared to Robyn and Tyler’s sister, he wasn’t too far off. Reaching Anna’s house, I dried my puffy eyes and wiped my nose on the back of my hand. After a few even breaths, I was nearly calm enough to knock on the door. Then, it occurred to me that I would have to go to work with Robyn the next day, and I had to start the calming process all over again.

  ***

  Robyn was stationed on the stool behind the counter like always when I cowardly peered through the glass. She barely lifted her dark lashes when the bell chimed. I pulled the white apron over my head and looked for Mr. Smith. I didn’t have to look very long. Apparently, he’d been waiting for me. He instructed me to help on the floor today. The store was particularly busy. There were so many noisy kids; I almost expected to see a school bus parked outside. Thankfully, he never mentioned the incident in the alley, and neither did I.

  I stayed in the back most of the morning, restocking the new shipment of fall themed t-shirts. It was an uneventful morning, but that didn’t keep my breath from catching every time the bell rang out front, and it rang a lot. It was definitely busier than yesterday. I didn’t poke my head out of the stock room until well after eleven. Mr. Smith had already left for lunch, so I trudged back to the front to get the inevitable, awkward confrontation over.

  Robyn didn’t look up as I used the mirror on the sunglass display to reposition my ponytail. It had fallen halfway down my head when I'd jumped to reach a stack of shirts. Robyn’s hair looked the same as it had this morning. Not a dark hair out of place as it flowed over the thin white straps of her tank top. Making a slow lap in front of the counter with the dust broom I asked, “How’s Tyler?”

  “He’s fine, now,” she scowled, hitting a roll of quarters on the edge of the register until it broke in half. “Liam explained that your little crush was one sided, and that seemed to do the trick.”

  Even though I’d figured as much, hearing her confirm Liam’s lack of interest in me was still a hard pill to swallow, and making matters worse, she said it like the very idea he’d be interested in me was preposterous. Maybe it was, but who was she to make that determination?

  I grasped the broom handle so tight I felt a splinter pierce my palm. Letting it go and walking away was the thing to do. Robyn’s opinion didn’t matter. My friends didn’t like her. My family didn’t like her, and no respectable guy would give her a second glance. She simply didn’t matter. Except she did. As much as I hated to admit it, what she thought meant something to me.

  “What does it matter?” I asked, letting the broom fall with a snapping thud against the cement floor. “Tyler didn’t strike me as the insecure type?”

  “He’s not,” she blanched, “but this wouldn’t be the first time Liam has gone behind Ty’s back.” She paused, staring a hole through the front windows, a deep frown on her face. “You have no idea the trouble you could’ve caused. We just got Jayson back! The last thing we need is some goody-two-shoes poser dipping her toes in the deep end, only to run scared for the ropes in September. This isn’t summer camp. You are screwing with people’s lives.”

  I gasped. What was she talking about? This was all her fault. “You invited me over. You set me up with Tyler. I know this isn’t summer camp, so stop trying to recruit me!” My hands shook with anger. I hated that she was getting to me like this, but I couldn’t handle being talked down to. She didn’t know me. It was her fault Tyler was upset. Yeah, I’d wanted to go to her house since I was still in a training bra, but to hang out, not to be presented as a sacrificial virgin to the first guy that showed interest.

  Grabbing the broom as the bell rang with a customer, I stormed off to the back. There was no point arguing with her. Tyler didn’t like me anymore, and Liam never had. I’d worn out my welcome in less than a week’s time. I was out.

  The next few weeks my life went back to boring. Mason was at my house waiting every day when I clocked out at the store. At first it wasn’t too terrible. I knew he’d never reject me. There’d be no surprises with Mason. He caught me up on everything I’d missed. He had a new job bagging groceries at the Piggly Wiggly, and he’d been hanging out with Anna and Cole lately. It was the longest conversation we’d had in a while, and after that ten minutes, I settled on the couch to watch him beat level two of Death Vice. At least Mason and Anna were having a good summer.

  Cole was a cool guy, and Anna hadn’t exaggerated about how funny he was. I could see what she saw in him right away. No one could be down with him around. He was a people watcher with an overly active imagination, a combination that never failed to amuse. Sitting on a bench outside the mall, we cased every unfortunate person in our path. Mrs. White, my first-grade teacher, was immediately tagged by Cole as an undercover prostitute. Her cane and the lavender pants she wore, jacked up to her sagging chest, were apparently her disguise.

  Anna was always in a good mood when they were together, and despite the distance, they were together a lot. I fit into their routine effortlessly and looked forward to the nights Cole would be in town. The first night we were all free from our summer jobs, we went out for wings at a place off Main Street. The night started off as any other until Cole pulled Anna to his lap. After that, I tried not to look at them. I wasn’t a big fan of watching others make-out, and despite the fact that we were in a public place, there was no mistaking his tongue in her mouth. They didn’t even pause when the gum-smacking waitress plopped the food on the table. Mason and I ate wings until I thought I would be sick. Cole and Anna’s display turned our night into the most awkward dinner I’d ever sat through. Mason wouldn’t even meet my eyes.

  I didn’t remember ever kissing him so much, not even when we first got together. Then, we weren’t sleeping together. Of course, I doubt Cole or Anna had told Mason about shagging at the beach, but it wasn’t hard to guess. I tried not to be jealous of them, but like Mason’s alien invasion game, the green-monster had infiltrated my eyes. Not that I wanted that kind of attention from Mason. He was already starting to get on my nerves again. Had he always chewed so loudly? I needed a break and Anna was no help.

  She was always bummed when Cole left, and she stayed on the phone with him constantly. I couldn’t sympathize. I looked forward to doing things without Mason. I was more than ready for him to go home at night, just so I could watch something where nothing blew up. To tell the truth, Anna was starting to get on my nerves, too. We couldn’t do anything without her talking about Cole. Cole. Cole. Cole. I didn’t care what he ate for dinner or how many times he beat his brother in basketball. His flossing habits didn’t pique my interest either. By her third weekend home without him, I was ready for her to go back to the beach. Desperate to change the conversation one night, I’d even tried telling her about Liam, but she hadn’t heard a word I’d said over the song Cole had messaged her.

  I laid in bed at night listening to the bikes roar down the street, knowing when the engines died, they were in Robyn’s drive. It was a beautifully tempting noise that grew harder to ignore with each boring day. I wondered what they were doing, and what I would be doing if I were over there. Then, I would remember Liam’s voice telling me to leave. Robyn had been my way in, my golden ticket, but I’d burned that bridge. Now, there was no way to get across the expansive river of asphalt that separated our worlds.

  ***

  "Does she go with all of them?" Mason asked disgusted, leaning over me to peek out the bedroom window. "They are over there every night."

  "No," I rolled my eyes, bumping him with my shoulder. "She’s not a pros
titute. She’s only dating Jayson. The others are just friends."

  "Which one is Jayson?" he asked, kneeling on the bed, his black basketball shorts blocking my view.

  "Don't pull the blind back so much. They'll see you." I said, quickly turning the lamp off.

  "So what?" he shrugged, inching it up just to annoy me.

  I grabbed the string and lowered it half a foot, catching a glimpse of Jayson from under Mason’s arm. "Jayson is the one with the beard.”

  "With the tats?" he asked, cupping his hand to the glass.

  "No, that's Alec," I said, wiping his breath from the window. I didn’t mention that they all had tats, or that I’d seen more than a few of them up-close. "Jayson’s beard is fuller."

  "Okay, I see him,” Mason said, “and he's with Robyn?"

  "Yeah. Now get out of the window.”

  "Unless Robyn dyed her hair, I'd say he's with the blond getting off his bike.

  “Wow,” he said, tilting his head to the side. “Is she wearing pants?"

  I pulled the blind roughly all the way to the ceiling, nearly knocking Mason off the bed in the process. It didn't take long for my eyes to land on a bleach job I could've pin-pointed through the curtain. It was only Tonya. "That's Tyler's sister,” I said, elbowing Mason in the ribs when he tried to worm his way back in front of me. “Jayson is probably just giving her a ride."

  "A ride,” he chuckled. “I’ll bet.

  "Who is Tyler?"

  "A guy I met at the store," I said quickly, dropping the blind in a panic when Jayson looked our way. "We should've turned the stupid TV off! With the light blinking, they’re going to know we were watching them!"

  "Who cares?" Mason shrugged, dropping back to the bed with a bounce, and spilling a bowl of popcorn in his wake. "They're like thirty."

  "No, they’re not," I said, taking one last peek out.

  Jayson and Tonya were still in the driveway. I wished I could hear what they were saying. It looked heated. He was grasping her arm and pointing toward Robyn’s window.