Page 6 of Demons and Debts
I start walking down the cracked, uneven sidewalk away from him, hearing him rev up his Harley and I wince at the sound. I fumble in my pockets for my earbuds. They don’t play music anymore; haven’t in months, but they do bring everyday decibels down to more acceptable levels, so I don’t want to claw out my own brain every time I encounter something too loud.
I have my trusty buds in by the time Dreyson whizzes by me a few seconds later, way faster and closer than necessary, I guess to prove a point or maybe just to be a dick. At least it’s muffled enough that I’m not forced to cover my ears and cringe away from the thunderous sputtering of his peen extension.
A part of me yearns to feel that exhilaration and the wind in my hair as I watch him speed down the street, and then I see a maybug flying around and I wonder how many of those he’ll get splattered across his face on the way into Welford.No thanks.
The trip back to Gail’s, past the strip mall where some of the most important businesses in a town like Welford reside – such as the nail salon, thrift store (my personal fav), and Marcie the Medium – is quick and uneventful, and I make my way past the dumpsters to slip into the diner through the back.
‘Did you go?’
I jump with a matching yelp as Sharlene melts out of the dark where the security light blew out and Chuck hasn’t bothered to fix it.
My co-worker is taller than me by at least four inches. She’s got long, auburn hair that I think is dyed and she wears a small Band-Aid on the side of her neck all the time – to cover up an old tattoo she told me once. She’s in her mid-forties, but the combination of too many vices and too little money has aged her prematurely as it seems to do to everyone down here on the bottom rungs sooner or later.
‘I went.’
‘Well, fuck.’ She flicks her cigarette away and comes with me inside. ‘You talked to them?’
I give her a look. ‘Wasn’t going there just to stare.’
She lets out a throaty cackle that turns into a cough. ‘If they’d let an old gal like me through the door, I’d stare at those supe biker hotties all night long!’
I smile because I know that’s what she’s expecting but the truth is I’m still getting over the meeting I had with the Iron Incubi MC. It’s left me feeling adrift in a way I haven’t since I was ten and Dad disappeared. I don’t like it; don’t like feeling like a lost little girl. I’m a freaking adult dammit. I have a job and pay rent … most of the time. I have likeresponsibilities. For myself mostly but it still counts.
‘Did you tell them about everything?’
‘Yep.’Nope.
I haven’t even told Sharlene all of it, not the worst parts. She’s like a mama bear and she’s got enough going on with her own kids without worrying about all my shit too.
We get inside and the smell of the Thursday special (French onion soup) hits me, making me want to gag. My watch says I have two minutes to get changed so I run through to the empty back office and close the door, pulling off my wet clothes and flinging them in a pile on the floor. I throw on my uniform and dumb little apron, forcing my feet into flimsy, black ballet flats as I bolt back out the door to the front.
Chuck side-eyes me from behind the Formica counter, but I’m on time. He’s not getting my tips tonight!
Grabbing my favorite pencil from where it lives in my apron pocket, I go to my section and start my shift. I’ll be here until closing now so I try not to stare at the slow-moving hands of the clock on the wall over the front door as I take orders and refill sodas.
Hearing the bell chime as the door opens, I see Dreyson come in, his leathers appearing out of place at Gail’s. He looks the place over, his eyes lingering on a table of college girls with their textbooks open, talking quietly amongst themselves. He gives me a smirk and sits in my section.
I give it a minute before I approach.
‘What can I get you,’ I ask brightly.
I know how to pretend to be friendly if I’m not too tired to give a shit.
He makes a show of perusing the menu for so long that my feet start to get antsy.
‘I’ll take a cola,’ he finally says, not looking up at me.
‘Coming right up.’
I leave to get his drink and the bell chimes again. My heart sinks as I recognize the raucous voices.
Oh no. Not today.
‘Oh hey, it’s Plain Jane! Look, guys, Plain Jane’s here tonight!’
I frown at the boy in front of me. I’m here practically every night and he knows it. They all know it. The group practically leaps through the diner and sits in my section.
Of course.
