Page 6 of Fear the Reapers
Alex was the epitome of an Empath and sometimes, my need to shield her from the cruelties of the world outweighed my instinct to treat her as an equal. I lied to my little sister about what went on when she wasn’t around. Though my intentions were pure, it didn’t stop her from feeling betrayed.
What she witnessed wasn’t anything new. Malcolm always resorted to violence when he didn’t get his way. But after years of hiding it from her, everything was hitting her all at once.
“Everything okay?” Alex asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I was so stuck in my head; I didn’t even realize I was wiping down her table.
“Yeah, sorry.” I said, taking a seat across from her, “Just a little tired. How’s the homework going?”
“Good, I guess.” She paused, tapping her pencil against her notebook. “You think you’ll get out early tonight?”
Her emerald eyes glanced around the barren coffee shop.
“We close in ten minutes,” I said, giving her a small smile as I pulled a cookie from my apron pocket, “hopefully no one else comes through.”
I stuffed half of the cookie into my mouth, swallowing the lie I told right along with it. That night, there was someone I hoped to see. The same person who, for the past two years, was my last customer almost every night.
He and I met by chance nearly two years ago. One of the other baristas called out for her closing shift, forcing me to stay and work opening to closing. I could use the extra overtime, so I took it in stride. Little did I know what that night had in store.
It was a rainy Tuesday night in the middle of October, and Cafe Au Lait was vacant. Tapping my fingers against the reclaimed wood countertop, I sliced my eyes at the clock that refused to budge. The caffeine high of the morning rush disappeared, leaving me feeling jittery, yet exhausted. By 8:30 PM, I gave up waiting for customers and started the closing process. The streets were vacant, and I doubted anyone would come in that late.
Just as I began mopping the floors, in walked Mr. Tall, Dark, and Delectable at 8:59 PM on the dot. It took a special asshole to come into a place one minute before they closed without so much as an apologetic smile. His shiny and most likely designer shoes tracked in mud-soaked leaves from the sidewalk and I cursed underneath my breath, knowing I’d have to sweep again.
“8 ounce doppio cappuccino. Dry. Extra hot.” He barked with his ear pressed to his cell phone. There was nothing that irritated me more than bad manners, and this guy was exhibiting all of them. He didn’t even bother to look at me when he barked his order into the air.
“Name.” I chirped back, out of sheer habit.
The moment my mind realized what I said, blood came rushing to my face. There was no one else in the cafe. Why did I ask for his stupid name?
“You need my name?” He asked, glaring at me as he broke off the call.
Fighting a smile, he looked around the empty cafe as if to make his point even more obvious. I know there’s no one else here, asshole.
“I’ll have it right out for you, sir.” I responded sweetly, ignoring his question and attitude completely.
I had mastered the art of telling people what they wanted to hear, and this guy looked like the type to get a hard-on from people kissing the ground he walked on. His entire demeanor screamed power. The pristine suit, the wide stance, his perfectly quaffed dark hair, even the formal tone in which he spoke told me everything I needed to know. He and I were nothing alike.
I plastered on my fakest smile and turned towards the espresso machine, trying to bust out his stupid cappuccino as quickly as possible. Of course he had to pick one of the hardest drinks to make. God, he would be a ‘dry cappuccino’ kind of guy.
“Just for future reference, dickface,” I hissed under the sound of the steaming milk, “we close at nine and just because you’re sexy as fuck doesn’t mean that you get to be an inconsiderate asshole.”
“Dry Cap.” I called out, sliding the cup forward on the handoff plane and not even bothering to look up. He wanted to be rude? Well, two could play that game.
For a split second, warm fingertips grazed mine. The alien feeling created this delicious sensation that blanketed my entire body. Warmth. Comfort. Safety. No man's touch had ever made me feel that way and for a few beats, I stood there dumbstruck, staring at my fingers like they were malfunctioning. Before I could process what happened, he slipped out of the shop and back into the dark night.
What the hell was that?
Shaking the thoughts of the stranger out of my mind, I went back to cleaning and cursed at myself for being so eager to leave to begin with. I should’ve waited until 9, like I was supposed to, and I would’ve avoided creating double the work for myself.
Thirty minutes later, I stepped out into the chilly autumn night and tugged my flannel across my chest. A grey t-shirt dress and light flannel was cute during the morning, but was practically masochistic at night. The wind’s frigid bite sent Goosebumps spreading across my bare legs. I cursed as I grit my teeth. If I didn’t die from freezing my ass off, I was going to kill Marie for calling out sick.
It was eerily quiet out and something in the air felt off. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but my body felt the presence of danger. I spent a few seconds staring out into the darkness and looking for any signs of a threat, but all I saw were a bunch of vacant cars and empty streets. It wasn’t exactly safe to be in downtown Caspian alone this late at night, and had I known I’d be closing, I would’ve gone for a closer parking spot.
Seeing no immediate signs of a threat, I turned around to lock the door behind me. The second I turned my back, a throat cleared and my body froze. On reflex, I whipped my body towards the sound and nearly fell over when I saw who it was.
“Hey.” He said, barely containing the smile he was trying to fight.
“Jesus Christ! Dry Cap? You scared the hell out of me.” I exclaimed, pressing my hand against my racing heart. “What the hell are you still doing here?”
