Page 42 of Guilty Minds
The morning isn’t busy, which is unusual. One of the first customers is Freya. She pops her head inside the doorframe and asks. “Is it safe to come in?”
“Depends on what you’re planning to do.” I narrow my eyes at her suspiciously.
“Just feeding my hungry belly, that’s all.” She fake smiles, showing all her shark teeth. I sigh—here comes the grilling. She comes in and pops onto the bar stool, motioning for a coffee to be poured into her mouth like a cartoon character. I pour her a cup with a laugh.
“Ask what you came here to ask already.”
Her face loses all humor. “What was that yesterday?”
"Just my insecurities, that's all." I plant a fake smile on my face so she won't get upset.
She’s watching me carefully. “Alex was on edge the whole evening after you left.”
“Because of Archie.” I roll my eyes. “Your man has the social skills of a potato.”
“That’s true.” She says with a sigh. “So true, but we’re working on it.”
We chat for half an hour about nothing, and I keep yesterday’s encounter by my house to myself. Why? I have no idea. Freya might be able to help me to answer the question. Once I can formulate it right.
ChapterTwelve
KAYLA
A couple days pass, and I haven't seen Justin. A good thing, considering our worsening encounters and my growing murderous tendencies when I'm around him.
I sent the phoenix to TJ yesterday, and he said the client was happy. When the client’s happy—I’m happy because he pays money. The bigger and more detailed the drawing—the more money in my pocket. It’s not like it’s an insane amount of green, considering the person who inks gets the biggest chunk. Still, a constant stream of extra cushion into my savings account never hurts. Not that it ever gets more than a few bucks at a time, but without that, I'd quite literary go hungry. My monthly debt payments drain everything.
From a short conversation with Freya over the phone, I know Archie left two days after arriving. I secretly hoped that he would stop by for breakfast, but at the same time, I dreaded facing him. I bet he's heard a few rumors about me, and if Alex's reaction to me had anything to say… Well, it's safe to assume Archie may have changed his mind about being so friendly and flirty with me.
Thinking about it, I have no idea how they managed to fix his car. Maybe Alex did it himself, even though I know he doesn’t work with modern cars. An engine is an engine if you ask me. If I wanted to know how they managed the situation, I'd have to explain how we met and what went down from my point of view. Whatever Archie told them works for me. My only shock comes from the fact that Freya hasn't grilled me about it. Yet.
Currently, I’m tired and mentally exhausted—the day has gone on for far too long, and people here at the diner are all in horrible moods, getting on me about even the most minor things—it must be a full moon. I ask Marina to let me go earlier without even getting any food for myself. I need to leave before I strangle someone. I just want out of here.
A new waitress is in today, so I get off the hook easily. She's been coming in when things are especially swamped, saving our asses. Plus, tomorrow’s my day off, so I plan on starting it earlier. Marina doesn't mind; she never does. We're almost empty anyway by now, and it's closing time soon. By the time I'm out of the door, I regret not asking Marina to fix me a sandwich to take home, but it’s too late to return: the diner is like a black hole, sucking you in and never letting go. So I keep on going. Remembering that my fridge at home is empty, I groan and make a note to stop by the grocery store.
As I arrive at the store, I’m not even convinced I feel hungry. Yes, my stomach is growling like a cornered animal, but my brain is too tired to get the signal from downstairs. I'm still wearing my clothes from work that cling to me from sweat. Running non-stop around the diner and fulfilling orders of cranky customers takeseffort. I feel filthy and very, verysweaty, so the idea of spending my day off tomorrow as a total stylish disaster, wearing the widest and comfiest clothes I can possibly find, sounds promising. The only people allowed to show up are Freya, Marina, or Justin if he wants to take the stick out of his ass and have an adult conversation for once. Freya or Marina won't see anything new, and Justin won't show up anytime soon since he's avoiding me like the plague.Thank God. And even if he does, it’s not on my agenda to impress him, so it works just fine for me.
Grabbing a small bag of potatoes and a steak to make for dinner, I head down the shampoo aisle to find my usual shampoo.
My hair products are the only things I don’t spare money on. Achieving the ash color I have takes a lot of work. Work that happens to decrease the health of my hair. With my constant dying, I have to keep my hair moisturized, so it doesn't break off. Good thing I have a lot of it; otherwise, I'd be left with a bald head after so much work. I might be able to pull that look off, but I’m not ready to find out just yet.
Browsing around for my favorite conditioner, I hear an all too familiar voice talking on the other side of the aisle. Glancing over to see Justin on his phone, I try to make myself scarce. Or at least try to, anyway, as I snatch up what I came for and make a b-line for the cash register. Unfortunately, I’m far too late, as. I hear his stupid steps coming up behind me.
"Where are you going in such a hurry? To get to your new boyfriend on time?" My teeth grind in response, and I suddenly feel heat rise to my face. I cross my arms, if only so I don't punch him, and narrow my eyes in his direction. Cute. He just keeps proving what took me so many years to realize: he’s a grade-A asshole. Just your typical bully. I’d never seen this tendency in him before toward anyone else, but when it comes to me, it’s clear he has no boundaries.
"I smelled something foul,” I look him up and down pointedly, “plus I'm ready to go home," I keep my voice level, not wanting to get snappy with him. I don’t want another argument. Yes, I decided to stick up for myself, but that doesn’t mean I have to dive headfirst into a fight. Avoidance is the best tactic sometimes.
Planting the same fake smile on my face that I use at work with shitty customers, I step into the line at the cash register, expecting him to leave me alone.
"You probably got a whiff of your rotten soul," I could tell by the smug sound of his voice that his signature smirk—meant just for me—was plastered across his stupid face. "Maybe your new boyfriend will sense it too before it's too late." His voice, though husky and attractive despite the malice, doesn't make my heart flutter like it used to. I try to ignore him, but he acts like a child, lightly pulling on my ponytail to get my attention. I spin around and smack his hand away. "What's got you—" he starts.
"Leave me alone; I'm not in the mood for this today." I point my finger at him, trying my hardest to sound angry. Unfortunately for me, I sound more pitiful than anything. Furrowing my brows in annoyance with myself, I turn back to the line. Justin leaves me alone, thankfully.
Or so I thought. As I'm one person away from getting out of the store, his hand lands on my shoulder with a tight grip. Feeling his breath brush against my ear, I tense, sure to keep my eyes straight ahead.
"Don't expect any pity from me; you don't deserve that." Justin’s tone is serious. Today isn't a day I want to talk about this mystery thing I did, so I shake off his hand, fight the urge to smack him stupid, and pay for my groceries.Somehow, I succeed without injuring him. Ten points to Gryffindor.
"I didn't do shit to deserve such a treatment." The words leave my mouth before I can stop myself, and I take all my bags and rush out the door, eager to get home. I don’t care what disgusting things he had to say in response. He always seems to catch me in my weakest moments or during my rare peaceful minutes alone. I can't ever get rid of him since he's friends with Alex. Well, I'm not friends with Alex anymore, by the looks of it, so this problem is about to be resolved fast. Hopefully, I'll still have Freya because she isn’t the person to sit back and do what she’s told. Not anymore.
