Page 6 of Claymore
“Trust me, it’s nothing. I’m just a little on edge. I haven’t been sleeping much. It’s probably just the exhaustion.”
“All right,” she said, patting the doorframe before heading over to her section to start taking some orders.
I tied my apron around my waist, slipping my notepad and pen into the little pocket before I washed up. I walked out to the crowd of people Derek had just seated in my section, whipping past tables, taking orders, and delivering them swiftly.
The lunch rush came and went, finally giving me a moment to breathe. I carried a large tray of delicious burgers, fries, and onion rings to a table near the door. I glanced up to see two bikers sitting over in Louise’s section. They stared me down, smirking at me with the most menacing look in their eyes. One of them had an entire neck of tattoos and a deep brunette beard. The other was bald, the side of his head with a piece of plastic over his fresh tattoo. I wanted to believe that they were just lone bikers, out-of-town tourists looking for a good bite to eat, but they weren’t.
I turned to head back to the kitchen when I ran right into Emma, hard, and her tray of milkshakes spilled all over the ground. My heart started beating fast, but I shut my eyes for a second, calming myself down. Derek and Louise rushed over to help me clean up the mess. I spent the next few minutes profusely apologizing to them all. The kitchen was starting to slow down, the period between lunch and dinner where there weren’t many diners around.
Louise came to check on me, her arms folded across her chest, waiting for me to tell her what was really going on. There was a time I shared nearly everything with her. She was the one that interviewed me for the job here, and she’d become like a sister to me over the years. She, like everyone else at Crystal’s, didn’t know the truth about me. None of them understood the deep scars left behind by my brother, and I couldn’t share anything about them now. I’d shut the pain away for so long, consumed by it. I wasn’t sure there was really any way out.
“Ella. You can talk to me. You always tell me what’s going on. I’m worried about you,” she said, her dark bangs falling into her eyes.
The red lipstick she’d been wearing was fresh, like she reapplied it after her lunch break, and she smiled softly at me. She took a seat on the bench next to me, rubbing my back comfortingly, and I took a deep breath.
“I’m just having an off day. I know, it doesn’t happen often. I just can’t think straight. I’m sure it’ll pass. It’ll be fine. I hope Derek’s not too mad.”
“Manager or not, that man can never be upset with you. I’m here if you need anything. There’s nothing in the world you can’t tell me, okay?”
“I know, Louise. Thank you for always being here for me.”
“That’s what I’m here for. You see every single one of us out there, we’re all family. We take care of each other,” she said, pointing over at the open window that looked out to the customer seating.
“Yes, we are.”
I pulled myself together, finishing up my shift around seven o’clock after sticking around a little longer to help the new staff ease into the dinner rush. When it was finally time to head back to my car, I looked around the lot for Claymore. He wasn’t there. Even though I’d asked him so many times to leave me alone, I wished he was here. I didn’t want to cling to him, I didn’t want to rely on him to keep me safe, but I could already tell things were starting to heat up. I felt it in my gut, I knew I was being watched, and I was scared out of my mind.
I wasn’t even sure if I was safe in Sedona anymore. There were Kings crawling around at every corner, acting recklessly, tearing the city apart all because their president was in the wind.
***
My apartment was silent when I unlocked the door. Switching on the lights, I dropped all of my things in the entryway. I yawned, stretching before I walked into the bathroom, slipping out of my clothes and into the shower. The steam lulled me, the hot water relieved my tense muscles, and I felt a bit more at ease when I finally stepped out. I wrapped my warm, wet body in a towel, glancing up at myself in the mirror. My skin was pale, the puffiness under my eyes only got worse with time, and the exhaustion hit me hard.
I reached into my bedroom drawer for an old T-shirt, putting it on before I collapsed onto the bed. I rolled myself in the fluffy duvet, hoping that I could really sleep off this stressful day. My cell phone started ringing and it jolted me up. I scrambled for it, staring down at the lit screen to see Hallie’s name pop up on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Ella! Oh my goodness, did I wake you? I’m so sorry. Go back to sleep.”
“No, no. It’s okay. What’s up?”
“I was just in the neighborhood actually. Christian let me out early tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat.”
“Come by. We can order in. I could use the company.”
“Great! I’ll see you soon!”
I hung up the phone, tossing the duvet from my legs. I wrapped myself in a plush robe, heading back out to the kitchen to grab some take-out menus.It wasn’t like I was going to sleep anyway.
Fifteen minutes later, I heard the doorbell ring, and I rushed over to the door, opening it up to find my redheaded, freckled best friend standing in the doorway with a bottle of rosé.
“You read my mind,” I said, smiling.
I wrapped my arms around her tightly. She let go, furrowing her thin brows at me, studying my face.
“Ella, I woke you up, didn’t I?”
“No, no. It’s still pretty early. I didn’t even eat dinner yet. I’m just a little tired from work. Nothing a little rosé, some good food, and a little quality time won’t fix,” I said.
