12. Theo
THEO
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Hu Gh: Can someone let me know why I was banned! Don’t be sissies! Tell me like a man!
Comments:
Tammy Jane: I don’t know, maybe the ass pictures, shooting drones, eating random roadkill?
Hu Gh: NONE OF THAT IS ILLEGAL!
Tammy Jane: Can’t you message an admin?
Hu Gh: Now why would I do that??
It took a week before I saw Piper in person. After what happened and how she’d felt, I thought it might be longer.
When she did finally come in, it was noon. She looked normal. Her long hair fell over her shoulder, and this was the first time I’d ever seen her wear short sleeves.
“Hey,” I said when it was her turn to order. “Feeling better?”
“Uh, yeah. Mostly.” She gave me a smile and her eyes flicked to Kelsey, who worked behind me. “I do have some work to get done, so I might be awhile, if that’s okay.”
I caught her meaning. She’d stay after close. Thank God. “It’s always okay, Piper. Do you want your usual?”
“Yes, please.” She nodded before she paid and went to her table. I watched her the whole way.
“Down boy,” Kelsey muttered.
“Shut up. I’m worried about her.”
“Me too. She seemed quiet today, right?”
“Yeah, but I expected that, after what happened.”
“What did happen?”
“Do you not know?”
Kelsey shook her head. “No, I don’t have Piper-vision like you do. And I try not to listen to all your conversations.”
“It’s not . . .” I stopped myself. I didn’t even want to engage with that. “She has an aversion to touching. It causes panic.”
“Oh.” Kelsey’s eyes were wide. “That makes a lot of sense. I kind of saw it, but I didn’t put it all together. So, Jasmine running into her was bad.”
“Very bad.”
“But you can help her.”
“A little. But I’m not gonna overdo it. I helped her in a capacity she was willing to accept.”
She blinked. “Wow. That’s emotionally mature of you.”
“Why do you sound surprised?”
“You give the vibe of someone who’s emotionally constipated.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just because I’m quiet doesn’t mean I’m unhelpful.”
“Well, you’re a man.”
“Sure. But I’m not an idiot.”
“I suppose you’re not. Anyway, I think it’s nice you helped her.”
I’d be helping her more, if only time would go by faster.
There weren’t a lot of days where I counted down the minutes until the shop was closed. Usually, I was so busy that I didn’t have time for thoughts, but I was eager to talk to Piper with no one around.
I made it through an hour without looking over at her too much, and I thought I’d been playing it cool.
“Do you want me to leave early today?” Kelsey asked.
“Why would you think that?”
“Piper’s here.”
“Maybe I’d want you to leave early to save money.”
“We’re the only two people that work here.” She rolled her eyes. “You wanna talk to Piper, don’t you?”
I sighed. “You can leave early, Kelsey.”
“Will do. But I want some one-on-one time with her soon.” She pointed at me. “If she hadn’t had such a bad time here last time, I would be taking over.”
Then she disappeared into the back and got ready to leave.
After Kelsey said her goodbyes to the both of us, Piper and I were finally alone. There were just a few minutes left before I could lock the door, and each minute moved slower and slower.
Finally, I flipped the sign over and Piper was standing behind me.
“You were waiting,” I said.
“Only at the end there. I did actually have work to do. After last week, I’m behind on a deadline.” She blew out a breath. “So I have to catch up.”
“How was the last week?” I asked.
“Were you worried about me?” She meant it as a joke. I didn’t take it as one.
“Yes.”
She blinked, color making its way to her cheeks. “O-oh. Then I guess I should have texted. Wanna sit with me for a bit?”
I nodded and she led the way over to her table. Her laptop was still there but closed. We both sat in the same places as last time.
“So, I had my doctor’s appointment,” she said. “For the thing I told you about.”
“How did it go?”
“Easier than I thought it would be. My therapist recommended her, and she made sure I knew that this was entirely in my control. I started my new medicine a few days ago.”
I was lucky that my own issues seemed to get better over time. Once I was on my own, my worries were easier to manage. Sure, I still had nightmares where I wondered if I would mess it all up, but it didn’t stop me.
Piper’s, on the other hand, were triggered by something so simple. Something so human.
“How do you feel?” I asked. I’d never touched anything in my life. After how I grew up, I was terrified to. When she asked me, I knew exactly how she felt.
But I also knew that there was a line between living and suffering. And she was on the wrong side of it.
“Not that much different. I’m okay and a little tired. But it takes time to kick in.” She shrugged. “I can always try something different. I have to be out of the house, though.”
“You don’t have to worry about coming here.”
“It’s not that. Being here was honestly fine today. It’s something else.” She sighed and looked out the window. “I need to go to the store.”
“You haven’t yet?”
“No,” she muttered, cheeks pink. “My friends helped me stock up when I moved here. I have a very specific list I follow to make sure I don’t run out until about a month later.”
“And it’s been a month.”
“It’s so silly. I should just be able to go.” She winced. “And I’m not supposed to say things about myself like that. I’m just so tired of this.”
“You know, the guy who owns the store isn’t too bad. His name’s Dale.”
“Dale. He owns the one on the square?”
“He does.”
“What if he doesn’t have everything I need?”
“What’s on your list?”
She pulled out her phone and slid it over to me. I carefully eyed what she needed. “He will.”
“You’re sure?”
“I am. He has a pretty big selection. He always says he needs to compete with Walmart.”
“Okay, that helps. Thank you for not just offering to go for me.”
“Dale knows me. If he sees me buying frozen broccoli, he will ask questions.”
Piper raised her eyebrow. “Do you not eat vegetables?”
“Just not broccoli. Arugula is where it’s at.”
She laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. “You’re well-rounded. Except for your opinions on broccoli.”
“They’re little trees. Who the fuck wants to eat little trees?”
“I do. And I do it most days.”
I rolled my eyes. “Weird.”
“It’s easy and it lasts awhile. That’s half of why this is all on the list. It doesn’t go bad.” She looked back down at her phone. “Maybe if this goes well, I could branch out. Have any recipes for arugula?”
“I’ll send you some.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Her eyes met mine and my heart stupidly skipped a beat. Just what the fuck was I doing letting her get to me? “See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” I should have left it at that, but I continued anyway. “I hope I do.”