2. Chapter 2
Present Day - Vienna, Virginia
It was early January, just after Christmas and my nineteenth birthday. It snowed a couple of days ago, but the roads were clear as I drove Owen to school. It was his first day back after winter break.
Dalton had to go into work early, and Sid was on assignment, so I had to watch over the six-year-old.
“Did you remember to put my tri… tricorotop… Triceratops stuffed toy in my bag? It’s show and tell today.”
“Yes.”
“What’s for lunch?”
“You have your thermos filled with macaroni and cheese.”
“My favorite! Thanks, East. ”
“You’re welcome.”
“Are you going to pick me up after school?”
“I must.”
I pulled into the school parking lot and got out of the car. After walking to the back, I opened the door and helped Owen out of his booster seat, then I grabbed his backpack and slung it over my arm as he held onto his lunch bag.
As we walked across the lot, he took my hand in his. I eyed the heavy flow of traffic of parents dropping off their kids, making sure no one dared come close to Owen in their cars.
“Is Daddy going to be late tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you making dinner? Can we have mac and cheese again?”
“Your father already has dinner planned. I’m to heat it up for you.”
“Oh.”
When we reached the doors, I put his backpack on him and opened the glass door for him to walk inside. Just like every time I need to drop Owen off, he hugs my leg and runs off.
Even after a year, I couldn’t figure out why he liked me so much.
Because he did, I would burn the world down for him.
The love he gave was without conditions or a price.
No one had ever felt that way about me before.
I understood the concepts of love, but I couldn’t feel it the same way as others.
Owen’s love for me was strange, and I didn’t understand it, but I took it.
“Bye, East!”
“Bye, Owen.”
Before I headed into The District, I stopped by a new coffee shop that opened a block away, called Sweet Bean. I didn’t drink much caffeine because it made my hands shake, but I liked the sugar and warm drinks.
I parked in the garage at our office and walked briskly down the street to the coffee shop, my hands shoved into the pockets of my coat, since the morning was freezing and I wasn’t wearing gloves.
I opened the glass door to a blast of heat and the scent of sugar and coffee beans.
The line was long, so I had to wait.
“Jesus Christ, what the fuck is taking so long?” an older man in front of me grumbled. “I’ve got to get to work.”
Then perhaps he should’ve skipped his coffee or left his home earlier.
The line moved slowly as complicated drinks were processed.
“Dammit! How many drinks are you ordering up there?” he said louder.
When there were four people in front of me, I got a glance at the young man taking orders. I recognized the stress and his panic as he rang up the customer, who was also complaining. Why do people bother complaining? It wouldn’t move the line any faster.
The barista shoved his round glasses up his nose and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as he keyed in the order into the register, repeatedly apologizing.
The place looked understaffed, which explained the line.
“Excuse me! I have an important meeting in thirty minutes. I need to get my coffee! What the hell is taking so long?” snapped the same man .
I felt the irritation flare inside me. As much as I loved the feelings of anger, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with it, so I did my best to silence the red stirring in my brain.
By the time he finally got to the counter to take his order, he was livid.
“How fucking hard is it to punch in an order? Are you inept or something? Do you realize I’m going to be late now? But no, you take your sweet fucking time, uncaring about the rest of us.”
“I-I’m sorry, sir. It’s… I’m new, and they needed someone this morning.”
“As if that’s an excuse. I’m going to have a word with your manager.”
“Oh… uhm…” his blue eyes started watering, and his lip trembled, but he did his best to hold it back. “I see. I really apologize, sir.”
“Where’s your manager? Why are they not here?”
“Ah… Please… I’m really trying my best…”
“Jesus Christ… are you stupid?”
I’d had enough at that point. The man was getting on my last nerve.
“Just get your order and move on,” I told him.
He turned to look at me, glaring. “Mind your fucking business, kid.”
As soon as he turned around, I grabbed his arm, yanked it behind him high enough to hurt, and slammed his upper body against the counter. “You will give your order, apologize profusely to…” I scanned for the barista’s name tag. “...Thomas, then you’ll leave and never come back.”
“Let me go! Fuck you! I’ll sue you for assault! ”
I leaned forward close to his ear as he struggled beneath me, but my grip was too tight, and I had his hand at a pressure point, which I knew was painful. “You can’t if you’re dead. Because if you harm Thomas or this coffee shop for something that is your fault, I will kill you.”
He stiffened beneath me. “You… you…”
“I have no trouble making you pay.” It wasn’t that I cared about Thomas or this shop. The man just irritated the fuck out of me, and I was tired of listening to him complain uselessly.
When I let him go, he sat up, straightened his suit, and fixed his hair to the applause of customers behind me.
“You know what? Fuck this,” the man huffed and quickly left the coffee shop, allowing me to step forward and give my order to Thomas.
“I’ll have a medium chai latte with four packs of raw sugar, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup drizzled on top. And warm up one of your cinnamon rolls for me.”
Thomas beamed at me as he sniffed and pushed his glasses up his nose. His blue eyes were bright, and his smile produced dimples in his cheeks. I strangely found his looks compelling, especially the light brown curls threaded with hints of golds and reds.
“Thank you so much for your help,” he said.
“He was annoying.”
He snorted a laugh before leaning in to say quietly, “He was so mean. Your drink is on me because you made my day.”
“I can pay. I make more money than you do.”
He laughed again. “ Everyone makes more money than me.”
Thomas lifted a medium paper coffee cup and a black marker. “What’s the name on the order? ”
“Easton.”
“Oh, cool name.”
“Thank you,” I said, learning long ago that people enjoyed pointless politeness.
I only did it to fit in, not really caring what people thought of me.
If I had to, I’d wear my mask to appear like others, but most days, I didn’t bother because it was mentally exhausting to keep up with all the varying emotions of others.
I mostly used it for work if I needed to get close to my target.
“Your order will be right up,” Thomas said, now all smiles and bouncing on his feet. His dimples drew me in for some reason. They brightened his face.
His soft beauty strangely intrigued me and I had sudden thoughts of fucking him. My physical needs had been growing in recent months, but I’d never sought someone to give me a release. Man or woman, it didn’t matter to me, as long as my needs were met.
I’d been spending an inordinate amount of time watching porn and masturbating lately.
I found a small table with a lounge chair and sat down, crossing one leg over the other knee, scrolling through my phone for the latest news. I’ve always liked to stay informed about the world around me. Everything I learned was to my advantage.
A shadow cast above me, and I looked up to find Thomas the barista standing next to me, holding my drink and pastry.
“One medium chai latte with four raw sugars, whipped cream, and a chocolate drizzle.” He winked, which confused me. Why was he winking? “The extra drizzle is on me. And one cinnamon roll, all warmed up.”
“I could’ve gotten it.”
He smiled brightly and rolled on the balls of his feet. “I think you should get the special treatment.”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“Nope, the line has died down.”
Huh? Usually, people were repelled or put off by my personality when I wasn’t wearing my mask, but Thomas didn’t seem to care, or more likely, he didn’t notice.
He set my drink and treat down on the small table and just stood there, looking at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Can I… hug you? As a thanks, I mean.”
“No.”
His smile dropped, but it was fleeting before he beamed again. “It’s okay.”
“It’s nothing personal. I don’t let people hug me other than a select few.”
“Oh, that’s cool. Not everyone likes to be touched. That’s why I asked first.”
I went back to my phone, but he still stood there, so I looked up at him and raised a brow. “What?”
“I’m Thomas.”
I didn’t ask, but I stayed polite. “I know. Thank you.”
He sat down next to me, still smiling. People rarely wanted to talk to me, let alone smile. I intentionally gave off the ‘ do not talk to me ’ vibe, being highly introverted, but Thomas was undaunted.
I lifted my drink to sip it when I saw the pink heart next to my name. I raised a brow and showed him my cup. “A heart?”
He smiled brightly, those dimples popping. “I’m just really grateful to you. ”
I said nothing and continued scrolling on my phone.
“Do you work around here?”
“Yes, I work a block away.”
I sipped my chai, and it was perfect.
“I made the tea myself. Do you like it?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Does that mean you’ll come back?”
While I was good at observing people and had learned about body language, along with facial expressions, I hadn’t had any prior exposure to someone genuinely interested in getting to know me. Was he hitting on me? Or was he just chatty?
“Yes, it’s close by. I’ve been here before.”
“I’m new to the mornings. Usually, I work in the afternoons, but since I started community college, I needed to shift my hours.”
“Okay.”
“I want to be a nurse. What do you do?”
“I kill people.”
He covered his mouth and giggled. “Seriously! That was funny.”
I only told him that to see his reaction, knowing he wouldn’t believe me, anyway.