21
Emaline
He sits alone, eating a burger and fries I got him on the house, and he scrolls on his phone. When I brought the burger to him, I noticed he was looking at motocross pics. I bet there are a lot of girlfriends and wives in the world that suspect their boyfriend or husband is cheating or watching porn only to discover he’s drooling over car pics or sports replays.
We met at eleven, and from a distance, I spotted him leaning against his bike, looking so edgy and cool, like a movie star from an old black-and-white film. He plays the card of a detached, hot, mysterious man very well. All that’s missing is that certain special girl to pull him out of his sullen mood, forcing him to do things he wouldn’t normally do, like being nice or buying flowers or taking her to a secret location that only his brothers know existed and opening up about his life and loves.
One day, this special girl will appear when he least expects it and make a husband out of him. Yet, that’s not me, and perhaps I need to succumb to the reality.
Every few minutes, he’ll glance up to see where I am before dropping his eyes again, and stupidly, that little act makes my heart flutter. His brothers persuaded him to take me to class and work, so I don’t count those acts as kindness or generosity but as loyalty to his brothers. Yet the momentary stares and seeking me out in the diner is a different story altogether.
Oh, gosh, I’m doing it again. Reading into his mannerisms and body language and making hollow assumptions sets me up for disappointment. I need to stop doing that.
Rosie waddles in wearing Dante the Dinosaur and signals that she’s off to have a break and glass of water because it gets so clammy and thirst-quenching in that heavy-weight suit. Once she’s forced that large body through the doorway into the staffroom, I take her large reptilian head off and fetch a glass of water for her.
“We don’t get paid enough for this,” Rosie blurts as I mop the sweat from her brow with a wet towel.
“I agree,” I answer as she sips the water and sweeps her hair back from her face. “Summer is going be murder.”
“Don’t even talk about Summer,” she mumbles as Boss pokes his head into the staffroom and states, “I heard that. And don’t take too long because we’re flat out.”
Rosie groans, “I need a new job. You know, like a grown-up job. A job behind a desk where I wear a nice dress or something.” She frowns when I lurch from a pang of pain in my lower spine. “Are you alright?”
“Damn, I think my period just arrived,” I state dejectedly as I step to my locker to grab my bag and seize a tampon and sanitary pad. “It’s right on time, thank goodness.”
I leave the staffroom to head into the bathroom off the hallway, relieved that I can put out my worries and go to bed. I’ve been stupid by having unprotected sex with Xavier, but I made sure that he and The Bear wore a condom yesterday and every other day. I’m too young to be a mother, although I can’t deny that I have on occasion imagined myself enjoying the American dream – white picket fence, married to a man who adores me with 2.5 children.
Expecting to see blood in my underwear, I’m surprised to find that it’s clear, but I stick the pad on the cotton crotch anyway because my period feels dangerously close, unfortunately, and I pull my pants up quickly to get back to work.
Rosie is wiggling through the doorway with her dinosaur head back on to go outside with Dante’s Best Burgers In Town sign while children pull her tail and teenagers try to steal her sign. Yep, Rosie is right…we don’t get paid enough to do this.
As soon as Rosie has secured her position outside on the pavement, I start serving at the ice cream and frozen yogurt counter, even though I’m happiest working behind the scenes in the kitchen and away from students’ snarky remarks and pulling mean tricks. Although it’s evidently clear that since I’ve been involved with the Leroux boys, the pranks have died down, and they ignore me instead, which I prefer.
Austin approaches the counter as students clear the path for him, the girl gazing up longingly that he will notice them, but his eyes are on me. “I’m heading out for half an hour to meet Aaron. I’ll be back in time to take you home,” he states flatly.
“You don’t have to stay watching over me. I’m safe in here,” I try to convince him.
His eyebrows drop low over his eyes, which haven’t moved off my face since he approached the counter. “No,” he says steadily. “I’ll be back soon.”
I nod politely, “Okay,” I say as students crowd behind him, eager to be served.
Taking the opportunity to glance discreetly at his fabulous backside as he walks away, I pull myself together to concentrate on serving the students before me.
Time goes by quickly, and Austin hasn’t returned as promptly as he suggested, and I start to panic about how I will get to the hospital. He parked the motorbike in the alleyway outside the fire exit where the dumpster is, and when I had a spare five minutes, I opened the backdoor to find that the bike was not there.
I head back into the staffroom, open my locker, grab my phone, and send him a message. If he can’t pick me up, I’ll get a ride home with Rosie and then take my van to the hospital, but a message is waiting for me from Grandma, who arrived two hours ago.
Grandma: Please call me urgently.
My mouth turns raspy and dry at reading the message, and naturally, I think the worst. It has to be about Brielle. Something must’ve happened with Brielle. Either her health has declined, or one of the Viche cruds has broken into the ICU and got her.
Me: Is Bri ok?
I dither for several seconds, hoping Grandma will reply, and when she doesn’t, I put my phone away to finish my shift. Austin’s dark, sullen features catch my eye as soon as I walk out. His head is covered with a black hood, looking suspiciously sinister, like he’s about to rob the place.
He glances in my direction under the brim of the hood, then checks his phone, I assume for the time and walks out. People standing at the counter are in the way, so I can’t see where he goes, but his mood has darkened, if that’s even possible, and I wonder if he knows that something happened to Bri.
“I said strawberry,” the girl at the service counter snaps at me as I’m on the brink of pouring caramel sauce into her ice cream cup.
“Sorry,” I pant anxiously and quickly seize the strawberry bottle while taking deep breaths to calm my nerves. The sooner this shift ends, the better because I can’t handle the surging apprehension.
The people at the serving counter move on, giving me a clear view out the window. Austin is there waiting, arms folded across his chest, hood over his head. He’s glancing up and down the street as if searching for something or someone. What the hell is going on here?
Rosie in the dinosaur costume wanders past the window, and I wave out to her, but I don’t think she can see me through that narrow viewing hole in her costume. Austin turns his back, still on edge, impatient, gazing up and down the street. Who is he waiting for?
I check the time on the cash register. I have another 8 minutes to go until the end of my shift, and I’m sure it will move at a snail’s pace. The next time I have a chance to look up and out the window, I notice dark clouds looming overhead, which represent my apprehension. A storm is brewing, but I don’t know where or when it will strike.
Finally, my shift is over, and I run outside to let Rosie know it’s time for her to come in, and I’ll help her take the costume off. I smile at Austin, leaning against his bike seat, peering at me darkly under that hood.
“I won’t be long,” I tell him as I guide Rosie back into Dante’s. Several students flow out of the diner as we wait to enter, and the waitresses for the next shift slip inside the restaurant before us, knowing that it takes Rosie a while to fit through the doorway.
I stand behind Rosie, holding her tail, when Austin yells, “Get down.”
Naturally, I wonder who he’s yelling at and who someone must ‘get down’ from.
Before I have a chance to drink the scene in, Austin throws himself on me, and we fall onto the ground just as several shots are fired. Glass shatters, and I can feel shards fall to the pavement. Tires screech, people scream, and Austin’s body presses me hard against the hard, cold concrete.
“Rosie!” I scream, dragging my cheek off the ground to look up, and my vision is blurred by dinosaur green plush.
“Are you okay?” Austin asks me as he rolls off my body and starts brushing the shards of glass off me.
“Rosie,” I gasp again, straightening my glasses after striking the ground. “What’s happened to Rosie?”
“I’m here, Em,” her muffled voice calls from inside the suit. “What just happened? Please tell me what just happened.”
Austin grasps my wrist and pulls me to my feet as I attempt to digest the chaos around me. The entire front window of Dante’s has been smashed, and terrified diners, mouths gaping, eyes wide and horrified, hover to one side of the restaurant.
“Has anyone been hit?” Boss bellows from inside.
“No,” the patrons answer weakly and in shock, eager to leave and find safety.
“I’ll call the cops,” Boss growls, standing outside to assess the damage while running his eyes over us to ensure we’re okay. As soon as his eyes lock on Rosie, he growls again. “Rosie? Are you okay in there?”
“Yeah, why? What just happened?” she cries out, panicking.
“There was a drive-by shooting and…” he’s about to explain to Rosie what he’s discovered, but the horrified expression on my face stops him. It’ll freak Rosie out to tell her that there are two bullet holes in Dante”s spikey, cushioned back. Saved by the dinosaur.
I turn back to look at Austin, whose phone is pressed against his ear, and our gazes lock as his eyes twinkle in warmth and compassion. I can still feel his body pressed hard against my back and hand next to my face, knuckles white from pressing hard against the ground.
“Thank you,” I say to him before focusing on Rosie and her holey costume.
My heart is pounding so fast that I fear I’m about to have an anxiety attack. I don’t even want to think about who it was who shot Dante’s window at this moment and instead concentrate on getting out of the costume and safely into her car. One thing I know for sure is that it wouldn’t have been Rosie they were aiming at, but it was Rosie who got hit. I’m so relieved she was hiding in that thick, plush costume when it happened.
As soon as I yank off the dinosaur”s head, Rosie cries in distress, “Oh my gosh! Did I almost die?”
“No,” I lie to calm her. She’s just as anxious as I am, and if she realizes that she came dangerously close to death, she’ll never leave the house and become a hermit. “The shots were miles away.”
“But they smashed the window,” she argues.
That”s a good point, but I won’t encourage her to dwell on it. “Let’s get this costume off,” I urge as I pull her enormous green hands off and place them on the table so her hands are free to unbutton the belly.
“Was anyone hurt?” she asks as I grab my bag from my locker to check my phone to see if Grandma had replied to my message.
Me: I’ll call you once I’m at the hospital. Leaving Dante’s soon.
A tinkering sound forces me to glance up to find that a bullet has dropped out of the costume and is rolling along the floor. Before Rosie can see what the noise is from, I bend down, pick the bullet up, and slip it into my pocket. Then, I peer at the two holes briefly as she sheds the large torso.
“Come on, Rosie, let me walk you to your car,” I offer, and she nods in agreement.
As we walk back out to the dining area, the night shift staff are in the throes of scooping up the vast amounts of glass, and I sneak the bullet to Boss to give to the police.
“Wait,” Rosie stalls. “I can’t leave yet. I’m going to stay to help clean up.”
I nod in understanding as guilt forces its way into my stomach. I should stay, too, but I turn back to Austin, who waits loyally outside, wearing a discerning frown.
Rosie reads my thoughts. “You go, Em. Go see your sister in the hospital to hear the last installment of her story. Then, hopefully, we can move on with our lives.”
I neglected to tell her that Grandma had left an urgent message for me to call her. I assume that was about Bri, but the exhaustion on Rosie’s face overcomes me. The recent events in my life negatively affect her, and I know I’m not the friend I used to be since I started hanging out with the Leroux boys.
Life is more exciting with the Leroux boys in it. It’s just a pity excitement and me are as compatible as oil and water, and Rosie is the same.