Lost Boy - Ker Dukey Page 0,11

friends,” Jeff retorts, chuckling to himself. Dick.

“I have friends,” I bite back, my mind searching for the truth in my words.

“Invisible ones don’t count.” He full-on laughs.

“Is this funny to you?” I sneer.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s an asshole.” Charlotte slings her arm over my shoulder and walks me away from him.

“We’re friends, right?” I ask, hating myself for needing reassurance of our friendship.

Jack seeps into my thoughts.

“It’s okay, Liz Wiz.”

Her mouth twists up, and she follows me back to the front of the shop. “Are you kidding? We’re best friends.” She smirks, bumping me with her hip.

My stomach twists at her words. Best friends.

Jack.

Jack.

Jack.

“You sure you’re okay to work today?” Concern puckers her lips as she eyes me. I follow her gaze to my hand where I’m scratching at the scars there.

My mom flickers through my mind.

So much blood.

Why did this have to happen today of all days? This day was already stained in blood. “Do you really think her killer is someone I know?” I find myself asking.

“Where’s my son, cunt!”

Her hand slips into mine, squeezing. “I hope not. Whoever did that to her was evil.”

I knew evil. I’d been in a room with evil incarnate. He eclipsed the sun, stealing the light from my beautiful life and plunging my world into darkness. He stole everything from me. “I’m going to stick around for a little while, maybe have some food on Jeff.” She winks, releasing my hand. I have an overwhelming urge to wash her touch from my skin, but I don’t. Instead, I nod. She knows I would never ask her to stay even if I needed her to.

Exhaustion follows me around like my shadow as I clear the last tables of the night.

The hushed whispers about Abigail mock me the entire day. I can’t escape her death. Charlotte finally gave in and left after crowding me all damn day. Abigail was just a girl I sat next to. I didn’t even particularly like her, so getting sympathy for her death makes me feel like an attention-seeking phony.

I restock the drink fridge, grabbing myself a soda to stop the hunger pangs. I can’t face food. The overhead bell dings despite me flipping the closed sign a few minutes ago. “We’re closed,” I call out over my shoulder.

Silence.

“Hello?” I poke my head around, but the place is empty. A figure moves in my peripheral, making me startle. The men’s room door closes with a soft thud, and my stomach dips. Jeff is in his office filing paperwork. I’m not entirely alone, I remind myself as I round the counter, giving a semblance of safety with the barrier between me and whoever went into the restroom. It’s probably just a student with earbuds in. I chew on my nails, waiting for them to come out.

A minute passes. Then another. Fuck. Hurry up. I want to go home. I need to shower this day from my skin.

Tick, tick, tick…

Dammit.

I slip into the back, opening Jeff’s office door with a soft nudge. “Oh god,” I cringe, pulling the door back closed. Him masturbating at his desk was the last thing I needed to see today. A shower won’t be enough to wash that away. The overhead bell dings again. I rush back out to the shop floor in time to see a shadowy figure move past the window speckled with rain. Asshole could have at least bought something.

Untying my apron and dumping it on the counter, I check to make sure the restrooms are empty, then latch the front lock and dim the lights. Tension bubbles in my stomach as I peer out through the glass to see if anyone is still lingering.

“Hey,” Jeff’s voice grinds into my ear, and a weird croak escapes my mouth.

“Oh my god, you scared the crap out of me!” I gasp, holding a hand to my chest. “Creep much?” I scold.

“You finished for the night?” he asks, ignoring my insult, looking around the empty shop.

“Yeah. Just locked up.” I take a step away from him. He’s too close.

“That yours?” He moves across the room to one of the tables I just wiped down.

What the…?

A black rectangular box sits on top.

“There’s a card,” he grunts, holding up a small white envelope. “Your names on it.”

Picking up the box, he walks back over to me, pushing it against my chest until I’m forced to take it from him. “See you tomorrow.” He smirks, waving his fingers. I suppress a gag, knowing what he just did with