“I shouldn’t have come here,” he said as he walked inside.
“Skull!” Lobster cried out cheerfully, “Didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”
“Well, here I am,” Skull said, trying to sound nonchalant, but failing. He turned to the bar tender and ordered a soda. He was still a few months from being able to drink, but he didn’t think he wanted to even then. It would just dull his senses.
“You just need to leave that girl alone,” Hugo chuckled, “You have more important things to worry about, Skull.
“I don’t want to talk about her,” Skull said staring into his dark colored soda.
“She break up with you again?” Lobster asked.
“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” Skull said.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Lobster chuckled.
“Leave him be,” Hugo said.
Skull sighed and guzzled down his soda before storming out. He couldn’t face his empty apartment, but he couldn’t stand another moment of being trapped in the pub with the Starless either. He put his helmet back on and headed towards the highway. He needed a long quiet ride to help him unwind.
“That always does the trick,” he grinned to himself.
Chapter Eight
Avoiding Skull was more difficult than Clarissa had thought
it would be. Before meeting him by chance at the grocery store she hadn’t even know of his existence, but since the night she kicked him out of her apartment two months ago, he seemed to be everywhere she went. The weekend after their blow out she went shopping at the mall with Julie. Clarissa hadn’t bothered to tell Julie that she had seen him again or what had transpired between them. She just wanted to let the memories fade away and to be done with Skull, while she still could.
“Look it’s that guy again,” Julie whispered in her ear as they walked towards the food court.
“What?” Clarissa hissed, “Where?”
She knew there was currently only one guy that would make Julie talk in low, hushed tones.
“To the left at the leather store,” Julie said and Clarissa turned to look, but Julie stopped her, “No, don’t look. Let’s just hurry up.”
“Clarissa!” Skull’s voiced reached her ears and her heart skipped a beat and she stopped in her tracks, paralyzed.
“Just act like you didn’t hear him,” Julie urged, pulling on her arm.
“Go ahead,” Clarissa sighed, “I’ll meet you at the food court.”
“Are you sure?” Julie said her face scrunched up in what was supposed to be a sympathetic look.
“Yeah,” Clarissa nodded, “Go ahead.”
“Okay, good luck, Rissa” Julie said and walked away quickly, looking back over her shoulder before disappearing around the corner.
“Hey,” Skull called out as he crossed the hall, making his way through the Saturday afternoon crowd. Clarissa thought about trying to disappear in the crowd, but she didn’t want to worry all afternoon that he was following her around or that they would cross paths again.
“I told you I didn’t want to talk to you anymore,” Clarissa said looking down at her feet, because she didn’t trust herself not to forgive him if she looked at the broad grin that displayed his dimples so well that his voice told her he was flashing.
“I know, but we need to talk,” Skull said reaching out to take her hand.
“I don’t want to,” Clarissa said and pulled away, “I’ve heard all I need to hear.”
Skull started to say something else, but Julie appeared from around the corner waving her cellphone in the air.
“My mom needs me to come babysit, we gotta go,” she called.