“Hey, Fallyn.” The sneering tone came from behind me as I walked in line to grab my packages.
I glanced in that direction before I could think that might not be a good idea.
A man was standing near one of the copiers, watching me with a kind of seething hatred that should only be reserved for serial killers and child molesters.
“Can I help you?” Just responding to him set off a billion warning bells in my head.
He sneered. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough? You fucking bitch. It wasn’t enough to ruin an incredible game, but you had to flash your cunt around and destroy the career of a great man, too? You streamer sluts think all you have to do is flash your tits—“
“Enough.I’m calling the police. You are trespassing,” the employee working the counter said.
“I’m done anyway. Stupid ho isn’t worth my time.” The man’s scowl deepened—which should have made his face concave by now—and he spat at me before turning and walking out.
What the actual fuck? Now I was going to have to change my mailing address. Wonderful.
“Police are on their way. Do you want to wait in back for them?” The clerk gestured toward the back room of the store.
I did. I wanted to hide away from the world and never emerge. But with the adrenaline racing through my veins, I didn’t want to be anywhere that wasn’t public—witnesses were good—until I got home.
The police weren’t much help. They took statements. They told me to be careful. They left.
That was great. Not.
As I drove home, I couldn’t stop checking my mirrors. Would I know if anyone was following me? How long had those cars been behind me? I took the most convoluted route home that I could, and every time a car behind me took the same turn I did, my paranoia spiked.
By the time I got home, I was shaking. I needed to get out of town for a few days. Someplace safer than a strange city where strange men waited for me. I couldn’t stay here anymore.
I called my sister.
She answered and we made some light small talk. Exactly the kind of thing I didn’t want from Link, about the weather, andhow her kids were. At this moment, it was more soothing than most things.
“What’s up?” She asked. “Not that you can’t call to just chat, but you’re usually working right now.”
Would I ever work again? That was melodramatic, of course I would. “I just wanted to sayhi.”
“Uh-huh. Nearly forty years, Fall. I know you. You didn’t call just to chat. What’s up?”
“I was thinking I might come visit for Christmas. See you. See the kids. Spend a few weeks back home.” As the words rushed out, they sounded like the perfect idea. Exactly what I needed.
The way she sucked in a short breath crashed my hopes before she said anything. “I’m so sorry. Al’s aunt got us a trip to visit them in Milan for the holidays. We won’t be home, and we’ll be spending most of our time there with them. You’re still welcome to come stay in the house. It’s all yours while we’re gone.”
All of the will drained from me, and I let my body sink into the couch. “No, I don’t need to do that. It’s totally fine. Have fun in Italy and we’ll do this another time.”
Totally fine. I’d be fine. Everything would be fine.
I didn’t believe it for a second, but I needed to start or the weight of reality would crush me.
28/
elliot
Ididn’t know how to sit and do nothing. Not being able to work when I knew how much I could be doing, made me twitchy.
It didn’t help that King spent a lot of time sitting at the door whining, and sleeping in the chair Fallyn had claimed during the start of her time here. On top of that, Mrs. Ria asked me multiple times on Tuesday day if I was all right and when that darling woman, the one with the purple in her hair, was coming back.
I wanted to have an answer for her, for King, that was more thanshe won’t be back, and I didn’t just want that for them. I also missed Link. Desperately. And the people from work, though not with the same kind of intensity.
And yeah, I missed Fallyn, too. Admitting it to myself didn’t make it hurt any less. This was exactly what I hadn’t wanted to happen, but now that she was gone, I could work on going back to life as normal. The ache wouldn’t be there for long. That empty hole in my chest that carried two names. That would fill in soon enough.