“Oh yes, that’s right.”
“So, uh… is her dad around?”
Frowning, I turn to face him fully. Something in his eyes has me freezing. Panic sets in. Something about them is so familiar. Whether it be the anger that’s there, the evil, or just the shit brown color… but it has me sick.
“Yes, wonderful. Have a great day!” the cashier calls.
I turn to face forward and see the old woman hobbling away with her reusable bag on her arm. I shove the cart forward, pulling out my wallet from my purse with shaky hands.
“Can I please pay for the first two items separately?”
“Sure thing,” the kid says, sounding fed up with life.
“I asked you a question,” the guy behind me says, on top of me once again.
I ignore him, and the cashier seems oblivious to him too. Which is no help at all. Glancing around, I don’t see a single other person. When did this place turn into a ghost town?
“Eighteen forty-seven.”
I swipe my card and wait for it to pop up to put in the pin.
“Hello? I’m talking to you.”
Where is Tommy?
The machine beeps, needing my pin code. I put it in, but it comes up as declined.What?!
“Says you put in the wrong pin. Try again.”
Shit. I swipe again, my hand shaking.
“Lady, where is the kid’s father, hm?” he asks tauntingly.
My vision blurs on the sides, but I focus on the numbers, making sure I hit the correct ones this time. I need to get the hell out of here, but my hands are shaking so badly.
I don’t know who this man is. I don’t know what he wants. He could be a harmless person who has no manners, or he could be someone else. Someone from the IR, even if he doesn’t have patches or a cut. He could beanyone.
There could be more of them. Someone could have taken Tommy. They could be about to take me too. Oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god. Please don’t let anyone hurt my baby. Please, god,please.
“Do you want the receipt?”
“N-no.” I shake my head, and move forward, needing to get out of here, but then I remember there is a ton more food on the belt that I have to wait for.
Shit!
“You really are a rude little bitch,” the guy says. The cashier is still ignoring him, in his own little world as he scans items andputs them in paper bags. How the hell are people oblivious to something like this?
The man moves closer to me, and I almost throw up. The fear coursing through me is like nothing I have ever felt before. I’m ready to run, ready to grab Dorothea and bolt.
“You better watch you back, you fucking slut. That baby doesn’t belong to you.” He shoves by me and walks out the front door.
“One pound of brown sugar.” Tommy’s voice startles me, and his brow furrows. “What’s wrong?” he asks in that firm tone of his, then looks up and around.
“Nothing,” I say quickly, picking up the bag at the end of the counter and putting it in the cart. My hands are still shaking.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Anastacia. Don’t lie to me.”
“Just… thought I saw someone. That’s all.”
