The woman returned with various items of fabric in her arms. She handed me a towel, assuring me it was clean. “I keep it in my car for gym trips, but I’ve been too busy recently,” she offered. “My name’s Maggs. I’m the manager here. I’m so sorry you were hurt.” She glanced at my chest. “That does look sore.”
I took the towel and dabbed at my wet torso gingerly, as if I were genuinely uncomfortable. “Shit, my hoodie’s soaking. I’m gonna freeze.” I wasn’t, but I had to make it seem realistic. Thankfully, I’d had years of acting as normal, or as I now thought of it, as human as I could, so as not to draw attention to myself, so it felt natural to protest.
Maggs bounced from foot to foot while I dried off, then held out a selection of plastic-wrapped packages to me. “Would you accept one of our staff T-shirts? It’s not designer like yours, but it is dry. I wasn’t sure what size you’d be.”
I chose my size and pulled on a fresh T-shirt. I grinned at poor worried Maggs. “That’s better.” I remembered Luc telling me to look anxious, so I chewed at my lip as I contemplated the mess my hoodie was in. “I wonder if I can rinse this out and use the hand dryers to get the worst off.”
“Let me, please.” Maggs all but tugged my sodden clothing out of my hands. “I’ll sort all this, but first, let’s get you a drink and something to eat, with our compliments, of course.”
Shit, Luc would be waiting for me! And I had a story to stick to. I made a worried sound as she guided me back to the store and a vacant table. “I’ve got to get to Holyhead. I need to catch a ferry tonight.”
She nodded, and spoke rapidly over the counter to the cute barista. She turned back to me. “We won’t keep you long, I promise.”
Within what seemed like seconds, a large Americano and a toasted panini appeared in front of me. The cute barista nodded at my new attire. “That colour suits you. Looking for a job? We’ve got a vacancy.” He looked hopeful, and flirtatious.
“I wish.” I managed to inject a wistful note into my tone. When he made a ‘go on’ sound, I said, glancing around as if checking I couldn’t be overhead, “I’m making a new start. Got to get away.”
His eyes widened. “Oooh,” he breathed, clutching his chest. God help me, he was a drama queen. “Are you in danger?”
I managed not to roll my eyes at what he probably considered danger. With a sniff and a flick of my hair, I tried to look wounded, and very, very gay. “Family stuff. I’m not what they signed up for in a son. Know what I mean?”
He held my gaze for a long moment, then nodded. “You poor thing. But you’re right to get away. They don’t deserve you, babe.”
I agreed, but not for the reasons he thought. He headed back to serve the queue that was building up. I bit into the panini to seem grateful for it, but managed to stall eating any more, toying with it until Maggs reappeared. She held out my clothes, neatly folded.
“I think the stains are out. The hoodie’s almost dry, but the T-shirt is such a thick material, it’s too much for the hand dryer. How’s your chest now?”
Fine, hadn’t given it a thought.I went through the motions of tentatively patting myself through the T-shirt. “I’ll live,” I assured her with a brave smile.
“I can’t say sorry enough.”
I rammed the remainder of the sandwich between two napkins and slid it into a trouser pocket. “Honestly, accidents happen. I’d better get going.”Crap, I’m supposed to use my bank card.I shoved my arms into my hoodie and tugged up the zip, twisting the still-damp T-shirt into a pocket of my combats to worry about later.
Maggs wasn’t finished with me. “I won’t keep you long, but we do need to fill in an accident report.” I stared at her. “You were injured, sir.”Sir?I had to check myself from looking around to see who she was talking to.
“I won’t sue or anything,” I protested, but she whipped out an official-looking form. “It really won’t take long.”
I gave her my real name. But refused point blank to give her any contact details. “I’m homeless,” I said, a whine creeping into my voice that wasn’t entirely put on.
Maggs’s expression softened. “Oh no, that’s awful.”
I fed her a line about crossing the sea in search of a new start, all the time trying not to fidget when I thought of Luc, who’d be wondering where the fuck I’d got to. When Maggs asked for my phone number, I looked suitably blank. “Don’t have one any more. I sold it to buy food.” I was becoming a worryingly good liar. I still needed to use my debit card though, so I surreptitiously eased it from the depths of another pocket, and silently urged Maggs to get a move on. She, however, didn’t hear my silent plea, and was slow and thorough. I couldn’t really fault her; if I’d been anyone else, there could have been a lawsuit.
Finally, finally,we were done. I didn’t dare check the time, but I’d been ages. I hoped Luc would agree to stopping further on for me to purchase another snack and use the damn card. I was almost at the door when the third barista caught up with me. “Compliments of the management.” He thrust a carrier bag at me, then held out a fresh coffee.
I peered into the bag. Luc wouldn’t be upset about this development. Several muffins, some chocolate-coated biscuits, crisps, and even a handful of sugar packets. Nice. I thanked him, and under the watchful eyes of what seemed like half of Wales, made my escape into the night.
I didn’t dare take my phone out to double check where I was headed, but I had a decent memory, and before long I was huddled against the barriers on the roundabout, eyes peeled for any sign of Luc. Right now, my vampire eyesight was a true blessing as I could see almost as well at night as in daylight.
Six, maybe seven long minutes passed before the comforting shape of his SUV approached the junction from the opposite direction from which I’d come. I double-checked it really was him behind the wheel before making myself obvious. He took the roundabout at a crawl, slamming on the brakes as he spotted me.
I jumped in, pulling the door closed behind me. “I’m so sorry! It’s been a disaster.”
He shot me a worried frown as he pulled back into the traffic, which was mercifully light. “Are we in extra danger right now?”
“No. I don’t think so. No, definitely not.” Luc sniggered, so I took a deep breath and started again. “No, I think we’re good. Sorry I was so long. I was half worried you’d have left without me.”
“Dude, please. Why would I leave you? Have you been snorting anti-confidence pills with that coffee? And what’s in the bag? Smells like cake.”
