I exhaled. “Well then, tell him the barista is exhausted and mildly unhinged.”
A soft scoff escaped her lips. “I’ll word that better.”
“Hey, Ellie, little help here!” Harriet’s voice interrupted.
I rolled my eyes and grudgingly headed toward her.
The next few hours moved the way a busy shift always did. Too fast for thought. Too loud for silence. My mind was grateful for the distraction, but my body was tired.
I made drinks I could make in my sleep, and my lips ached from all those forced smiles. The hearing and the mysterious events surrounding it stayed at the back of my mind, waiting for that inevitable moment of stillness.
Bit by bit, the rush began thinning, and the café started emptying. That’s when the thoughts on standby began to creep back in.
“You can head out.” Marcus appeared beside me, a clean white cloth draped over their shoulder. “Priya and I will close up.”
I raised my head. The last few tables were settling their bills. “You sure?”
“You’re clearly dealing with something. And whatever it is, it’s the reason you pushed yourself a little too hard these past three nights,” he answered. “You need to rest.”
“He’s right,” Priya said. “Go home, Ellie.”
I hesitated, then untied my apron. “Thanks.”
She smiled. “We hope to see a better version of you tomorrow.”
“Good night.”
“Good night,” they chorused.
I grabbed my bag and walked out, pushing through the door and into the cool air.
Outside, the night’s air brushed against my face as I walked down the street. My shoes scuffed on the pavement, my senses on high alert. For some reason, it was eerily quiet tonight—too quiet.
In the distance, a dog’s incessant barking punctuated the stillness, accompanied by a faint wail of sirens. Above, the crescent moon was hanging somewhere in the sky, surrounded by a myriad of twinkling stars.
I’d walked these streets at times later than this, and never had I felt so uneasy. It was as though someone were watching me. I couldn’t prove it, but I could feel a lingering gaze.
My eyes scanned the familiar environment, searching for anything out of the ordinary.
Gary, the homeless man, was sitting by a dumpster, humming a song while petting his cat. Across from him was a couple making out against the wall. And just ahead was a black SUV with tinted windows.
The car was way too expensive for this neighborhood. But that wasn’t the weird part. That title belonged to the tall man standing beside it. Motionless. He was wearing a black outfit and a hat that concealed his face.
I almost froze when I spotted him.
He gave off the same bad energy as the strange man from the hearing room. I slowed down, my brain already calculating the different routes I could take other than this.
There wasn’t any, at least not until I reached the end of the street. And I’d have to pass him to get there. So I was left with two choices. Turn around and walk thirty minutes back home, or damn everything and walk past this stranger.
The soft giggles of the previous couple caught my attention. When I looked in their direction again, they were already heading toward Frank’s and Suzie’s, a small restaurant to my left.
Then a thought hit me.
What if I went in with them and secured a window seat? That way, I’d keep an eye out for the strange man and the black SUV. Besides, I may just be overthinking this; people stand outside all the time.
No one’s following you, Ellie. Stop being paranoid,I told myself.
“Better safe than sorry,” I mumbled under my breath and began walking over to the restaurant.
