Page 93 of A Foster Fling
“Yeah.” I grab one of the aprons off the hook and let out a sigh.
Another day.
Turning around, I plaster a fake smile on my face and greet the customer. “Welcome to The Jive Cup.” My breath stutters at the beautiful but intense woman before me. She’s definitely not a regular around these parts.
“I’ll just have a regular coffee with creamer.” She smiles and it looks like it’s full of secrets. It makes me uncomfortable.
With a nervous smile, I turn around and make her cup. It’s slow today, her being the only one in the shop. Once it’s done, I place the cup into a sleeve and hand it to her. She smiles eerily and it makes me wipe my hands on my apron absentmindedly.
“Thank you…Melanie.”
Red flag. Red flag.“How did you know my name?” My paranoia increases with every breath I take. After living in that damn house, my life was never the same.
After losing Jaiden, my heart has never been the same. Everyone is kept at a distance. I can’t go through something like that again. Even the girls at home are just kept as acquaintances.
My eyes must have glazed over because she stares at me until I come back to reality. But that strange smile is still there.Who the hell is she?
“Hey! You need any help over here?” My coworker, John, is still wrapping the apron around him as he walks behind the counter, coming up beside me.
“Um. Excuse me.” I retreat into the back like something is after me, because that’s exactly what it feels like.
“Melan—”
Ignoring John, I run out the back door and grab my phone out of my pocket. Scrolling through my contacts, I find the manager’s number and hit call.
“Hey, Melanie! Is everything okay at the shop? I’m still about a few miles away.”
“I, um, I’m not feeling good. Would it be okay if I take the day off? I can switch shifts with someone.”
“Yeah, of course! I hope everything’s alright. You never take a day off. You deserve it. Go, I’ll handle things when I get there.”
“Thank you, Lee. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Just get better, Melanie.”
We both hesitate to hang up, each person waiting for the other to do it first. I’m still uneasy about the girl in the shop that I make today the day I take the initiative to end the call.
Thoughts of my manager flirting with me flit through my mind, but this isn’t the time to think about what-ifs. Walking back into the shop, I remove my apron but remember that the hook is right at the front of the store. Dammit!
Should I just leave it in the back?Fuck it. Yes, I will.
“J—” I’m about to call out my coworker’s name but think better of it. Looking over the supply closet, I hang my apron on the door and turn around to exit the back. Lee will tell him why I’m gone.
The breeze picks up and it sends a chill into me. The house is at least a mile out, but I’ve got time. What’s wrong with me?Why did that girl spook me so much?
Crossing the street, I pick up my pace and choose to go down some alleyways to cut on the distance. My breath hitches when memories of Jaiden come back to me at the sight of a chain-linked fence to my left.
Stupid, Melanie. He’s gone. Stop thinking about him.
The sad part is, I don’t even know if he’s dead or alive. If he was alive, why hasn’t he come to find me? Tears prick my eyes at the thought of him never caring to begin with.Of course, the asshole never cared about you. He only cared about himself.
But that wasn’t true, was it? I don’t even think he cared about himself at all. The walls I’ve built around my heart begin to crack again, making my chest hurt.
“Mel.”
I stop in my tracks.
I can barely breathe.