Darius left right after that and I was in a bad mood for the rest of the shift. I tried hard to keep my mood out of my business but I realized that I was getting more frustrated with customers faster than I should have. Even Serena seemed to be avoiding me more than usual and I couldn’t bring myself to approach her about it because I knew I was at fault. I made up for it by helping her clean up some of the messes she made.
By eight-thirty, Darius started clearing out the bar and we were instructed to start closing tabs. A few of the customers were disgruntled at having to be sent home early but most of them closed up without a fuss. It seemed like everyone was rushing to get out of the bar which I found suspicious. Was there a specific reason why everyone was eager to leave? Was there a new tradition that had begun after I left?
I cornered Serena by the bar. “Do you know why he’s closing early?”
She shrugged but she didn’t meet my eyes and I knew that she was aware of whatever was happening. I raised a brow at her but she pretended not to see me and sidestepped me to begin wiping down the counters.
“Why won’t you just tell me?” I asked but she still stayed silent and stared at the counters as if they were the most interesting things in the world. “Is it a family thing? Is it a town thing? I just returned after five years away. If anything is happening then I deserve to know.”
“I don’t know what it is Leindra. Don’t you ever take a break?” Her voice was sharp and cut and I froze because she had never used that tone on me. She pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh. “I’m tired and my back hurts. I just want to get home. You should be happy that you’re being let off early instead of trying to figure out what the problem is because there is no problem.”
“I-” I wanted to argue but I realized she was right. “I’m sorry. Do you need help cleaning up the counter?”
“You can just take the drinks to the back.”
I figured she needed her space so I carried the leftover packs of drinks. If the bar had stayed open until late at night then all the drinks would have probably finished. I hated going down the basement because it was dark and musty and reminded me of a cell or those underground dungeons in horror books. The light bulb had stopped working a few days ago and no one had bothered to replace it.
Whenever I went down, I tended to feel like I was being watched so I dropped the drinks as quickly as I could and rushed up the stairs. I had barely crossed the threshold of the basement when I bumped into a body. I stumbled back and would have fallen down the stairs if not for Ian reaching out to grab me by my wrist.
“Thank you,” I said once I was back on my feet, and I made sure to inch away from the stairs so another accident wouldn’t occur. “I could have cracked open my skull.”
“Don’t let Darius hear you say that. He might just blow a fuse,” he joked and I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s right, you’re still pretending like he doesn’t matter. I forgot; let’s start over, shall we?”
“What do you want Ian?”
I liked Ian but at that moment, he was beginning to annoy me. I had hoped he would be a good friend but I had come to realize that he was going to be Darius’ friend first and foremost and he had also bought into the ideology that Darius could have whatever he wanted.
“Darius was looking for you so he sent me to find you,” when he saw my expression he laughed. “He just wants to make sure you are out of the bar before ten. Although, I think he wants to see you.”
“You could just tell him that you didn’t find me.”
“I don’t lie sweetheart and he’s waiting at the top of the stairs.”
I muttered a few curses under my breath which made Ian laugh. True to his word, Darius was at the top of the stairs but there was something off about him. He looked tired and worn out and he was leaning against the bar as if he couldn’t be bothered to stand upright on his own. I felt a prickle of worry run down my spine and I almost reached out for him but I remembered that he was an entitled prick so I kept my hands to myself.
Serena was done with the counters and she looked just as tired as Darius although hers was understandable because she had been working for so long. I reached out to her however and gave her a questioning look but she shook her head and assured me that she was fine.
“Will you be able to get home safely, Serena?” Darius asked and a knowing look seemed to pass between them as she nodded. He turned to me and his eyes softened considerably. “You should go home, Leindra. We have to close up now.”
“I was just going,” I assured him then turned to Serena. “Do you need me to drop you off?”
She shook her head quickly but before she could respond, Ian spoke. “I’ll drop her off. Just focus on getting home safe.”
I couldn’t help but feel like something was going on that I was unaware of but I didn’t want to push it so I said bye to Serena and made my way over to the car. The first thing I did was check my phone and I saw that I had two texts. One was from Grandma telling me to come home straight but the other was from Chris asking me to get him something from the store.
A part of me was pushing me to ignore Chris’ message but I thought about how much I owed him and despite the gnawing in my chest, I found myself driving towards the store. To my shock, the store was closing up as well and I had to plead with the owner to let me in for a few seconds to get what I needed. She didn’t seem eager to respond to me but she relented when I promised a huge tip.
I was in and out of the store within five minutes but in those five minutes, the entire town had become a ghost town. There was no soul outside and there was no shop open. It was like everyone had decided to close early and I couldn’t help but feel like there was something I was missing. I turned back to the store to ask the owner if anything was opening but I saw that she had locked the door already.
“That’s weird,” I muttered to myself as I got into the car and started it.
The sound of the engine sounded louder than it normally should have and the eerie silence had my skin crawling like someone was watching me. I had never wanted to go home quicker than I wanted to at that moment. I felt like I had just stepped into a battle ground and I did not know what to expect.
While driving I made sure to look out to be sure that I had not missed any signs that something was taking place but there was nothing. A few streets away from my house, my car began to make some weird noises and it slid to a hard stop. I muttered a small curse and tried to start it again but it wouldn’t come on. I knew it wasn’t gas so it must have been the engine.
I didn’t want to get out of the car so I tried to call a tow truck but there was no service. It felt like the universe was aligning itself to work against me because as soon as I got one bar of signal, my phone went off. I slammed my hand against the horn and jumped slightly when the horn blared through the silence.
I knew I had two options. I could either stay in the car while mourning about my bad luck or I could get out of the car and try to figure out what exactly had gone wrong. I was no mechanic but I had my fair share of checking on my car while in the city. Walking home was out of the option but it was too far a walk. It would take at least forty-five minutes.
I begrudgingly got out of the car when the chilly breeze hit me. I was grateful for Darius’ jacket in the back seat because I pulled it out and draped it over my body. It completely blocked out the breeze and I was able to pull up the hood of my car. I was checking it when I heard something that sounded like the snapping of a twig.
I turned around sharply but all I could see was darkness, houses, and trees. I looked around making sure I was alone and when I didn’t hear any other sounds, I went back to my car. Barely a few seconds into checking my car, I heard the sound again and I stood at attention. This time, I was sure that someone was watching me.
I quickly made my way back to the passenger side to get the flashlight that was in the glove compartment and I aimed it into the wide and empty road. “Is someone there?”
No one answered and I mentally face-palmed myself. If there was someone in the woods trying to hurt me, there is no way they would have responded to my stupid call. I knew I wasn’t alone and while I knew that I could have simply just made my way into the car and stayed there safely, I knew that I had to appear brave and strong.
“I am not scared of you,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “I already called my family and they are on their way. If you try to hurt me then they will catch you. I am not as defenseless as you think.”
The air remained silent and I began to think I was crazy. I turned off the flashlight and that was when I heard it- it was a sound similar to a growl. I turned to the source of the sound and I saw a pair of bright red eyes from the woods.