Chapter 28 Whispers and Rumors Over Coffee
God damn it, I walked right into a trap. “LET ME GO!” I yelled as I fought to get free.
“Sorry! I thought you heard me,” as the person with the familiar male voice let me go.
“Bartise?” I asked, feeling relieved it wasn’t a trap.
“Hey! Sorry! I thought you heard me yell your name.” He told me, giving me a look like a kicked puppy. I am sure he didn’t mean to freak me out.
“I had earbuds in, sorry!” I apologized to him. I was so focused on the possible threats. I didn’t take in my surroundings like I should have. Rookie mistake.
“Oh? I didn’t notice.” He sounded better with that explanation.
“No worries, I just got them.” I smiled giving a simple explanation.
“Does this mean you have a phone?” Hope filled his voice.
“Haha, yes, do you want my number?” I asked smiling at his expression.
“HELL YEAH I DO!” He exclaimed so excitedly he began jumping and clapping, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Alright, calm down, let me put in your phone, then I am going to order some food because I am starving, but I also need to see if I still have a job.” Once my number was in his phone, I handed it back to him. A look crossed his face that made me feel like I did something wrong. This can’t be good.
“Come sit with me when you're done. I want to talk to you.”
“Okay?” That didn’t sound good. I tried not to worry about that as I made my way over to the counter.
I made small talk with the waitress who was working the counter while I waited for the owner. Apparently, there were rumors that I saved the school. How I sacrificed myself to save everyone. Clearly, that wasn’t completely true because I was standing there.
There were all sorts of crazy things being said that I did that were completely untrue. This was probably what Bartise wanted to talk about. He probably wanted to know the truth about his friend... Could I trust him with everything or just parts? The fewer people who knew the whole truth about me and what I did, the better. This already had too many people talking about me for my liking. This wasn’t going to help keep my identity safe, but I don’t regret doing what I did. It was the right thing to do.
The door to the diner dinged. It looked like the man who was with the girl came inside this time. They probably decided the girl could have been noticed by me, and I would grow suspicious if she came in. From the reflection in the dessert case, he didn’t look happy.
“Hawk?” The owner called from the corner.
“Hey there, boss!” I replied back. Letting him know I was there.
“Well, I’ll be damned. You are alive. Come to my office and we can chat.” He sounded surprised and relieved I was here. He was a tough guy and didn’t seem too friendly at times. So hearing those emotions from him was surprising. I gave the girl I was talking to my order and told her I’d pay when I was back out. I walked back to his office and sat in the very uncomfortable, cheap plastic chair that sat across from his desk.
“I heard what happened. I am surprised you look as well as you do right now.” He seemed happy to see I was okay.
“I am sure I look better than I feel right now.” I tell him honestly. I do look like I just walked out of a mosh pit or some sort of MMA fight that I lost in, but I felt worse. My body heals a little faster than most people and I am sure that has to do with who my parents are. I may not have gotten real superpowers like them, but I will take a little faster healing over nothing, but I also think Ezra’s little hospital helped speed things up.
“I can only imagine.” He tells me looking me over again sympathetically. Uncomfortable with the look he gave me. I blurt out what I was here for.
“Hey... I know I missed some work... But do I still have a job? I wanted to come talk to you as soon as I got out of the hospital.” I look down at my hands.
“What? Of course, you do. You can come back when you feel up to it.” He reassures me.
“Okay, how about tomorrow?” I asked.
“What? Didn’t you just say you just got out of the Hospital?” He asked.
“Yes....” I replied.
“You need time to rest and heal from what you went through. How about this, come and talk to me next week about this. I want you back at 100, not a percent less.” He gave me a warm smile. Something he usually doesn’t do. He is usually cold and hard when it comes to his employees.
“If you are okay with that...” I tell him.
“Yes, yes yes, Now go eat and I’ll see you around.”
I left the office, grabbed my burger and fries from the girl, and found Bartise sitting in a back-corner booth all alone. I couldn’t comfortably watch the man who followed me the way I would like. He was sitting at the counter with two to-go containers, while drinking a cup of coffee, and reading a newspaper.
“Hey!” I slid into the seat across from him. I tried to sound cheerful, but it felt forced. I wasn’t sure why, but I was really nervous.
“Where have you been?” He asked, with a strange look on his face, as if hurt.
“The hospital...?” I replied, why was he asking this?
“Cindy and I checked every hospital within a 25 mile radius for you.” Bartise sounded like he was trying to accuse me of something. What I don’t know. He sat in front of me in an offensive stance and had a flat, almost distant look to his face. I didn’t understand what this was about. Why did his demeanor change? There was no fun loving flirt I came to know. Just someone cold and ready to attack. Feeling defensive, I sat up.
“I don’t remember the name of the place I was in, but I was in pretty bad shape for a while. They had me asleep for days, too. They must not have realized I was the girl you guys were looking for, or wanted to make sure I was okay before telling someone they didn’t know I was there.” I had to say something, I couldn’t tell him I was at Ezra’s private hospital or whatever that was. I didn’t like how Bartise was acting right now and treating me like I did something wrong. When I had no control over that. Bartise opened his mouth to say something, but the hand that landed on my shoulder shut him up.