Unfortunately for her, I was far from her definition of perfection. Her opinions and controlling nature were beginning to not hold water.
I think she was becoming aware of that every time she talked to me as if I were an invalid. I may have been a little different, but I was far from stupid.
“I’m tired.” Gently knocking her skeletal hand from my hair, I stood up and walked towards my bed with every intention of going to sleep.
“Don’t forget, I’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon. When I get back, I expect you to be packed and ready to go.”
She was straightening out her peach colored suit-dress and walking out of my room before the last word fell from her mouth. She flipped the light off and shut the door behind her.
Shaking my head, I climbed into bed after turning on my bedside lamp. Glenda hadn’t been this controlling when it came to my older sister. Annie had been allowed to attend school, go to prom, and even have a few boyfriends.
She wasn’t around anymore. At first, she stuck it out for my benefit, but the day after her nineteenth birthday was her breaking point.
Seven years have passed, and she still hasn’t come back. Not for a visit, or even a check-up.
My father left late one night after another of his and my mother’s many arguments. The next morning, not a single picture of him was on the walls, and he never returned. That was four years ago, but the hurt from his abandonment was a wide-open wound.
My mother drove people away. She was like a leech sucking the life out of me. Settling beneath my comforter, I stared up at the popcorn ceiling, waiting for sleep to come. It was nights like these I hated the most. There was nothing worse than being alone.
When I asked myself how many people would mourn me when I was gone, the answer was none.
I’d be forgotten the second the dirt hit my casket.
Chapter Five
Thenext day started the same as any other.
There was no sign of the creepy sedan, and I began to wonder if I ever really saw it. Who would want to follow me, anyway?
It was a little past four in the afternoon. The diner had been dead all day, and there was nothing for me to do. I think I had needlessly wiped down the tables and straightened menus a dozen times. Part of me felt bad about not telling Janice goodbye, but she would instantly know something was going on.
Her attempts to help me always involved a card for a therapist that worked at the clinic. No one understood this wasn’t about some traumatic incident - I was just tired of fighting the waves of loneliness.
People might call mecrazyorweak-minded; it didn’t matter. No one would ever understand what was going on inside me. WhatIfound tiring was the fact no one noticed me drowning. They were all oblivious.
When the bell of reality chimed, I expected Mr. Bell to walk in; he was a regular who came in every day at the same time. Instead, a man in a suit strolled in. He looked like he was there for something far more important than what was on the menu. His eyes immediately locked onto me.
I opened my mouth to greet him, quickly snapping it back shut, my tongue and stomach simultaneously twisting into knots. Walking right up to the bar, he sat down on one of the red swivel chairs and smiled.
“Are you going to speak or are you going to stand there and stare all day?”
“Sorry.” Giving him an embarrassed smile, I peered up at him, trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar, desperately hoping my face wasn’t bright red. When his gaze dropped to the elastic bands that covered my failed suicide attempt, I hid my hands behind the counter.
“Do you need a menu?” I asked, bringing his attention back to my face.
“No, I just want coffee. Dark roast, two hazelnut creamers, one sugar.” He took off his suit jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair, and pulled a cell phone from his pocket.
While he was immersed in his screen, tapping away, I readied his coffee, watching him from beneath lowered lashes.Sophisticatedwas the first word that came to mind as I took him in again. Not a crevice or crease could be seen anywhere on his navy suit.
His hair was the color of onyx, styled in a classically tapered fade, and he had the slightest hint of stubble on his face.
But it was the color of his eyes that kept catching my attention. They reminded me of the forest green tips on tall pines, with a faded denim blue circling the iris. He was enticingly handsome; by far the best looking man I had ever seen in town.
He reeked of old money and cocksure power. I was intrigued. Who was he, and why was he there? Though he looked familiar, I couldn’t place how I would know him. I felt like I’d met him before, which made no sense, because there was no way I would have forgotten that.
After I had placed his hot coffee in front of him, heavy silence ensued between us. The only sounds in the diner were Janice in the back, shifting boxes as she did inventory, and Jose stacking dishes.
I stood there, feeling awkward and unsure of what to do with myself. Just as I decided to busy myself on the other side of the bar, he began speaking to me again.
