AllFreeNovel
Share Us
One
Daphne
Crouched up in a booth on a high chair, I take a sip of my drink and grimace at the taste. It tastes so bad but I thought I could use something stronger. My nerves are jittery, there’s a lump in my stomach and my skin is crawling. I should have stayed home but I wanted to push and challenge myself, act like everything is fine and dandy and like the world is still warm and fuzzy.
Inhaling, I try to focus my dimmed gaze and I force a smile.
Jess and Katie are bickering as usual. Jess is nothing but a wide grin but Katie’s face is a little more somber. Sometimes her eyes lower in apprehension just like mine and when she looks up again, her stare is strained. What happened yesterday is fresh for her too but it was her idea that we should have a night out.
She thinks we need to relax. And she’s probably right, only that I can’t relax because of the pressure in my chest and grabbing my napkin, I dig my fingers into the flimsy cloth to not dig them into my skin. I’m only going to stay for a little while more and then I’ll bail.
“So what do you think, Daphne?” Jess asks, pulling at his colorful shirt. “Think I’ll get lucky tonight?”
Nodding, I swipe more of my drink. “Only a fool would try to resist you. Especially when you’re wearing that shirt. It makes your eyes pop.”
“Aww, aren’t you the sweetest,” Jess says, fluttering with his lashes while Katie snorts and shoves a handful of peanuts into her mouth. “Isn’t she the sweetest?”
Katie nods. “Pops that cold sore you got going on too,” she says with a fake smile and Jess scowls and playfully kicks her underneath the table.
“Fuck off. Jealous.” He sticks his tongue out, flicking the piercing in her direction. “And you’re just bitchy because you’ll be going home alone tonight and I won’t.”
Katie laughs, glancing at me to get me to participate in the conversation but my stomach is knotting. I try a laugh but it sounds so hollow that it would have been better if I had kept quiet. Coming here was a bad idea. What I really should have done is stayed home, hiding under the covers and feeling sorry for myself.
“No that’s not why I’m bitchy.” Katie rolls her eyes. “Maybe I’m bitchy because I barely survived a fucking bank robbery.”
I tense in my seat, vertigo hitting me immediately and I frantically grab the lemon decorating my cocktail and bite into it.
Ooh...wow, that’s sharp...
The sour taste makes my eyes tear up but at least it distracts me somewhat. After sucking out the juices, I put it down and smack my lips, pretending that everything is normal.
But it’s not normal.
I’m still freaked out about what happened yesterday. It was a day like any other at the bank. Everything was running smoothly, everything was fine. Until it wasn’t.
I remember every detail. I had just given a client her deposit, the clock had struck noon and it was time for lunch. The sun was shining sharply outside of the windows. There was a scraping sound of a gentleman’s shoes as he crossed the floor, right when the front door opened and a masked man, holding a gun in one hand and a knife in the other started shooting.
I didn’t even scream, there wasn’t enough time.
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about that,” I say and Jess throws me and Katie a sympathetic glance.
“It’s good to talk about things,” he says, squeezing my hand but I don’t squeeze back. “Let it out girlfriend, just let it out.”
But I don’t. If I do, I have a feeling that I might collapse. I barely had an ounce of sleep and I showed up for work this morning even though the boss had told me to take some time off. Maybe I should have listened. Okay, I definitely should have listened.
“It must’ve been especially tough for you,” Katie says and my eyes dart but Jess answers in my place.
“Yeah, it was hard.” He contemplatively stirs his drink with the expression of a tortured poet and Katie throws a peanut at him.
“You weren’t even there!”
“I was with you in spirit,” Jess grunts, glancing at me and I realize that I’ve slid down from my chair and I feel unsteady. “You okay?”
Nodding palely, I murmur, “Peachey. I just need to use the restroom.”
They look at me with concern but I pretend not to notice and I get up. But I get up too fast and everything around me does a quick spin. Crossing the floor, I stumble from the dizziness in my head but quickly regain balance. I throw a glance over my shoulder and Jess and Katie look like they’re planning an intervention.
“I’m fine,” I say with a forced laugh, “the floor is slippery that’s all.”
