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I jumped to my feet and ran to the window, looking over the busy floor. She was right, the table was empty, nothing but a forgotten menu to prove that I hadn’t completely lost my mind.
“Maybe he went to the bathroom?” Bear suggested as he went back to his post.
I crossed my arms over my chest and rubbed my hands up and down my arms. My phone made a noise from where I kept it in my apron and I pulled it out to see Adam had sent a text.
Little man has a stomachache. You okay if we hang at my place? I can make him Gram’s chicken noodle soup and I’ve got three different flavors of Gatorade to keep him hydrated.
Sending back a thumbs up, I slid my phone back into my pocket. I was worried about Miles and I wanted to talk to Adam about what had just happened. Unfortunately, I had a shift to finish and I’d already wasted enough time hiding.
“Everything okay?” Liz asked, still looking concerned about my behavior.
“Miles isn’t feeling well, Adam is keeping him home.”
“Poor kiddo, you need a ride tonight?” She linked her arm with mine and we walked out of the kitchen together. My eyes darted back to the table and I sighed in relief when I saw it was still empty.
“No, I drove myself.”
“If that creep shows up again, come tell me and we’ll get it taken care of. You aren’t alone.” I blinked back the tears that threatened to spill over. Liz reminded me so much of Angie. Growing up, she’d always been the one to stand between me and the bullies, if only I’d been able to do the same for her.
I gave Liz a watery smile before running off to check on my neglected tables, the weight of my locket feeling heavy against my chest.
* * *
“Shit,I forgot my keys. Wait here for me?” Liz dashed back inside before I could answer.
I sagged against the outside of the building and my eyes drifted closed. I’d never been more grateful that my shift was over, this night felt like it had dragged on forever. We’d been so busy that I’d barely had a chance to catch my breath. That and I’d spent more time looking over my shoulder for the creepy customer than I wanted to admit. He hadn’t come back to his table and there were no signs of him anywhere else in the restaurant, something I was very grateful for.
Liz thought he left because he was embarrassed by my obvious rejection of his advances. I wanted to believe that it was as simple as that but he didn’t seem like the kind of man that respected the word ‘no’ when it came from a woman’s mouth.
My eyes flew open when I heard a noise coming from my right. Scanning the parking lot for signs of movement, I reached into my bag and gripped my pepper spray in my fist.
Brooks kept the parking lot well-lit and I recognized every car as belonging to one of my coworkers, but it didn’t mean that there wasn’t someone hiding in the shadows of the building.
“Hello?” I called out, immediately regretting it.What the hell, Mia? Why don’t you just embrace the role of stupid girl number one in the horror movie? I might as well be walking around in lingerie looking for my missing boyfriend.
“Fuck this,” I turned and pulled the handle to the front door right as Liz pushed. We both screamed, Liz jumping back with her fists raised and me holding my pepper spray aimed at her face.
“Jesus, Mia, I was about to throat punch you! Put down the damn pepper spray!”
I lowered my hand and a giggle escaped. Soon, we were holding on to each other, our bodies shaking with laughter.
“I’m so sorry,” I said between giggles. “I thought I heard something but when I called out, no one answered.”
“Um, have you learned nothing from horror movies? Why don’t you just go investigate the strange noise all alone with no weapons!”
“I know! That’s why I was trying to come back inside!”
Liz and I argued and laughed all the way to our cars. And as I drove, I didn’t even notice the headlights of the car following me home.
38
GAGE
The credits rolled and I glanced down at Miles who’d fallen asleep within the first ten minutes of the superhero movie he’d picked out.
Luckily his stomachache seemed to have passed and I sent a silent thank you to Gram for her cure all. I’d eaten that same soup every time I’d been sick. Common cold, eat soup, rash, eat soup, broken arm, eat soup. As an adult I was certain it was more of a mental bandage than a physical one but I didn’t care. That shit worked and I’d go to my grave defending it.
Headlights flashed across the ceiling and I gently lifted Miles’ feet from my lap and stood. He stayed asleep while I quietly left the room and went to greet Mia. She closed the door to her car and walked toward me with a smile that looked exhausted but happy.
