AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He frowns. “But there’s still an hour–”
“Ah, it’s almost 9, anyway; no one is going to come in for coffee now,” I say, nudging his shoulder. “Go on, I promise I won’t tell the boss.”
This makes him smile, and it lights up his innocent face. “Thanks, Kat. If you’re still feeling under the weather tomorrow, let me know and I’ll fill in for you.” He says and hugs me with that same worried look in his eyes that Xenia has at times.
“You do so much for me already, Noah. Go and enjoy yourself for a change, will you?” I say, then gesture with my head towards the door just as I see a flash outside the window. “Looks like Clem is here and woah, okay, I have never seen a more scandalous-looking bee.”
“Oh, jeez, Clem,” he murmurs and rolls his eyes when his friend steps out of her car in a sexed-up bee outfit and waves him over with a huge grin on her face. “She will be the death of me.”
I pat his shoulder and chuckle. “She's a good person. Go, enjoy your night, and for the love of God, don’t worry about others so much. Unwind a bit, Noah; no one will die if you do.” I say, then I push him towards the exit and wave to his friend.
She looks excited to see him and immediately starts talking his head off before he even gets in the car. This makes me smile, knowing that Noah at least has a best friend like her who genuinely cares for him; It makes me feel better about leaving.
Ironic that I tell him not to worry about others when I’m using his worry to forget about my own heartache at seeing Gabriel look so in love with someone.
After closing up, I walk to my car and feel a familiar shiver run up my spine. My hand goes to the dagger hidden in my jacket, but when I turn around, no one is there.
Looking at my surroundings and seeing nothing, I sigh, I get into my car and drive away… But I can’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
KATHERINE
The last time I felt heartbreak was when I saw the bodies of my mother and little brother, but somehow that pales in comparison to what I am feeling right now.
Laying with my knees bunched up to my chest, I’m holding onto Gabriel’s shirt while the cracks in my facade split the last little bit of my composure.
A surge of pain wells up in my chest and my body trembles with the sobs that are threatening to choke me and drag me under. However, when I catch a faint whiff of smokey, expensive whiskey, everything caves in and I let go.
I fucking miss him so much! After I ran away, I didn't want to admit it, but I miss him! I would give anything to hear his voice again, beckoning me and calling me ‘little lamb.’ Yet as I lament the loss of what I could have had, a vise grips my heart and my sobbing turns to a morose whimper.
Sleep never came for me and the next morning, I dragged myself out of bed to get ready for a full 12-hour shift. It’s just Noah and me, so hopefully, he picks up my slack if I feel too tired.
However, when I get out of my car and see Noah standing outside of the coffee shop in a daze and with a bandage wrapped around his forearm, I know that this will not be the case.
“Noah!” I exclaimed, running towards him and grabbing his arm. “What happened? Are you okay?!”
He chuckles and scratches the back of his head. “I got a little drunk last night and fell on a beer bottle… and it broke. No big deal,” he says, causing my eyes to widen.
“No big deal?! How deep is it? You can’t work if you have stitches, Noah!” I cry out but notice he doesn’t wince when I hold up his arm.
“Relax, mom, I’m fine. I don’t have stitches and the doctor cleaned it all up for me – I even got a shot. I promise it’s just a little nick and I’m okay to work,” he says, then unlocks the front door, disarms the alarm system, and walks inside.
“Besides, it looks like you had an allergic reaction. What’s up with those puffy eyes?” he asks me with a raised eyebrow and a hand on his hip, but I wave him off. No way am I turning this into my issue.
I don’t like knowing he got hurt and even more so that he’s hiding the fact that he’s hurt. But I suppose you can’t force someone to admit that they’re truly hurt, especially not a guy. So I take this as an opportunity to fuss over him and push my own problems out of my head.
There are dark clouds overhead and it looks like a storm is about to hit sometime today. Great, it matches my mood perfectly.
Morning and lunch rush hits us and by 4 pm, the pain in Noah’s arm gets the better of him. “You take some Advil and rest that arm; I’ll handle things from here,” I say, pointing a finger at him and he laughs.
“Fine, but only for an hour or so until the Advil kicks in,” he says, then sits back and sighs as an odd look crosses his face. “Say, Kat… do you - ah, never mind, it’s stupid!” he says and blushes before lowering his gaze, but there’s no way I’m letting him drop this.
“No, Nah ah, nope. Finish what you started,” I say and walk to the table he’s sitting at while it’s quiet. He sighs and steeples his fingers together on the tabletop before looking back up at me.
“Last night Clem was telling me about the history of this town and how they used to… treat people who were different,” he says, biting his bottom lip. “Vampires, demons, witches… this town is steeped in secrets.”
Okay, fuck. Where did this come from now? He sees the look on my face and his blush deepens.
“Only if you believe that stuff, though! It’s just… I grew up in a home where my father preached that being different is sinful… and I’ve known all along that I am different.” He says, sighing.
