“It’s okay. I took care of our lovely regulars over there.” Mr. Lail was a seventy-two-year-old man who came in every day to drink from morning to dinner time and waved from his usual booth. Mr. Agnes was a seventy-six-year-old man who came in to drink from morning to around four o’clock and he tipped an imaginary hat at her. They never sat together, but would yell across the room at each other if they thought of something important.
The only other table in the Barcade was a family. It wasn’t quite eleven yet, so she assumed they were waiting on lunch and brought their two small boys in to play on the games so they could have some peace. Tired parents sipped coffee and the kids ran around, putting in quarters and winning tickets.
“Just keep an eye on them. I have some errands to run around one, so I
’ll be here to help until then. Your shift is only until two, so it won’t be too bad,” Ash said and headed back to check on the kitchen staff.
Ash Manning was a kind guy who’d given her the job even though he had enough waitresses. As the owner of the Barcade, he was well-known in Woodland Creek as an eligible bachelor, but he never seemed to be interested in any of the women throwing themselves at him. He was very handsome, but Brent was the only guy she had eyes for.
The Barcade had lots of Arcade games, including old school favorites like the original Pac Man. There were air hockey and pool tables, a dunking booth, and so many things to do. Outside there was a climbing wall and go-karts. They stayed busy at all times, so the tips were good.
She went about her business, making sure everyone was taken care of. The shift went by fast as it got busy and her co-workers both called in sick, meaning she and Ash were the only ones helping with the games, waiting tables, and trading in tickets. Ash left around one and still hadn’t come back when it was time for her to get off work. The next waitress hadn’t showed up yet either.
She was one of Layla’s druggie friends, so she wasn’t really reliable. Layla had been trying to get clean lately and Chloe had been so proud of her. She was really making progress. Deidra, the waitress who was late, had not gotten clean, but Ash was too nice to fire her. He would end up doing the work for her until she showed up.
Layla and Chloe had plans to go shopping that afternoon and she thought it was strange she hadn’t texted her yet. She hoped there wasn’t a relapse that had her sleeping on the floor of someone’s hotel room. That had happened a couple of times.
Brent came in and she completely forgot about all of that. It was time to face the music and see how he was handling the fact that his girlfriend was a bird. He walked over to her while she was cleaning a table and having a hard time getting the ketchup off that had already started to harden. She sat down to work on it while he approached, not making eye contact.
“Hi, Chloe.”
“Hi, Brent.”
Their eyes met and an awkward moment passed between them. It was like they were strangers. She wanted to break the silence after a minute. “So, it’s nice day, right?”
“Chloe, you have to understand...seeing something like that after getting shot at...I should have made sure you were okay before now, I just didn’t really know where you’d gone.” He was talking to her differently, almost like he was scared of her.
“I get it,” she said, working really hard on cleaning the same spot. “I’m a freak.”
“No, I—” he started, but something caught his eye toward the front and he stopped. She followed his eyes to an older woman walking in the door. She wore a long, red dress and had braided red feathers into her hair. Her makeup was done prettily with a bright eye shadow. She was a very pretty and eccentric looking older lady.
“May I help you, ma’am?” She smiled. “Would you like something to eat?” Deidra had snuck in and was standing behind the bar like she’d been there the whole time. At least she’d be able to leave on time since Ash still hadn’t returned.
“I want a drink, a strong one, little lady,” she said. “I’ve been in the nut house and I haven’t been able to put alcohol into my system.” She walked over to Brent and put her arm around him. “Did my nephew tell you he’s probably a wizard?”
“Aunt Z.” Brent jumped and raised his voice. “Why don’t you go over there and get a drink? I’ll join you soon. I was just trying to have a moment with Chloe here.”
“Ah,” the older woman grinned at her, “the little bird.”
Chloe’s eyes grew wild and then she looked at Brent in disbelief. He’d found out the biggest secret about her and immediately told this woman. That wasn’t okay with her.
“Okay, I need to explain Z to you before you get mad at me. I know you feel like I have been talking about you, but I needed someone to talk to who wouldn’t think I was crazy. We’re still friends, Chloe, it’s just a lot for me to take in.”
“Friends.” Chloe couldn’t believe he’d said that. Yes, they were friends, but they’d just started dating, so the word had a hurtful meaning.
“I mean—” he started, but Chloe’s phone rang and she held up her hand.
“It’s my best friend, Brent, I have to take this. Hello, Layla. Where are you, girl? We’re supposed to be on the road soon.”
“Chloe, it’s not Layla, it’s Connie. Layla went for a run this morning and she didn’t come home. I know it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but I think she’s using again. She was acting really weird last night and now I just don’t know what to think. I have a bad feeling.”
“Okay, Connie, where did she go running?” Layla’s shifter was a doe, and when she was feeling stressed she would change and sprint through the woods. Brent didn’t know his two best friends were shifters, but he would find out soon enough, she figured. The word friend stung her as she thought it, but she pushed aside her hurt and focused on finding Layla.
“Behind where your parents used to live. She likes that stretch of woods for some reason.” Chloe’s heart sped up. She was running where they’d been shot at. Could it be?
“Okay, Connie, I’ll find her and then I’ll let you know where she is.” She hung up quickly and looked at Brent. Her stomach churned. She had a bad feeling too.
“Brent, Layla went running this morning in the woods where we were yesterday.”