Remnant

1

Nix Hayeson regretted her decision to wear shorts the moment she sat down in one of the diner's cramped booths. The faux leather immediately attached itself to her thighs, and she sighed knowing that she'd be in pain when she next stood up.
"Hi, my name is Marie. What can I get you to drink, sweetie?" Nix glanced up at the girl, promptly irritated at being called "sweetie" by someone who was clearly ten years her junior.
"Coffee, with cream and sugar. Nothing else, thanks," Nix grumbled as she handed the girl the plastic covered menu. Marie's attitude changed abruptly as she realized her tip would likely be minuscule. She took the menu, offered a curt smile, and sauntered away to put in the order.
Nix picked up the straw she wouldn't use and twirled it between her fingers lazily. She could already feel the slight sheen of sweat forming on her forehead. The AC hummed overhead but it wasn't enough to combat the Georgian sun; she could practically swim, the air felt so thick and humid. Maybe a hot cup of coffee wasn't such a great idea, but she was in desperate need of caffeine. She hadn't slept at all the night before.
Suddenly she became hyper-aware of a fly humming in the far corner of the diner. She felt her pulse speed up, and the familiar knot in her throat began to form. Her chest tightened, and she could feel herself beginning to teeter back and forth in her seat. She gripped the edge of the smooth linoleum table in an attempt to keep herself steady. 'Not now,' she thought, 'he could be here any minute.'
Her senses came into sharp focus, hearing and seeing things she shouldn't have been able to. She ground her teeth and gave in, knowing the sooner she did the sooner she could have herself back.
     She flicked her eyes rapidly between each of the faces of the other people in the diner. They abruptly landed on a scruffy looking man sitting at the bar with a now warm can of Diet Coke pressed to his lips. She knew, as she always somehow knew about things, that he had been there since the diner opened this morning. The dirty dishes from his breakfast had long been taken away, and now he just sat on the barstool with an expression she couldn't quite place. It seemed like he was waiting, patiently biding his time. Maybe not so patiently, judging from the way his hand gripped the leg of his jeans and a finger tapped rhythmically against the rim of the can.
Nix then noticed the man's eyes were fixated on something. They moved slowly, unsettlingly dark. It was the sting of rejection that rested on his face, she realized. He had the same expression as a toddler who had just been told 'no' for the first time. She could feel his irritation, could feel the anger boiling under his skin. She felt it melt down her own arms, making her hands itch with the nearly unbearable need to wrap them around the slender neck of-
"Here's your coffee, ma'am. Oh shoot- I forgot the cream, gimme just a second." Marie's chirpy voice severed Nix's focus on the man, allowing her to come back to herself with a quiet gasp. The girl didn't notice, already turning on her heel to head back through the still swinging kitchen door.
Nix felt her breathing return to normal. She hoped the episode hadn't left her looking as ragged as she felt. She heard the girl's nonslip shoes tapping the linoleum as she rushed back to the table, a small bowl of individual cream cups in hand. She set the bowl carefully on the table and started to walk away when Nix grabbed her wrist.
"Marie, could I ask you a question?" Nix looked up at the waitress, attempting to soften her expression.
The girl blinked, unsure of how to respond. She was only thrown off for a moment, quickly reassuming her customer service smile.
"Um, yes ma'am, is something wrong?"
Nix smiled as reassuringly as she could. She was never great at the personal relations aspect of her job, but she would try her best.
"Oh no, nothing's wrong. I was just wondering if you could tell me anything about that man over there at the bar? He just seems so familiar to me, that's all." Marie knew instantly who Nix was referring to and rolled her eyes.
"Darrell. He's a regular, and he tries to flirt with me nearly every shift. This morning he actually asked me out, though I don't think he liked my answer too much. Sometimes he just stares at me." She looks at the table with a thoughtful grimace. "I think I prefer the flirting."
Nix nods in understanding. Even now, Darrell stared at the back of Marie's blonde head so intensely that Nix wondered if he wouldn't bore holes into it. "So I'm not wrong in assuming he's a creep, then?"
"Well, he leaves me pretty good tips so I guess I can't really complain. My boss just tells me it's a good thing he likes me so much, it keeps him spending money here." Marie shrugs, feigning indifference. Nix meets the girls eyes, trying to figure out the best way to approach the situation. She settled for the truth.
"You don't have to endure that asshole just because he's dumb enough to throw his money around. He makes you feel unsafe, and you're not wrong for feeling that way." The girl's brows furrow slightly in confusion. "I know him, I've seen what he's capable of. He's dangerous," Nix states firmly.
The girl paled, beginning to understand what Nix was trying to say.
"I... I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do, ma'am. If I don't serve him, I'll get fired." Marie worried the hem of her apron.
     "Good. Then you can get a job where they give a shit about your safety. And I can tell you without a doubt in my mind, you won't be safe with that man around you." Nix held the girl's gaze and watched as it hardened with determination.
      "You're right. Fuck this job." With that, Marie stormed back into the kitchen, undoubtedly to turn in her name tag and apron. Nix felt herself smiling slightly. It wasn't always this easy to get people to listen to her, but the girl had clearly already been thinking about leaving her job. She just needed a little push in the right direction.
Nix sipped her coffee, wondering if she'd been able to do enough to prevent Darrell's intentions from becoming a reality. She had made it a rule years ago, when she first started to understand what these episodes of hers meant, that she would only intervene in a life or death situation. She wasn't sure how close Marie had been to the latter, but she was certain that the man at the bar was bad news regardless.
     A car door slamming on the other side of the window startled her out of her thoughts, and a bit of coffee sloshed onto the table. She looked out to see a thin older man in a tattered T-shirt and well worn jeans walking towards the diner entrance. Nix watched him swing open the door, wave a greeting to someone on the other side of the diner, then look around for the woman he was supposed to meet.
Nix smiled tightly at him when his eyes finally found hers. He raised his eyebrows and seemed surprised, raising a boney hand to give a small wave. She wondered if she didn't live up to the police chief's description of her.
"Ms. Hayeson?" He spoke cautiously when he got to her table, as if he was unsure whether or not he should be speaking in code.
"Mr. Abernathy. A pleasure to finally meet you." Nix took another sip of her coffee, staring up at him with assessing eyes and bracing herself for the conversation ahead.