Pretty Boy

Chapter 7

 RJ had procrastinated getting her keys back from Steve nearly all day. She wondered if "accidentally" stealing her keys was another one of his elaborate plans to spend more time with her. All day the image of his face filled her mind. She thought about the look of heartbreak that fell across his face when he said he would leave her alone. More than anything, she thought about how angry she was with herself.

Why can't I just let myself be happy with him? Does he still love me? I'm so happy when I'm with him. Do I love him back?

The thought of having to confront him after breaking his heart yet again made RJ sick to her stomach. She delayed the inevitable by telling herself she would get them after her shift. As if delaying it made the thought of seeing him again any more bearable.

RJ had the closing shift since she was alone for the last hour. She hated working by herself. It was exceptionally boring, and the closing shift was painfully slow. Nobody wants to buy books at Eight PM. It was a slower day than usual already. She had attempted to fill her time with busy work by reshelving all the books, organizing the front desk, and categorizing the new shipment in the backroom.

An hour before her shift was supposed to end, she decided she had enough and decided to close the shop early. She figured if her boss gave her grief for it, she'd tell him she had a family emergency (which wasn't exactly a lie). She closed out the register, grabbed her bag, and closed the front of the store.

As she walked through the mall towards the ice cream shop, she thought about what she would say to Steve. She made up her mind that she'd keep the interaction as short as possible. She even considered not bothering with getting her keys back. However, since her parents were out of town and Billy was on some kind of bender, she had to be sure Max was safe.

She had successfully made it to Scoops Ahoy only to find a sign taped on a chain that hung across the doorway.

We are closed for the night. We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment.

She stood looking at the sign, thinking for a moment. She debated her options: she could return home in hopes of an unlocked door, climb in through a window, sleep in her car and get her in the morning, or pray Steve was still somewhere in the mall. The odds of a window or door being unlocked were highly unlikely. Her mom was adamant about locking all the windows and doors before leaving the house, a habit that RJ picked up as well. She had locked every window and door behind her when she left this morning. She decided her best option would be to hope Steve was still in the mall and find him.

She looked into the store and saw the door to the backroom. There was the possibility he was back there. That was where RJ began her quest to find Steve. She stepped over the chain and marched her way towards the backroom. She wanted to get all this over with as quickly as possible.

She walked into the back room; no one was there. However, she did notice a few things out of place. A roll of duct tape sat on the table in the middle of the room next to an open pack of AA batteries. She looked up and saw that the air vent grate had been removed, leaving it wide open, and sitting below it was a step stool. The exact step stool that had been stolen from the bookstore earlier that week. RJ found this entire scene extremely strange. Even more strange was the smell emanating from the door to the back hallway. She continued her journey.

She walked into the back hallway and was immediately hit with an overwhelming scent. She recognized it as shitty cologne; she was familiar with the smell, having Billy as her stepbrother. She thought for a moment about where the smell could be coming from. The only people who used the back hallways were delivery men. Then it hit her. She knew there were exactly two kinds of people who wore cologne that terrible: Desperate guys or clueless young boys.