Bear No Malice | Paul Lahote

Five

I wandered aimlessly down the aisles of the small grocery store trying to find cereal. I'd already gone down three of them looking for the final item on the list and I was growing frustrated. Did no one in Forks eat cereal? I turned down the last aisle, finally coming across what I needed. A triumphant smile painted my face as I reached for the top of the shelf, my nimble fingers easily pulling the box down into my hand.

As I walked through the check-out line, I kept feeling a pair of eyes watching me. I tried to ignore it as best as I could, but a shudder crept up my spine the longer I tried to put it off.

"Hi!" If I were a cartoon I would've melted into a puddle of my own pee and fear. Instead, I jumped and managed to bump the front of my cart into the heel of the elderly lady in front of me. I was stuck between a glaring grandma and a sniggering Kara.

"Do you make it a mission to terrify everyone you meet? Or am I special?"

Kara laughed and followed me as I slowly moved up in the line. "Had I known you scared so easy I would've chosen a better time to scare you. How's the move going?"

"I've got everything moved in and cleaned. Most of the totes are in the attic now." I greeted the cashier and began placing my things on the belt. "We work together tomorrow, right?"

Kara nodded. "Thank God we do too, I can't stand some of the other nurses."

"Really? I'll have to avoid them then."

"Not much for the drama, are you?" I shook my head fervently at her question and handed my card to the young man behind the register before loading my bags into the cart.

I hated drama. That's why I confronted Leah when I did. I'd dealt with a lot of drama back home and I didn't want to start the same pattern here. It was a new start, according to Rhett, so I was making the best of it. That included no extra drama.

"What do you do in the ER? I know you have your RN but you didn't take any patients the last time I was there."

"I had surgery on my knee a few weeks ago so I'm on 'light duty.' Basically I'm the secretary and triage nurse when they need me. I can't wait until I get back out there though."

I smiled at her enthusiasm. Nice to know that somebody else loves their job as well. Too many people see their job as just a paycheck. It's sad to see that in the medical field especially when you're taking care of human beings.

"It'll be good to have you there. How about we stick together when we can? Something tells me you're gonna be my best friend." I laughed at her words and nodded in agreement.

As we made our way out to the truck, a flash of red came from my right peripheral vision. I turned my head to see what it was, only to see the back of her red curly hair, falling in messy coils down her back. The same shudder from earlier made it's way up my spine the longer I watched her walk away. But it wasn't her wild hair or almost white skin, or even her tattered clothing that made my stomach drop.

It was her mud covered bare feet, and the fact that her tracks walked from my truck.

Kara was going on about work but I was only half listening as I opted to place the groceries in the back seat rather than the bed of the truck. I snuck a look inside, seeing more dried mud that had fallen off into the bed. Why was that girl in my truck? Who the hell was she?

"Wouldn't that be great if we could pull the same shifts? I'm sure Drew would let us."

I nodded in response and shut the door with shaky fingers. "So, I think I'm gonna head home. But I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

Kara mock saluted me and said goodbye before walking towards her SUV. I climbed into the driver seat and sat for a moment.

I was going crazy. There was no way that weird girl was sniffing around my truck. And so what if she was? Next time I see her I'll just tell her to back off or I'll punch her in the nose, simple as that. I was getting paranoid for no reason.