"Seriously Gail, stop disappearing into thin air with that piece of shit!" Lace exclaimed sending a bowl of steaming carbonara pasta down the island.
I gasped and balled my palms into fists.
"Payne is not a piece of dump!" I retaliated.
"The fuck he is! He is nothing but a low life piece of scum." She shot back.
"You don't even know him." I said, gripping my fork hard.
Across me, Lace laughed humorlessly.
"You don't know half the things I do about him." She said, her eyes taking a dangerous glint.
"What do you mean? You haven't even met him before!" I said, exasperated.
"Neither has half of New York but they still stay far away from him. And it could be anybody, Abigail, anybody who he could've set his eyes on. But he picked you."
"What's wrong with me?"
"That's the problem Abigail! Nothing is wrong with you! He's going to take advantage of you and you'll end up like the rest! He's a fucking assassin, he kills people for money." Lace inputted.
"He kills bad people." I corrected.
Lace looked at me, the corners of her eyes brimmed with tears.
"That's what he told you? He kills bad people? Well, Fuck. Him." She spat, abruptly standing up.
"Lace stop this attitude, you're being childish."
"Childish?" She questioned before laughing. "And who are you to tell me to stop things and stuff? Well news flash Abigail, you aren't my fucking mother, and my mother is fucking dead because my goddamned father put a bullet inside her head! And with that said, you can't and will not fucking take her place do you hear me!" Lace yelled and I flinched.
"That's what I thought." She snarled before rounding the counter and headed for the door.
I kept my eyes planted on the bowl in front of me.
Tears prickled the corners of my eyes. She didn't have to be rude about the whole thing.
Why would I take her mother's place? I was just trying to make her see Payne in a different way.
The door opened and closed silently, indicating her departure.
A choked sob left my throat and I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle the rest.
I pushed away the plate and hung my head low on the island and cried.
That was a better solution.
Crying.
At least it was better than having an attack.
~*~
I pushed the transparent door open, quickly switching the close sign to open. The fresh scent of coffee alerted me that Gabi was here. I quickly darted to the workers room and grabbed an apron.
Sticking my hands inside the huge pockets of my apron, I pulled out my notepad started to take down list of stuffs we were running out of. After I did that, I popped my head into Gabi's office for a quick 'hello'
"G'morning Gabi!" I beamed once the door opened.
My lower body was instantly rammed backwards as a smaller body hugged mine.
"Baybi!" Derrick exclaimed from below.
"Ricky!" I said with matching enthusiasm.
The eight year old gave me a toothy grin and released me.
"I'm supposed to be mad at you y'know?" Derrick said, still smiling.
"Yeah?" I asked, amused.
"Mm hmm. You missed my birthday. I thought you'd ask mom about me but you didn't, she told me." He said, pointing at his mother.
I gave Gabi a sour look and she smiled sheepishly.
"But your awesome velvet cake made it up. I really loved it." He confessed.
"I'm glad you liked it kid," I said, cupping his cheeks with my hands before bending down to whisper in his ear. "I'll pack you the cupcakes before you go. Sound good?"
"Good." He whispered back.
When I stood up I saw Gabi looking at the both of us suspiciously. I returned her sheepish smile from earlier and went out.
My co-workers soon arrived, well, three of them.
Keith was missing. When I asked his friends, they said they hadn't seen him since yesterday.
It is very unlike him to take a day off but here we are. By the time customers started filling the shop we had already refilled everything.
Derrick and I stayed behind the counter. I told him about Lace, he said she sounded cool but pouted when I told him we had an argument yesterday.
I just think she needed some space. Maybe she misses her mother since she brought her up yesterday. It's really sad, that her father killed her mother.
I sighed and sunk my fingers into my hair. How I wish I could see her now so I can apologise. I miss having her around already.
"Um excuse me."
I immediately sprang into action as a customer gave me her order.
"One slice of carrot cake please." The woman said, burying her face inside her purse.
"Okay, I'll just–" My words die on my lips when I glanced outside the transparent glass.
A tall kid was rushing down the streets, a pair of shades shielding her eyes from sun and her multi colored hair swaying sideways as she walked in fast strides.
I immediately took my apron off and discarded it on the counter.
"Excuse me young lady, I ord–"
"Please ask the kid to go get another employee." I cut the woman off rapidly pointing a finger at Derrick.
With a truck load of apologies I stuck my ear buds into my ear before storming out of the shop.
I spotted her from afar because of her hair. She was too far from me and I couldn't shout her name so I followed where she was going. I tried to keep up my pace with her but she was at least 20 feet ahead of me.
We walked for minutes before Lace finally stopped, I let out a breath of release and hurriedly made my way over to her.
Before I could take five steps to where she was, she slipped inside a hospital. I paused, confused.
I rose my wrist to my eyes, checking my wrist watch. It was 10:25 am. This is the time she normally has her job appointments. Was she planning on working in a hospital?
But she made it clear that she it was a café.
I frowned and contemplated for a moment before slipping inside too.
I almost gagged from the horrid smell of the hospital.
Lace was out of sight. I stood on my tippy toes and tried to see whether I'd see her obnoxious hair anywhere but I didn't.
After a few minutes of twists and turns I came to an abrupt halt. This is pointless.
Right then, a hand landed on my shoulder turning me back completely. At the same time, another hand took out my earbuds.
My jaw hit the ground when I saw Payne. His hair was held in a low ponytail, his eyes glaring daggers at me.
No. No. No. I'm here to apologise to Lace, Payne is the last person she'd want to see.
Payne gripped my forearms with both his hands.
"What are you doing here?" He growled.
I wanted to ask him how he found me but I remembered the tracker inside me.
"The dot indicated that you left the shop straight to this hospital. I thought you were hurt." Payne explained.
"I'm–i'm okay. I'm fine." I sputtered glancing over his shoulder.
"Then why are you here?" He asked.
"I saw my friend get in here so I just came in to say 'hi'." I replied, a little bit distracted.
"Your friend...?"
"Amber, her name is Amber." I blurted out.
Payne opened his mouth to say something but before he could I caught the sight of a multicolored hair heading for the exit.
"Lace! Lace!" I called out.
Payne instantly released his grip from my arms and looked at me. His eyes were no longer shiny thunder clouds. They resembled the stormy clouds that formed when Titanic sunk.
He parted his lips and sent the icicles in his tone flying to my face.
"Who. Is. Lace?"
*********
Maryam M.B ♥