Chapter Four

The next few days went surprisingly well. After the awkward encounter outside the bathroom, I barely saw Aiden again although his presence was very much visible in the house.

It seemed like overnight, hints of Liam's friend began to appear. There were beers in the fridge, a black pick up truck on the drive and a lighter by the back door. I'd hear him come in long after I'd retire to bed and maybe bump into him for a moment as I was heading out to school. I made it my mission to stay out of his way and even went as far as trying to work out his routine so I could work around it. Avoidance was the best course of action and for the most part I did really well.

On the rare moments I did run into Aiden I found myself noticing more and more about him. His fingers were long but calloused and he had a smattering of freckles on the parts of his shoulders not covered by tattoos. He liked metal and often played it in the mornings when he was making breakfast or getting ready to go out.

Apart from that, I didn't know anything about him. I didn't know what he did for work, what he liked to eat, if he had other friends or even a girlfriend.

Not that it's any of my business.

School had been going pretty well. While I was still very much so invisible, at least I wasn't having to worry about Noah Winters anymore.

So that's how my days slipped by. I went to school, I came home, I either did homework or went to work in the small diner half a mile away and I avoided my new housemate.

By Friday night I had avoided seeing Aiden for two days.

Like with all Fridays, I had work. Despite it being a Friday, the diner tended to be quiet as everyone headed into the city for drinks or dinner. It was only a four hour shift but usually it was so quiet I could either do homework or read. My bosses, a lovely middle-aged couple, usually worked as well but preferred the kitchen to serving. My favourite thing about working in the diner was the scent of baked goods no matter what was cooking.

"Hello dear, how has your first week back been?" Shirley asked with a warm smile that matched the late afternoon heat that followed me through the door.

"It was okay. Teachers are already piling on the homework." I replied with a breathless smile as I headed to the small locker room to change my shirt to the uniform one and tie my thick brown hair into a bun to keep it out of my face.

As I suspected, the evening was quiet with only a few customers. Once I finished marrying the condiments and tidying the counter, I finished my homework in between the dribs and drabs of business. Eventually the customers dwindled away leaving the place empty.

"It's all quiet out here. Do you want me to take the bins out?" I offered as I leaned through the serving hatch to watch Shirley and her husband, Barry cleaning the kitchen down ready for tomorrow morning.

"There are quite a few, kiddo." Barry replied, removing his rubber gloves. "I will give you a hand."

Barry hadn't been lying when he said there was a lot of rubbish and I was suddenly glad Barry was giving me a hand.

Despite it being nearly ten at night, the air was still warm and humid. It pressed down on my skin like molasses and before I had even taken a step I could feel sweat on my upper lip and nose.

The putrid, sour scent of garbage stuck to the air in the small alleyway and we worked quickly to heave the bags into the large bin waiting for us. By the end, I felt beads of sweat on my forehead, tickling between my eyebrows. I swiped away the irritating feeling with the back of my forearm.

"Hey kiddo, what's the rush?" Barry asked as I was heading to the back door of the diner again.

"I thought I better get back, Shirley is on her own." I replied.

Barry chuckled and shook his head. "You are always worrying. Shirley will be fine. The place is empty. Take five minutes. Tell me how was your first week of school. Is that boy still giving you trouble?"

I shifted from foot to foot, worrying my lower lip between my teeth as I thought about school and how the week had been. It had probably been the best week in a while. Sure, no one except faculty talked to me but at least I hadn't had to deal with Noah and there was even a chance I would never see him again. I felt a small glimmer of hope that my final year of school would be okay.

"I haven't seen him." I admitted but didn't feel like elaborating. Barry was the only person who knew what Noah had been doing and I had begged him to secrecy. "So school has been okay."

"Well that's good." Barry smiled encouragingly and nodded. "Also, it's your birthday soon. Nearly eighteen! Are you going to celebrate?"

I felt my cheeks heat up as I thought about it. I had no friends and Liam was overseas so I had no one to celebrate it with.

"Maybe," I answered vaguely. "I'm working that night so I will be here."

"On your birthday?" Barry frowned and shook his head. "You can have the night off."

"I really would prefer to work." I countered. "I could use the money to get myself something for my birthday."

I wouldn't but I hoped it would convince Barry to let me work that night. I had nowhere else to be.

He let out a long sigh before giving a short nod. "Alright, it's your birthday."

I smiled in relief and followed him back into the diner, making sure the door was locked. Just as I had finished washing my hands, Shirley's motherly figure appeared in the kitchen, wisps of chestnut hair falling from her ponytail and framing her face.

"Ellie, sweetie. There's someone out front asking for you. He didn't give his name but he says he knows you." Shirley smiled as if she had caught two teenagers in the midst of puppy love.

I frowned in confusion. No one ever asked for me from school. Surely there had to be a mistake.

Drying my hands, I headed out into the diner only to be met with emptiness. All of the tables and chairs were as I left them, tidy and clean with condiments in their caddies. The soft vanilla light from the ceiling bounced off the spotless surfaces of muted red or blue and in the window the neon open sign flashed lazily in the empty darkness of the evening.

At first nothing seemed out of place until my eyes landed on the bar. At the far end, closest to the window sat a small white teddy bear, its black eyes and nose standing out against the paleness of the toy's fluffy face. It seemed innocent enough but I couldn't help but feel my stomach drop, icy fingers squeezing around my chest. Licking my lips nervously, I moved around the bar, staying on the service side as if that would protect me from an invisible threat. As I hesitantly drew closer to the mystery toy, I saw a small white card resting on the counter, no bigger than a credit card.

Picking the card up, I opened it slowly. My eyebrows creased until they almost hurt as I read the words on the card over and over, unable to register them immediately all the while feeling dread fill my stomach.

I'll be seeing you soon.