LUCY
"So Raymond is a dick? Nice thing you turned him down…" Vera observes, her voice a mere whisper as the crowd gradually dissipates.
I shrug my shoulders, adjusting the strap of my bag. "I really wasn't interested."
"Is it because of some hefty male who hasn't shown up in six months?" Amara asks.
I scoff at her. "How can it be? I don't even know him."
She snorts, retrieving her bag from the ground. "That's because you weren't fast enough to get his contact before he disappeared. And now, we don't even know if we'll see him again!"
I kiss my teeth in annoyance and start heading out of the field. It's time for our shift at the café.
"Maybe he will return? Maybe he got busy with work… he looks like a CEO," Vera points out, walking on my left while Amara and Harlen walk on my right.
It isn't that the duo are dating. Considering I hadn't said a public "hello" to the stranger, Harlen is still refusing to admit his affections for my friend. I wonder what other push he is waiting for, especially since Amara gifted him his favorite things five days ago, on his birthday.
I kiss my teeth again. Scaredy-cat.
"Lucy, where is your mind? Thinking of him already?"
I exhale dramatically at Harlen's gibe, holding back the urge to call out his own thoughts about Amara. I'm not sure he would like that, even though Amara would take the hint all by herself and probably chase him to the ends of the earth.
"As I said before, you lot are being overly dramatic. How can I think of someone I don't know?"
But that's a lie now, isn't it?
I think of him every day.
I think of his absence. I think of the kiss we shared in the hallway and how he had jerked back as if I were a plague. I think of his eyes, and the tattoo that had peeked out from the cuff of his white shirt.
I think of his voice, a sound that usually tempts me to caress my own neck. But I can't say that to my friends. If I did, I would die from the mere chaos their joined voices would bring.
As we file into my car, ready to head to the café, my phone blares with an incoming call. My brows furrow; I don't recognize the number.
"Aren't you going to answer that?" Harlen asks from the passenger seat as I ease out of the parking lot and onto the road.
"Maybe later. It's an unsaved number. It might just be one of those caller services…"
I hope so, at least. That number called twice yesterday.
A pinch remains between my brows until we pull up at the café.
"Aren't you coming in?" Amara asks as she gets out with the others.
"A minute…" I point at the phone. She nods before turning and sashaying toward the entrance. Again, Harlen watches her. Again, I shake my head. Puppy love.
Whatever humor I felt vanishes as the call comes in again. Could it be my parents?
I shudder at the thought. It's been more than a year, and if I had to guess, the time is coming for the handover of the scepter.
A flash of pain crosses my heart when I remember Mina's threat—that she would make sure my parents receive a 'lesser than usual' treatment when she ascends the throne as Queen of Virelan.
Please, don't let her do that, I muse prayerfully. Despite my anger at my parents, I can't imagine them being treated badly. It just… doesn't sit well.
The call ends, and the number rings again. I swallow. Have they really found me?
I inhale deeply, my finger trembling as I finally press the answer button. I keep silent, but unfortunately, whoever is calling remains silent on the other end as well. I frown, my lips pressed into a thin line.
Is this a prank call?
I clamp down on the urge to say "hello" and instead end the call. This time, the caller doesn't ring back. My frown deepens as I shove the phone into my bag and step out of the car.
Just as I lock the vehicle, my phone dings with a text message. With the frown still in place, I pull the device back out.
My breath trembles when I realize the text is from that unknown number. I click on it, a wave of coldness flushing through me as I read the words.
"Be safe."
My entire body quakes. I turn around, my eyes darting toward every corner, every alley, and the road, but I see no suspicious movement. Not that I even have the capability to sight or know these things, being wolfless.
My hands shake as I re-read the text, even though it is only two words. Be safe.
What does that mean? Am I not safe? Who is this? Why would someone send this? Is it a prank, or does it mean I am being watched?
I shiver again, looking around one last time before hurrying into the safety of the café.
"Hey, what's the matter? You look troubled," Harlen asks the moment I step into the staff room to get ready for the shift.
I swallow hard. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little headache…"
He looks at me for quite a while, his expression unreadable. Then he dips his hand into his pocket and tosses me a small pill bottle. "Just take one. Works like magic."
I frown, looking at the nameless tin. "What's this?"
"Something that will ease the headache… I promise it's not drugs."
I snort. "If it's not drugs, what is it? Sweets?"
He laughs, shaking his head. He pats my shoulder as he strolls past me and leaves the room.
I look at the tin for a moment, then shrug. I open it and take a pill. Hopefully, Harlen is right, as he mostly is.
Hopefully, it will dull my fear without knocking me out or making me paranoid enough to start seeing crazy invisible things.