Chapter Three

 

    January 1^st, 2005

 

 

I woke up to my blaring alarm clock, but I was startled to find myself crunched together on the bathroom floor holding a rag doll. The rag doll, I realized, belonged to my grandmother. She had given it to me at a young age. I anticipated she knew her passing was close, for I could find no other reason that she would give it to me.

 

The alarm clock kept on screaming. I ran to it, hit the snooze button, and then officially turned it off. Sighing, I turned to the bathroom and began my routine Monday morning. An hour later I was sitting in morning traffic. I rested my head on the head rest in frustration. My job was thirty minutes away and it took me almost an hour to get there! As soon as the light turned green every car drove in turbo mode. I hit the gas, but not too much. I didn’t want to collide with anyone. The light turned red and everyone came to an immediate stop. I jerked forward, which shoved my shoulder into the steering wheel. Thank God I had my seat belt on or I would have flown into the dashboard. I could tell this was going to be a long day.

 

“Good Morning, Juliet.” Darcy waved happily, which made me smile, and went about taking chairs down. She was always in a good mood, always. I joined her.

“Hello, Darcy. How are you?”

“I am doing wonderfully. You wouldn’t guess what came in the mail this morning!” I could picture candy popping out of her head. “A letter! A letter from the modeling agency saying they want me to be in a show of theirs!” She hopped up and down, practically screaming.

“I’m happy for you, sweetie. Where are you going?” A more genuine smile covered my face. We moved to the next tables. Darcy spilled everything about Vegas and how after that she would go to California. She was a beautiful girl. Her soul was clean and I couldn’t imagine her doing a dirty thing.

“I’m extremely happy for you. Oh, and you better write me every week!” We giggled together before walking over to the counter. Darcy’s cell phone began to ring loudly in her pocket. I looked over at her. We both knew that if the boss heard that she’d get written up. She checked the caller I.D quickly.

“Oh, I have to take this.” Her distant ‘hello’ faded away. I tapped my fingernails on the counter, waiting for a costumer. It was such a nasty habit. I closed my eyes and waited for the door to open, which would set off a bell, which would mean a costumer had come in.

 

The bell rang ten minutes later, but a costumer didn’t walk in, Mae did.

“Good morning, Mae. How come you never called me back last night?” I smiled brightly. Around Mae I was a ray of sunshine, but that’s only because we were becoming good friends.

“You never called,” She replied bluntly.

“Oh, I meant to, really.” I bit my lip. She was having family problems and since she was only seventeen she still lived with her parents.

“That’s alright.” A tear slid down her cheek.

“Oh Mae, come here.” I slid my arms around her shoulders. “It’ll be alright. You can tell me what happened at lunch. Okay?” I lifted her chin.

“Alright.” She sniffled and we got to work.

 

Costumers were coming in left and right when nine o’clock rolled around.

“Hello, how can I help you?” I smiled falsely.

“I wanna caramel Macchiato.” The man slapped five dollars on the counter. I almost jumped back.

“Would you like that in a tall…” I started.

The man cut me off loudly, saying, “Just give me the damn coffee.”

“Sir, I was just asking you…” My breath stopped short when he grabbed a fist full of my shirt, pulling me half way over the counter. I gripped the edge quickly, but it was no use. He pulled me all the way over until I was lying on the floor.

“Sir… I…” Mae and Darcy were standing in the corner, frightened. People were crowded around the area. Thankfully our manager had the right sense to call the police. Two men in uniform busted through the door with their guns up.

“Drop your weapon!” I hadn’t even noticed the gun he was starting to draw from his coat pocket.

“Please don’t shoot me,” I whimpered. My voice sounded very small lying in my throat. His large fingers released my shirt and a third cop came to help me up.

“Thank you,” I whispered, brushing my shirt off. He pulled me to the side and motioned for me to go behind the counter. Mae and Darcy each grabbed an arm while I tried not to look too scattered.

The cops arrested my attacker and took him outside. I remained behind the counter, sitting down and waiting for the cops to come back; they said they needed to question me.

“Mr. Lee, thank you very much,” I said. His back was to me, but I could sense he was smiling. The back of his head was covered with black, Korean hair.

“It was no problem,” he replied. I smiled and closed my eyes, repressing the events.

“Juliet, Juliet.” Mae’s voice and persistent shaking woke me up. My eyes cracked open.

“Are you alright?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“The cop is here to question you.”

“Thank you, Mae.” She left as I processed the man crouching in front of me. He had blue eyes, but they were nothing like mine. His were beautiful while mine were hollow.

“My name is Dan Martin. I’d like to ask you some questions.” His voice was tinted with the slightest country accent. I nodded in response.

“Did you know the man that attacked you?” He brought a notepad from his pocket.

“No, sir, I’ve never seen him before. Not even in the shop.”

 

Thirty minutes passed before Dan was done questioning me.

“Thank you, Miss Caroline.” He shook my hand and parted ways. I stood and resumed my post behind the counter.

“Well that was an eventful beginning for a morning,” Darcy said.

“Tell me about it.”

“Juliet, boss said you could take your lunch break early.” Mae appeared from the back room, resting a hand on my shoulder.

“That’s quite all right, though, I’d rather take my break with you.” She smiled and walked off to wash tables. I wasn’t at all afraid to take costumers orders. If I was attacked again, it would be for a reason.

 

Mae and I bought our lunch at the pizza place next door.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked fifteen minutes after we had sat down. I hadn’t touched my pizza yet and hers was half way gone.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Still a little shaken, but that’s all.” I smiled at her in response and took a small bite of pizza.

“So, about what happened last night…”

“You need to tell me everything.” I urged.

“My father left us.” Her brown eyes turned blank. “He just threw his stuff in a suitcase and left. He…he left my mother nothing, but the clothes on her back, the house over her head, and one thousand dollars. He took the rest.” Mae had stuttered through her whole speech. I sighed and bowed my head.

“If you ever need anywhere to go, I will be here.” I reassured her with a touch of her arm.

“Thank you. My mother and I don’t know what to do. We’ve got enough to pay the house payment, but that’s it.”

“I’ll give you two thousand to get you back on your feet.” I took a bit of my pizza.

“No!” She sounded exasperated and by the expression on her face, she definitely was.

“Mae, I do not have a problem at all with helping your family out.”

“Our broken family,” she murmured.

“No,” I rested my hand on hers. “It is not broken. You and your mother will get by. I’ll make sure of it.” We smiled into each others eyes for a minute.

“I’ll bring it over tonight around eighth.”

She sighed loudly, “Alright. My mother will love you forever.”

“I’m not looking for love. I just want you two to be alright.”

“Thank you, Juliet. You are the nicest person I’ve met.”

“How many people do you know?” I asked sarcastically. She grinned widely and pushed my shoulder. We cleaned off our table and returned to work.

 

One o’clock and two o’clock flew by and I was having a hard time staying awake. Every time I managed to fall asleep comfortably on the counter, a costumer would walk through the door. Because of our policy had to spill my colorful, joyful guts out to them just to take their order; fake smile and everything.

 

      Finally, my work day came to a close.

      “I’ll be over at your house around eighth, Mae,” I called before exiting the building. My truck sat in the parking lot, beckoning my presence. I pleased it happily by hopping in the seat and driving away.

 

      I pulled into the apartment parking lot and quickly exited the cab. My fingers fumbled for the keys before I was able to insert them successfully. Once inside with the door closed, I dropped my things and hurried to change. I’d wanted to sing all day long. My Chemical Romance’s Early Sunsets Over Monroeville played throughout the crevices of my home as I changed clothes. I fingered through my closet for less than two minutes. It wasn’t hard to decide what I knew I wanted to wear. Faded skinny jeans with holes ripped into the knees, trashy converses, and an old aqua stripped shirt clung to my small frame as I grabbed my guitar case. The image I saw in the mirror screamed teenager, but I knew better than to believe the reflection.

 

      Instead of taking my truck to my favorite bench, I walked. It was nice outside, the traffic was light, and I was in no hurry. I set up next to a fountain and readied my fingers for a small jazzy song. My feet started tapping before I even started.

 

            “We’re dancing in our summer skin,

sweating away winter and spring.

Holding each other so very close,

coloring our hearts a golden tin.

 

Oh dear you look lovely tonight,

Moving back and forth, side to side.

Swing me back and catch me,

Swirling me through the silver light.” Inside my singing, I could hear the busy shuffling of New Jersey. The clinks and clanks added to my lyrics. I shuffled my feet to the beat and swung my head. The third stanza scratched at my throat, ready to be released. It flowed from my lips.

 

          “Thank you my love, you’re to kind,

Caring me around this way.

Baby my feet are just itchin’ to dance,

Yelling and screaming out of their minds.”

 

Hunny I’d say we’re ready to leave,

The souls of my shoes are about worn.

Hoping the night will be through,

We’ll have three cheers on my lead,” I cooed, singing softly, my eyes closed, fully injected into the music.

 

One, two, three!

And end the night in the bay

Just a’ kissing the night away.” I stopped, opening my eyes. Two men standing in front of me started clapping.

            “Thank you,” I whispered, slightly embarrassed. The taller, dark haired man threw a twenty into my open guitar case. Surprised, I picked it up and handed it back to him.

            “Oh, I don’t play for money.” Our fingers had touched, sending a vibration through my blood. He fiddled around in his coat pocket, but I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. His partner, who was much shorter, looked stunned as I was. The dark haired man was tall and lean. His appearance held a certain air that kept me thinking.

           

Next thing I knew, he winked and walked away. I looked down at my case and a folded scrap of paper caught my attention. Unfolding it, I realized it was a phone number. My searching eyes found him walking away from me. He looked back and in that drastic moment, a smile curved his lips.