I didn't see Tiffany until Tuesday, having a day off as of Wednesday. I was livid with her, and wasn't surprised when I walked into work that she locked eyes with me. She scowled at me, as if I had wronged her in some way when she was the only who pulled the rug from under my feet. She was standing at the bar on her phone, looking like she wanted to be anywhere else. When I entered the diner she just scoffed and turned away, but didn't grab her bag which confused me. Johnny was standing on the otherwise of the bar, chatting to a lively kitchen staff. I could hear Jeremy's thick Jamacian accent and bellowing laugh, and the eight tables that were occupied smiled automatically at the boisterous sound. Tiffany just texted angrily as I waited for her to grab her bag, but she was grumbling under her breath angrily. Something in the air seemed off and tense, and Johnny happened to turn in my direction to notice me. He had a goofy grin on his face, his mole on his top lip curling up with him.
"What are you doing here?" He was grinning like he won the lottery and ran over to the bar, leaving over it like a girl listening to her best friend swoon.
"I work here?" Fumbling over to the sleek bar as I tripped over my feet a bit. Tiffany's ears turned red as Johnny turned his head dramatically to her like the scene in The Exorcist.
"Didn't you text her?" Tiffany didn't answer, just tried to pretend like she couldn't hear him. Her attempt was poor but Johnny eventually gave up and turned back to me. He looked a bit annoyed but when he saw me again his toothy grin returned.
"Tiffany here is covering part of your shift. Chris and I decided to shut down for the graveyard shift tonight to let a cleaning company in. The whole place needs a deep clean, of you know what I'm saying?" He put in a funny voice during the last bit of his sentence. A weight was lifted off my shoulders but Tiffany just stomped off angrily.
"Was it because of Sunday?" I was certain it was, and Johnny's face confirmed it.
"Well we also thought it would be nice for you to rest before your appointment tomorrow." I blinked for a moment at his words before it dawned on me.
"You really remembered my checkup better than I did?" It was incredibly heartwarming to me. Every three months I had checkup with my doctor to make sure I was deteriorating enough to be hospitalized, needed new medication, or anything else. I had forgotten about it, but Johnny and Chris had remembered the date and cleared my schedule to make sure I was healthy. I never had any family as I was raised in an orphanage. This place and these people-- Johnny, Chris, Jeremy, the twins, everyone-- were like my little family. Except for Tiffany-- no one liked her. I got a little teary eyed and Johnny noticed.
"H-Hey since you walked all the way here how about I get you some food to go? No use coming here for no reason!" His kind words and gesture did not stop my tears from almost flowing and my chin started to tremble. I was spilling over with emotions and I made a small whining noise. Johnny was trying to distract me from crying, and his words may have louder than he intended as eyes followed us from the booths. Suddenly there was loud banging noise as footsteps like a hulls came rushing from the kitchen. There was a white and brown blur and suddenly I was scooped up into a bear hug, and smells spices and musk.
"Theres my babygirl! We all wanted to see you before your appointment tomorrow!" Jeremy laughed and grinned while gently but firmly hugging me and holding me up. The people in the booths laughed and awed at the heartwarming gesture as Jeremy rubbed my back gently as if to console me. I managed to bite my tears back and returned his hug, managing a small laugh and tiny whisper of thanks. He just laughed and slapped my back gently.
"You're a strong girl. We all know everything is going to be okay!" He grinned at me, his braided hair moving around wildly as he thought his head back and laughed again. It might have not been my real family, but it was enough for me.
I carried my food made with extra love from Jeremy back home. He even included in his tiramisu. I felt a little stronger and was able to do so with less exhaustion than I had felt in a while. The eyes were still on me, and this time it felt like they had doubled. When I got home it was the same old same old. Conner barely acknowledged me when I set food in front of him. I hobbled into our small living room, with a small TV, brown couch and small coffee table. There were jumbled up wires from consoles and various other things he had plugged in. My laptop was plugged in as we didn't have cable or a smart TV so we used Netflix on my computer. I was laying on the couch, shoveling my delicious bacon cheeseburger with garlic aioli in my maw as Avatar played for the hundreth time. It was one of my favorite movie's and I had decided to rematch it once again. There was a window to my fire escape behind me, and the eyes I felt in me seemed to be watching with me. When I craned my head around to see if anyone was there, the fire escape was empty. I thought I was losing my mind, but my sixth sense seemed to be ringing out. It didn't feel dangerous.
"Well I hope you enjoy the movie. Its my favorite." I spoke the void. It was like I was speaking to a ghost, and I got no response.
"Maybe I am going crazy." I sighed, pushing waffle friend in my mouth after the exhale.
"Who are you talking to?" Conner called out from the room.
"Myself."
"Fucking weirdo." He grumbled. I snorted at what's happening on the screen. The Na'vi people were teaching the protagonist how to live as one of them. The graphics were amazing and clean for the time it was made.
"Such a good movie."
"Shut up!" Conner yelled making me snort again. Then there was a noise. It should like scratching on metal and it came from behind me. I shot up and looked to the fire escape, but again it was empty. This time my nerves were ringing with alarm bells, my breath becoming ragged and sore. I was afraid, and kept my eyes on the fire escape like a murderer would pop out and apologize for scaring me. Instead I could hear a pounding noise in my chest as blood rushed to my head when my nerves were shot. I sat like that for a good five minutes before giving up, deciding that it must have been my imagination. I failed no notice the orbs of gold and garnet that peeked in as soon as I put my guard down, soaking in the movie as I did so. I curled myself into a ball after finishing my meal, lazily leaving my garbage in the to go bag on the floor. I told myself I would throw it out tomorrow, sleep pulling at my eyelids. I wanted to fall asleep in my bed but Conner was screeching obscenities to his friends and I knew it would be too loud. I heard the wind starting to grow from the outside, rattling the window pane and metal ominously but my feelings of fear diminished. If it was a murderer, they probably picked a target that they would be doing them a service rather than a cruel act. It was a depressing thought, and as I watching my favorite movie on the TV I realized that I was purposeless. I could disappear tomorrow, leaving no mark or stain on this world. It was a cruel reality but it was mine, and just as tears rolled down my nose a dark and dreamless sleep consumed me.