Sasha's Flowers—seeing the adorable, busty florist and her small stand was a pleasure I anticipated every Friday, her shop a few blocks away from St. Thomas' Hospital. The sun was out, and so was her beaming smile this bright autumn afternoon. She saw me walking down Livingston Street and tossed me a friendly wave, her excitement in seeing me making me shuffle my feet down the crosswalk faster. Once I made it to the sidewalk, I reached into my pocket for a twenty, my routine so predictable that she already had my bundle of roses clipped, wrapped, and ready to go.
"Isaac, good afternoon!" she chirped in a perky voice. Sasha was a shy but sweet and graceful brunette with long hair she always kept in a French braid laced with lily flowers. Even her short pastel dress had prints of petals on it, complementing her passion for gardening. She was trying to make an honest living in Ether City and pay for her little brother's schooling. Ether City wasn't the safest place to live, and with how things had been these last few years, she thought it was best to send him to a private institution to keep him away from any trouble.
"Sasha, real nice to see you today. How you been?"
"Good! Amazing, even!" she said, clasping her hands together delightfully.
I smiled. "Oh? Is business finally blooming?"
She giggled. "Something like that."
"That's great, because the last we spoke, you'd said something about closing shop."
"Well, last night everything changed. I'm trying a new outlook on life, and so far, it's working for me."
"That's good to hear! You know, my mom can't get enough of your roses. I'm glad that you're sticking around. They are the highlight of her afternoon."
"I'm sure you're the highlight of her afternoon, Isaac," she whispered softly, and if I hadn't been paying close attention, I would have missed that wanton glint in her gentle hazel eyes. Sasha was always in a friendly mood, but something was definitely different about her today. Like I said, Sasha was shy, shy and a tad skittish. But today she was daring, reaching over to my hand on the counter holding down that twenty dollar bill and stroking along my knuckles with her slender fingers.
There was no denying the attraction Sasha had for me. Ever since my mother had been admitted to the hospital, I became her regular customer. Once a week, we'd see each other after my last college class for the day. She even gave me a loyalty discount, a whopping fifty percent off. Her generosity had no bounds, but she insisted that my continued business with her helped bring in more customers.
Honestly, I think it was her low-cut dresses that did the trick.
Admittedly, she liked my charm—smart, funny, gentle, quiet. Clearly, she'd never seen one of my COD sessions with the boys online. I could tell that she was really into tall guys, even though she was on the shorter side. I was a giant compared to her petite and dainty size. I also had dark red hair, smooth tan skin, kind eyes, and a supposedly firm chest according to her. Heh, I'd never forget the time she slipped up and complimented my build, confirming she was into me.
Frankly, she was being generous. I wasn't much to look at. I was just some nerdy 20 year old in his junior year at Carthage University. Whatever the case, this new outlook of hers gave her the confidence that she'd always wanted, because for the first time in months, she finally opened up and said, "I like you, Isaac."
Four words to tighten my throat. The confession took me off guard. I swear I had cotton in my mouth because I couldn't say anything back to her for all of five seconds. When I finally came to, I chuckled sheepishly, scratching at the back of my head while I tried to find the words to say to her.
"Heh, Sasha, I…"
"I have for a while now. Actually, if I could be honest, I've liked you since the first time we met. I've never had a boyfriend before, so I don't know what's customary and what isn't. I know a girl asking a guy out isn't exactly traditional, but I'm just tired of putting my feelings for you away, Isaac. I want you, and I'm done pretending to be just friends."
I lowered my eyes on her apologetically. "Sasha, I'm—"
"Taken?" She leaned in, cutting me off.
"Heh, no, it's not that."
"Then, what is it? You seem conflicted."
"It's just that—"
"You don't like me the same way I like you?"
"Oh, no. I like you. I like you a lot, actually. You have this glow to you, and an optimistic attitude that's downright contagious. It's just that… I have a lot going on right now, with my mom, school, working at the print shop—"
"You can't be bogged down with a girlfriend, right?"
I snickered timidly. "You're making me sound like a total dick right now."
She giggled. "We should go out. Tonight, at the Village Square. Then maybe go grab some dinner and Karaoke. How does that sound?"
"Egh, Sasha…" I grumbled, darting my eyes away from her. I swear I wasn't making excuses. She was beautiful—soft skin, slender figure, a cute smile. What I was afraid of was somewhat short of a superstition, but I was pretty damn adamant about it. The people around me tended to drop like flies. My friends Cory and Dayton, my ex Jessica, my father… It was a curse, and I didn't want Sasha being sucked into its wormhole.
"Please, Isaac? You said you liked me, right? What's one date on a Friday night?" She gave me the bouquet of flowers, and prepared to give me a deal. "How about this? If you have a terrible time with me, you can walk across the street and avoid me. Or I could move my booth. No awkward moments and no strings attached. Deal?"
Why was she being so forward all of a sudden? I was literally sweating bullets here. I have to say something, anything! Don't just stand there and look like a damn loaf of bread, Isaac...
"Sure!" I beamed, kicking myself inside. I couldn't ignore the hopeful smile on her pretty face and break her heart like that. My bout of guilt won, and now I was going to be a paranoid mess for the next couple of hours.
"Great! Can you pick me up at seven? You've still got my number, right?"
"You mean from the time you listed me as an emergency contact?" I chuckled. "Yeah, I still got it. Here," I offered her my twenty, Sasha rejecting it immediately.
"Keep it. This one is on the house." She winked.
"That's generous of you, Sasha, but—"
"For going on a date with me. But, if you really want to pay me back, do it later, on our date. Okay?"
I nodded with a warm grin. "All right."
"Tell your mother 'Hi!' for me. I'll see you in a few hours, Isaac. I can't wait!"
Damn, I tried my hardest to peel out of there without a worried look lingering on my face. After she waved me goodbye, I walked down the rest of Livingston Street and over the elevation on the sidewalk for the hospital, keeping my head down and to myself. With my heavy eyes on the bouquet of roses, my mind started to unravel a bunch of dark scenarios—methods of murder, an accidental death, a list of spontaneous illnesses. It felt like every time I got close to someone, a bad omen was there to whisk them away. Sasha had been safe because I'd kept her at arm's length for months. And now, that's changed…
"Shit, would it be so bad if I canceled?" I faintly whispered seriously considering it to myself, before I felt a blunt force sink into my stomach, my body tossed backward.
"There's my punching bag!" A grizzly voice boomed as my ass dropped on the pavement, the bouquet of flowers flinging out of my hand. I felt the strap of my messenger bag slip off my shoulder as I tried to pick myself up before another strike came from the side of my head. My head ricocheted against the brick wall of the building right next to me, but luckily for me, I bridged my arm in between, dampening the impact of my head banging against that wall.
"Missed ya today on campus. Where were ya hiding, huh, creep?!"
In came Jason, the college bully and his greasy loser friends.
Three against one—wasn't really a fair fight. They ambushed me when I wasn't paying attention and got the upper hand. Usually, I was able to dodge them all together, or manage them one by one.
It was too late to avoid any conflict. Jason circled me with dark intent in his eyes. My head was throbbing from the pain, but I staggered my way up. Greg and Lucas stood there cracking their knuckles, ready to leave a few dents on me too while their chubby boss stepped one foot on my mother's roses, crushing them on the ground.
My breath hitched, my chest burning with anger. I gave him a strong glare, and he rewarded me with a condescending grin on his nasty face.
"Oops. Sorry, were those for your date? Is that why you missed this beat down? Skipped out early to suck face with a pimple-faced dork? Man, the thought of you geeky losers breeding makes my skin crawl!"
He tried to snatch me by the collar, but I clipped his wrist and swung it away from my face, leaving his open for abuse. I gave him a firm square punch, pushing the bastard away.
He leaned on the heel of his foot, his head flying backwards from my strong punch. I saw the thread of blood escape his nose as I cocked that head of his back and followed up with a sweep kick. He was a hefty guy, but there was no one that I couldn't bring down. When his big gut slammed on the sidewalk, his goons sprang into action.
"You little—" Greg grunted, leaping into me with all of his weight into a hook punch. I was ready to evade it, but Jason grabbed my ankle, holding me down for Greg's attack.
Again, caught off guard. These jackasses were determined to break a few bones in me today. I brought my arm along my face to absorb Greg's punch but Lucas came through on the other side with a high kick for my head.
That one did the trick.
I found myself on the sidewalk again, brought down with three guys hovering over me. Protect my face, I thought. After all, I had a date tonight…
"You got a little fight in ya this time around, huh? 'Bout time we beat it out of ya!" Jason growled, and they began to pile on me with kicks while I shielded my face. A long awaited beat down—they gave it their all. I curled up to absorb the blows and pressed my eyes shut to block some of the pain. It made little difference, feeling my lungs collapse the harder they struck me. But I must have had an angel over my shoulder, because I heard someone at a distance shouting my way.
I squinted, watching how a big bouncer looking guy cawed at them from across the street. It didn't take them two seconds to peel off of me in a terrified panic, the three douchebags scrambling off before he dashed past traffic.
I was aching all over, trying to stand myself up before he came to me. The tall husky guy with the shaved head and a salt and pepper goatee helped me up, leaning me on his arm.
"You all right there, kid?" he said in a deep baritone voice.
"Y-yeah, th-a-nks, ugh, shit," I grunted, holding onto my sore rib.
"They really did a number on you. Fucking bullies. Ain't got nothing better to do with their sorry lives."
"Heh, yeah. Story of my life."
"Good thing there's a hospital right around the corner. With that gash on your head, you might need stitches."
"Guess it's worse than I thought. Must be all of that adrenaline masking the pain."
"You seem like a good kid," he said, taking my bag and offering it to me. "This routine for you?"
I gave him a broken smile. "Yeah, but don't worry about it. I can manage."
"What if I told you that you don't have to?"
"What do you mean?"
"You need someone to take care of them guys for you?"
My eyes grew. "What?"
He reached into his pocket and gave me a copper coin. When I turned my eyes down to it, I noticed how antique it looked, down-right ancient actually. The backside had a bunch of script that I assumed was Latin, and on the reverse side, an etching of a goat's head.
"Think about it real hard. Bring it to life."
"What is this?"
"A lucky coin. Brings you good fortune. It's for those goon heads, or whatever."
I snickered bashfully. "Dude, I have no clue what you're talking about. Are you saying that this coin could, I don't know, grant wishes?"
He grinned ear to ear, the eerie expression in his self-gratifying eyes freaking me out. There was a moment of looming silence between us before he gave me a firm pat on my shoulder, that creepy smiling tapering off in an instant. "Take care of yourself, kid."
I watched him as he walked away, right back into the bar on Reaper Street.
The guy was kind enough to help me out, but shit, he left this bad feeling on me…