"Amanda, look alive!" I sneered as Debbie walked past with a grin. Ugh! The night shift never got any better. There'd be a few people coming for a quick coffee after finishing work at about 10pm and then it was dead in the café until closing time at 12am. "Look at this. She's so messy." I smiled as Debbie showed me the picture of her daughter covered in cake batter.
"How's she doing?"
"She's fine. She starts kindergarten next week! It doesn't seem like two minutes since I was just starting maternity leave."
"I know… it doesn't feel like that long since… you know."
"You're over that now. He's gone and your life is great now. You've really turned a corner."
"Thanks." My head shot up as the doorbell rang through the empty room. "Mr. Nichols, running a bit late tonight, aren't you?"
"Had an important presentation to finish off…" He sighed with a roll of his eyes before setting down his briefcase on the counter.
"The usual? Debbie, double shot latte, please!"
"I wish I'd pulled the shorter straw, all you have to do is stand there."
"Well maybe tomorrow night you just get to handle the cash, but until then, step to."
"Still having to work late then?"
"Yeah, the boss thinks it's a good idea but I think we're just wasting electric. We have about 20 customers if we're lucky. That's nothing compared to the day shift."
"But he's all money, money, money. Won't listen to us little people." Debbie added while handing the drink to me.
"$6.95, please." I placed the drink on the counter and ran the order through the till.
"Have a good night, girls!" We nodded as he left with his regular tired smile.
"You want a lift home tonight or are you running again?"
"I'll walk back, you need to get back for Lucy and I don't wanna make you any later than you have to be. Anyway, Lisa's home for a change so I'll pick up some late night dinner from the burger bar across the street and make a night of it."
"Okay, I'm gonna go out back and have a smoke, this empty space is doing my head in."
"Don't be too long." I sang as she went through the door. With a sigh I looked at the clock and grimaced as I still had an hour and a half to kill. "A watched kettle never boils." I told myself and turned back to the coffee machines to see if any filters needed to be changed. I nearly lost myself on the scent of the coffee but the chime of the bell got my attention. "Hey Anna night-time treat again?" One thing about the nightshift was getting to know the few people that came for service. Anna was a middle-aged businesswoman with 3 grown children that had moved from the States. She tended to come in on a Friday for a triple-chocolate muffin once she had finished a tough day in the office. I bagged up the last of the muffins and accepted the money from her. "Be careful on your way home, Anna."
"You too, honey!" She waved goodbye as she exited the café. Taking advantage of the emptiness, I picked up some of the empty plates from the glass shelves and took them into the back to be washed.
"I'm back!"
"Just washing some of the dishes!" I shouted while she came back in through the front.
"I'll hold the heaving masses at bay then!" She laughed while drumming her nails on the countertop. "Hello, what can I get for you today?" I heard her say as a new customer entered the establishment. A cold shiver went down my back as I noticed she'd left the fire door open as usual. With a heavy sigh I placed the last of the dishes into the machine and shut the door. It gave a couple of beeps before starting the cycle. A rustle outside caught my attention as I made my way over to shut the door. I froze in place. My heart pounded against my chest and goose bumps rose on my arms.
"Don't be stupid." I whispered to myself. "Nothing will hurt you. It's all in your head." If therapy had taught me one thing, it was to not expect the worst each time something made me jump. After a deep breath I approached the door and looked outside. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just the heavy bins filled to the brim with rubbish and new, loaded bags balancing on top of the lids. An owl hooted from one of the surrounding trees and the moon lit up the area. "Everything is fine." I slowly shut the door and nodded to myself. "Everything is fine." I repeated to myself. A scream left my lips as Debbie appeared out of nowhere.
"Don't worry; you're not really crazy until you start to answer yourself." She said with a cheeky grin before disappearing back to the front of the café. She'll give me a heart attack one of these days. I calmed my breathing down and returned to her side.
"I wish you wouldn't sneak up on me like that, you know how jumpy I am now."
"Sorry, but I called your name and got no reply."
"I didn't hear you, sorry." We both nudged each other before yawning. "How much longer?"
"1 hour and 15 minutes left of the shift."
"Ugh! Kill me now! I hate this job."
"At least you haven't been working here for 10 years like my sorry ass! Did I tell you? I got a voucher off my next buy from Walmart as a thank you for my service to this dump!" I couldn't help myself as laughter poured from my lips.
"I can't believe it! That's so sad, Debbie."
"Yeah, at least Lucy got some new things because of it though." We spent the next hour chatting about Lucy, Lisa's job and my job interview next week at the local school. I wanted to become a teaching assistant. I didn't have the correct qualifications for much more than that but if I get that job then I'll earn enough money to join a course which will help me to become a fully qualified teacher. Dad was so proud when I told him. He thought I'd struggle to get over Rippner and everything that happened 4 years ago but I had completely turned a new page. I was treating myself better and focusing on my future. I was determined to make this work as it was like I got a second chance at life once I was freed by that man. "15 minutes to go."
"Why don't we shut early? You can let the babysitter get off a few minutes earlier and you can have longer in front of the TV before you feel too tired to focus. No-one comes in after 11 anyway."
"Okay, the boss can't say that we didn't work our hours since he didn't pay us for that overtime last week."
"Exactly, you go now and I'll shut up."
"You sure?" I nodded and gave her a hug. "Okay, be careful on your way home, sweetie." She said before locking up the cash register and pocketing the key. "See you in the morning!" I followed her to the fire exit and locked the door once she left and had got into her car. I emptied the remaining coffee from the machines and turned each of them off. The boss wouldn't like it if I wasted any electric so I double-checked them before putting on my coat and grabbing my bag from the hanger. Once I was sure that I had done everything I was supposed to I turned off the lights and exited the café. My hand fumbled around in my bag as I searched for the key. The cool air soothed my sore eyes as it blew past me. I could smell the faint scent of fried onions coming from the burger joint across the road mixed with the salt from the sea that was half a mile from the café. Finally my hand met with cold metal and I grasped the key ring before pulling it out of my bag. I used the moonlight to help me sort through my keys and find the one for the café. I don't know how I ended up with so many but I daren't get rid of them. You never know when I may end up searching for the one that I've thrown out.
"Come on. Aha!" I smiled and turned the key in the lock until it clicked. "All done." I threw my keys back into my bag and pulled out my purse. Moths may as well have flown out of it as I noticed that just a few nickels lay in the pouch. "Damn." I hope I have something quick to eat at home then. I stuffed my purse back into the bag, zipped it shut and threw over my shoulder. With a sigh I set off walking through the night. The loud sounds of the city echoed all around me and the bright lights of the buildings lit up my path as I passed them. The café was 5 minutes from my apartment so I never had much trouble getting back safely. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and a shiver passed through my body. I paused mid-step and turning around. There was no-one around but I was sure that I felt someone watching me. As a safety precaution I took out my phone and dialled Lisa's number. I sped up down the street as the feeling of being watched persisted.
"Hello, you've reached Lisa Reisert, I'm sorry but I can't come to the phone right so leave your name and number and I'll get back to you. Thanks!" Great. The one time she doesn't have her mobile handy is the one time that I truly needed her. I waited for the beep before beginning to talk.
"Hey, Leese. It's probably just me being paranoid but I just need to keep on the phone until I get back. Erm… for once I have nothing to say… I think someone's watching me but I can't be sure. Anyway, I'm just a couple of blocks from the apartment so I should be fine… right? Of course, I'll be fine. I'm being silly as usu-" A frightened gasp left my lips as I heard footsteps near me. I quickly turned around but once again I saw nothing. "This is really freaking me out, Lisa. I swear someone is here but I just can't see anyone! Lisa, please pick up!" I nearly shouted as tears filled up my eyes and my lips trembled. Something felt wrong.
"Amanda!" I breathed a sigh of relief as Lisa finally picked up the phone. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know. Tonight just feels different, I don't know what it is, but-" My phone crashed to the floor as I bumped into something solid in front of me. Arms grabbed me and steadied my footing as I nearly fell to the ground. "Thanks…" My breathing just about stopped as I looked up. The look in his eyes shook me to my very core. His twisted smirk taunted me as his hands held me in place. He was back… back for me…
"Hello again, Mandy."
AN: So, I've had an idea for this for a while now and I'm not sure where I'm going with it.
It may just end up being an epilogue/one-shot or I may continue it.
I'm not sure… Anyone interested in a potential sequel to Revenge Reloaded?
Please review or PM me with your thoughts and, if you would like a sequel, what you would like to see happen.
I'm currently writing it as T rating but if I were to continue this then the rating would change to M.
Thanks!