Michael had just locked the door of the cheaply constructed comic book store while I stood in the same corner I stood at everyday after work, the aisle with the Detective Comics. I've read every comic at least five times yet they never seemed to bore me.
"Another day wasted in a cheap heaven," I spoke as I flipped through the second issue of the re-published comic. This job had its pros and cons; pros being that I was secluded into the fantasy world of superheroes and whatnots, the cons were that I had a ridiculously low paycheck and the customers were overweight thirty-year-old men who had the patience of a squirrel. I placed the comic book back onto its original shelf and went up to the counter where Michael stood behind, cleaning the surface.
"I don't think I ever want to leave this place." Michael said, keeping his eyes on the surface of the glass counter.
"You might get the chance to leave and upgrade to GameStop graveyard shift," I joked earning a laugh from Michael, "if you're lucky." I finished. Michael never seemed to care about where his life would take him, he was always laid back even in the most stressful situations. His hair was always a different color and he always had a way with girls. The thing is, Michael never wanted a girlfriend, he never wanted to settle down and be tamed. If I had a quarter for every time a comic-book-obsessed girl said Michael was cute, I would probably be living in those penthouses that you see on the big screen. I wasn't jealous of Michael, I wanted to be Michael.
Once Michael finished cleaning the counter, we headed out the door into my car. My car was a truck, a shitty one if you want me to be more descriptive. Rain began to drop down right after Michael and I got inside my truck, "Just in time, thank God. The last thing I need is dye running down my fucking face." Michael turned the volume up from the stereo, Pink Floyd playing. I drove down the dark road, Michael was singing along to the song while staring out the window.
"Can't wait to go home and," I tried speaking before Michael cut me off with a small scream.
"Calum you're going to hit the girl stop!" Michael yelled out as I instantly stepped on the breaks causing the car to come at a full halt. Right in the center of the road was where a girl sat with her head turned at us and what appeared to be her pupils dilated. Her hair was a complete mess, and her clothes looked like rags frosted with dirt all over. I left the car walking up to her, with every step I took towards her she backed away from me, fear obtaining her eyes.
"Hey, it's okay, I won't hurt you. What's your name?" I tried communicating with her but she just had a confused expression on her face, "Do you speak English?" I asked her, once again, no response.
Michael ran up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder, "Dude she is no doubt extremely hot," he whispered to me as I swatted his hand away. The girl was further away from me, still terrified. I crouched down, taking slow steps towards her, holding my hand out.
"It's okay, I won't hurt you," I spoke softly, hoping that it would be a way to make her feel more relaxed. She reached for my hand with her own, her movement caught me off-guard when her hand moved towards my hair. Small mumbles left her mouth but I couldn't make out the words. I gently held her fragile wrist as her and I stood up. Her legs shook, she wasn't adjusted to standing, they probably had fallen asleep. I held her close, bringing her towards the backseat of my truck.
Once I had sat her on the seat I turned over to Michael, "We need to take her to a police station."
"C'mon Calum, let's take her home, don't be a killjoy." The word killjoy made me cringe, I never enjoyed being mature, but in this case I knew it was needed. I climbed into the driver's seat while Michael sat in the passenger seat after shutting the backseat door.
The ride to the police station was longer than I had expected it to be, but as soon as we arrived I had the girl right beside me. Occasionally she'd press her feet to the ground, not wanting to move. We eventually made it inside the small station.
"Michael, I'll go talk to them, you go stay with her." Michael didn't seem to be bothered by my order, he was more than happy with it. I walked up to the front desk and explained to the officer on how we found her.
"Thank you for bringing her here, we'll be sure to bring her back to her home as soon as we can." The officer spoke with a smile. Michael set her down on the chair, and I for the first time tonight had focused on the features of her face. It wasn't until then that I realized how much of a Tara she appeared as.
Both, Michael and I got inside my car and turned the radio back on. I couldn't focus on any of the lyrics all that I could think about was her face. For now I would call her Tara. I then remembered that there wouldn't be any other time that I saw her besides tonight. Tara was just another face that I would forget tomorrow.