Skeletons (part 1)

"Can you promise me, please?" Bryce pleaded. "Those boys, especially Gordie, they can't know about any of that. Promise me you won't say anything."

I watched him carefully, studying his face and trying to piece together what exactly 'that' might be as well as how I might have come to know about this big secret of his. It felt risky making such a promise - I mean, what if I later found out it was something really bad like he'd hurt someone? Whatever was going on, I was on the edge of my own discovery and wasn't about to lose the chance to learn more. The challenge was to extract information without giving away that I couldn't remember a thing, or else he'd bolt, for sure.

"It's okay," I said softly. "I won't say anything."

He let out a slow, relieved breath, the tenseness of his shoulders relaxing. "Thank you."

"So… how have you been?" I asked, carefully choosing my words. "Really?"

Bryce looked away for a second, his fingers fidgeting with his sleeve. When he looked back, his eyes seemed wearier, like he'd been carrying something heavy for a long time. "I have my good days and my bad ones. Today's… good, I guess, but every day is hard."

"Yeah," I said, nodding sympathetically. "But you've got good friends you can count on, right? The people you were hanging with at Mickey's?"

"I dunno sometimes. People still see me as the same guy I was before the accident. But I'm not that guy anymore. I can't be him. I'm in a lot of pain some days and... it all just gets me down. If my friends knew about... just what it takes to help that pain some days-" He sighed hopelessly. "They'd never understand. I know it seems weak, but some days I just need it to be strong."

My pulse quickened as I realized what he was implying. He wasn't talking about asprin or some run-of-the mill painkiller. I got this feeling then, this very scary feeling like, if I tipped over the edge of this discovery I'd fall 100 feet down and flat on my face.

"They say they're always there," Bryce continued, "but really, I'm doing it alone."

My nerves were playing me to the point where I just wanted to exit this whole scene and run... but Bryce needed me in that moment. It sounded like he didn't really have anyone else.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling the tension there. "Look," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, "what you're going through is completely understandable. And… I know we don't know each other well, but I'm here for you."

"Right…" Bryce's gaze softened, a sad smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He shifted uncomfortably, his fingers tapping on his thigh in a restless rhythm. "Hey, um…" His voice grew quiet, almost embarrassed, and he glanced around, double-checking that no one was near. "You wouldn't be able to get something for me, would you?"

My breathing stopped. "Errr…"

"I'm sorry to ask like this… it's just that my sources in Portland—they're drying up. And, well, you… you still have contacts, right?"

All the pieces suddenly came crashing together. I heard Ace's voice echoing in my head, from our earlier conversation: "And I bet you've got everybody fooled." Yup, I fell that hundred feet and ended up as roadkill.

"Bryce, I'm… sorry," I said, struggling to keep my voice even. "I can't help you like that." I reached for the door behind me, opening it as a flicker of disappointment crossed Bryce's face.

"Can I give you my number?"

"I can't... sorry. If you want an ear, I'm here but..." Not quite knowing how to finish that sentence, I quickly slipped inside and shut the door behind me, feeling a pang of guilt as I left him standing there.

I walked straight past the boys, barely registering their curious glances, and locked myself in the bathroom.

The girl in the mirror was there again— face pale, her lost eyes staring back at me. Every time I looked in that mirror, it was her I saw, not me. She felt like a stranger, some shadow of a life I couldn't remember, and sometimes it felt she was pleading with me to set her free.

But as I stared back at her now, something shifted. I realized I couldn't keep living like this, haunted by the reflection of someone who no longer existed. She was merely a speck of my lifetime anyway, and had obviously made some terrible choices which was probably ultimately the cause of her demise. I didn't need her, whoever she had been. I took a deep breath, steadying myself, and focussing on seeing right through her to bring myself into view.

And there I was.

Date of events: Friday, May 19

It had been two days since that unsettling glimpse into my past, and two days since I decided I no longer wanted to know about it. I stood in front of the Blue Point Diner, gazing down the street toward Mickey's. The building's fresh red exterior gleamed in the sun, a stark contrast to our own diner's fading paint job and store sign so marred by algae it should have read 'The Green Point Diner.' I looked up at the weathered old sign jutting out from the wall, high above me, thinking,Well, if this is my future, I'd better get on with it.

I heaved our creaky old stepladder through the diner while Patty's blue eyes trailed after me over a copy of the latest edition ofVogue.

"What?" I said, glaring right back at her.

"Nothing," she shrugged, then went back to flipping through the pages. She probably thought I had lost my mind for thinking I could fix this place up, but after the chat with Bryce and the boys, I had hope. I figured, if I could at least give the exterior a clean-up and a bit of color, once we started turning over some dollars again, we'd have money in the kitty to start on the interior.

I set the ladder down under the Blue Point Diner's sign and unfolded it, giving it a cautious shake to test its stability. One leg was annoyingly shorter than the others, making it wobble on the sidewalk. With a sigh, I headed back inside to find something to prop it up. The best I could come up with was a wooden chopping board. It would have to do.

Moss and algae dripped over the sign like dark green ice cream melting down a child's hand, but more slimy than sticky. Gross. Dipping a sponge in a soapy bucket of hot water, I climbed the old wooden stepladder, feeling its legs creak beneath me.

There I was, horse brush in hand, soapy, green algae dripping down my arms when the door to the Billiards Bar a couple of stores down clicked shut. I was too preoccupied to care and kept scrubbing, eyes to the blue sky above. The top of the sign was particularly disgusting. I leaned a little to the left, balancing as high on my tiptoes as I could, so tiny flecks of scum wouldn't hit me in the eyes.

Suddenly, a hard thump jolted the ladder so violently, it nearly knocked me off balance. I grabbed the sign - thank God it was bolted securely to the wall, or I would've toppled straight over. Clinging to it like life itself, I used my toes to steady the ladder and prevent it from tipping sideways. It felt like something had slammed into it, like a large dog had rushed past and clipped it.

It wasn't a dog. (Actually... that's debatable.)

I leaped off the ladder, my insides still feeling jellyish. Two figures strolled casually up the sidewalk, their laughter trailing behind them. One of them had a familiar cut of blonde hair which caught the sunlight in a way that made it glint almost gold.

"Hey!" I yelled, exasperated. "Did you just kick this ladder?"

Ace came to a halt, and I could practically feel the smug grin forming on his face. He turned around slowly, that cocky smile spreading wider as he caught my eye. He gave his friend a nod, and they strolled toward me with a carefree, arrogant swagger that only they could pull off.

"What if we did?" Ace drawled, hands slipping into his back pockets as he tilted his head, his eyes gleaming, relishing in the confrontation. "Figured you'd like a little excitement in your life now that it's so much duller these days," he guestured at my soapy bucket.

"I could have fallen and cracked my head!"

"Aww... were you scared?" he taunted with mock sympathy.

I paused for a beat, immediately offended at being called 'scared'. But I knew his game. He was trying to rattle me. To get a reaction. But I wasn't about to give it to him.

I stepped back, giving him the once-over, then shot him a cheeky grin. "You're flying low, by the way."

Ace glanced down in surprise, his smug look wiped from his face as he checked himself. When he realized he was, in fact, fully zipped and belted, he shot me an unimpressed glare.

"Made you look." I let a sly smile cross my face as I swiped up my sponge from the pavement.

"Yeah, okay—funny," he muttered.

"If it's childish games you wanna play, it's childish games you get," I added, trying to stay cool and steady.

Ace grinned, one cheek lifting as his eyes flicked over me.

"Hey!" his friend suddenly jabbed a finger in my direction. "You're that girl I gave a ride, right?"

I blinked at him. His light brown hair was greased up spikey like one of those grassy potato hedgehogs we made as kids. There was something about him that seemed familiar... maybe it was that giant mouth of his. "Vince?!"

"You know her?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, I picked her up way out on the highway one time. She was so desperate for a ride she forced herself into my car. You've fattened up since I saw you last," he said to me. "I barely recognized you. You were like a grungy twig in farmer's clothes. Like a scarecrow."

I rolled my eyes at him. Yup - it was the mouth.

"When was this?" Ace asked.

"I dunno; months ago. It was freezing. Like... February?"

"Was she by herself?"

"Yeah, all on her lonesome," Vince mocked.

Ace looked over me again, slower this time. There was a hint of suspicion in those icy blue eyes, a glint of something I didn't quite trust.

"And you know what?" Vince continued, "I gave her a ride all the way in, and she didn't even thank me for it. She just got out and slammed the door! So ungrateful!"

"You dropped me off miles out of town!" I shot back. "Outside the local landfill! What kinda help is that!?"

"Oh, come on. If it weren't for me, you woulda died out on that highway. You woulda been screwed."

"Maybe I would've been better off dead. Did you ever think of it that way, hotshot?"

"Aw, don't gimme that. You owe me big time."

"I don't owe you shit."

As Vince and I argued, I could feel Ace's stare burning into me as if he was working through some things in his head. Although, I couldn't think what. I tried to ignore it, but it eventually got to me.

"What?" I snapped, turning to him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He shrugged, his lingering gaze sending a ripple of unease through me. "Come on, Vince," he gave his buddy a nod. "The waitress needs to get back to scrubbing scum."

Vince's upper lip curled with contempt, a sneer spreading across his face as he shot me one last look. He and Ace turned, strutting back up the sidewalk like they owned it. I watched them go, the tension in my chest slowly unwinding—but not by much. Something about Ace's look stayed with me, it unsettled me. It was like a knot I couldn't quite untangle.

Date of events: Monday, May 22

The next time I saw Ace (ugh... and Vince) was a couple of days after the 'ladder incident.' The morning went better than most—we had three customers in. No, not just three people—three whole groups of customers. I bet the clean sign and fresh paint on the storefront helped. I'd painted the entire front of the diner a soft baby blue, using an ancient bucket of paint I'd found. To draw people in, I had also set up a small table outside, offering pancake samples with fried bananas and almonds drizzled with maple syrup. It was too tempting for two little girls passing by, who enthusiascially tugged their parents inside, not giving them a chance to say no.

The parents looked around like they'd never set foot in a place so... rustic. They were from the nicer side of town, up in the hills—the father wore a tie, and the mother's blonde hair was done up in a modest fascinator that perched on the side of her head like a small, teal bowl. The girls, four and six, were adorable, their long blonde ringlets flowing over their shoulders as they sat down, thrilled to start their afternoon out. And their manners were as sweet as could be; it was like being blown angel kisses every time their delicate little mouths spoke. I bet they'd never heard a cuss word in all of their perfect lives. Not before that day, anyway.

Patty fried chips and made burgers out back while I whipped up more pancakes then entertained the kids while they waited on the rest of their food. The six-year-old showed me the picture she'd drawn with the crayons I'd given them. I cooed over it and praised her (even though her orange-faced self-portrait was missing her arms), and that's when the little bell above the door jingled. (By the way, I fixed it.)

I glanced toward the door, excited for even more customers on this glorious day... and then saw Eyeball Chambers stroll in. He stood in the aisle, his chocolate curls messier than usual, arms folded and a grin stretching from ear to ear as he sniffed the delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen.

I power-walked down the aisle, eager to get him out as quickly as he had come in. The family was seated nearer to the counter, the parents with their backs to us, the girls too short to see over the booth. I figured I had but moments to usher him out before anyone noticed him.

"You can't be in here," I told him.

"But I ain't eaten yet!"

"I can't serve you."

"Why not?"

"Because..."Because you're trouble, and Patty would have a fit."Because I just can't."

I tried to steer him around by jostling his elbow, and he almost lost his balance, taking a heavy, staggering step backward to keep himself upright. He chuckled, his eyes half-lidded, and an earthy, hoppy aroma mixed with a sharp whiff of alcohol caught my nose.

"Have you been drinking?" I whispered, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Patty hadn't come out. "Are you drunk?"

"I'm still walking, ain't I?"

"Barely. You gotta go."

"But, I'm hungry! I got money, just get me something!"

He plopped himself down in the nearest booth and slid right along to the wall, settling in and making himself comfortable. I rolled my eyes, frustrated. How on earth was I supposed to get him out now?

"Is this the menu?" He picked up the folded piece of card and scanned the pages, his head bobbing slightly as he browsed through the selections. I put a finger to my lips and chuckled.

"What?" he asked. "What's so funny?"

I reached across the table, flipping the menu right-side up and setting it back in his hands.

"I knew!"

"The menu won't do you any good anyway, because I'm not serving you."

"So, you're gonna kick us all out? For no reason?"

"...Allof you?" I laughed. "Damn, youaredrunk."

At that exact moment, the front door flew open, whacking the chimes hard, their jingle echoing through the diner. In strutted Ace, Vince, and a third guy I didn't recognize right away, their bulky frames crowding the doorway as it shut behind them.

"All of you need to leave. Now!"

"Oh, come on, O'Connor," Vince sneered, leaning into his smirk. "You owe me, remember?"

"Owe you what?! I don't owe you anything!"

"Who painted out front? You? Looks like you handed a bunch of preschoolers paintbrushes and let them run wild."

"Leave her alone, Vince," muttered the guy behind him. That's when I recognized him—the slick jet-black ducktail gave him away. Billy had been in the car that day Vince gave me a ride into town.

"That paint job sucks, and you know it!" Vince spat back at him. "She missed spots all over!"

"Stop being a jerk," Billy snapped.

In a flash, Vince shoved him hard in the chest. Billy stumbled into the table behind him, then caught himself, hands clenched. I couldn't believe they were really going to start a brawl right here in the diner.

"Hey!" Ace barked, his authorative voice cracking through the tension. Both their heads whipped towards him as they froze mid-action. "Stop acting like a couple of idiots and sit down."

"No, don't sit down…" I groaned as Vince ignored me and slid into the booth next to Eyeball. Billy went in on the opposite side, sliding up to the wall. This was slipping out of my hands fast. "I'm not serving you! Any of you!"

I glanced back at the family near the front, the mother glaring at me with disapproval. I had to get these guys out—fast.

Ace's eyes set on me like ice. He stepped forward, chest barely grazing mine. I held my ground, not wanting to show an inch of submission, but the nearness of him set my nerves on edge. A hint of satisfaction lay between the lines of that smug smile, and I braced myself for whatever was coming next. He leaned down, whiskey-scented breath hitting my ear.

"From what I heard, you can't afford to turn us away," he whispered. "This place is going broke. You know... the trick is to skim off the top, not drain it dry..."

"What are you talking about?"

He looked almost amused. "A couple months back, stores around here were reporting stuff going missing at nights," he murmured, low and insinuating. "There was never a break in, just stuff mysteriously... vanishing. And, coincidenly, that was around the time these two losers brought you into town."

A cold dread went through me. How could he possibly know—no, he couldn't…

"Yeah," he smiled, eyes boring into mine like he could see the memories playing thorugh my head. "I heard this diner was the worst hit."

"I… but… that's not…" My mouth went dry as I fumbed for words; but I saw in his small curl of a smile that lying would be futile.

Ace pulled a crisp twenty from a brown leather wallet and held it out for me to take. Twenty whole dollars.

"Hey Ace, when did you get a wallet like mine?" Billy asked.

Ace tossed it to him, hitting him in the chest.

"Wait... thisismine!"

"You gonna take it?" he asked, leaning in even closer, "or am I gonna air it?"

Right then, Patty bustled through the diner, all business as she dropped off the family's order and cut toward us, her lips drawn into a tight line. "All of you—out! Now!"

"Cassie and I were just chatting," Ace replied coolly, giving Patty a casual once-over. "I think there's something she might want to tell you."

Patty turned to me, concerned. "Is everything okay?"

Anger grated against embarrassment as I looked between her confused expression and Ace's annoying, shit-eating grin. "These guys are… eating in today," I managed through gritted teeth.

Ace rolled up the twenty and, with a flick of his finger, popped it right down the front of my dress. I had left a button open because of the heat, and you couldn't see my cleavage but... it was there. My face burned, throat raw. I felt scarlet.

"Can't wait to try what you got," Ace said, giving Patty a half-smile then me a wink before claiming his spot in the booth next to Billy.