Before The Fall (Suicide Notes Prequel)

The Cafe

~Published: March 5, 2015~

The looming figure of the terra cotta building became bigger and bigger as Victoria approached it. The Venetian Café was a seemingly small hole in the wall restaurant that served multiple types of delicacies and had wonderful options for tea and coffee.

It was her favorite place to go when she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts and it was also her job.

Was her job.

Victoria parked her car and stepped out, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she made her way to the entrance.

A strong wave of coffee and croissants assaulted her nose and she smiled in nervous pleasure at the customers sitting around tables joyfully inhaling their food.

Victoria made her way to the back of the café to her boss's office and knocked twice.

"Come in!"

She took a deep breath of courage and stood up straight before opening the door and stepping into the airy blue office.

"Vicki!" Tom, her boss, dropped the papers he was looking at and looked up at her with a wary smile. "What can I do you for?"

"Umm, just turning in my uniform," Victoria said, pulling the blue shirt and black apron out of her bag.

"Wait, you were being serious?" Tom asked, referring to the conversation they had weeks ago concerning her upcoming resignation.

"Yes," Victoria said as she placed the outfit on his desk.

Tom nodded to himself and picked up the paperwork again. "Well, thanks for sticking around this long." He gave her a small uninterested smile before turning his attention back to his work.

Victoria walked out of his office slightly disappointed that he hadn't seemed affected or concerned by her sudden decision to quit considering that she had been working there for three years.

Upon entering the lobby of the café, the mouthwatering scent of food floated up her nostrils and her stomach growled loudly.

Victoria ducked her head in embarrassment as she blushed and shuffled to the front counter. She gripped the straps of her bag tightly in her hands and looked up at the girl at the counter.

The girl was blonde and Victoria was sure she had never seen her before until just then.

My replacement, she thought bitterly.

Her name tag read Lorelei and she stood tall and modelesque behind the counter. Her blue eyes shimmered in the light that was being cast through the windows and her doll-like face glowed angelically.

She was everything Victoria wished she could be but would never be able to achieve. She couldn't help the jealousy that overcame her as she stared at the girl in front of her blankly.

"What would you like to order?" Lorelei asked Victoria with a bright smile.

Victoria glanced at the menu in irritation though the items had already been ingrained into her memory. She decided to order a bacon and cheese croissant and a mug of hot chocolate before taking a seat in the farthest corner of the room, and then proceeded to stare blankly out the window.

She watched as a man rode by on his bicycle and a teenage girl walked past in shorts and a t-shirt. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear birds chirping.

It really is the perfect season to die, Victoria thought.

She felt it just then. The feeling of being watched crawled up Victoria's neck and she shuddered before looking around her, vainly trying to find the culprit. Her eyes swiveled around the room until they abruptly met a pair of icy blue ones.

The culprit was a man about her age, give or take a few years. He was tall and had the body of a soccer player and the face of a statue crafted by Michelangelo himself.

His dark chestnut hair was swept to one side and fell over one eye. He pursed his pale pink lips as his eyebrows furrowed and his silvery-blue eyes narrowed. Victoria stared at the strange man in confusion as he continued to glare at her.

The man was dressed in black pants, a black shirt, and gray sneakers. His long fingers absently played with a cardboard coffee cup.

His glare was eliciting a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and she swallowed hard, her hair falling around her shoulders as she ducked her head.

Victoria's already pale face paled even more at the thought of being watched so intensely.

He looks like he wants to rip my head off, she thought, suddenly afraid. She blinked hard.

Why? She gulped. Unless...he knows? Victoria froze in her seat and panic set in. Her heartbeat sped up and the sound of blood rushed through her ears.

Her breathing became labored and she gripped the sides of her chair as the beginnings of an anxiety attack overcame her.

"Ms. Victoria?" A sweet voice called out to her.

The sound of her name being called snapped her from the intense feelings of anxiety and she shot out of her seat faster than a bullet.

Victoria looked around her, startled, before getting up to get her order. She could feel the gaze of the stranger still on her as she walked to the counter and grabbed her order.

With her head down low, she dreadfully walked back to her table. Victoria slowly peeked in the direction of the stranger out of the corner of her eyes, her hair still shielding her face.

To her utter relief, he was no longer looking at her. No, instead he was now in deep conversation with Lorelei. His eyes flickered over to her for a second before he said something that made Lorelei sigh in resignation.

Victoria watched as Lorelei placed a hand on the guy's shoulder and couldn't help the pang of jealousy that once again hit her.

She shook her head and wrapped her cold fingers around her drink, focusing on eating her croissant.

Once again she could feel his eyes on her as she quickly shoveled food into her mouth. Irritation swarmed in her stomach and Victoria jerked her head up ready to ask him what his problem was.

To her complete astonishment, his seat was empty. The only thing left was a crisp bill and the coffee cup. She looked around the café trying to find him but to no avail.

He was nowhere to be found, but Victoria could still feel his burning gaze.