Winding Roads {A Creative Writing Journal}

The Reluctant Villain (Part 2)

Zach glanced at the door of Club Coffee for the third time that minute. He was supposed to meet with some of his friends from school, and he did. But Faith should have picked him up once he finished his classes that afternoon, and she never showed, forcing him to walk a couple blocks to the cafe. Now, thirty minutes and several discreet texts later, his sister and ride still hadn't arrived.

He glanced at the other three occupants of their usual booth to see if any of them were as concerned as he was, even though he would never show it.

   Felix, the redhead stuffing his face with a giant chocolate chip cookie, was too absorbed playing Madden on his phone to hold a conversation, let alone notice someone was missing from their ragtag group. The sophomore couldn't care less about what was going on around him, so Zach could easily knock him off the list.

    Bree was animatedly talking to her boyfriend Jake about her latest mishap with the school vending machine earlier that morning. He dutifully listened to his clumsy girlfriend with a tiny smile that betrayed his large, intimidating build. His focus was entirely on the expressive brunette beside him.

     However, every so often both of them would glance at the door as though they were waiting for someone, and Zach could take comfort in the idea that they were getting concerned as well. Bree especially, since she was Faith's best friend and fellow mall rat.

    The jangling of the cafe doorbell caused Zach's head to pop up, and he was surprised to find Timothy, Faith's boy "space" friend, entering. The guy was notorious for being late to everything, including their regular meet-ups, and a sinking feeling settled in Zach's gut. Something was wrong if it meant he beat her here.

   "Hey, man, what's up?" Jake asked as he bro-fisted his fellow senior.

    "Wow, Faith must be running super late if you got here before her," Bree giggled before the blond could reply. Timothy rolled his eyes and slid into the booth beside Zach.

   "Yeah, I wonder what's up with that. She's usually the one saving us a table," he added, and Zach felt four pairs of eyes hone in on him.

    "Hey, don't look at me. I haven't been able to get up with her since school let out. I had to walk here," he replied, holding his hands up defensively.

    "I hope she's okay," Bree mumbled. Jake wrapped an arm around her in a side hug and gently rubbed her shoulder.

    "I'm sure she's fine. Her phone probably died or something."

    "If she's not here in the next twenty minutes, and none of us can reach her, I say we look for her," Timothy stated, and the others agreed. All of them pulled out their phones and tried to call or text their missing friend.

    "Anything?" Bree asked. Zach shook his head.

"I got nothing. She better have a good explanation, cause there's no way I'm walking home."

    "Wait, I thought you had your license," Felix commented, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

    "That doesn't mean I have a car yet, dude."

Felix made an "oh" sound and chuckled nervously, his eyes flickering up the to TV on the opposite wall. It looked like the news was on, which was an unusual choice for the cafe, but he didn't really care. What did snag his interest was the car in the background of the feed.

   "Hey, doesn't your sister drive a convertible like that?" he asked and pointed to the screen.

   Zach's head snapped up, and his eyes locked on the teal blue convertible. At first, he thought it was just a coincidence, until he saw Faith's iconic pink palm tree sticker on the trunk and the scratched up bumper.