Shift

The Guys

"Would one of you gentlemen get this young lady a beer?" said Nat. He pulled out a chair at the head of the table. He leaned close to Scarlet and whispered, "You can have the king's seat, tonight." He winked.

"Thanks," Scarlet said. She raised her eyebrows at Adrian and mouthed, I'm the King. 

He rolled his eyes.

"This is Lucas," Nat said. "He's the youngest of the bunch." Nat tousled Lucas' long, dirty blonde hair as he took the cold beer bottle from his hand and set it in front of Scarlet. "He's just nineteen years old, but there's a lifetime of useless facts buried in his beautiful brain." Nat threw his arm over Lucas' narrow shoulders and pulled him into a tight sideways hug. Scarlet thought the two of them could be brothers.

"I'm Scarlet," she said, introducing herself.

"Welcome to the boys' club," Lucas replied. The west coast drawl of his voice was unmistakable. His teeth dazzled in a smile that seemed to be perpetual.

Adrian introduced the others as they seated themselves at the table. Cameron was shorter than the rest of them, with an olive complexion and dark eyes. Ben had dark brown skin, and the brightest brown eyes Scarlet had ever seen.

"So," Ben asked, "what brings you to Annex, Scarlet?"

"I grew up here," she said. It seemed like a better alternative to the truth. Sparking a conversation with a tragic story didn't feel right. "Just thought I'd get back to my roots."

"I see," said Ben.

"Adrian mentioned you were in the hospital," said Lucas. "What happened?"

"Lucas," Adrian hissed.

"It's okay," said Scarlet. "I was hoping you'd already told them so I wouldn't have to." She chuckled to herself.

"We don't want you to feel uncomfortable," said Nat. "It's your choice whether or not to talk about it. Just know that you can, if you want to." He laid a hand on top of hers momentarily.

"Thanks," she said.

For the rest of the meal, the conversation remained light but tense. Scarlet listened to them all talk and watched their faces as she ate. None of them, she noticed, would make direct eye contact with Nat. Scarlet wasn't sure if she was overthinking it, or if this behavior actually meant something.

After dinner, Scarlet stood outside and watched the sun set across the river. Just as the warm, glowing orb dipped below the horizon, Adrian stepped out to join her.

"Missed it," she said.

"Ah," he replied, "I've seen plenty of Annex sunsets from this porch." He sat next to her on the railing.

"Adrian." She tried to shake the trembling uncertainty from her voice. "What if there's something wrong with me? I mean, something really wrong?"

"You're fine," he said.

"No," Scarlet insisted, "I'm not. People don't heal overnight like that. People don't survive what I went through. My friends didn't survive. Why did I? How am I here, standing, living, breathing, without so much as a scratch?"

"It's a miracle," Adrian said.

"I'm not buying it. I feel different, somehow. I feel strange."

"Cheating death will do that, I suppose."

"It's more than that." Scarlet inhaled, steadying her breath, trying to keep from crying any more than she already had. "I'm noticing things that I never would have seen before. I feel like a completely different person, Adrian. I don't know how to explain it without sounding crazy, but something feels different about me."