Canine Cyborg Boyfriend

Chapter Six

Karen stormed into the flower shop from the front entrance. Ben didn't hear the door ring because he was in the back unpacking loads of that day's shipment. She stood in the doorway, looking at him. Her cheeks were rosy.

"I gave you a job!" She spat. "I have tried to befriend you. And, I treat you well. I thought... I thought maybe we had something between us. I thought you liked me." She was enraged, possessive, and her eyes stared daggers at him.

Ben stood up from sorting one of the open crates. He stared wide-eyed at her. He was completely blindsided. He walked over to her, trying to calm her down by talking in a soothing voice. He was used to her fits by now. Those temporary spells of rage that would eventually wash away if he was simpering enough; If he gave her good enough puppy eyes or if he cowered close enough to the ground.

"I've done everything for you. You came in off the street no references, nothing. And... What do I get in return?" She shrieked at him. "You're dating some bitch from a tattoo shop?"

He took a quick step toward her, suddenly towering over her. His jaw clenched. Darkness fell over his eyes.

"What did you say about Cindy?" He growled at her.

"I... I..." Her anger was changing to fear, realizing he was much larger than she was. But, she doubled down. "Why would you pick some stupid tattoo shop girl over me? Me!?"

He took one more ominous step forward and glared down at her. He had always skirted around Karen, trying to appease her and get her to love him. But, she never cared for him unless customers were around to see. And suddenly he realized that he had no love for Karen in his heart. He thought he did, she was his master after all. But, she was no longer anything to him.

"Where's your dog?" His voice was gruff.

"Wh-what? My dog?" She blinked at him, leaning back.

"It's been a week since your dog went missing. Why aren't you looking for him?" He peered down at her.

"I... well, I... what does a dumb dog have to do with anything?"

"You want to know why I don't like you, Karen?" His voice was just a whisper, but there was power behind it. "You are selfish and cold. Everyone has to walk on eggshells around you because you fly off the handle. You are cruel to the core." He paused. "And that's why you're alone."

"What are you going to do? Hit me?" She spat at him.

"No, I'm not you," he sneered, shaking his head.

"Fuck you, Ben." She turned on her heel and ran to her back office, slamming the door. "I'll fucking show you how cruel I can be!"

Ben didn't stick around to see what she had in store. He bolted out the back door. 

Fuck you too, Karen.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Karen was marching up the sidewalk with a crumpled paper in her hand. She burst into the tattoo parlor, which was packed with people this late at night. She pushed through the line at the desk and glared at Dali.

"You can't--"

"Is there a Cindy that works here?" She slammed the paper on the counter. It was a print-out of a poorly drawn poop emoji tattoo. "She tattooed this on my fifteen year old son," she lied.

Dali was horrified. Karen's voice was so loud the customers had grown quiet, some had even started filming on their cameras.

"I demand to speak to her manager! This is appalling!" She poked her finger at the print-out. "Not only is it terrible, it's also illegal! And now it's infected! No doubt from this filthy tattoo shop! Who knows what sort of awful diseases you can pick up here!"

Poor Dali looked like she was about to start crying.

"I... I'll go get her, ma'am. I'm so sorry!" Her bottom lip quivered. She rushed back behind the curtain. There were a few moments of shuffling and angry whispers.

Cindy returned with Dali following close behind. They went behind the counter where Cindy confronted Karen. Dali grabbed her iPad and was furiously typing something.

"I'm Cindy, can I help you?"

"I want to speak to your manager!" Karen shouted, just as enraged. "You're about to be fired for the hack job you did! This place might even get shut down!"

"I'm the owner of this shop. Can you please explain to me what's going on?" Her tone was cool, but her eyes were vipers. Karen sputtered.

"You own this shop?"

"She said you tattooed her fifteen year old. She has a picture." A guy with piercings in his face pointed out. He was filming on his phone.

Cindy's eyes narrowed as she plucked the picture from Karen's grasp.

"You think one of my artists did this?" Cindy laughed. "Perhaps your son is mistaken about what tattoo shop he got this at. But, this is not the work of any of my artists. I've personally trained them. And this is the highest ranked tattoo shop in the state on Yelp and Google Reviews."

Dali shoved the iPad into Cindy's hands. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, and turning the iPad to face Karen and the customers who were clustering around. 

On the screen was the same tattoo as on Karen's print out. Clearly she had found it by Googling 'epic tattoo fails'.

"I think you wanted to start shit with me for some reason. So, you Googled some shitty tattoo and came in here trying to make a scene."

Realizing what had transpired, the customers started to boo Karen. She didn't have a leg to stand on and she reeled.

"Back off! I will call the police!" She shouted.

"Why don't you go back to whatever hole crawled out of." Cindy dumped the iPad back into Dali's hands as Karen fled the store, trying to escape a torrent of boos and hisses.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Hot tears streamed down her face as she retreated back to Budding Romance. She locked the door, tripping over a vat of chrysanthemums, and ugly crying on the floor. The humiliation from the tattoo shop was fresh in her mind. She stood up, tearing through the flower aisle and ripping handfuls of petals from anything she could get a grasp on.

A glimpse of her reflection in the mirrored backsplash behind the counter made her freeze. She looked like a monster. Mascara smeared across her cheeks. Her hair was a complete mess. And her facial expression was pure revulsion. Ben's words echoed in her mind. What a cruel, loathsome woman she must be. Someone who truly belonged alone. And, she knew the reason why they stung so sharply was because truth rang in those words.

Her heart felt like a cage. She had tried to control and manipulate herself into every major relationship she had. And, those relationships always crumbled when her grasp slipped. When the veil was pulled back and they could see her for who she really was.

She snarled. Well, if she was a monster, she'd show them all what a monster truly was. Her heart pounded with rage and desire for revenge.

And in that mirror reflection a bright star that fell in the night's sky behind her.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───