Falling For Seconds

Chapter Seven

Levi hadn't been around for weeks, but there was a new guy who came in and hardly missed a day. Other coffee shops had regulars -customers who would come in and order the same thing day in and day out- but this little shop didn't. In fact, it barely had people coming in to order anything.  Levi had been the only regular since I had started working a month ago. Then came the new guy.
  The man was chilling and I hated when I heard the door chime and saw him walking towards me. Julia was out with some kind of illness, leaving me to work the café until she was feeling better. I wanted to tell Dale that I didn't feel comfortable behind the register and make him take it over, but he'd been so busy, I hardly saw him outside of the back room.
"Hot chocolate," the stranger spoke.
  I nodded acknowledging his request and turned to make the drink. Every time he came in, the hair would rise on my neck and my hands would begin to shake. It wouldn't have been so bad if Levi was here to watch out for me, but he wasn't, and hadn't been since he and Greyson had made acquaintances.
  "68 cents," I said handing him his change. He winked at me before grabbing his cup and heading back to the front door. It was almost like clockwork, he would walk in, order a hot chocolate, wink at me then leave.
  "Oh," his raspy voice began. "I forgot to ask. What time does this place close?" He asked turning back on his heels to face me.
  "Ten," I answered a little hesitantly.
  "Thanks."
  The stranger gave me the same wicked smile from when I first met him before returning to his route and headed for the door. After he had made it outside, I checked the time on my register. I had forty minutes left in my shift.
  Lately, my body had felt more tired than usual. There were new light grey circles growing darker under my eyes and my body was weaker. I hardly had the energy to focus in my classes, let alone complete the homework.
  Dale, I prayed, hadn't noticed. How could he have? He's been in the back room every minute of every day, I reminded myself. I tried to convince myself that Julia had somehow given me her illness, but my subconscious screamed at me about a different problem. A more suffocating problem. 
  It was the problem I was begging would disappear if I ignored it long enough. Both my hands rested on the counter, my eyelids growing heavier by the second. Grant was standing at the opposite register, full of energy as he beat a pen against a plastic bookmark container. If only I could transfer his energy and mine, even if it was only for a few minutes.
 
•••

  I came out from the back room, pulling my jacket around my waist as I prepared to meet the cold night. Dale smiled at me from the bookstore's register, which sat across the room from the cafe. I waved and smiled back at him. He seemed as exhausted as I. His body looked as fragile as ever.
  I glanced around the outside world, watching a few cars roll past on the street before I turned right and started for home. The chill in the air woke me up a little. Possibly enough to get me through my journey to my apartment.
  As soon as I walked through the door, I would pull myself from my clothes and fall into bed. That was, if I hadn't passed out on the floor while taking off my shoes.
  A firm hand wrapped around my face covering my mouth while another had a secure grip around my waist and arms. My feet scratched the concrete as I was drug to an alley. I was going to die.
  The stranger shoved me against a brick wall, his hands never leaving my body. My eyes wide, my blood icing over. What was happening?
  "Listen carefully," started the dark shadow before me. His voice deep and barely above a whisper. "I am going to remove my hand from your face and if you scream I will kill you, got it?"
  My eyes began to water with terror, but I nodded slowly. Then his hand slowly moved from my lips. His right arm disappeared behind his torso before he brought a black, shining object between us.
  Paralyzed, my mind scrambled to figure some way to hurt the man in front of me and make my escape. "You're Levi's friend, huh?" Even with the hood over his face, he was clearly looking me up and down.
  The dark object in his hand passed through a streak of light and I whimpered with recognition. "Shh, I told you not to make a scene."
  The barrel of the gun was thrust against my abdomen. "Please, I don't know anything." My voice came in desperate gasps.
  "I don't think he even considers us friends." I corrected. "He only-"
  He pushed the gun's barrel to my chest. Tears that I couldn't stop raced down my cheeks. My heart pounded wildly as I prayed he wouldn't pull the trigger.
  "Levi's friend, girlfriend, side chick... He still cares about you, right?" He sneered through gritted teeth. I nodded, biting down on my lower lips to stop myself from screaming. Maybe if I did scream he'd just run away.
  This city was so large, there had to be a good samaritan somewhere close by. I begged god to give me a superpower. If I could just talk to someone telepathically. They could find me. They could save me.
  "So it would really bother him if I killed you?" Was that a rhetorical question?
  "Please, I don't want any trouble. I'll give you money or whatever, just please don't kill me." I begged.
  The stranger moved the gun from my chest to my head. "If you don't want to die then answer my damn questions."
  "Yes," I sobbed. "It would bother him." Would it?
  The stranger finally flipped his hood from his head and it was then when I recognized who held me hostage. I'd set myself up for this abduction by giving my service to this guy.
  He was the same man I'd served earlier, the same man who had entered the store for the last two weeks.  He'd known he was going to attack me tonight. I had given him all the information he needed, too. What an idiot!
  "Congratulations, you just became my best piece of leverage."
  Was this gang related? It had to be, he knew Levi. My body was shaking. The sleepiness had converted to adrenaline, but I didn't dare move.
  "So here's the deal. You and I are going to play a little game." He paused and pulled the gun from my head. My heart settled as the black weapon moved farther away from me, though I still had tears on my cheeks and a lump of fear in my throat.
  "I will tell you two things and you have to guess which one I lied about."
  The game seemed simple enough. I willed my brain to calm down so I could think clearly. My stomach dropped slightly; I didn't know a damn thing about my attacker.
  "Here's the catch..." the man waved the gun around in the air like it was a toy. "Every answer you get wrong will give me the opportunity to beat the shit out of you. I'll give you three chances and if you strike out, Levi's gonna have a dead bitch on his front porch."
  He was more than evil, he was demonic. His eyes glistened in the small amount of light floating down the alley. They were hard to read and misted over. Was he enjoying this?
  "What if I only get one or two wrong?" I asked softly. "Get any wrong and I'll beat the shit out of you, but you'll live."