Saphora vol.1 Retention, Page 9

  Chapter 4

  The café only had a hand full of people. The calm, peach walls and mocha brown tiles helped to sooth Saphora’s mind as she entered the corner café. The somewhat dim lights helped to ease the pounding in her temple. It was nearly the afternoon when she reached the café. She had escaped the house, with Fran yelling from the window. But by the time she had reached the window to see where Saphora had gone, she was already down the street and around the corner, running to get to town as quick as she could. All she wanted to do was think things through. She needed to get her head back on straight.

  People stared at her as she walked into the quiet café. She looked a bit of a mess, after all. Her hair, already drawing attention to its mint colour, was tossed about, free to fly in her face despite her efforts to keep it tame. She was in nothing but a teal shirt-like night gown that came just above the knees. There was a single, relatively small pocket on the left side of her chest, where she kept her cellphone. That was all she wore. That, and a pair of black high-top converse. It was the first time she had gone out with so little clothing. But she had to get out of that house. She couldn’t stand to talk to Fran right now. Literally. And she couldn’t go to the abandoned house either, regardless of how much she wanted to. That would be the first place Fran went looking for her. Because that’s where she always went under large amounts of stress or pressure. She wanted to go there; it calmed her. Of all places. Being at the house where the nightmare began, gave her the most serenity. She didn’t know why, nor did she question it. But for the time being, she couldn’t go to any place Fran knew she visited. That meant no house, no zoo, and no woods.

  Saphora averted the digging eyes of the few people that were in the café, and made her way to a booth in the far corner of the room. There was a faint mumbling going about the room, and a couple of people even went so far as to get up and leave. Saphora didn’t care though. Why would she? With so many other things to think about.

  A few moments after people had made the decision to stay or go, a woman walked over to the booth and placed a menu down in front of Saphora. She looked up, having been lost in her thoughts, at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman that approached her. She held the clipboard she carried close to her chest, as if to protect herself from the oddly dressed woman before her.

  “Hi …” the woman said, her voice hinting at what sounded like a country twang. “Can I get you anything? Some water. Coffee … Tylenol?” she said, looking at Saphora as a whole. And taking in the nature of her appearance. Saphora shook her head, giving a faint smile to be polite.

  “Not right now, thank you.”

  She nodded, her curls swinging against the sides of her face.

  “Alright. Well … Your waiter will be over in a minute. Let us know if you need anything,” she said, tucking her hair behind her right ear, revealing the gleam of a diamond stud earring, before briskly walking away.

  Saphora had only been left alone for about ten minutes before a young man made his way over to her. He had a look of eagerness on his face that caught her off guard when she lifted her head to look at him. His face was that of a man. But a man with childish qualities, presented in the carefree grin he displayed to her. The grin caused his cheeks to rise, and pushed against his light brown eyes.

  “Hello,” he greeted, bending over slightly to be at more of an eyelevel with her. But she was taken aback by the bluntness of his greeting, and sat back against the back of the booth. She didn’t say anything, as she stared. Here she was looking as she did, and she was looking at this man like he was the one out of place. “Can I get you something?” Saphora shook her head, averting her eyes.

  “No, I’m fine. Thank you,” she answered, giving the same grin.

  “Need a little more time, then?” he asked, folding his hands in front of him against his stance. She looked up at him once again. At the carefree smile. She felt rude for some reason, sending him away so dismissively. Hesitantly, she nodded, looking down and away from his face again.

  “Uh, yeah … Yeah, thanks.”

  He nodded, his eyes never leaving her face, before he too walked away. Leaving Saphora to dive back into her thoughts. She went to work at trying to remember everything clearly once again, knowing that a clear memory would be vital in defending herself. She couldn’t leave anything to uncertainty if she was to present a valid defense. She forced her mind to reach back, gripping at any fragments that were related to yesterday’s events. And it started with the encounter with Tebias – under the fallen tree. She remembered the tree moving. And for a brief moment, she remembered how it moved. She had moved it, somehow. She didn’t know how. Or maybe she did. She had some very vague idea that there was something she had been doing, or thinking that had gotten it to move. But she was having trouble pin pointing what they may have been.

  That subject was the basis of her thought for the next several hours. She had sat in that booth, raking her brain for the answer to her question with no luck. It was nearly four in the afternoon when the waiter walked over for the second time. She had been sitting there for nearly five hours since she had come in. And quite frankly, people, mainly the staff, were beginning to express their concern. Maverick, the man who was assigned to wait the booth, insisted that he would take care of the problem if there proved to be one. He approached slowly. Cautiously, as advised by his supervisor. They thought that maybe she was drunk. Or maybe on drugs, which wasn’t technically false. She was recovering from sedatives, but that, if anything, made her calmer than the average junkie. But the staff knew nothing of what had been going on with her, so they had to take precautions. Maverick, however slowly he may have been moving, did not seem at all put off by her appearance, as her behavior was nothing but polite.

  “Hi again,” he greeted, standing beside the table of the booth. Saphora, who had been staring at her phone, jumped in her seat, and looked up at the somewhat familiar face. Being startled annoyed her, and her expression twisted into that of frustration. Maverick responded quickly.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  She knew he didn’t, and she dismissed it with a shake of her head, and the momentary closing of her eyes.

  “Right. Well … You’ve been sitting here for quite a while now, and-“

  “Do you want me to leave?” she asked, cutting him off as she placed her hands on the table, gesturing that she was about to get up. But Maverick’s hands shot out to distract her, waving a little frantically at her sudden motions.

  “No, no. You don’t have to leave. We were just wondering if you were all right …” he explained, relieved to see her body relaxing and her hands returning to her lap. Saphora shook her head.

  “No you’re not.”

  Maverick’s brows scrunched.

  “What?”

  “You’re wondering if I’m crazy, because I look crazy. You couldn’t give a damn if I was “all right” or not. You all just want to know if you should be prepared to call the police,” she said. Her lips in a hard line.

  Maverick stood stunned, brows raised in response to what seemed like a sudden attack. Almost immediately after Saphora had seen the look on her face, she felt horrible. She was beginning to take her frustrations out on her surroundings. That included the people. Her stress and frustration was pent up, and she could do the things she normally did to get rid of it. So she was a little bit on edge, not knowing what to do. And doing the only thing she could do – be angry. Guilt could be read on her face as she sighed, looking away from the man.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. I’m just … I’m sorry,” she said, sheepishly looking back up at him. She didn’t know what to expect as a reaction. The sudden change in emotions probably only verified that she wasn’t mentally well. He was silent as he stared at her. It was a lingering silence that made Saphora’s nerves stand on edge. And then he walked away. Leaving Saphora to watch him in fearful suspense. What if they really did call the police? They were already looking f
or her. What if they thought she was running from the crime? It would only make her look guiltier. And the fact that she wanted to run away now didn’t make things any better. Her heart rate started to pick up and she thought about calling out to the man to apologize again. But she knew how it would turn out. He would be alarmed as she pleaded to him, making her look even more unstable. They would think that she was trying to hurt him. Or that maybe she was a crazy ex-girlfriend of his. She didn’t want to make herself look like she was in need of assistance.

  She looked back at her phone. Should she call Fran to come get her before things turned hectic? No. She still didn’t want to talk to Fran. Maybe she should just leave the café. But where would she go? The woods? Tebias may have still been there. The house? She was almost certain that Fran would be looking there repeatedly to see if she was hiding out there. Maybe she could find somewhere else to hide. There were plenty of stores along this road, and the streets surrounding it. She could find somewhere else to sit until she felt well enough to journey home – or at least talk to Fran on the phone.

  But just as she was standing up, she was surprised – startled really, to hear the man’s voice again.

  “Are you leaving?” he asked, sounding a bit closer than he should have been. Saphora turned on her heel, and backed into the booth’s table due the small distance between them. One hand gripped the edge of the table, while the other squeezed her cell phone, holding it against her chest instinctively. Maverick noticed her reaction and frowned, taking a slight step back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you again,” he said, shaking his head. Saphora looked down as he stepped back, and noticed that he was carrying two glasses of water, most likely carrying them to a table he was waiting.

  “Yeah, I mean - I just thought I should.”

  “Why?” he asked, somewhat bluntly. Saphora hesitated to answer. Mostly because she wasn’t expecting to be questioned for leaving. She had thought that just about everyone that had noticed her there, wanted her to leave. But here she was being asked to explain just that. Her mouth fell agape, as she struggled with how to say that explanation in a polite way. Instead, she leaned on their last conversation as a crutch.

  “I just, uh … After talking to you like that. I thought, maybe-“

  “I didn’t mind it,” he interrupted, shrugging his shoulders. A bit dumbfounded, all Saphora could think to say in response was,

  “What?”

  Maverick chucked, moving past her to set the glasses of water down on the table of the booth. She watched as he did, wondering why he was. Maybe they were too cold for his hands for the amount of time he was holding them. They had ice in them, after all. She nodded to herself at the logic. But when he sat down at the booth, across from where she had been sitting, she was lost once again. Her brows scrunched, and she looked around the café, to see if she was the only one who was confused. A couple of people at tables around the room were looking at them. But more at Maverick, observing what he was doing. Some looked fearful, as if they were worried about what Saphora would do to him. The staff looked like children peeking behind the counter, spying on their parents, or eavesdropping on someone’s conversation.

  “Are you going to sit down?” he asked, the voice piercing through her thoughts. She turned back around to look at him, and then back down at the glasses that were beginning to drip their condensation down onto the table. Her eyes slowly made their way to his.

  “What?” she asked again, not really sure where her mind was. His actions had thrown her off. She thought that he had felt threatened, but here he was, sitting down at her booth.

  “Stay? I just asked my manager if I could take my break.”

  “Okay …?” she murmured, her brain slowly working up to a reasonable function. Maverick stared at her, reading her confusion and lowering his head as he chuckled. With a shrug, and a fold of his hands on top of the table, their gazes met again.

  “I thought maybe I’d use it to talk to you. You look like you need to someone to talk to.”

  Saphora sighed, her shoulders slumping as she realized what was happening – pity. She looked away from him and raised her hand to place on her forehead as her head shook. Maverick watched her in anticipation. The faint smile that he held turning into a subtle frown at her reaction.

  “Okay. I see. Look, that’s nice of you. Really. But I don’t want pity, alright? I’m not – I don’t need someone to talk to. I don’t – There’s no one to talk to about this. Okay?”

  Maverick tilted his head, his expression calm yet stern.

  “Well. I’m sitting here,” he said, with a motion of his shoulders. The way he did it, and the upturn in his voice suggested that he may have been offended.

  But Saphora laughed at the offer. Of talking to him. This guy. He obviously wanted something from Saphora. Something that she was not willing to give. And she wasn’t about to lead him on to think that the option was even remotely possible. She shook her head, and raised her hand but Maverick interjected again.

  “Okay, look. You don’t have to talk about whatever it is. I saw that you were doing plenty of thinking about it as it is. So just-“

  “Saw – what? You were watching me?” she asked, lowering her hand. Maverick fumbled over his next words.

  “Well no, I mean … I was – am waiting your table so I had to keep an eye out in case you wanted something. I just, you seemed to be thinking really hard about something. I just guessed it was whatever’s bothering you.” Saphora nodded slowly.

  “Right …”

  “Please? Will you just pity me and sit down? We can talk about something else. Anything else.”

  Saphora sighed, looking up and away from him in a mixture of frustration and guilt. She wanted to leave. But to where, she didn’t know. She had nowhere else to hide that she was comfortable with. She just wanted to think without being pestered. But then again, she could use some kind of venting after what she had experienced. And since she didn’t have anything else to help her calm her mind, she actually started to consider sitting down with the stranger who offered to talk to her. He watched her in anticipation, wanting for the response he desired. To have her sit with him. And after some time of awkward silence and considerate thoughts, Saphora huffed a soft groan and sat back down. Maverick smiled, letting her sit down. He refolded his hands on the table and looked over at her. And if possible, things got even more awkward. Saphora sat very still, her hands in her lap and her eyes on the glass of water in front of her. Almost five minutes went by before either of them said anything else. It was Maverick who finally broke the ice.

  “So, I have a question.”

  Saphora looked up at him, giving an expression that gave him the signal that he could continue. He leaned back against the booth, crossing his arms against his black, short sleeve shirt.

  “You … Your hair. And your eyes. Well, has anyone every told you that you look like an anime character?”

  Saphora’s expression flattened at the question, and she made eye contact with him for the first time in the five minutes. And as soon as she did, Maverick realized the mistake in his choice of words. His mouth fell open to try to correct what he had said, but her mind had changed. Maybe she couldn’t talk to this guy. Not if he was going to point out every odd thing about her. She moved to stand up from the booth. She wasn’t about to be analyzed by strangers. She already had to figure out things about herself that she didn’t understand. She didn’t have time to explain trivial things to some guy. Maverick stood up with her, a frown on his face.

  “Wait, wait-“ he started, reaching a hand out.

  It was a harmless gesture, but one that still made Saphora take a step back. She put her hand out low, gesturing for him to stop, which he did. She sighed shaking her head.

  “I’m sorry. I just … really want to be alone right now. Okay?” she said, turning to walk away. But Maverick spoke up in a surge of frustration and desperation.

  “So why come to a café? With people?” he argu
ed, stepping somewhat in front of her. “If you wanted to be alone.” Saphora’s eyes narrowed, as she turned slowly to look at the man who had suddenly become an enemy in her eyes. To have the nerve to question her current situation, rebuilt the one row of her wall she had allowed to come down.

  “Excuse me?”

  Maverick immediately regretted what he said, and sought for a way to correct it. He didn’t mean to offend her, he just didn’t want her to leave without having his chance. At what, he didn’t know. He shook his head, trying to settle his frustration, not thinking that hers would continue to escalate. But it did. She retook the step she had retreated, making him straighten up and suddenly remember his fear of a woman’s wrath.

  “I don’t have to tell you anything, okay – just because you come over here and – and bring me water …” she said, her throat constricting with the building rage. “I … You …” she strained, raising her balled hand and pointed index finger. Maverick looked down at the finger with raised brows. The atmosphere in the café changed considerably. Conversations had stopped, people had grown quiet, and the machinery purred to stop, as if to listen. It made Saphora stop her oncoming rage, and reconsider what she was about to do. She glanced around the room, seeing that she was now being watched, and lowered her hand. She didn’t want to cause a commotion, no matter the emotions she wanted to release. She looked back at Maverick with an expression that made him grimace. And without another word, she shook her head, turned on her heel, and walked away – straight out of the café.

  Maverick, not able to do much else, watched as she walked out of the café. His shoulders slumped and the hope of getting her to stay left him. He sighed, looked back at the two full glasses of water on the table and shook his head. Not even a name, he thought, as he heard the chuckle from one of his coworkers.

  “Nice going,” he chuckled with a shake of his head as he went back to operating one of the coffee machines. Maverick glared in his direction, picking up the two glasses and making his way behind the front counter with him. “This all part of your elaborate plan to get in her pants? Because if you ask me, I think you could afford to skip part one and two. Maybe even-“

  “Shut it, Jared,” Maverick spat to his friend as he dumped the water in a nearby sink and sighed, turning around to lean on it once he had set the two glasses on the counter. Jared laughed and shrugged.

  “Whatever you say. I would have at least gotten her name or something,” he said, finishing his maintenance with the machine and turning around to speak to Maverick. Maverick crossed his arms defensively.

  “Well it’s not like she gave me much of a chance, man. She obviously wasn’t in a good mood.”

  “And yet you still went over to talk to her. You must have it bad,” Jared chuckled, giving another shake of his head. Maverick rolled his eyes.

  “I do not.”

  “Yeah,” A woman’s voice said from the hole in the wall above the sink that gave view into the kitchen on the other side. Both Jared and Maverick turned their attention to the blue-eyed beauty that had chimed in. Saphora’s previous waitress. “Maverick was just making sure she wasn’t crazy,” she said, looking up at him from beneath her blonde lashes. Maverick felt his body tense from her gaze. “Right?” she questioned. But Maverick shook his head, causing her to frown.

  “She’s not crazy. I just-“

  “She sure looked crazy to me,” Jared argued. “I mean, who walks around in a night gown and converse? And did you see her eyes? They’re red! And not even like, bloodshot red. They’re just plain red. That ain’t normal,” he went on, crossing his own arms. The blonde nodded in agreement. Maverick shook his head, looking back and forth from the two in slight annoyance. Maybe it was because he had chosen to go out of his way to talk to this girl that he found attractive, and they were putting her down. Or maybe he thought they were questioning him. Wondering why he would even attempt to talk to such a person. Whatever it was, it was getting to him. And he leapt to defend her.

  “You’ve obviously never been to a comic con. There are plenty of people that buy contacts. Ever thought that she might be into cosplay?”

  “Well she could certainly pull it off. I mean, she looks enough like an anime character.”

  “But why would she be walking around like that? It’s not like its Halloween,” the girl said. Maverick turned to look at her.

  “Yeah, well. Why do you wear a fox hat all the time? It’s not like you’re a fox, Liz,” he said. Liz moved her head back, caught off guard by the sudden attack. She looked at Jared, who shrugged with raised eyebrows, and then back at Maverick.

  “Christ, Maverick. Why are you defending her? You don’t think she looked crazy at all?” she said, getting a bit loud in her frustration.

  “I don’t know. Everyone has their off days.”

  “Yeah, Liz.” Jared joined. “Have you ever woken up next to yourself? It’s not a pretty sight,” the boys chuckled and Liz scoffed in offense. She threw the rag down that she had been holding into the sink and spun around to go back to work in the kitchen.