The Monster Within

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE rest of the school day was a blur. I went through the motions of attending class. Kids whispered thoughts about where Trevor could be. There was even a rumor that he ran off with Mrs. Wentworth, the school nurse, who happened to be absent both yesterday and today. I hadn’t met her yet, but I heard she was fifty. If I wasn’t dying inside knowing the truth, I would’ve found that one funny.

The end of the day couldn’t come soon enough, and when the dismissal bell rang, I bolted out of history and ran to my locker. I still hadn’t told Ethan about the note I found earlier, and I wasn’t planning on telling him. I put my books in my locker and slammed it shut. I turned around, and Ethan was standing inches from my face.

“Whoa!” I jumped. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He kissed me before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and walking me out of the building to his car. “Was today any better?”

“A little. Getting out of French and into your art class was a definite plus.”

“Yeah, and you seemed to be settling in with the guys at lunch. Beth really likes you. She told me in Spanish.”

“That’s nice.” I tried to keep the worry out of my voice, but Beth was a threat to me. She knew too much about what went on at this school. I’d have to be extra careful around her.

We drove to the diner, and first thing, Jackson asked Ethan to work in the kitchen again. Ethan was delighted to get away from busing tables, and he was becoming quite the chef. Okay, not really. I mean, flipping burgers and making club sandwiches wasn’t exactly a science, but it was good to see him happy. One of us needed to be.

I put my purse behind the counter and tied my apron around my waist.

“How was school?” Gloria asked, slipping me a piece of peach pie.

“Fine. What’s this for?”

“I made it this morning. Thought you might like some since there’s a lull in the crowd right now. I remember what those school lunches were like back in my day. I have a feeling they probably haven’t gotten much better.” Her face scrunched up in disgust.

“Um, actually, Ethan made me a sandwich last night. I hope that’s okay. I didn’t even think, but I should’ve paid for it. I’ll pay for it now.” I reached for my purse.

“You’ll do no such thing.” Gloria took my purse and put it back behind the counter. “I insist you pack your lunch from here every day. You got that? I’m not going to have you get sick eating the mush they pass off as food in that place. I need you here to help me. If that costs me lunch five days a week, then so be it. You can make up for it by taking a few of my tables.”

I smiled. Having Gloria around was like working for my grandmother. She kept me well fed in exchange for doing work around the house—or, in this case, the diner. In a way she made it a little easier to be away from my family.

“You’re the best, Gloria.”

“I know. It’s a curse.” She playfully waved a dishcloth at me. “Now eat. I’m expecting the after-school crowd in about fifteen minutes.”

I ate my pie and brewed a fresh pot of coffee. No sooner had I wiped the counter when a crowd of kids came in.

They sat in a big booth in the back corner, and they were loud. I recognized a few faces, but luckily I didn’t see Shannon. I took a deep breath, grabbed a handful of menus, and walked over to their table.

“Hi, can I start you off with some drinks while you look over the menu?”

“Yeah, I’ll have a root beer,” the big guy in the varsity football jacket said.

The girl next to him smacked his arm. “Don’t you dare order yet. Shannon’s not here. She’ll kill you if you get your drink before she does.”

I rolled my eyes. Why did people hang out with Shannon if she was such a royal bitch?

“I’ll come back.” I turned and started walking away.

“No you won’t.”

I stopped and sighed. Shannon was here.

“I want a diet birch beer, and don’t water it down with a bunch of ice. I only want six cubes. I said cubes, not crushed ice. Got it?”

I turned around to face her. “Sorry, we don’t have diet birch beer. We have regular birch beer or diet cola. Take your pick. And as for the ice, it comes out of a machine. You get what you get.”

She glared at me, and the vein in her forehead twitched. “I want to speak to your manager.”

“Sure.” I smiled and walked back to the counter, leaving Shannon standing there with her arms crossed.

“What are you smiling about?” Gloria asked. “That girl looks like she just gave you a mouthful.”

“Oh, she did. She’s a fun one, and she asked to speak with you. She wants to know why there’s no diet birch beer and why I can’t give her exactly six cubes of ice in her drink. I’m sure she’ll have some choice words about my attitude, too.”

“Snotty little high-school brat,” Gloria mumbled before pasting a fake smile on her face and walking over to Shannon.

I pretended not to watch as I refilled coffee for a couple near the door, but it was hard not to stare. Gloria started off nice—for about a whole two seconds, because that was all Shannon gave her before she went off on a tirade about rude employees and not meeting the customer’s needs.

Gloria let her rant for a minute before she put her hand up. “You can stop right there.”

Shannon stepped back in shock. “Excuse me?”

“That’s enough. I’m not going to have you come into my establishment, making impossible demands, and insulting my best waitress—”

“If she’s your best waitress, then this place has more problems than I thought.”

“I’m not finished, so you shut your mouth, or I’ll throw your sizezero behind right out that door. I have the right to refuse service to anyone, and right now, I’m refusing to serve you.”

My smile was so wide I could’ve fit an entire slice of peach pie in my mouth. Ethan was peeking through the window on the kitchen door. The kids with Shannon stared in horror, waiting for Shannon’s comeback.

“How dare you, you old hag!” Shannon was bright red, and she stepped toward Gloria.

Without thinking, I stormed over to her, grabbed her arm, and yanked her back. “Don’t talk to Gloria that way. She told you to leave, so leave before I call the cops.”

Shannon laughed in my face. “What, you think you’re going to make me leave? I’ll have you on the ground crying before you lay another finger on me. You have no idea who you’re messing with.”

Something inside me burst. Maybe it was pent-up anger, maybe it was petty girl-fight instincts, but I lost it. I wasn’t about to throw down with Shannon and mess up the diner, so I hit her where it hurt most.

“I guess when the guy you like dumps you and the entire school finds out about it, the way you get over the humiliation is picking on someone who’s old enough to be your mother.” Really it was more like grandmother, but I didn’t want to insult Gloria. It was Shannon I was trying to hurt.

“You bitch!” Shannon lunged for me, but Ethan was already out of the kitchen and pinning her arms behind her.

“That’s it. You’re out of here.” He pushed her out the door and let it slam behind her. She turned around to face him, but he yelled through the glass. “Take one step toward this place, and I’ll have the cops here before you can take a swing.” He held up his cell to show he was serious.

Shannon screamed and stormed over to the window where her friends were sitting. She smacked the glass with her open palm to get their attention. “Let’s go!”

“We haven’t eaten yet,” the big football player complained.

“Come on,” the girl next to him said, obviously not happy about having to leave either.

They filed out, giving Ethan and me dirty looks in the process. Yup, I was officially going to have a crappy school year.

“Sorry,” I said to Gloria. Now that it was over, what I’d said to Shannon registered. I couldn’t believe I’d brought up Trevor. I really was a monster.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. That one there is a bad seed. There’s nothing else to be said about it.” Gloria turned to the customers who’d witnessed the outburst. “Free peach pie all around.”

Smiles and nods let me know all was forgotten. Ethan kissed my forehead and headed back to the kitchen while I sliced up the pie. When everyone had a piece, I wiped down the booth where the kids had been, trying to erase all memory of them and Shannon.

The bell above the door jingled, and I looked up to see Nora. I followed her to the counter.

“You didn’t pay your bill last time. I’m not serving you anything until you give me the $1.75 you owe Gloria for the coffee.”

Nora reached in her purse and picked through her loose change until she had $1.75 exactly. No tip. Again. I grabbed the money and put it in the register. Then I purposely started refilling the saltshaker right in front of her.

Nora got up and moved two stools away from me. “Coffee. Black.”

“In a minute. I’m busy.” I continued to slowly pour the salt into the shaker.

“Do I need to throw her out, too?” Gloria asked. “This is bad for business, you know.” By the look on her face, I could tell she wasn’t going to put up with me not getting along with any more customers today.

“No. It’s fine. She tried to stiff you on the bill last time. I made her pay up. I’ll get her some coffee.”

Gloria nodded and went into the kitchen.

I poured the coffee, not even caring that I was spilling it onto the saucer under the cup. Let Nora drip coffee on her green dress. Wow, another green dress. Did she own any other clothes?

“Here.” I shoved the cup in front of her. “Let me guess, that’s all you want.”

“No, I want that necklace you’re wearing.” She sipped her coffee.

“What?” I stepped back. “Are you really going to start that again?”

“How much do you want for it?” She pulled a pile of bills out of her purse.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’ve cheated me out of a tip twice and skipped out on your bill, and you carry around a wad of cash like that?” I liked her less and less every time I saw her.

“I don’t believe in banks. Now, how much for the necklace?”

“It’s not for sale, but feel free to leave the tips you owe me.”

“Everything is for sale. Name your price.”

“If you’re so eager to spend your money, why don’t you go buy yourself another dress? Try a color other than green for a change.”

“Fine.” She stood up and walked out.

Gloria came out of the kitchen. “Did she leave without paying her bill again?”

Damn it! “I’m sorry.”

“Samantha, I can’t have customers skipping out on their checks. We’ll all be out of jobs then.”

“I know. I’ll take the money out of my tips.”

Gloria shook her head, looking disappointed, and walked over to the couple by the door.

The rest of the night was better. No more drama. Just a lot of drink refills, cleaning tables, and trying to get back on Gloria’s good side. By the end of the night, she finally broke down and smiled at me.

“Go home. Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a new day.” She sounded like a generic greeting card.

“I’m really sorry about earlier. It won’t happen again.” And if it did, I’d pay Nora’s bill before Gloria noticed.

Ethan held my hand on the drive home, but he didn’t turn up our driveway. He drove past it.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise. You look like you could use a change of pace.”

Actually, it was the change of pace in this new life that was throwing me. I needed the old Sam back. The one who didn’t have a monster lurking inside her.

Ethan pulled onto a small, gravel area off the side of the road. He got out and met me at my door. “Come on.” Reaching for my hand, he led me to a wooden fence. On the other side of it was a huge drop-off. We were on top of a mountain, looking out across the river.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I thought you’d like it.” Ethan gently turned my face toward his and brushed his lips across mine. It was a sweet kiss, but there was something behind it. Desire.

I pulled back. “We’re out in the open.”

“It’s dark.”

“Until a car drives by.”

Ethan sighed. “Sorry. It was a stupid idea. I just thought that, after the other night…”

“We could go home.” I really wasn’t ready to, and not because of what Ethan was suggesting. I didn’t want to leave this view yet. “Or we can stay here for a while first.”

“You like it?”

“Yeah. It reminds me of when I was six, and I used to go visit my aunt in Maryland. There weren’t any mountains like this, but her house was on the water, and her backyard sloped down toward a dock. When I stood in her sun room and looked out over the water, I felt like I was flying. Like I was a bird and nothing could touch me.”

“Then we’ll stay, and you’ll fly.” He took my hand, kissing my fingertips.

Yes, Ethan was a typical guy who thought about sex, but he never let his own urges stand in the way of whatever I wanted. I leaned my head against his chest as I stared out over the water.

We stayed for two hours. I hadn’t intended to be there that long, but between the view and being with Ethan, I was in heaven. I kept going back and forth between breathing in the fresh mountain air and breathing in Ethan. The boy was an amazing kisser.

Finally, we went home. Ethan moved one of the bigger rocks to the side. He hadn’t had time to disassemble the strange rock circle yet, but it was pretty annoying having to step over the same rock every time we went in and out of the cottage. “I’ll get the others in the morning,” he said.

I got ready to shower while Ethan ate one of the sandwiches he’d brought home from the diner. Making out made him hungry. I turned the water all the way to hot and was pleasantly surprised that it was actually warm. Still not hot, but definitely not lukewarm either.

I got undressed and looked down at the necklace. Ethan was right. It was silly of me to shower and sleep with it on. But still, I didn’t want to take it off. While the warm water washed down the drain without me, I debated. I decided I’d take it off to shower but put it back on afterward. Baby steps.

I undid the clasp and left it on the sink. I stepped into the shower and basked in the fact that I wasn’t freezing cold. Maybe the pipes were getting used to being used again, or maybe the hot water heater was finding its second wind. Either way, I enjoyed my shower for the first time since I’d come back to life.

I heard movement in the bathroom, and I tensed up. Was Ethan in here? Was he planning on surprising me in the shower? I suddenly felt cold. I shut the water off and reached my arm out from behind the curtain, groping for my towel. I grabbed it and wrapped myself up before I pulled the curtain back.

The door was still closed. Maybe I’d imagined it. Or maybe I’d heard Ethan in the kitchen. I stepped out of the shower, and a cool breeze hit my right side. I turned to see the window open. I hadn’t opened it. I’d never opened it, not once since we moved in. It didn’t have a lock on it, so it opened all the way up.

My eyes flew to the sink. My necklace was gone.