Page 7 of Guarded By Death

"Don't forget your medicine," I remind her, waiting as she takes two of her iron pills.

We creeped downstairs after changing, I made sure to put a hoodie on over my clothes so I can hide the bruise. Now we are just waiting for the screaming match that is about to begin.

My mom is not strict by any means, she'll be more disappointed that I lied. I'm eighteen and it's not like she can ground me but it's the respect factor. There was trust in our relationship and I broke it.

I enter the kitchen and notice that it's oddly quiet, the stove clock reads half past nine. Early enough for me, but my mom's an early riser. "She must have gone to the store," I suggest to Liv who is rummaging through the fridge.

"Eggs?" she suggests while grabbing the carton from the fridge with a gallon of orange juice.

"Please! I’m starving." My stomach growls as I watch her cook. After a few minutes, I hear the loud clanking of metal from the garage door as it pierces through the quiet kitchen making my headache even worse.

We both brace for impact. "We don't know how much she knows so keep quiet. If anything, I want to protect her from finding out we were drugged. I don't want her to think about what could have happened to us last night," I cringe at the thought.

Liv nods, scraping the sides of the pan with a spatula. "Good idea, she’ll probably just think we were drunk. Let the details come out as she tells them.” she places the scrambled eggs on two plates and jumps onto the barstool beside me. “Besides, your mom is cooler than you think, I hardly believe she's going to flip."

Mom walks through the door that leads to the garage, dangling a pair of black heels in her left hand. Confusion makes her face contort as she looks between us.

"Hey, girls... I didn't think you would come home so early?" She places her keys on the hanger, a deep red blush rising in her cheeks.

An internal cheer rises inside of me. "Hey, Ms. Wells, we got bored at my house, so we decided to come here." Liv and I exchange a quick, ‘we might just be saved’ glance.

If I wasn't so upset about what happened last night, I would be rolling on the floor with laughter. My mom, my sweet innocent mom is doing the walk of shame, and we are in the clear. We both can't help but fall into a set of giggles as she runs past us to get changed in her room.

Liv dramatically wipes the fake sweat from her forehead and smiles at me. The shower starts running and the sound of a door being closed tells me I’m safe to talk. Then I remember something.

"Wait, if my mom wasn't home last night than who left the water?" I ask curiously.

My thoughts are abruptly cut short when I start to feel nauseous. I quickly run up the stairs and hurl over the toilet. Liv follows and holds my unruly hair from falling into my face. Last night is catching up with me and I have to work at four o'clock. I need more sleep, and luckily Liv agrees and we both doze off.

I fall asleep in moments, my dreams haunted by a black-eyed monster making me weaker as he glares at me with evil eyes. The dreams twist into something more... mysterious. Pierce shows up, making all of the darkness disappear and replaces it with a calm, soothing feeling.

Just as quickly, the peaceful calm is replaced by a loud buzzing in my ears. I swiftly jump up to shut it off so it doesn't wake her up, at least one of us can recover longer.

I hurriedly run a brush through my thick, wavy hair and throw on my ice cream shop uniform. Bright red pants with a red pinstripe shirt, I make sure to throw a long sleeve underneath the button up to hide my bruise.

The outfit is awful but working at ‘Pop's Candy Shop’ for the past two summers has turned out to be more fun than I expected. The boardwalk is always full of life, I love being there. Plus, you can't beat the view. We’re right off the pier, so the huge glass windows give a breathtaking view of the ocean.

Luckily, I find a parking spot close to the docks. After a short walk, I enter through the tall glass doors and it never fails to always bring me back to my childhood. The smell of rich caramel and homemade fudge whirl around me. Every flavor of ice cream you can think of on display. I can still see my family and I sitting happily in the corner booth. I would be sharing a strawberry milkshake with dad as mom watched us with a smile.

Thinking about these things used to make me run but after years without him, I've embraced the memories. I would rather remember all of us being happy, than to think about what happened.

The day went smoothly, it was busy but there were no hiccups. Parents brought their little ones in from a hot day at the beach to cool off with icy treats. The sun is beginning to sink below the clouds, so I'll be getting off soon. I glance at the clock and it reads 6:55.

I toss a rag over my shoulder and begin spraying down the glass display. The bell rings and I realize I forgot to lock it when we closed about five minutes ago. I look at the door and there's no one there. I curiously scan the room and that's when I see him, leaning against the counter and watching me with a crooked grin.

"Pierce," I say softly.

Five

The big pink bear, please

Relief, that I can't fully explain, washes over me. I was beginning to think my semi-unconscious state from the night before had made him up. He came and disappeared so quickly I couldn't be sure what was real last night.

"Hey, beautiful," his smooth voice is deep, taking up all the space in the empty shop. My eyes take in his appearance. Black jeans that are fitted perfectly to him, with a plain black t-shirt that hugs his broad shoulders and muscles. I peel my eyes away and look over at the wall.

"Hi," I say nervously. My stomach is flipping backward, did he come here to see me? That makes no sense, he doesn't know where I work. "What are you doing here?" I ask curiously as I continue to wipe down the glass.

"Can't a guy get some ice cream?" He shrugs, his voice laced with humor as he slowly walks towards me.

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