Page 9 of Siccitas

“Can I get ya anything else?” she asks brightly.

“No. Thank you, though,” I reply quietly as I push the empty plate, and also the cup and saucer toward her.

She nods as she drops a small piece of paper on my table, then picks up my dirty china and wanders off into the back of the cafe.

I purse my lips as I look over the check, then reach into my pocket and fish out some of Dalton’s secret money.

I’ll pay him back by ripping the roots of our family tree out of the rotten ground they’re embedded in.

I blow out my breath as I reach for a napkin, quickly dabbing at my lips before I grab my cane and start to slide out of the booth.

As I stand up, I glance towards the elongated counter that wraps around the front of the café and narrow my eyes.

When I first got here, the stools were empty.

Now, there’s a young man, sitting there, hunched over slightly, with his eyes trained on me from over his shoulder.

The way his eyes burn into mine is more than likely meant to unnerve me, but there’s only one man on this planet who scares me, and even that’s been wearing off inch by inch as the years have gone by.

I make my way toward him, the bottom of my cane gently thudding on the floor until I’m standing right in front of him.

He straightens up a bit, a smile curving his lips, while his eyes stay sharp and empty.

Black, wavy hair peeks out from beneath a worn brown baseball cap. Stubble of the same color outlines his powerful jaw, but it doesn’t hide his boyish face. The semi-smooth, sun-kissed skin tells me that he more than likely works long hours out in the daylight.

His eyes are the color of sweet, buttery toffee, looking like they’re holding onto the world’s most dangerous secret.

It makes me wonder if they are.

They’re searching for something in mine. Almost as if he’s trying to remember me from somewhere.

I grind my teeth together.

“Do I know you?” I ask him curtly.

He clears his throat, before he slowly replies, “I ... I don’t know. Do you?”

I rest a hand on the countertop, then lean down until my face is inches from his.

“No. Let’s keep it that way.”

He smirks as he waves me off, his fingers brushing my face.

If we were alone, I would have killed him by now.

He’s lucky that I’m not the monster my father is. I turn on my heel and make my way toward the cafe door, ready to do some reconnaissance now my stomach is full.

“Maybe I’ll see you around,” he calls out, just before the door closes behind me.

I look forward to it;I think as I raise my eyes to shield them from the bright sky, then turn and walk down the street.

---