Chapter 7 Reason for concerns

Selene pondered on the advice left to her by Duncan. The idea of avoiding her newly found friends caused her insides to twist and her stomach twitch.

Rejection and avoidance were no stranger to her, and she cannot put it upon herself to do the same to others. Aware of the pain and sadness it brings.

“You all right?”

Loraine’s voice sounded like a hum. But it was enough to wake her from the sudden trance, making her move her hand in a circular motion, as she had been wiping the counter before all of that happened.

“Yeah, just a bit worn out?”

She was quick to answer, seeing how the girl raised a brow, along with throwing a confused and questioning gaze, but was not enough to throw the girl off.

Instead, Loraine put both hands on her hips, now playfully grinning.

“There’s this twinkle in your eyes. Is it because of Lucas Mandel? I heard you two are in the same class. Do I smell something brewing in here?”

She nearly squeals, clapping and shaking her shoulders in a playful giggle.

“Oh no, nothing like that.”

That fully roused her wits, realizing the reason behind her co-workers’ excitement. Her mind immediately telling her to speak because of the rush of humiliation coursing through her at the idea.

Although a lot of people seem to think that, never in her wildest dreams did she consider it.

Again, that caused Loraine’s brow to rise even higher. Her lips twisting in an annoyed manner.

“That’s kind of hard to believe, seeing as he is looking your way.”

She says, signaling her eyeballs behind.

It was only then that Selene finally came to realize there were still people around them. And she did not expect the guy was there, as she remembered there weren’t any patrons a few moments ago.

“How long has he been there?”

She instinctively wave a hand at him with a warm smile, getting an immediate reply, before the guy said something to his friend and immediately standing.

“Oh, my gosh. He’s walking this way!”

Loraine nearly trip over herself when she rushes to get to the other side of the counter to stand beside her.

Selene heaved a sigh, shaking her head while holding on to her laughter upon seeing how her co-worker’s eyes grew wide, along with her smile almost reaching her ear.

She only straightens herself when the guy was right in front of them, as her companion seem to have lost balance and was tugging at her.

But before she can even ask what the problem was, Lucas’s presence alerted her, when the man’s shadow loomed over them both.

“Good evening. How can I help you?”

She immediately put on her smile.

Though acquainted, a big part at the back of her mind reminded her she was an employee at the moment and needs to address the customer properly.

That got a frown from Lucas, his lips twisting from the sudden awkwardness because of that, yet he still let out a chuckle.

That garnered another squeaked from Loraine, as she clenched tighter on Selene’s uniform. Her face turned beet red, panting as she continued to mumble stuff.

Selene’s attention became divided between the two. But ended up with Lucas, as the man made a loud cough to get her to look, while Loraine straightened immediately.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Lucas’s voice was authoritative, even though he smiled.

This brought about Selene’s notice, slapping her to her senses that she was still at work and needs to act accordingly.

“Yes, of course.”

She widens her smile, placing her hands down and fixing her posture to raise her gaze to see the man eye to eye.

But Lucas remained quiet, throwing a meaningful glare at the girl, who continued clinging to Selene like a little child.

It took the dumbfounded waitress a few minutes to be aware of Lucas’s signals and movement, immediately backing off when she noticed how the man’s lips twitched.

“I think the boss is calling me.”

Loraine’s eyes stayed glued to the guy, stuttering as she backed away from the two, all the while trying to keep her smile.

Selene remained unaware of all this, cause she had to turn around to see what had happened to her co-worker, when she caught the girl’s shaky voice.

But before she can ask what’s wrong, Loraine had scampered to the kitchen, squealing as she dash out of there.

A frown appeared on her face, but immediately dismissed it, instantly putting on her sweet employee expression before facing the man.

“So, how can I help you?”

She says in her cheerful voice. All the while, keeping her composure and posture straightened.

With how she caught sites of some female patrons glaring at her with such animosity, she thought it best to act as poised and conserved as possible, recalling the warning she received.

Also, she was still on the clock, so couldn’t be all chummy with a customer.

Lucas heaved a sigh, his expression turning soft.

“You all right? I heard you had trouble with some girls at school.”

He says, lips pursing in worry.

Flashes of the incident appeared before her eyes. The murderous looks being thrown at her by several women, the message in red lipstick on her locker, and the constant accidents happening to her there sent a shrill down her spine.

“Yeah, but it’s nothing serious.”

Her smile slowly faded because of the memory. Yet, she could not bring herself to tell on them, fearing it may cause more trouble. Also, she did not want to bother the man with those things.

“You remember who they were? Their faces?”

Lucas furrowed, worry etched all over his face, noticing the sudden change in her tone.

“No, not really. I didn’t look at them. Sorry.”

Selene waves it off.

From her experience and school, she became used to such treatment, always being the new student. So she thought the attention and animosity towards her should subside in time.

Lucas heaved a deep sigh in surrender, his smile turning weak.

“Anyway, if anything happens, just tell me.”

He says, giving her a reassuring nod.

Somehow that put Selene at ease, the weight and fear in her chest disappearing, knowing that there was someone looking out for her.

“Sure thing, thanks.”

She waves her goodbye the minute the man turned to go back to his group, who were now headed for the door.

“I’ll see you on Monday then.”

Lucas hollers before rushing to chase after his friends, as they had gone ahead of him.

Selene had to hold on to her giggles, clenching her teeth because she still senses those murderous gazes from several young women who continued to watch her.

She nearly flinch when she felt a hand on her shoulder, sighing in relief upon turning around to see who it was.

“Yes, boss.”

She blurted out of instinct.

Thankfully, the old man seemed preoccupied with checking the cashier.

“You can go now. Ben and I will handle things here.”

He says, waving at the clock.

Selene looked at the thing. She still had five minutes before the end of her shift, but hearing that got her to move, remembering her aunt wasn’t feeling well that day.

“Thank you, boss. By the way, did you see Loraine?”

She asked, recalling her co-worker’s reaction a while ago.

Her subconscious told her she had to talk to the girl, when memories of the mix of terror and awe in her flash in her mind. Also, it was only then she realize her mistake of not introducing her properly to the fellow.

“I think she went home already.”

Bernie yawned out, still focused on finishing on his task.

Selene took that as her cue to leave, signaling her other boss before going to the changing rooms, which only got a nod from the Ben.

She heaved a sigh when Loraine wasn’t there. She somehow felt bad not being able to talk to her, but put that aside for now, since she had more important things to do.

After changing, she quickly rush to the kitchen to say her farewells to the two men. Only getting a wave from them, as they were busy thanking the leaving customers.

Selene got a chill run down her spine, glimpsing that some of them were the girls who were glaring at her a while ago.

Because of that, she ended up taking the back door to avoid them, moving through the row of houses that provided cover, heading for the road.

She was keen to notice the silence of the place, taken by surprise because there were usually people walking by during that time.

Only when she heard a loud howl from nearby that she returned to her senses.

A gust of wind sent an odd chill through her, causing her to scamper. She hastened her steps, having that creeping terror clawing at her.

Thankfully, the moon was full that night, illuminating her path, making it much easier for her to move and lessening the ominous vibe of the place.

When she reaches the long road in the middle of the woods, she cheerfully hummed to keep her nerves, increasing the speed of her jog to get to the other side.

It was only when she caught the crackling upfront that she had to stop, frowning upon seeing a large shadow waiting in the bushes.

She squinted, trying to make out what it was, as she was certain it was not there before. Only when she saw its red glowing eyes did her fear return, the prickling coldness rushing through her in an instant.

Heart racing from the fright, she slowly backed away, praying it hadn’t noticed her. She swallowed hard to steel herself when it move.

The thing was big, walking on all fours, its growl reverberating from where she was. Only when it charge that Selene pivoted in panic, running back to the safety of the houses.

“Someone help!”

She screamed in sheer terror when she felt the weight of its legs on her, causing her to fall to the ground. Her throat drying up from the itch and sting of her own voice scratching it.

Her shrieks only grew stronger when her skin touch the dirt and grass scraping. The adrenaline pumping made her numb to the bruises and scratches, as all she could do was raise her arms to cover her face and chest.

Selene’s pleas and cries drowned by the darkness, as she continued getting pulled into the depths of the forest, deeper until her shouts and wails got snuffed out by howl and sounds of trees rustling.