CHAPTER 25
Danica
Today was my third to last shift at the diner, and I couldn't wait for it to be over. I served the last customer, who, annoyingly, just didn't seem to want to leave, and then finally went to the bathroom to change. Tessa was already in there, and she had gotten changed already.
“Hey, there,” she said. “I was just on my way out. That old woman just kept on ordering stuff, huh? Looked like you were never going to get out of there.”
I sighed and shook my head. “It did seem like that, yeah. But, hey, she did finally leave, so now I can, too.”
“I bet you're excited. Only two more shifts left of this crappy job, like ever!” said Tessa with a broad smile.
“I know... it still hasn't really sunk in yet. I've been here so long now that it was starting to feel like I'd be here forever.”
“How long have you been here? I mean, you were working here when I started, and that was almost two years ago.”
“I started here about three years ago.”
“Wow. Well, you certainly deserve a break. Three years is way too long to spend in a dump like this.”
I chuckled. “Tell me about it. Well, you better not stay for too much longer either, Tess.”
“I've been looking for something new, and I've got something in the pipeline, actually,” she said with a grin.
“You have? That's great! What is it?”
“There's an opening for a sales girl at a new boutique that's just opened about five blocks from here. I went for the interview yesterday, and it went really well – well, at least I thought it did. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that they call me back.”
“I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, too! I really hope you get it!”
“Yeah, it's decent pay, health insurance, good benefits... and they seem like real nice people, too.”
“That sounds great, Tess.”
“Anyway, I gotta take off. I'll see you tomorrow.”
“See you then,” I said.
I got changed, neatened up my hair and makeup and went outside to see if Remy was there to pick me up. He wasn't, so I went over to a nearby bench and sat down to wait for him. I heard footsteps approaching behind me, and then someone took a seat on the bench next to me. I glanced over to see who it was, and when I did, fear shot through my veins like liquid ice: the bald tattooed man.
“Hello, Danica,” he said with an evil smile. “Did you miss me?”
“What do you want?” I asked coldly. “Our business is done, and you can tell my father that I'm done with him as well.”
“Ah, yeah, your dad, old Felix Klein. He and I shared a cell at the Lincoln Correctional Facility.”
“Just call it prison, because that's what it was. And you know what? I don't care about your stories, and what you did with my father in prison, okay? So just go away and leave me alone.”
He chuckled. “Your daddy told me a lot of stories when we were holed up together. Oh, yes, sugar-tits, a lot of stories. One of 'em, of course, was about how his good-for-nothing daughter stole ten grand in cash and five grand worth of weed from him one fateful day. He was real pissed about that, I can tell you. Oh, yes, sirree, he was real pissed about that.”
“Well, that's all behind us now, isn't it? I've paid back the money to him. So, it's done, it's over. Now please, just leave me alone!”
“You didn't pay him back.”
My jaw dropped. What was this creep trying to do here? “Yes, I did! I gave you the money! I gave you all ten thousand dollars! You counted it out yourself, and you took it from me! If he didn't get that money, then it's your fault, not mine!”
“It ain't my fault, and it ain't yours neither. You see, the reason your daddy never got that money was because he can't get no money, not where he is.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
The man smiled malevolently. “He's six feet under, sexy. Your ol' daddy is dead. He died in prison last year. I was there when it happened. He started getting these really bad headaches, and they started happening more and more often, until one day he just passed out in the cell – and he never woke up again. Prison doctor said it was a brain tumor.”
I didn't know what to say; I was totally shocked. Part of me was sad, I mean, how could I not feel that way? I had just been told that my only living relative had died. However, part of me felt relieved as well. I would never again have to see that evil, abusive man.
“So... so why did you take that money?” I asked the man.
“Well, I got out of prison a few months ago, you see. And I tried to walk the straight and narrow path for a while. But I didn't really like having a job. Having to listen to some asshole manager boss you around, having to do what this prick says, and be polite to people and grovel in front of them for minimum wage. That ain't my style. So, I quit, and started selling coke and heroin on the streets. Making okay money, and I'm still doing it. Beats a regular job. But then one day I was thinking about the story that old Felix told me about his daughter Danica stealing ten grand from him – and I was sitting in this very diner a couple weeks ago when I heard someone call you Danica. So, I thought to myself, Danica ain't a very common name, is it? How many Danicas can there be in Manhattan? And I had a good look at you, and I saw Felix's eyes – your eyes. And I knew it was you. So, a little plan started to come together in my head, about how I could make an easy ten grand...”
He chuckled. I wanted to throw up. I couldn't believe it... this vile, disgusting thug had conned me out of ten thousand dollars.
“Just leave... just go away, leave me alone,” I muttered. “You got your money, now leave.”
Something hard and cold pressed into my ribs, and I looked down and saw that he had his pistol jammed up against me.
“The thing is, Danica, I don't think that I'm happy with just ten grand,” he snarled. “I want more. And I know that you're dating that rich pretty-boy Remington, and he's got a whole lot of money. So, you know what? I want another ten grand. You figure out a way to get it to me in a week, sweet-tits... or I'll put a few bullets through your knees, and you'll never dance again. One week.”
He slipped the gun back into his jacket, got up and walked away, chuckling to himself. I wanted to cry... It was happening again.