Hailey pushed the thin strap of her purse off of her shoulder. She worked her fingers into the bright red skin on her shoulder and groaned as she eased herself onto one of the emerald green metal chairs that sat outside of the Granger Cafe. The sun baked metal hissed against the exposed skin on her thighs. Hailey sighed, and folded her arms before setting them on top of the table.
I wouldn’t be so worn out if one of these jobs would just give me a call back. Hailey twisted her head to the right of her, where she could see other cafe patrons forming a line in front of the register. On any other day, Hailey would have joined the line, but she’d drank three black coffees before noon. Her feet had been slapping against the pavement since seven that morning, she’d knocked on the door of every office
within a sixty-mile radius of her home in Wicker Park.
Her eyes flickered to the small stack of resumes that were hanging over the edge of her purse. A woman breezed past her, she had a white knuckle grip on her cup of coffee, and she chattered into the cell phone that she pressed against her ear.
Hailey snorted. You would think that I’d be right alongside that woman, but I bet she isn’t working for any low level company that’s impressed with a degree in social work. Unlike what she’d been led to believe, the pickings were slim for a job in Hailey’s field. She’d recently graduated with a degree in social work, and she’d been met with brutal rejection letters from every agency that she applied to. In the last week, she changed her focus from finding a job in her field, to finding any job that didn’t involve folding jeans or spreading mayonnaise over a piece of pastrami.
Hailey’s purse vibrated against her ankle, and she reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone. The words: Don’t Answer stood out against the dark blue background on the screen.
“Are you kidding me?” Hailey mumbled. She sighed and dragged her thumb across the screen before pressing the phone to her ear.
“Hailey? Hailey? Are you there? It’s Becca.” Becca’s voice cracked as it flowed through the phone.
Hailey clenched her fingers around her phone and said, “Yeah? I’m here, Becca. What is it?”
There was a brief pause before Becca said, “Look, I know that the last few months have been really hard for us. I’m glad that you even picked up the phone this time.”
Hailey replied, “Well, you caught me off guard. I’m a bit worn out from job hunting all day.”
“Worn out from job hunting? See, I don’t have a clue what’s going on with you these days. I don’t even know if you changed your major last minute like you talked about.”
Hailey sighed and pushed a few strands of her strawberry blonde hair off of her sweat covered forehead. “Becca, I’m really busy and I’m kind of tired. I just stopped to give myself a little break before I try to pound the pavement again.”
“I know, I know. Listen, you’re worn out, and you probably need a little pick me up. Why don’t you let me buy you a bite to eat and a cup of coffee?”
The smell of the flaky, buttery bread that the Granger Cafe made fresh every day floated into Hailey’s nostrils. She sighed as a powerful hunger pang moved throughout her stomach. “Becca, I don’t know. I don’t know if I can get past what you did long enough to share a croissant and an iced mocha. Things aren’t like how they were before.”
Hailey could picture the smirk on Becca’s lips as her voice came through the speaker, “So, you want an iced mocha and a croissant, then?”
“Becca-”
“Where are you? One of your usual spots? I’m at my apartment, I can be there in ten minutes. I’ll buy you whatever you want.”
The single digit number in Hailey’s personal bank account flashed through her mind. She pressed her hand on her flat stomach and said, “Granger Cafe. I’m only doing this for the free lunch.”
Becca chuckled and replied, “That’s good enough for me.”
Hailey ended the call and muted her phone before pushing it as deep into her purse as it would go. She crossed her arms over her chest and scanned the small groups of people that were peppered on the sidewalk in front of the cafe. A couple of girls linked their skinny arms together as they posed for a picture. Hailey’s eyes moved over to the older woman that snapped their photo, and spread her arms open wide for a hug once she was satisfied.
Live it up, girls. Best friends don’t last forever. Hailey rolled her eyes and tore her eyes off of the girls. She stared straight ahead, past the bright red beam that extended from the roof of the cafe and even further past the hand painted plant box that contained a bundle of lilies that spilled over the edge.
She could faintly make out Becca’s lean form, her bright green eyes were narrowed, and her thick curtain of blonde hair bounced around her shoulders. Hailey’s heart fell into her stomach, Becca looked just as good as she had before. Her subtle curves were highlighted by the flowy shape of champagne pink sundress that she wore. The white straps of her sandals were tightly wound around her toned calves.
Hailey curled her bony fingers under the edge of the table and clenched until a pink criss cross impression was left on her palms. Becca waved in her direction, she looked to the left of her and then to the right, and before falling into a light jog.
Becca broke into a grin as she came to a stop in front of Hailey’s table. She tossed her hair back, and the smell of her dewy, spring scented perfume wafted into Hailey’s face.
Hailey wrinkled her nose, and nodded in Becca’s direction. “You look good, Becca.”
“I look good for someone that just threw some clothes on and hustled down a couple of blocks to get here.” Becca waved Hailey towards the door to the cafe. “Come on, I’ll get you that coffee that we talked about.”
Hailey nodded and wrapped her fingers around the strap of purse. She slipped it onto her shoulder with a wince, and followed Becca inside.
Becca turned towards her as they fell in line behind a mother and son. “I wanted to make it up here before you left.”
Hailey shrugged. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Becca wore a skeptical glance as she took a step forward and pulled out her wallet, a beat up, pale pink wallet that Hailey had given to her as a gift a couple of years before. “I didn’t want to miss a chance to hang out with you again. I wanted to see you. If I didn’t hurry down here, I might not have gotten the chance to apologize.”
Hailey frowned as Becca placed their order. They stepped over to the side and waited by the counter while the barista prepared their drinks. Hailey’s eyes moved around the cafe, she followed the footsteps of people that shuffled out of the front door while Becca tapped her on the shoulder.
She handed Hailey a hot cup of coffee and said, “Hailey? Are we going to talk? I know that you probably weren’t expecting to talk about this today but-”
“Fine.” Hailey moved outside and they reclaimed Hailey’s original table. Becca eased into the seat across from Hailey, and smiled before taking a sip of coffee. One of Becca’s ring covered hands reached across the table, and she set it on top of Hailey’s hand.
“I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry that I let Derek come between us, I should have known better than to just believe him when he said that you guys were through.”
Hailey shrugged and put on what she hoped was her best apathetic expression. “It’s fine. If he hadn’t left me for you, he would have left me for some other girl with longer legs, softer hair, or bigger breasts.”
Becca squeezed Hailey’s hand and said, “Stop. You’re beautiful.”
Hailey shook her head, “It doesn’t matter. I could look like you or like a runway model, and a man would still find a reason to leave. All of them get bored eventually, and I know that now. So, was there anything else that you wanted to say to me?”
Becca sighed and said, “No, I think that I’ve said everything. I hope that we can be friends.”
Hailey smiled and said, “Yeah, maybe we can—what the hell?”
To the right of them, a jet black van abruptly came to a stop in front of the cafe. One of the front tires kissed the edge of the curb, and a few terrified gasps came from a small group of onlookers.
Hailey narrowed her eyes and said, “What the hell is going on?”
The sliding door of the van slid open to reveal a barren space covered with ash grey carpeting. A burly man jumped out of the driver’s side door. Hailey as he barreled towards her.
A guttural scream was ripped from Becca’s chest, as the man slid his arm underneath Hailey’s knees and tossed her onto his shoulder. Hailey’s fist pounded into the thick wall of muscle that covered the man’s chest.
“What the hell are you doing? Help! Please, someone help!”
Hailey groaned as her back collided with the cold metal of the van. She fell forward and pressed her hands against the carpeting. Hailey winced, and a chill spread throughout her body as she watched the man clap his hand over Becca’s mouth and toss her into the van.
Oh my God, oh my God! The engine revved and the van shook underneath Hailey’s hands. She fell forward onto her elbows, and crawled until she stopped just in front of the partition that separated the cab of the van from the storage area. Hailey smacked her hands against the back of it, a stinging pain shot through her hands.
“What the hell are you doing?! Stop it!”
Becca’s low groan came from behind her, she pulled herself into a sitting position and rested against one of the walls of the van. “Hailey? Hailey, what the hell is going on? What are they going to do with us?”
Hailey threw her arms against the partition again, and Becca’s sobs turned into a dull roar in her ears.
“Let me out of here! What the hell do you think that you’re doing?”
Hailey gasped as her body was roughly jerked backwards, she fell beside Becca. Hailey slipped a hand underneath her head and clenched her teeth. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and the door to the van was ripped open.
The burly gentleman from before was gone. A 6”2 man stood in front of her, he wore a small smirk on his face as he peered into the van.
“Greg, you brought us two, not just the one! I don’t know what we’re going to do with the second one!” He chuckled and the devilish light in his mahogany colored eyes made Hailey’s heart sink into the pit of her stomach.
“W-What do you want from us? Who are you?”
The man rolled his eyes and said, “A couple of guys. If you keep quiet, this will go so much more smoothly.”
Hailey launched herself forward with a guttural roar. Her shoes connected with the asphalt for a moment before the man slipped one of his arms underneath her midsection.
“You’ll have to be more cooperative than that. You’re screwing your friend out of any chance that she has to leave this unscarred.”
He swung his arm forward and Hailey fell back into the van.
“Hailey! What’s going on, what are you doing to us?!” Becca screeched.
The man shook his head and gestured to someone that they couldn’t see. “I want them hog tied and quiet. Although, I’d be surprised if either one of them could pull it off for more than five minutes.”
He turned on his heel and disappeared into a door that was just a bit away from the van. The burly man from before and a second, smaller man appeared. They reached into the van and Hailey spat into their faces as they snatched her bony arms up into their tight grips.
A thick, white rope was wound around both girl’s wrists. Hailey’s eyes drifted up to the metal ceiling of the van as the rope pressed into the skin around her ankles.
“I think they’re good to go. I didn’t think that one would be a runner.”
Who the hell are you? Hailey was tossed onto the larger man’s shoulders like a sack of rotten potatoes, her head nearly collided with the red brick that was beside the small back door.