“That was the only thing I saw before I woke up. I feel terrible, like it was my fault.”
It just clicked. Steven had been dreaming of me. He had complete control over this dream until I jumped. I changed the feel of the conversation.
“No worries. It’s not like I’m hurt or anything.” I waited a minute to see if he would reply. Nothing. I grinned as if I was a naughty school girl looking to get an A on the next test. “So what were you dreaming about before I jumped?”
I don’t think I could ever imagine a boy getting so red and flustered. He wouldn’t look at me. I thought I was going to get some playfulness out of him, but he just excused himself to do some homework. Wow. Good going Kisslah! Must you never get married? Mother will be angry once she finds out that you will be a permanent addition to her house. All of your friends are hooked up, yet you’re still a lonely and bitter murderer whose degree of killing has not yet been discovered. I sighed as I watched the sun set then remembered I was supposed to meet Burnette for dinner.
Dinner With Burnie
The Crooked Arrow was the best café in town. They had slammin’ milkshakes, steaming cheeseburgers, and pie that could make the sun shine on any girl’s rainy day. The deck up top was clean and bright orange. The tables always had fresh flowers, and my reserved table always had lilies. I didn’t really know who decided that I was worthy of a special table, but the attention was nice. We always got great service there because we were good friends with the cook, Shanna’s dad. He was a hefty man, about two hundred some-odd-pounds and six foot tall. Some are disgusted with people who are overweight, thinking that they lose themselves and divulge too heavily in gluttony. I’ve always believed to never trust a skinny cook. If he doesn’t eat, how will he know what tastes good?
I walked in to see him leaning over the counter with a cheesy grin. He always had a joke on the tip of his tongue, and a smile never strayed far from his lips.
“Hey Kisslah! How’s it been?”
“Oh Charlie, I guess it’s okay.” He chuckled, and his gut shook like a bubble ready to pop.
“Just ok? Well, what can I do to make things better? Pie? Milkshake? You name it, and it’s on the house, honey.”
“Hmmm… have you made any cheesecake today?” I eyed the glass enclosure like a hawk. Charlie’s cheesecake was the best in town. Actually, make that in the whole country.
“Yes ma’am. Some cherry cheesecake coming right up. I kept it in the back just for this reason. I knew I would need to cheer someone up today.”
I smiled on the outside, but pouted on the inside. Why couldn’t I have a dad like Charlie to make everything better when I was having a rough time? Oh yeah, that’s right. I probably killed my father. The flowers at the bar faded to black with the thought of my nonexistent family. Charlie came back with a big slice of cheesecake. Okay, this is getting better. He took the dead flowers—thinking nothing of it—and threw them away. He had never known about my weird flaw. He winked and got back to his kitchen duties. Mmmm… cheesecake.
I was feeling better by the time Burnette walked in with a worried look on her face. Her phone was pushed up against her face like a magnet, and she looked all disfigured trying to hold it with one shoulder while the other slumped low with the weight of the books in her satchel. Of course, she was a business major, and she was perfect at it. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a librarian’s bun, but there was some sticking out on the sides to make it look messy. She wore a black pencil skirt with a white button-down shirt and a blazer with silver accents over that. Her silver heels showed off her stilt-like legs, and her loop earrings made me laugh. She has this obsession with large earrings because her boyfriend said something about her ears being a little on the large side one time. She thinks that big earrings will make them look smaller and more feminine.
She threw her satchel on the counter. “I heard what you did,” she accused with her bright brown eyes. Her eyebrows came down low and shaded them from catching the light and sparkling.
