Cursed (6 page)

“How are you?” she asked. She hoped she didn’t sound motherly. She didn’t want to sound maternal but she couldn’t think of anything else to say to him.

“Good, good, you?”

She nodded her head and took a sip of her drink. It was scalding hot and she blew on it.

“I love this place,” she said, again having nothing else to say. She so desperately wanted to be witty and charming and couldn’t come up with a decent conversation topic. She felt supremely pathetic and hoped it didn’t show.

“Me too,” he said. “I live nearby and have been coming here for years.”

“Really? I’ve never seen you here before Friday.”

“I know weird,” he said. “Teebow tells me you come here all the time. You probably weren’t looking for me.”

“What?” she said distressed that her interest was so obvious. She covered her eyes with her hand too embarrassed to meet his gaze.

“I mean your book,” he laughed. “You’ve had your head in your book. I’m not surprised you didn’t see me.”

“Oh,” she said and wished the floor would open up and swallow her.

Evan glanced over his shoulder toward the counter and frowned at a line starting to form in front of the cash register.

“Thanks for the drink,” she said noting his anxiety at being away from his duties.

Evan stood up, relief on his face. “See you.”

“Absolutely,” she said with a confidence she didn’t feel. They hadn’t yet exchanged phone numbers as she wanted nor had she invited him to her birthday party. She was waiting for a sign that he’d respond favorably and she didn’t want to be one of those girls who chased guys. It was unbecoming and it never worked out. Guys liked to be the ones to pursue or at least that’s what she read in one of Jenna’s mom’s self-improvement books.

Jenna’s mom was single after her parents divorced and was always reading about how to date in the new millennium. She’d even tried online dating but swore off it after discovering most men lie in their profiles and posted pictures of themselves that were decades old before they got fat and bald.

Sasha opened her book hoping it would inspire words she could speak. Despite her anxiety, time passed quickly. She was lost in her book and had finished her drink when Evan appeared beside her chair. The seat across from her was empty and he took it.

Evan stared at his clasped hands in his lap. She wondered if he was shy too.

“How are you doing, really?” he asked lifting his head.

Sasha paused and chose her words carefully. “A little freaked out,” she said. She dismissed the idea of mention the man in the parking lot she thought was following her. It would make her appear as paranoid as she felt. As far as Evan knew Friday was a simple robbery.

“Yeah, me too,” he sighed leaning back and putting his foot on the edge of the table. “Nightmares?”

Sasha shook her head in the negative. “Not yet.”

Evan nodded like he understood. “I keep thinking back and I don’t think they asked for any money.”

Sasha stiffened, her shoulders drew inward. “What?” She said playing dumb.

Evan sat up in his seat and leaned toward her. “I’m just saying, I don’t remember them asking for money. So then the question I keep asking myself is what did they want?”

Sasha hunched over in her seat hoping the necklace wasn’t showing.

“What do you think?”

Sasha swallowed and paused. “Maybe. Or maybe they were just confused crack heads?”

“Could be,” he said.

She couldn’t tell if he was searching her neckline. She had to change the subject.

“It’s my birthday tomorrow,” she blurted. “My mom is having a dinner for me. Would you come?”

Evan was startled. “Me?”

Sasha shrugged. “Why not celebrate after someone tried to kill us?”

Evan laughed. “Sounds like a good reason to party.”

Sasha grinned. “My parents will be there.”

He laughed again and then got serious.

“You think they were trying to kill us?”

Sasha shrugged. Evan leaned toward her and frowned.

“That or they were just crazy,” she said trying to keep her voice light.

“I think I’ll go with crazy. I mean why would someone want to kill me? I don’t have anything, and when I say nothing, I mean nothing.”

Sasha stared at him wanting to know his story but she didn’t want to pry.

“Give me your number and I’ll text you the details,” she said.

“Sure,” he said. “Give me your phone.”

Sasha reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. Evan handed her his phone and took hers adding his contact information. His fingers flew over the keys. Sasha punched in her information into his phone and put it on the coffee table. He stood when he handed her phone back and picked up his. Sasha felt a tingle when their fingers touched as the phone was exchanged. A warm sensation sparked in her stomach and spread to her chest.

“I gotta get back to work, see you tomorrow,” he said.

A goofy grin was plastered on Sasha’s face. She gathered up her things and waved at Teebow as she left.

“Count on it,” she said and slung the backpack over her shoulder as she headed out the door.

CHAPTER FIVE

Sasha left the coffee shop elated. She couldn’t believe Evan agreed to go to her party. She hoped she didn’t come across as desperate. It was supposed to be a casual invitation.

A tingle of self doubt set in. She was not a clingy girl. She felt a twinge of regret and tried not to let it ruin her mood.

A big gust of wind made the garbage in the parking lot swirl around. She didn’t take much notice and that was probably why she didn’t see him.

She slipped the key in her bike lock when she saw a pair of men’s shoes. They were white leather with white rubber soles, a fashion statement not seen very often. It was very Fantasy Island.

Sasha squinted into the blinding sun. The man was wearing white pants, a white shirt under a white jacket and a white fedora style hat. He glowed but she wasn’t sure if it was from the clothes or some magical essence.

It was the man from the police station parking lot. She felt a peculiar vibration along her nerves and knew it was an internal warning system alerting her to danger.

She waited for the man to speak first. Her hands shook and the key rattled. She stuffed it in her pocket to hide her fear. The deodorant commercial tag line kept ringing in her head.
Never let them see you sweat.

She didn’t know how to call on her power. She didn’t feel a charge of blue sparks building up. Where were the blue sparks when she needed them?

She scanned the parking lot for an escape. She didn’t know what this man wanted but knew it couldn’t be good. She was cornered between the building, the Dumpster, parked cars and the bicycle rack. Could she fit under a car? She’d never tried it before but considered it an alternative escape route.

"Do you know who I am?" he said in the voice of someone who had smoked hundreds of thousands of cigarettes.

Sasha shrugged not trusting her voice.

"I am Nefar," he said as if she should recognize his name. Still she didn’t say anything. She had nothing to say.

"I am Mukoo," he said. She still had no idea what he was talking about.

"Your grandmother hired me just in case,” he paused and smiled in a creepy self-satisfied way, “the curse doesn’t work."

He reached for her pendant. It was buried under her shirt and couldn’t be seen. But Sasha knew the man knew it was there. She shrank from his touch grinding her back into the building’s wall.

Wait, curse? She had no idea what he was talking about.

"You are destined to die and cannot escape me," he said drawing his hand away slowly."Your grandmother has been waiting 17 years. She can wait a few more days.”

Sasha didn’t know why her grandmother, who she’d never met, would want her dead. She didn’t even know her grandmother existed. She didn’t ask any questions. She didn’t want Nefar to know how clueless she was. Gathering up courage, Sasha responded, albeit in a squeaky voice.

"Tell me something I don’t know."

Nefar laughed, it was not an entirely unpleasant sound, like a benign chuckle from someone enjoying a good joke.

"I was just trying to make it interesting. I thought maybe you’d pose more of a challenge but so far I’ve been very disappointed."

He grabbed the neck of her hoodie and pulled her close. She smelled cigarettes and mint on his breath. She turned her face away trying to maintain some dignity even though she was scared shitless and her feet barely touched the ground.

"I could kill you whenever, however I want. Make it fun for me and you’ll last a little longer."

He shook her like a doll and settled her back on her feet. She staggered to her knees and covered her face with her hands. She breathed deeply and tried to control the swing of emotions coursing through her body. She was afraid she was going to collapse and that would not show strength.

The back door of the cafe banged open and Evan walked out with a garbage bag destined for the dumpster.

"Hey," he yelled at Sasha. Concern flashed on his face when he saw her crouched on the ground. He ran over and put a hand on her shoulder. Sasha heard Nefar walk away.

"Are you alright?" Evan said softly into her ear.

She felt woozy as her strength faded and she fell into his arms as dark spots appeared in front of her eyes. It was one of those cheesy romance novel moments, one she didn’t want to have. It was so embarrassing but she had nothing left. It was as if Nefar drained her energy when he threatened her.

She hoped Nefar hadn’t seen her fall but she had no such luck. Before she had a moment to duck behind the car, Nefar unleashed a fireball at her. She grabbed Evan and threw herself on top of him as the fireball struck her on the back. The impact pushed Sasha off Evan. She rolled away scraping her hands on the asphalt and hitting her head on an adjoining car. She didn’t feel any pain from the fireball but a dull ache formed in her forehead. She didn’t know if the pyrotechnics were a real danger because she didn’t feel like she’d been burned.

Evan crawled beside Sasha. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her face to him. “Are you-,” he didn’t finish.

Sasha scrambled to her feet as a fireball almost hit Evan in the back. It hit her in the chest and she fell backward over Evan. They tumbled to the ground. Sasha landed on her back, her scrapped hands hitting the pavement. Another fireball landed nearby and set a patch of slick oil on fire.

Another fireball slammed into the dumpster and bounced to the ground settling loose stray paper aflame. They scrambled out of the way. Evan kicked the burning paper sending embers into the air. A spark landed on Evan’s shirt and the cloth smoldered and burned a hole in the material. Sasha shrugged off her jacket and used it to douse any flames. That answered her query about whether the fireballs were real. They could hurt Evan but not her.

Two more fire balls flew overhead and bounced off the wall and landed harmlessly in the parking lot. Sasha had no way to set up a defense as she contemplated crawling under a car to evade the attack but that would leave Evan exposed. Before she could come up with a plan the fireballs stopped. She was too scared to see where Nefar went. She peered under the cars looking for feet and saw none.

Sasha crawled into a ball tucking her knees under her chin. She rocked with relief and her eyes welled up with tears as a scream rose up her throat. She cut it off before it escaped.

She couldn’t figure out why the blue sparks had not saved her. She thought they came uninvited in times of peril and definitely those fireballs could have killed Evan. The last two appearances of the blue sparks were unexpected and yet needed.

Evan crawled over to Sasha from behind a car. A smear of dirt marred his face and his eyes were wild with disbelief. “Is he still here?”

Tears spilled down Sasha’s cheeks as she half rose and peered through a car window. She didn’t see Nefar so she stood up slowly ready to duck. The parking lot was empty.

“I think he’s gone,” she croaked.

Evan had a burn hole in the chest of his T-shirt. The skin beneath was hot pink from a burn.

"We need to take care of that,” she said pointing to the injury. She gently rolled up his T-shirt, exposing the burn. His chest was broad and smooth. It was a man’s chest not a boy’s. The thought made her flush with embarrassment when she realized she was analyzing his physique. It was just rude.

“It looks nasty,” she said. “We need medical supplies.”

“Me? Are you alright? You got hit twice,” he said spinning her around. A quick view showed no injuries. “I don’t get it.”

He lifted up her shirt in the back. “I know you got hit but I don’t see any marks.”

“You should get some ice,” Sasha said pulling his T-shirt down so it covered his flat belly.

As he turned to go back into the café, Sasha stumbled. Suddenly overwhelmed with emotions, she bent over as if she were punched in the gut and the stress of the attack finally hit her.

Evan wrapped his arms around her holding her up so she didn’t fall. Tears ran down her face as she struggled to catch her breath. It was as if something heavy was sitting on her chest, pressing the air from her lungs. Sobs ripped from her body making her buckle under the emotional weight.