Flesh and Feathers (6 page)

I had never stalked anyone before, so I’m sure it was a little ridiculous that my attire consisted of black jeans, a black shirt, and a black baseball cap. That’s what I had seen in the movies so that was what I was going with. I did throw on a gray zip-up jacket, hoping that it would keep me from looking like I was about to rob a bank.

I decided to sit across the street from the bar where Kale worked. There was a small coffee-stand at the corner on the opposite side of the street. I got a cup of coffee, and a newspaper, then took a seat at one of the umbrella tables outside.

Peering over the paper, I watched people come in and out of the bar–but overall the traffic was pretty light.
This was the most brilliant idea I had ever come up with!
I was out here spying on my boyfriend when I would much rather have been with him, but there was still that little twinge of apprehension that kept me glued to my seat. This was more than worry now–it was a mission. I needed to figure out what was going on with Kale and his odd behavior. If I didn’t, I would never really be at peace.

After two hours of watching old ladies walk their dogs up and down the sidewalk and children flying by on skateboards, I decided to give up for the day. As I stood up, a familiar shape emerged from the doorway of the bar. Ducking back behind my newspaper, I peeked around the corner of it to get a good look at him. Kale was wearing jeans and a white button-up shirt. He held what looked to be mail in his hands, and he shuffled through it reading each piece.

Then he started to move. He tucked the papers under his arm and walked sure footed down the sidewalk. I scrambled to get up and follow him. This was much harder than I had expected. The streets weren’t busy, but the few people that were out cluttered my vision, and I found it tough to keep sight of him.
   

Instinctively, I pulled my baseball cap down tighter on my forehead as if it magically made me invisible.

A small breeze kicked up, sending blossoms from nearby trees dancing through the air. They filled the city streets with a sweet smell that you could almost taste on the tip of your tongue. Each time the wind would die down; the blossoms would fall to the ground in slow motion, making it look as though it was snowing. It was so miraculous that I found myself distracted by it, and was unable to focus on keeping up with Kale’s pace.

I centered my attention back on Kale, who was easily weaving in and out of strolling people on the other side of the street. Once we made it to the corner about five blocks away from the coffee-stand, Kale made a sudden turn down a tiny avenue and quickly disappeared.

I stood on the other side of the street, trapped by cars swiftly passing. I rocked back and forth on my heels, waiting for a break in the busy traffic. My heart started to pound, knowing that if I didn’t move quickly, I would surely lose him for good. At the last minute, a tiny gap appeared, and I started to bolt across. It was definitely a tiny gap; cars screeched to a stop and horns began blaring. A man in a green Cadillac had locked his brakes directly in front of me, and even though his windows were rolled up, I could hear him shouting nasty obscenities over the roar of his engine. I slapped both of my hands down on the hood of his car as I walked past, glaring at him as I went. Astoundingly, this stopped his ranting as he watched me. After I made it past him, I turned back and stuck my tongue out at him. I knew it was childish, but it felt good anyway.

I made it to the sidewalk and frantically looked around as I headed down the side avenue. Kale was nowhere to be found. At this point, I was completely frustrated and not to mention, exhausted. I stood there for a few minutes trying to figure out what to do next. Going home seemed to be the only option. I would never be able to find Kale at this point. One foot in front of the other, I listlessly walked back in the direction from which I had come.

It was starting to get later by the minute, and with the darkness came the brilliant light of the moon. It shined down on the sidewalk like a spotlight, leading the way home.

People still crowded the streets, but, instead of men and women dressed in suits and ties, they wore fashionable club attire and were standing in line at some of the more popular local clubs.

My dark clothes made it hard for people to see me, causing the hasty pedestrians to bump into me as they rushed past.

Once I reached my apartment building, I looked up at the ten-story structure. All the windows shown dark, and I expected that the building was pretty empty. Most people were out enjoying the city. The building looked so lonely. I couldn’t bear to go in. I decided I would go sit at the bar and wait for Kale to return–I shouldn’t have tried to follow him. It was stupid of me.
 

I approached the bar and peered in the windows to see how busy it was. Who knew how long I was going to have to wait until Kale returned, and I really wasn’t up for a crowded atmosphere.

When I looked in, I was surprised to see that there was not one person sitting inside. I looked around the room, and just then something caught my eye. I stood paralyzed. Kale was standing behind the counter facing away from me, and I could see a female’s arms locked tightly around his neck. Although I couldn’t see their faces, I could tell it was an extremely intimate moment between the two of them.

Every muscle in my body went tense, and I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until my lungs begged for air. This didn’t seem real. I started to argue with myself…. There had to be some logical explanation for all of this, although I could think of a single one.

He lifted her up, setting her on the counter. When he did, her face rose above his shoulder. My mouth closed, and I swallowed the lump that was lodged in my throat. She was more radiant than anyone I had ever seen, and when she tossed her head back to laugh at something clever he must have said, her gorgeous, long, dark hair swept the countertop back and forth. It was Jen.

My heart was beating so loudly it drowned out the noise of the streets. I inhaled an exaggerated breath that stung my throat, causing my eyes to release tears that had filled them. I was unable to deny all the facts laid out in front of me, and I began to shake with shock and disbelief.

Jen looked through the window, catching sight of me. Her face paled and became serious and overrun with concern as we made eye contact. I walked a step closer to the window, pressing my hands against it. We held each other’s gaze for a moment, and when I couldn’t take it any longer, I pressed myself away from the glass and back away.
 

Jen pushed Kale from her slowly and slid down from the counter, keeping her eyes locked on me, and just like that… I ran…. I ran faster than I had ever run before, and I didn’t look back. I could hear the bar door fly open and footsteps run out on the sidewalk. I increased my speed, breathing so heavily my lungs hurt. I raced past people, bumping into some and knocking valuables everywhere, but I didn’t stop and only when I was sure that I hadn’t been followed, did I slow to a walk.

Unknowingly, I had run several blocks before I realized I was in a part of town I had never been, but none of that mattered. I was out of breath, and everything was spinning. Voices on the street were muffled, and my vision was blurry. A voice in my head was screaming at me, telling me I was ignorant of believing that Kale ever really cared for me. What upset me the most was that I knew that voice was right. I knew better. I had pinned hopes and dreams, love, and trust on something that was real only to me, not to him.

I approached a park bench and sat down. My chest was hurting, and I tried to make myself believe it was from running so hard and not the fact that I was completely devastated. I leaned down, placed my face in my hands, and cried. Tears streaked my cheeks, and I rocked back and forth, hoping to chase out the horrible feeling. I couldn’t be sure if I had sat there for minutes or hours. I pulled my feet up on the bench and wrapped my arms around myself to hold–what felt like–pieces together.

It took some time to collect myself. I tried to sweep the imagines of Jen and Kale out of my head. Finally, I pulled myself together and walked home.

Chapter 5

Broken

B
ack at my apartment, I unlocked the door and was about to enter when I heard a creaking sound down the hall.

“Azaleigh?”

“Oh hey, Mr. Parker.” I didn’t make eye contact. I was sure I looked quite the mess and didn’t need confirmation of it from him.

“Honey, are you okay?”

“Sure, Mr. Parker, just a rough night, that’s all.” To add to my feeling bad already, I remembered I was supposed to have had dinner with him tonight. “I’m really sorry I missed dinner.”

“That’s okay, Hon. I just wanted to let you know that someone stopped by earlier looking for you.”

I’m not surprised.
I thought to myself. “Was it a guy?” I asked.

“It was a man. He came by twice. He was knocking on your door very loudly and calling your name. I came out to see what all the fuss was about. He was very polite when I told him that you hadn’t been home yet, and that I would let you know he had stopped by. He left, and then about an hour later he came back, knocking on your door again. I stepped out and told him you still hadn’t been home, and that I had every intention of giving you his message…, but it was like he didn’t know what I was talking about… like he had forgotten we had spoken. It was very strange.”

It was really odd. I didn’t see Kale as a stalker…, but then again, I didn’t see him as a cheater either. I didn’t want to think about it right now. I just couldn’t deal with it. I wanted to crawl into my bed and hide from the world.

“Okay, thanks Mr. Parker.” I started to walk through the door when he stopped me again.

“Azaleigh, are you in trouble?”

“No, Sir. Not that I’m aware of.” I said it to lighten the mood, but I don’t think it worked. I didn’t want to burden him with how my world was dissolving around me… or the fact that I no longer had a friend… or that the one person I thought I could share my life with was a lying scumbag. No, I couldn’t do that. My pain would be my own. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, giving him a fake smile before I went in.

***

Surprisingly, sleep came all too easy that night. Before I knew it, my alarm was ringing in my ear. To say I was sluggish was putting it lightly. I barely made it to work on time.

Tannah had assessed my mood and stayed clear. I shuddered at the fact that Jen and I would have to cross paths today. Her shift started two hours before mine would end.

Just as I thought, Jen showed up early. I could feel her watching my every move, waiting for the opportunity to talk to me.

“Az?”

I ignored her, hoping she would give up easily and leave me alone.
That’s what I get for hoping.

“Az, please listen. It was not at all what it looked like,” she said weakly.

That single sentence made me realize that she knew a lot more about Kale’s relationship and mine then I had thought. I assumed he had told her about me, which would explain why she looked at me the way she did at the bar. I had worked so hard to keep our relationship private, and this was just another way Kale had betrayed me.

I still thought denial would be my safest bet. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” This really didn’t make much sense, since I took off running from her less than fourteen hours earlier.

“Az, you know what I’m talking about.” She had the nerve to sound annoyed, which only enraged me more.

“Jen…, it was exactly what it looked like.” It came out as a hiss.

“I wouldn’t lie to you. I wasn’t there to see Kale.”

“Really? So it was a coincidence that you two were groping each other? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Well, it’s hard to explain, but I promise you, Az. It's not what you think.” Apparently, repeating herself was the best defense she had.

“I have nothing more to say to you. You know…. I had this illusion that we were friends. That was my mistake.”

“I
am
sorry,” she whispered. I couldn’t look at her any longer. I turned my back and continued cleaning the table.

For the next hour, I waited tables and hauled dishes. All the while, I pretended like Jen wasn’t there. I wished I could have believed her, but all the facts proved otherwise.

I stood behind the counter, tallying tickets when I heard the front door open. Someone stood in front of me and cleared their throat. I refused to look up, mostly because I wasn’t in the mood for human interaction.

“Can I help you?” I asked finally, while punching numbers into the calculator.

When I heard his voice, everything inside me stood still. “Azaleigh.” It was Kale. Instinctively, I made eye contact. When I did, I felt the bottom of my stomach drop.

His eyes were filled with pain and despair.

Anger consumed me. How dare him for showing up here. How dare him for making me trust him.
 

I looked across the diner to find Jen, who in return had looked up from the customers she was waiting on to watch the drama unfold.

“Jen!” I shouted in my most cynical voice. “Your boyfriend’s here.”

“Oh, that’s real mature Az.” She rolled her eyes and went back to taking orders.