It was a bit busier than normal, but nothing I couldn’t handle. If anything, the work kept my mind off of all of the drama in my life; the generous tips helped, too.
I was a few hours into my shift when the last person I wanted to see right now strolled in with her gaggle of bitchy friends.
Lisa.
They sat down at a booth, whispering and giggling amongst themselves; one glance at Lisa’s phone, even from afar, told me that they were laughing at my pictures. It had to have been Lisa who took the pictures.
I hesitated for a while, pretending to be busy with other customers, but I knew that I would have to serve them eventually. Was this job even really worth it? I could walk out right now… But I needed the money. My textbooks this semester were more expensive than usual and I was struggling, and apparently now I needed to replace my phone.
Taking a deep breath and putting on my best customer service face, I walked up to their table.
“Hi. Can I get you started with some drinks?”
Lisa slowly turned her head and looked up at me. There was a long silence, during which one of her stupid friends chewed her gum as loudly as possible and blew a big bubble as the entire group eyed me up and down like a piece of meat.
“Oh. My. God,” Lisa said while her friends snickered. “What, you don’t get paid enough for your cheap blowjobs, so you have to wait tables to make ends meet?”
I scowled and tossed their menus down, pulling my notepad out of my apron in an attempt to just do my job and ignore their bullying.
“Drinks?” I repeated.
Lisa scoffed. “Waters,” she replied. “We don’t consume liquid calories. Maybe you should try it sometime. You look like you could stand to lose a few pounds.”
“Sure thing,” I replied and walked away to get their waters, trying my best to not let their words get to me. I had never considered myself to be overweight, and I wasn’t going to let them convince me otherwise.
I returned with their waters and set them down. “I’ll be back to take your orders,” I said, turning on my heel to go and hide in the back.
As I started to walk away, I heard the sound of glass breaking and the girls snickering from behind me. The other guests in the diner went silent for a moment, and I turned around to see that Lisa had pushed her glass off the table and onto the floor, spilling water everywhere.
“Oops!” she said, holding her manicured hand over her mouth. “Waitress, could you clean that up? Someone could hurt themselves!”
I balled my fists up at my sides in anger, knowing fully well that Lisa broke that glass on purpose, but put on a fake smile and walked away to get a towel and a broom. I returned and started sweeping up the glass, then crouched down to wipe up the water while Lisa and her friends watched.
“I think you missed a spot under there,” Lisa said, pointing underneath the table.
“Seriously, Lisa?” I said with a frown. “I know you’re just trying to humiliate me.”
Lisa smirked, then looked over my shoulder. “Hey, is that your boss?” she said. I turned around to see Phil standing behind the counter with his arms folded across my chest and giving me his signature “don’t fuck up” stare.
With a sigh, I got down on my knees and crawled under the table to wipe up the water. While under there, I felt a hard kick on my ribcage, which made me jump up in pain and hit my head on the table, which as a result made the rest of the waters topple over and spill all over the floor and Lisa’s friends. They all jumped up, screaming that I ruined their clothes, while I sat back on my knees and held my rib in pain.
“Ugh! Let’s go eat somewhere else!” Lisa said, grabbing her bag and storming out. Her friends followed.
The rest of the restaurant was silent. I kept my head down and continued cleaning up the mess, even though my ribs hurt like hell from that kick, but I could feel Phil’s stern gaze on me.
I finished cleaning up and carried the broken glass to the kitchen as tears streamed down my cheeks.
“You just cost me five customers,” Phil said, following me into the kitchen. “And your performance lately has been a lot worse.”
“I’m sorry,” I replied quietly as I dumped the glass into the trash can.
“I think you need a break,” Phil said. His words were stern, but his tone was soft. He was never a mean old man — just a business owner.
“No,” I replied, turning toward him. “I won’t let it happen agai-“
Phil shook his head and raised his hand to stop me. “Just take a break,” he said. “Focus on school. You can come back in a few weeks.”
I tried protesting, but Phil wouldn’t hear it, so I grabbed my bag and my jacket and stormed out into the chilly night air. The streets were dark, with very few cars and absolutely no one walking. It was like a ghost town.
“A few weeks?” I muttered to myself as I walked briskly down the dark sidewalk toward the campus. “A few weeks of no pay, over spilt water? Hmph.”
“That sucks,” a strange male voice behind me suddenly said.
I stopped in my tracks and whipped around, my heart racing, to see a stranger in baggy clothes. They had their hood up and were wearing gloves, a surgical mask, and sunglasses.
We stared at each other for several moments as I processed what was happening. Was this just an overly friendly stranger on the sidewalk in the middle of the night, or was this my stalker?
All of the potential scenarios started to run through my head as I backed away and the stranger continued to walk toward me, closing the gap between us. Images of my body being thrown in a dumpster by a crazed killer flashed through my mind, making my heart race even faster.
All I knew was that sticking around was probably a bad idea. My fight or flight kicked in, and I chose flight.
Nina
I didn’t stick around long enough to find out what would happen if I didn’t run, and I didn’t look over my shoulder. I focused on the sidewalk ahead, running as fast as I could as my fear came true: I heard the sound of feet running behind me. They were getting closer, and I knew that the stranger was pursuing me.
“Help!” I yelled, but the streets were deserted. No one was around to hear me, and even if they were, I had heard stories about women’s cries for help being ignored before. I couldn’t even call the police since I lost my phone.
“Slow down!” the stranger called from behind me. I picked up my pace, my heart pounding harder and faster with every step, my legs pumping as fast as I could make them.
Suddenly, the stranger picked up his speed and caught up to me, circling around me and cutting me off. I shrieked and turned around to run in the other direction, but he grabbed my wrist and held me fast.
“Let go!” I screamed, wrenching my arm as hard as I could. My wrist burned and throbbed, but I got away.
I had two options: keep running in a straight line out in the open in the hopes that he would either give up or someone would come along to help me, although he would probably catch me again just as easily, or… I could dart into the woods next to us and use the darkness to my advantage. Maybe I could lose him between the trees, plus the campus was right on the other side of this patch of woods, so I could possibly find a public safety officer once I got there.
I knew it wasn’t the smartest option, but it made sense in my terrified mind.
Without taking longer to think about it, I sprinted as fast as I could into the woods.
“Hey!” the stranger yelled, crashing into the woods after me as I wove around trees in an attempt to lose him. “You’re not gonna get far. I can smell you!”
My heart leaped up in my throat. He could… smell me?
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply