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9

Jared

I snuck out of work carefully at the end of my shift, expecting to find Liam lying in wait for me, but… nope. Nothing. I sagged a little with the letdown of adrenaline. I peeked down the street at Grounded and saw the lights were off.

My shoulders sagged. Huh, I guess he went home .

I was surprised to find that I’d actually been looking forward to him calling me out, cheeks flushed, eyes flashing as he tore a strip off me. The fact that he wasn’t was disappointing.

Guilt gnawed at me a little. Maybe that was why I thought I deserved to be yelled at. Like if he got mad, I would somehow be exonerated from blame. Yeah, that was some twisted logic.

The next morning, I braced myself again, anticipating the blowup. And again, nothing.

What the hell? Did he not guess it was me? I stood on the sidewalk outside of Crave and thought about it for a second. If he hadn’t figured it out, should I tell him? Well, that would kind of defeat the purpose to the whole prank, wouldn’t it? Huffing, I went to work.

Day after day, it was the same. No Liam, no fight. Grounded remained open, customers still coming and going with greater frequency as he built up a reputation for his delicious baking, but I was less annoyed with that than I’d anticipated. It wasn’t like I thought a few cockroaches would be enough to chase him off. He hadn’t come across as the cowardly type. He was no pushover.

The urge to get answers was starting to nag at me, like an itch I couldn’t scratch. After a full week had passed, I was done.

I stormed into work without pausing. I wasn’t the least bit surprised that Liam was once again absent, and I’d pretty much given up all hope of seeing him again. I just wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or bad.

As I pulled the door open, I caught a whiff of something unpleasant, and I wondered if the storm drain out front was backed up or something. I made a note to call the city if it was still there at the end of my shift.

“Hey, boss,” I said, waving to Hugh on the way to the back. He nodded, but he was busy counting out scoops of coffee grounds, so I didn’t interrupt him. Soon, the rich aroma of fresh brew covered up any lingering odor, and I forgot all about it.

About an hour later, though, it had begun to creep back in, and I saw the expressions on a few customers’ faces, twisted up in disgust. I should call the city sooner rather than later. It was going to start affecting our business.

It had begun to get warm in here, as the summer sun rose high and hot in the sky, shining straight in through the large front window and reflecting off the tables at the front. Hugh closed the blinds halfway, cutting down on the glare, then said, “I’m going to turn the A/C on.”

It was the post-lunch lull, and without the customers to keep my mind occupied, thoughts of Liam invaded my head. I leaned a hip on the edge of the counter, feeling that familiar itch. “Hey, boss. Have you met the new café owner from down the street?” I asked out of morbid curiosity.

“Hmm? Yeah, of course. He came in and introduced himself a few days ago.” He was distracted by something, his forehead creased. “Why?”

“No reason…” I could’ve left it at that, but the need to know more about the man grated insistently. “I mean, what do you think of him?” I asked, fishing for something, though I wasn’t sure what. If Hugh thought he was a jerk, then maybe it would be vindication that what I’d done was right?

Hugh had tilted his head back, looking up at the ceiling, but my question brought his attention back to me. “Um, yeah, he seemed nice. Awfully young to be starting a business, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

Dammit. Now I was going to have to go over there and apologize.

Hugh went back to looking around, his face twisted into a grimace. “Okay, please tell me I’m not going crazy. You smell that too, right?”

I scoffed. “Of course I smell it! It’s been lingering all day. It’s the sewer out front, isn’t it?”

He shook his head, craning his neck around. “No, I don’t think so. I swear it just got worse when I turned the air on.” Since we didn’t have any customers at the moment, we left the air on and went in search of the smell, which unfortunately meant walking around taking deep breaths.

I was determined it must’ve been sewage, so I started by opening the door and taking a whiff, but Hugh was right. The air outside was fresher than in here, even counting the car exhaust. Next, I targeted the drains in the kitchen sink, thinking gray water could back up there too, but that came back clear. Then, with a sinking sense of dread, I thought back to what I’d done to the public bathroom in Grounded, so I headed there next, wary and cautious. Hugh said Liam hadn’t been here in days, but I checked it all the same. Once I’d cleared it, I trudged back to the counter, confused as hell.

“Alright, I give up,” I said, but Hugh was in the back corner standing on a chair. “What are you doing?”

“I think I’ve figured out where it’s coming from.” He was standing directly in front of one of the air vents, bracing himself with a hand on the ductwork.

“What, like it’s being drawn in from outside? A problem with the unit on the roof maybe?”

“No, I don’t think so.” He grunted as he tried to wedge his fingers in around the edge of the grate.

I made my way over and held the back of the chair to make sure it didn’t wobble and dump him on his head. With a grunt, he got the cover off, and there was no doubt about the source of the stench now. A thick, rancid odor overpowered us both, and I gagged before I got a handle on it. Hugh bravely rose up on his toes to peek inside. “Uh… you are not gonna believe this.”

“Oh gods, did a rat die in there?” I asked, stomach threatening to empty itself right here. The city probably had rats, just like any city, though I’d never seen one myself. I was ready to call an exterminator, but before I could grab my phone, Hugh shook his head.

“Nope, not a rat.” He hopped down from the chair, a strange look on his face. “First things first, we turn off the air. Then we’re going to need a garbage bag, some rubber gloves, and cleaning supplies.”

“But what is it?” I asked, following him to the kitchen.

Hugh stopped and turned around the face me, his expression unreadable. “You’re not going to believe it, but it’s… a dead fish.”

“A fish ?” My voice pitched higher at the end as my throat tightened .

“Yep. A fish.” He grabbed a black garbage bag from under the sink. “Someone obviously put it there. The vent’s around the corner from the counter, so it would’ve been fairly easy to do without being seen, but what I don’t get is who would’ve put that in there? Some teenager, I guess. I tell you, I am not looking forward to my kids reaching the troublemaker stage. I can already feel my hair turning gray.”

I knew exactly who put it there, and it was no teen. Likely a few days ago, in fact, when a certain rival café owner came by to introduce himself. He seemed nice, Hugh had said. Had a good head on his shoulders. Yeah, right.

“Here, let me,” I said, taking the bag from him.

“You don’t have to.”

“I don’t mind.” This was my mess, so I would be the one to clean it up.

There were a lot of emotions I should’ve been feeling right about now, as I donned thick yellow gloves and bagged up the rank fish carcass, holding my breath for as long as I could. I should’ve been mad, certainly, or even should’ve been put in my place a little after a healthy dose of payback. Instead, though, I felt a bizarre sense of… pride . This whole week I’d been waiting for Liam to make a move, and meanwhile, he already had. He didn’t yell at me, didn’t back down. No, he’d stood up for himself in the most exhilarating way. Ooh, he’d gotten me good.

I knew I should back down and call it even, but honestly, I hadn’t had this much fun in ages. This little battle with Liam was unpredictable, and I kind of loved how completely unstable it made me feel.

Ever since me and Mom had parted ways, everything in my life had been in this delicate state of balance, and I’d been walking on eggshells not to disrupt anything. I couldn’t stand the thought of my hard-won stability being shaken up, so I worked hard at my job, making sure I had enough money to pay all my bills, everything planned down to the penny. Even my relationship with Ridley had been more about making sure he was happy and had whatever he needed. Planned date nights, never anything spontaneous, and in the end, that was probably what had done us in.

Liam, though, brought chaos to my world. Instead of clear skies and smooth sailing, he was a hurricane. That delicate house of cards I’d spent so long building, suddenly… it didn’t matter so much anymore. He’d thrown a wrench into my plans, and I was still here. He made me feel stronger than I had my whole life. More capable of handling whatever came at me.

Was I going to back down now? Hell no.