Page 27 of Stalked By Shadows
“Managing the shop helps,” Micah said, sipping his coffee. “People don’t look at me like I’m broken because they assume I’m acting all dark and mysterious to bring in business.”
“You’re not broken.”
“But aren’t we all? Even if it’s in small ways, the world shatters our exterior, cracks the shields we put up and sometimes allows something else to burrow inside. Those of us who look more put together? We have more cracks than most. You, who admit to being broken? Your cracks are big, sure enough, but few and mending them is easier when there aren’t so many.” He turned to stare out the window. “You’re not crazy, Alex. The world is full of unexplainable things only because we haven’t found a way to explain them. If you think of it that way, it’s less scary.”
“You have no idea what I saw in that desert…” My heart began to race just thinking about it.
“What if you let it go? Stop trying to reason through the whys and hows, but accept it as something that happened?” Micah asked. “Not everything in life has an explanation. In fact, most things don’t. The memories will never completely vanish, but they might fade, and have less power over you.”
“Is that what you have done with your disappearance?”
“Yes,” Micah admitted. “It was either wallow in it or learn to live. I haven’t been all that successful since I buried myself in work, but I’m hoping to change that and find a life again.”
“You mean dating as well?”
“Yes. Everything. Going out and enjoying myself. Having sex. Maybe finding love. There’s more to life than the job and distraction.”
“Finding a life again would be nice,” I agreed, liking his definition. Outside of the mental hospitals and couch surfing, learning to live sounded great. Was it an achievable dream? Or another delusion my brain wanted to cling to? “But as much as I’m attracted to you, we can’t. You’re my boss. That’s a no-no in any culture. No matter how attracted I am to you.”
“Lukas is your boss, not me.”
I blinked at him. “I don’t work for Lukas.”
“You do, actually. Technically, I do too. Without him my visa would be up, and I’d have to go back to Japan. Immigration laws in this country really suck.”
I gaped at him. “What? How? Lukas?”
“He’s a silent partner for Simply Crafty. Helped me get the loan for the retail space and all the permits for the tours. New Orleans has laws about residency and shop ownership. Lukas has been here almost a decade and has residency as well as citizenship, so Lukas owns fifty-one percent to my forty-nine percent.
“Wait,” I said. “Wait. So you didn’t give me a job. My brother gave me a job.”
“He’s a silent partner. Doesn’t really do anything business related other than collect a check and help pay some bills. I needed help at the shop and he asked if I could make it work for you. If knowing that helps me not feel like your boss, that’s great. I want you to be comfortable.”
I stepped away from him, feeling… something I couldn’t quite define. Anger? Betrayal? Treated like a child? Was I that broken? Did Lukas expect so little from me that he had to be the one to give me work?
“Alex?”
“Sorry. I need a minute, okay? I’m sorting through a lot of stuff right now,” I said. I felt his eyes on me, but needed to get my head straight first. Was I mad at him? Kind of. But what for? Had he really done anything wrong? He’d never interviewed me, let me walk along blissfully unaware that his benevolence was really my brother’s. I’d never asked for all the details. Not his fault. But I couldn’t help but be angry with him for bursting my hopes that I was finally getting set on the right path because I’d earned it, not just because of Lukas. I stalked to the chair and my stuff, then began pulling my clothes back on.
“Alex?” Micah asked.
“I’m not a little kid.”
“I never suggested you were.”
“I quit,” I told him as I dug through the bag to find my wallet and phone. When I checked the phone there was not a damn word from my brother. So much for him picking me up in the morning. I had scathing things to say to him, but it was a bad idea. This whole thing was a bad idea. Hell, living some days was a bad idea.
“Alex, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No. I’m sure you didn’t. But that’s okay. We’ve just met, right? I kept thinking that it was all okay because I know you. But I don’t really. You’re some guy I watched on a video once. I overstepped by thinking we were friends. I forget that this world isn’t about friends. Should have learned that at war when we suspected everyone, but I’m broken…”
“Alex.”
“Thanks, Micah. It was nice meeting you. I hope things work out for your tour thing. It’s probably not the best fit for me anyway since my brother doesn’t want me entertaining any ideas that paranormal stuff is real.” I left then, not daring to look back because I could feel the sting of tears in my eyes. Trust was hard. I’d trusted Lukas. I wanted to trust Micah, and now I wasn’t sure where to turn.
I walked through Micah’s garden, glancing over the area for any sign of what might have made the noise the night before, but everything was still and calm. Another fucked up memory I didn’t need.
Chapter 10