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THE BUTTERFLY

T racey has been side-eying me all night. Ever since the mystery man with the skull mask came in and rescued me. It’s as if she blames me, because the fight broke out. I heard her say that I love drama. She didn’t tell me directly but said it loud enough for me to hear and anyone who passes by.

I’m thinking about grabbing something to eat—something small, when Tracey walks up to me.

For a split second, it’s as if she wants to have a real conversation. And I don’t know why, but my mind immediately flashes back to the one thing she did want to talk about, maybe because she has the same spark in her eye and the same seriousness across her face.

She grabbed my hand, and dragged me to the bathroom. My stomach clenched as if it were folding in on itself.

“Hazel, did you enjoy taking my man?” She asked as her eyebrow lifted and she stood close. Her auburn locks bounced off her shoulders and her tall frame overshadowed me. I was a few sizes bigger than Tracey, but she was tough. Always at the gym. Her life seems to consist of going to the gym, work and hanging with her best friend.

I shook my head. I’d hoped one day she would speak to me.

“You were flirting with him, which is why he gave you his number, and he didn’t give it to me.”

“Here,” I said innocently. As I took my phone out of my black pants and I started reciting the number. The only numbers on my phone are the diner, my doctor, dentist and my therapist.

She shifted away from me, rejecting me and my offer.

“If you didn’t flirt with everyone who came into the diner, then he would have known better.”

My head scrambles as I try to think of who eats in the diner, and the only people I could think of are old people and students apart from the sheriff and his son. But the sheriff is happily married and his son is just creepy. “Just remember if you try anything like this again. I will fire you in a heartbeat.”

My shoulders tensed, stiff and immovable. I nodded my head, not understanding why she felt threatened by me. Overweight. Ginger haired. Green eyes. Unable to form any conversation due to being socially awkward. I never completed high school and I spent nearly four years in an asylum, so I never learned how to be social. She didn’t know. No one did.

“It won’t happen again.” It was the only thing I could think to say. Just to reassure her, because I knew this job was more important than any potential friendship.

She rolled her dark eyes and headed out of the bathroom. I exhaled, my chest collapsing with relief.

This town isn’t small enough for everyone to know everyone, but it isn’t big enough to get another job in a heartbeat.

Especially someone like me, with next to little experience, because everything on my CV is fake from my name, social security number to my date of birth.

I’m a couple of years younger than what’s on my CV and my job is so basic that even a high schooler could do it. I need this job. I wanted to give Tracey the guy’s number , because the last thing I wanted was to piss off the boss. But, I’ already done from the moment the guy gave me his number, just giving her another reason to hate me.

“You’re getting sloppy tonight Hazel. It’s busy. Real busy. Don’t keep customers waiting,” Tracey snarls at me.

I ignore her, because I don’t care about my job, nor anything.

A smile appears across my face—not so much about the incident earlier, but because I know when I have my session with Dr. Julia tomorrow, there’ll be one person on the tip of my tongue. And it won’t be about my past or something which is boring. It will be about my hero. Even though I don’t know his name, there’s only one person who rescued me. I often wonder where he is and what he’s doing now.

Now, I have another guy.

A mysterious guy who wore a skull mask on Halloween and stopped some guy from molesting me. I knew my costume was too tight, and I regretted wearing it after having my butt smacked more than once tonight, but my hero didn’t want to do that. He wanted to rescue me.

I wish I could thank him for making me feel safe, and thank him for making my day.