by L J Branch
“You alright in the head, kid?” Al asked after Abbie dried off her hands and hung up her apron. “You’ve got a little pep in your step.”
“Do I?” Abbie asked, genuinely curious.
“Definitely,” Eric said startling Abbie as she hadn’t even noticed he had entered the kitchen to get ready for the night shift. Eric had given Al his two-week notice and Al had been determined to get as much work out of him as possible. Abbie would have felt bad for him if her friend wasn’t blatantly ditching her there to work alone. “Something you want to say?” Eric asked knowingly and in response, Abbie shook her head. Abbie refused to let him know that she actually used that app of his, the little pride she had left just wouldn’t allow it.
“Not at all,” Abbie said firmly before a bell rung, letting them know that someone had entered the diner. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to go,” Abbie said as she left them in the kitchen. Now, even though she had heard someone enter the diner, Abbie still found herself surprised to see Kat standing by the door. Though Abbie had seen plenty of pictures of her, she was definitely cuter in person-and thankfully not a catfish. Kat was a good margin smaller than Abbie which she expected. Abbie was a tall woman that stood at six feet exactly which was something she always hated, it made her feel like a clumsy giant most of the time.
“Abbie?” Kat asked with a grin as she placed her hands in the pockets of a thin black hoodie she’d worn in many of her profile pictures. Almost hidden behind the hoodie was a black collar with a gold and green yin and yang pendant.
“Yeah, and you’re Kat, right?” Abbie asked with a small smile. “Great timing, come on let’s get out of here,” Abbie said before she attempted to make her escape. Before Abbie could get too far, Kat suddenly stopped and waved at someone behind Abbie. Abbie was confused until she glanced back and found a smirking Eric with a confused Al behind him. Abbie grabbed Kat’s hand and led her out before she could hear Eric’s mouth.
“Friend?” Kat asked curiously making Abby snort.
“More like the bane of my existence.”
“So best friends, then.”
“Yup,” Abbie admitted despondently. It was then Kat led Abbie toward a motorcycle and handed her a helmet. Kat had told Abbie she had a bike but it didn’t click that Abbie might have to ride it anytime soon.
“Hm? What’s the matter? Don’t wanna ride?” Kat asked in concern when she saw the cautious look Abbie had on her face. “I mean we can always catch a bus or something, no air shuttles though they aren’t worth the price.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’m just wonderin’ where your helmet is,” Abbie answered lamely though Kat didn’t seem to mind as she laughed.
“I never wear one.”
“Isn’t that illegal?” Abbie asked but Kat just winked at her.
“Only if you get caught,” Kat answered and Abbie was certain now that Kat was definitely an adrenaline junkie.
“Wait, then where did you get this one?” Abbie asked curiously and to her surprise, Kat blushed a bit, a sheepish expression on her face.
“Grabbed one on my way over here, my roommate reminded me that not everyone might be up to riding on my bike, let alone helmetless,” Kat answered and Abbie was both touched and surprised by the gesture.
“Wait, you bought me a helmet?” Abbie asked incredulously and she noted the surprisingly shy expression on Kat’s face. “Expectin’ me to ride with you a lot?” Abbie couldn’t help but tease, surprised that Kat even had a shy side.
“After I show you the time of your life, yeah,” Kat answered with a small smile that only grew when Abbie placed the helmet on her head.
“Now I’m interested, let’s go,” Abbie said while Kat’s eyes lit up with joy before she climbed onto her bike. Abbie honestly didn’t know what was wrong with her, she prided herself on not being a risk taker, but Kat had made her take more risks in the past week than she had in the last year. Something about Kat just made Abbie’s inhibitions crumble and for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why she didn’t care as much as she probably should have.
* * *
Santa Monica, The Back Alley
“Nice spot,” Kat said with a grin as they sat at a booth in the corner of the club and ate pizza. Abbie used the term “club” lightly. The Back Alley was really just a restaurant with a dance floor. A chill spot if you had nothing to do in the afternoon or evening. At least, that’s how it should have been and how it was from Abbie’s past experience.
“I have no idea what’s goin’ on,” Abbie said honestly, still stunned by how lively the place had become. Some patrons were even dancing on their tables, the LED implants in their tattoos shining brightly in the darkened room. It was almost as if a switch had been flipped the moment they walked in as the calm restaurant tried to become the liveliest club in the city. Hell, even Abbie felt her inhibitions continue to lower which gave her the sudden urge to go out and get into some trouble. Good trouble if the way Kat looked at her was any indication. With a surprising amount of effort, Abbie fought these strange urges down. Call her old fashioned but Abbie didn’t take people back to her place on the first date, no matter how cute they were.
“What can I say? The party doesn’t start until I show up,” Kat said cheekily. “Tell me about yourself. We’ve been talking about our likes and all that, but where are you from?” Kat asked curiously. “Like, how does a girl from down south end up here?”
“You know I’m from down south?” Abbie asked as she was positive the profile Eric had made her said that her hometown was Santa Monica. This was mainly because not even Eric knew Abbie’s hometown.
“It’s faint, but your accent is still there. Not to mention a name like Abigail just screams country girl, no offense,” Kat said and Abbie couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“None taken, I take pride in not bein’ born a city slicker,” Abbie said with a grin.
“So how did you end up here, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Well when I was fourteen I got accepted to New Tokyo Tech and graduated at seventeen. When I came back, I got offers to work at places all over. I could have picked somewhere back home but…irreconcilable differences with my family made me decide to take a job up north instead,” Abbie answered and she did her best not to laugh at Kat’s expression. Abbie’s background was not exactly one someone would expect from a waitress at a diner.
“Wait, NTT? Like where the super egg-heads go to school?” Kat asked while Abbie smiled at her expression. “Not to pry, but what kind of “irreconcilable differences” makes you flee across the country?”
“I’ll put it this way, they’d have a fit if they saw us right now,” Abbie said and waited for the proverbial light-bulb to go off in Kat’s head. “Society has changed a lot, but my family seems to be frozen in time regarding some things. It’s like their values were etched in stone.”
“Oh,” Kat said sadly. “I get it, I know a thing or two about old mentalities getting in the way of happiness,” Kat said, more to herself than Abbie who chose not to comment on it.
“Well, they didn’t exactly take too kindly to it, but by that point, I had already graduated so I figured I could take care of myself. Last I checked I’m still alive and well so I guess I did somethin’ right,” Abbie said with a shrug to let Kat know that her question didn’t bother her. “People have a habit of thinkin’ that I’m sad about the way things went down back then, but honestly it was like wakin’ up from a bad dream,” Abbie said after a few moments and she noted the thoughtful expression on Kat’s face. “You want to know how I ended up at a diner, don’t you?”
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Kat said sheepishly. “Sorry, I’ve been told I’m too curious for my own good.”
“Then that makes two of us,” Abbie said and at Kat’s confused expression she explained. “The company I worked for was big, each day was like a dream come true as I worked in R&D. One day, though, I stumbled across somethin’ that didn’t add up. A project I was worki
n’ on was being repurposed for things that…let’s just say I didn’t approve of, and neither would the government,” Abbie explained. “I blew the whistle and the entire project came down. Sadly, my promised confidentiality didn’t work out so well and I’ve been on some sort of blacklist ever since.”
“Are you serious!? But that’s not right at all!”
“No, but that’s the world we live in,” Abbie said as she waved off Kat’s concern. “I don’t care so much anymore, lookin’ back on it I’d do the same thing again if I had the choice,” Abbie said honestly and for some reason, Kat looked a bit impressed by that. “But enough about me, what about you?”
“Me? Not much to say really. When I was eight, I was adopted along with my best friend, Jack, by our guardian. Her name’s Violet but we call her Vivi.
“Vivi?”
“Yup, short for violent Violet, trust me she was not a woman you wanted to piss off. She was dangerous as hell with a belt,” Kat said with a shudder as if traumatized. “We lived in Chicago where she raised us and home-schooled us herself for the last ten years. This year, Jack and I moved out west due to a job offer,” Kat answered and Abbie couldn’t help but smile as a happy expression crossed Kat’s face as she seemed to recall memories that Abbie realized she wanted to hear one day.
“What was the job?”
“He became a bodyguard, I still laugh at it because even though he was two years older than me, he was much smaller than I was until puberty hit him like a truck,” Kat said and Abbie couldn’t help but wonder how strong this Jack must have been to have such a job at twenty years old. “Me? I’ve always been good with my hands so I’ve been doing odd jobs wherever I can,” Kat explained. Nearly immediately after she said that, Kat grimaced. Abbie was confused until she added, “For some reason, saying that out loud sounded a lot worse than I expected.”
“Hey I don’t judge, gotta get paid somehow,” Abbie teased.
“Shut up!” Kat said as she swatted Abbie’s arm, though she couldn’t help stop the giggle that escaped her. “I meant that I fix things, mainly vehicles. No one knows an engine as well as I do!”
“Oh? We’ll have to see about that. I may be a computer nerd, but you know I am a car fanatic,” Abbie challenged playfully.
“You’re on. Still, I guess you could say that’s why I ended up making a profile on that app,” Kat said after a moment. “I don’t have many friends here so I was getting a bit lonely. That said, I hope you understand that I definitely didn’t come here tonight to just be your friend.”
“Good, somethin’ tells me that would have been a waste,” Abbie said, grateful that Kat didn’t feel like dancin’ around that subject. It was then a thought occurred to Abbie. “I have to ask though, why me?”
“Uh, you sure you want to know? It’s kind of stupid,” Kat said sheepishly, but all that did was pique Abbie’s curiosity even more.
“Try me.”
“I never met anyone with eyes as gray as yours before and wanted to see them in person,” Kat said and for a moment Abbie thought she was joking until she realized that Kat was being dead serious.
“Seriously?” Abbie asked laughing in disbelief.
“Yeah...see I told you I was a curious person,” Kat said and Abbie had to admit, Kat definitely had her beat in that department. “Your eyes drew me in, but it was you who got me here.”
“Ain’t you the smooth talker?” Abbie asked as she averted her eyes with a shy expression.
“I try,” Kat said before they continued on with their date. The night was young and eventually they made their way through town and stopped at various places of interest before they headed to see a movie. A bit cliché, Abbie admitted, but she ended up having one of the best nights she had in the past two years. One thing Abbie was certain of as she spent time with Kat was that she was definitely happy that she swiped right.
CHAPTER 2: The Mark
Santa Monica, Eric’s Apartment
Music echoed throughout the apartment as Abbie sat on a beanbag chair and bobbed her head to the smooth hip-hop beat. As she looked around the room, Abbie once more appreciated Eric’s new apartment. Hell, the view alone was insane as the apartment overlooked a good portion of the city. Abbie smiled to herself as she spotted a poster that featured a very beautiful dark-skinned woman with long black hair and hazel eyes. In the poster, the woman held a crown with her right hand that was covered in a black glove that bore a golden “M” on it. The bottom of the poster had the word “Diamond” and next to that, Abbie could see the word “Goals” written in marker by Eric. Eric, himself, grinned to himself as he listened to the music before it finally came to a stop.
“So, what do you think?” Eric asked as Abbie opened her eyes after the beat ended.
“That you, my friend, might have actually found your callin’,” Abbie answered. “Seriously, this is good Eric. I’m proud of you.”
“Come on Abbie, don’t get all sentimental on me!”
“Just tellin’ it how it is, don’t forget the little people,” Abbie said which made Eric shake his head.
“Never forget where you came from. Besides if you and Roy hadn’t hooked me up, I’m not sure if I would even be making good quality music,” Eric said seriously. “I owe you, Abbie.”
“Let’s just say we’re even, then,” Abbie responded. Abbie’s words confused him for a moment before a smile crept onto his face.
“Things going that well, huh?” Eric asked knowingly. Abbie averted her eyes as her cheeks reddened slightly. “Almost two months now, right? I won’t lie I was a bit surprised you two actually hooked up, but y'all look good together.”
“I won’t lie I wasn’t expectin’ much myself but this is honestly the most fun I’ve had in a long time, Eric. She’s like a breath of fresh air,” Abbie explained, a fond smile gracing her lips.
“I’ll say, didn’t even know you could smile this much until recently, or leave that cave you call an apartment willingly,” Eric said as he leaned back in his chair. “She’s a free spirit that a shut-in like you definitely needed. You’re even taking risks again, living life instead of going day to day like a zombie.”
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Abbie couldn’t help but ask and the look Eric gave her told her that, yes, it had indeed been that bad. “Speakin’ of risks, I gave Al my notice. Figured I’d go try to get some kind of job in my actual field again, even entry level pay is better than what I’m making now.”
“Wait, aren’t you black-listed?”
“Yeah, findin’ a job in any of the big corps again is a pipe dream, but I’m sure there is some small business that would take me in. The only reason I haven’t checked before was that I just…didn’t care anymore, you know?” Abbie explained tiredly. “But I know for a fact I can’t keep my sanity at Al’s anymore.”
“That bad?”
“With you gone, and no one else takin’ your job, he’s been workin’ me to the bone. I can’t take it anymore, the pay is nowhere near good enough for all the hours I’m there,” Abbie said and Eric knew from his own experience that she was right.
“Well, good luck then.”
“Appreciated,” Abbie said before she checked the time on her phone. “I gotta go.”
“Tell Kat I said hey.”
“Will do.”
* * *
Santa Monica, Arcade Nox
“Here you go,” Abbie said as she placed a can on the arcade game Kat was engrossed in. She held back a laugh as she watched Kat use the fake gun to shoot down holograms of zombies.
“Thanks-oh no, no!” Kat called out before the music from the game died down as the words “Game Over” were displayed before her. “Damn it!”
“Sorry, kitten, but you’ll never beat my high score,” Abbie gloated before she handed Kat the can. “Here, use this to wash down the salt.”
“One day I will defeat you, just watch,” Kat swore before she downed the drink. “That hit the spot.”
“Admit it, you ju
st date me because I get you booze,” Abbie teased.
“Babe, if that were true, I’d date someone who gives me more than a single can of beer.”
“Hey, you’re the one drivin’. I don’t care how high you say your tolerance is, you’re not gettin’ me killed,” Abbie said before she flicked Kat on the nose. “Or yourself for that matter.”
“Aw, you do care.”
“Seriously though, why don’t you get a fake ID or somethin’ instead of sneakin’ into these places? In fact, how are you so good at doin’ that?” Abbie asked as she wondered how Kat had managed to sneak into every bar and club they met up at.
“What did Jack call it? Oh yeah, the legacy of a misspent youth,” Kat said cheekily. “As for why I don’t get an ID, well…this is more fun. I’m 18 which means I won’t get to enjoy the thrill of sneaking in to places much longer.”
“You’re crazy. You know that, right?” Abbie asked and in response Kat stood on the tips of her toes and kissed the taller woman on the corner of her mouth.