Technically, I’m new to everywhere. “Yes.”
When she didn’t elaborate, Shay laughed and shrugged. “Do you want some tea and weed?’
“What?” Sydney’s eyes grew wide. She knew what Shay meant, but the question caught her off guard. “Really?”
Shay tossed her head back. “Yeah. If you don’t smoke, that’s fine. And if you're allergic or something I can smoke on the fire escape.”
“Oh, no, I’m fine.” I think. “I smoke some.” I’m assuming. Most people my age do, right?
“Awesome! I make great pot brownies too.”
“I bet,” Sydney chuckled.
Chapter Three
By the time Shay got home Sydney was resting against the counter eating ice cream out of the tub. “Yum,” Shay giggled. “I guess you are feeling better?”
“Yup.”
Before diving into the butter pecan with her own spoon, Shay narrowed her eyes and sniffed the air. “Did you get into my stash?” her mouth twisted as she tried not to smile.
“No...” Syd feigned offense.
“Mmmhmm.”
“I didn’t,” she finally laughed. “I got this from Xander last week.”
“What? That asshole told me he was out?”
“When?”
“Two days ago.”
“Well that was probably my fault,” Sydney chuckled. “I think I bought most of what he had.”
Shay shook her head, eyes sparkling with amusement. “Well, that brother of mine needs to learn to put family first.”
They ate ice cream in silence for a while. “How was business today?”
“Not bad. A couple of rich old ladies came in with their froo-froo dogs and bought a bunch of the new clothes I made.”
“Cool.”
“Yeah.” After a few more beats of silence Shay spoke again. “We should get a cat.”
“I thought you were allergic?”
“Just to dogs. Well, mostly just dogs...”
“Oh. Well, OK. That’s fine with me.” Syd felt bad that, as much as Shay loved dogs she couldn’t have one of her own.”
“Cool. I’m having an adoption drive next week, we should look at the kitties.”
“Sure,” Sydney shrugged. Part of her gut stiffened at the idea of bringing an animal into their home though. The only animals she had close contact with were the dogs that came into the shop. She helped Shay out in the store in exchange for rent and groceries and every time someone brought their dog inside the thing would bark its head off at her. They just never seemed to like her, to the point that it was kind of embarrassing. Maybe cats will be better?
“Are you coming out with us tonight?”
“Nah.”
Shay watched her closely for a few beats. Syd knew she was trying to decide if she should get her out of the house or keep her away from bars. “All right. If you change your mind we’ll be at Homies.”
“Ha! How the hell are you getting Xander to go to Homies?”
“He doesn’t know yet,” Shay laughed.
“Well good luck with that.”
“Right?!” Shay giggled. “Oh, did you get a chance to check the online store?”
“I did actually. There were a few messages and I answered them.”
“Cool beans.”
Sydney rolled her eyes and smiled behind Shay’s back. The woman was the best kind of strange. Besides helping at the store, Syd primarily ran Shay’s online order business. It had turned out she was pretty good with technology. She figured that out while working with Don and when she realized Shay wasn’t utilizing social media and online markets Sydney offered to help. Shay had loved the idea and agreed to give Sydney a share of the profits.
It had been a perfect set up. Sydney was able to earn money without needing an ID or social security card. She didn’t even need to leave the house to work. The less people she ran into the less chances she took of someone recognizing her. She had no idea if it was even possible for someone in Chicago to identify her. For all she knew she was from so far away that there was no chance of anyone knowing who she was. But why risk it. Better safe than sorry. Yeah, you learned that the hard way. Her stomach clenched with guilt. “Fuck.”
Sydney paced around the apartment trying to decide what to do. She needed to get out of the house, but she didn’t want to hang out with Shay, Zak and Xander. They knew her too well. Especially Shay, who was already suspicious about her moods and her drinking. She didn’t have answers for Shay. None that were good enough anyway, so, she needed to keep her distance. Her hippie friend was a no questions, no judgments kind of girl, but that wouldn’t last forever. Sydney could only imagine the ideas that Shay had already.
***
Sydney never talked about her past, her family or any life before Chicago. Shay never asked for an ID and for that she was grateful. She technically did have one, it just wasn’t hers. She had found it after she ran from Don’s store. And she had “found” it in the purse of a lady who looked a lot like her—enough that Sydney figured it would pass a cursory examination. Enough to get her into a bar, which is what she had been looking for at that moment. She had never, in her limited memory, drank before Don died. But as she cleaned the blood off her the best that she could, she was overcome with the need to get utterly and totally drunk. Blind drunk. But she knew that she looked too young to chance not getting carded.
Once she made it to the city it had been easy enough to steal the woman’s ID that Sydney wondered if she had been a thief in her previous life. She didn’t have to wander long before she found a woman who was a close enough match. All she had needed to do was sit at the table next to her in a crowded coffee shop. It hadn’t taken long before she got up to the bathroom, leaving her bag laying on the floor next to her chair. People are really this naive? Sydney leaned over as if she was messing with her own bag, quickly pulled the woman’s wallet out, flipped it open, slid the driver’s license out and stuck the wallet back in the bag. She left the cafe immediately afterwards. No point in sticking around to give the woman a chance to figure out her ID was gone.
Hurrying down the street, Sydney took a good look at the license. The woman’s name was Lisa Sims. She shrugged and slid the ID into her back pocket. The picture was good enough to pass and all she would need to do is memorize the information. According to the dates she was now Twenty-three. Close enough, she figured. Might even be right. She walked, with no real destination in mind. Eventually, she realized she was passing a library and made a quick detour inside. She gave up on the idea of getting drunk right now since finding shelter was more pressing. The easiest way to do that was to get online. And the cheapest way to do that was the library. But she needed a library card to use the computers.
Sydney handed the librarian her newly acquired driver’s license and nervously filled out the application form. She expected the woman to come back and ask her why she was trying to get a new card when she already had a card, and books checked out to boot. How would I explain that? she worried. But her luck held out. The only difficulty she encountered was not having a bill to prove her address. When she grew visibly upset, the librarian took pity on her and granted her internet privileges only. The woman handed her a shiny new library card and in no time she was online. And hour later she tossed away the empty box her cell phone had come it and was dialing Shay’s number.
***
Sydney jumped when that same phone pinged with a text message. She picked the phone up and expected to see a message from Shay, the only person who ever texted her. But it wasn’t Shay.
“You knew. And you should have told me.”
Sydney’s heart pounded in her chest. What do I know?
“I hate these asshole, hipster bars. You could have warned me.”
Sydney flopped onto the couch laughing breathlessly. “Xander?”
“Of course. Who else would be texting your paranoid, recluse ass. This is my personal phone.”
“Sorry man.”
“What
ever. Meet me at The Pit?”
Tilting her head, Sydney started at the phone in confusion. What’s up with this? Since when does Xander chit chat with me? Or want to hang out? “Uh, no probably not a good idea.”
“What? After last night you are going to act like you don’t party?”
Oh, shit! “Um, what do you mean?”
“LOL. You don’t remember?”
“Of course I do…”
“Yeah right. Meet me in 30 mins and I’ll refresh your memory.”
“Dammit.” Sydney held her head in her hands before she let out a deep breath and went to get dressed. She could just not show up, but then she wouldn’t know what the hell she had done when she had been black out drunk. And she assumed that Xander hadn’t mentioned anything to Shay, otherwise Shay would have already called her squealing. Xander may be her brother, but she loved exciting things. And this sounded like a juicy story that Shay would love to hear. Besides, Xander wasn’t exactly the type of guy to gossip or run his mouth.
Late winter was still cold, so Sydney dressed in jeans and a sweater. Some people would still find that too light for the weather without a coat, but Sydney always seemed to run hotter than everyone else. Despite dressing lightly and the chilly air she was still sweating after walking the fifteen minutes to The Pit. She wasn’t high anymore, but she still had lingering cotton brain enough to feel like the walk had taken three times as long as it actually did. Her mouth was so dry her tongue was sticky and even though she told herself she was going to drink water she knew that was unlikely.
The bar was brick with tinted windows and situated on a shady corner. Sydney had found it after hearing Shay giving Xander a hard time for going there. She had called it skeezy and Xander had shrugged it off. “People mind their own business there—they leave you alone. It’s my kind of bar.”
It sounded like the ideal bar to Sydney too. She had been a few times, mainly trying to go when she knew that Xander was working. He ran a tow truck service and got called out at all hours of the night—as well as selling weed on the side. The only reason she ever knew he was working was when Shay mentioned it in passing. She had decided to risk it last night, but apparently she had been spotted. Man, I really hope I didn’t do something stupid.
At The Pit, it was early enough that Sydney was able to grab a table in the corner. A tired and haggard looking waitress came to get her order. “More tequila?” she woman chuckled.
Sydney cringed before answering. Fuck, apparently whatever I did was memorable. “Uh, no thanks. Just a beer.”
“What kind?” The server’s voice was gravely and she kept brushing her stringy hair out of her face.
“Oh, I don’t care. Surprise me.”
The woman scowled at her, but before she could complain someone slid a beer across the table. “She’ll drink this.”
The waitress shrugged and walked away as Xander slid into the seat across from Sydney. She stared from the amber colored beer to Xander and back to the beer. “And how do you know I like this beer?”
“You drank it last night,” he shrugged.
Sydney held his gaze. Xander couldn’t be more different from his sister. She was light, airy, open, and an immediate friend to everyone she met. But Xander, well Xander was dark, brooding and a borderline asshole. His unusual haircut added to his edginess. It was nearly shaved on the sides and long on the top and his sideburns connected with a short, scruffy beard. His eyes were so blue they were almost purple, and currently they were narrowed at her in amusement. She had certainly never seen that look on his face. Usually, he looked ready for his next fight. “OK. Out with it,” Sydney sighed.
“What?”
“What the hell did I do last night?”
Xander leaned back in his chair, scratching at his stubble before picking up his own beer and taking a deep drink. The sleeve of his black tee-shirt pulled back and the colorful ink caught Syd’s attention. She wondered what the tattoo was but didn’t ask. She hadn’t seen Xander in short sleeves so she had never gotten a look at the whole piece. As he returned the glass to the table he smiled at her. The look, so unusual on his face, caught her off guard. She continued to hold his gaze, refusing to back down. “Shay’s worried about you, you know.”
“Well, she doesn’t need to be.” The tension was building up in Sydney’s gut as she chugged the last of her beer. What the hell does he want from me? Did I let my memory problem slip? Did I spill my guts about Don? If he wants money he’s shit out of luck. I barely have any of it left.
Xander shrugged enigmatically. “Want another beer?”
Syd tossed her hands in exasperation. “I want to know what I supposedly did last night.”
Xander studied her face for a minute. “Nothing.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing really.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean you were shit faced and you danced—a lot.”
“I don’t dance.”
“Apparently you do,” he leaned his head back and laughed.
“If I didn’t do anything, then what were those text messages about?” Syd narrowed her eyes at him.
Xander shrugged again. “Nothing, I just wanted to get out of that hipster-hole. I figured you might need to get out too. Besides, last night, it was fun hanging out with you.” He spoke nonchalantly, but his words were colored with confusion as if he was surprised he had even said them.
Chapter Four
Alarm bells were ringing in Sydney’s head. “What do you want?” she asked him, her eyes narrowed.
Xander raised a brow. “I told you. To hang out.”
Sydney sighed. “Well, I don’t.” Somewhere in the back of her mind her subconscious was kicking her. Seriously? Are you nuts? There was no denying just how hot Xander was, and had Syd been willing to get involved with anyone, he would be at the top of her list. Shay always made it a point to tell her that her brother was a lot nicer than he let on. But she knew better. She didn’t even like the idea of having friends, let alone a...what? Boyfriend? And one like Xander is a disaster waiting to happen. She almost snorted out loud. Xander was not boyfriend material.
“Are you sure about that?”
At first Sydney thought he was asking her if she was sure he wasn’t boyfriend material. Then realizing how stupid that was, she felt her face redden. “Yep,’ she said firmly, recovering.
“I don’t believe you.”
Sydney stared at him with her mouth hanging open. “Why would I lie?”
“Because you don’t want to be close to anyone.”
A sliver of annoyed discomfort trickled through her. “You don’t know me.”
“Yeah, I do.” Xander’s smug smirk caused her to grit her teeth. He lifted his eyebrows at her over the edge of his glass.
“No, you think you do. You think I’m some kind of challenge, right?” Oh yeah, that was definitely the game that guys like Xander played. Charm you until they charmed the pants off you and then that was it. On to the next chase. How she knew that, Sydney wasn’t sure. She had no idea if the knowledge came from personal experience or just observation, but she was sure nonetheless.
Sydney’s annoyance grew to anger when Xander laughed. “No. Not at all. Now you’re the one who thinks they know me—but you’re wrong.”
“Sure. Fine. I’m wrong.” Sydney started gathering her bag and sliding out of the booth. “Neither of us know the other, let’s leave it like that.”
As she slipped past Xander his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Her skin tingled under his grip. Without looking at her he spoke. His deep voice low and challenging. “When you want to hang out again—give me a call. You have my number.” He released her wrist and she bolted for the doors—barely keeping herself from running.
Goddammit, Sydney muttered to herself and she banged her way through the doors to the street. She didn’t know what she was madder about—the fact that Xander was so convinced Sydney would want to hang out with him again, o
r the fact that she did want to hang out with him. How in the world are he and Shay so different? she wondered. Not only did they look nothing alike, but they didn’t act alike at all. She grumbled feeling like Xander had some sort of victory over her. Hell, two, if she counted the fact that he remembered the first time they hung out and she didn’t.
Sydney continued to stalk the streets angrily, not ready to go home. The cold air helped clear her head. She didn’t pay attention to how long she had been walking until she realized how close she was to Montrose Harbor. The damp smell of the lake and the low hanging fog caused her spine to stiffen. She retreated away from the lake before turning on her heel and hurrying back the way she came. It was a bad idea to keep wandering the Chicago streets on her own this time of night, so she began to make her way home. Hopefully, if Shay was there she would have gone to bed already.
The smell of the lake continued to follow her even though she was walking upwind and she knew it was more in her head than anything. She lifted her arm to her nose and took a deep breath and cringed. She could smell the dank water clinging to her skin even though it had been four months since she woke up covered in mud and water on the shore of Lake Michigan. She ran her right hand over her left forearm and imagined she could still see the words scribbled there. Sydney shivered and clenched her fists. She tried to fight the memories as they pushed at her. Why can’t you remember anything worthwhile, she growled at her own mind.
***
When Sydney opened her eyes that morning, four months ago, the first thing she became aware of was pain. Her whole body jerked in alarm and she groaned as the movement caused agony to sweep through her head and back. She rolled over and stared up at the purple sky. She knew that dawn was approaching and some instinctual part of herself insisted she needed to run before it was full light.
Why? And for that matter, where am I? She sat up and blinked. She sucked in a surprised breath when she saw the huge body of water in front of her. At first she thought it was the ocean, but then realized it didn’t smell salty. The ocean is salty, right? She realized she had no idea if she had ever even been to the ocean. How else would I know what it smelled like? Syd put a hand to her face and flinched at the bolt of raw pain that that shot through her nose. It began to throb immediately and she pulled her hand away, unsurprised to see thick, sticky blood coating her fingertips. What the hell? She gingerly prodded the rest of her face and was relieved to find that the main source of pain seemed to just be her nose. She had no doubt it was broken, something couldn’t hurt that bad and not be broken, but she didn’t think anything else was.
Don't Let Them Find You Page 2