One’s staring at me. Two men and one woman, and she’s staring at me. While Pierce helps the other two, she just stands there staring and staring, only blinking but no verbal sounds come out of her mouth. She looks like she is deep in thought. Maybe I remind her of something like a boyfriend back home or maybe a distant relative that she hasn’t seen in a long time and questions if I am that relative or not. I can guarantee you, I am not.
Getting creeped out, I listen to what the two men are ordering. I take it as an excuse to get away from her as soon as possible. Grabbing the smoked apple cinnamon bars and some lavender honey sticky buns, I put them in the tan paper baskets that Cheleste’s siblings help her make. I turn around and see that the girl is still staring at me. This time she notices that I notice her and clears her throat looking down at the ground. I can’t tell if the red on her face is from the heat or if she can’t help but notice my crippling handsome looks.
When the three of them get their baked goods they head on their way to whatever their destination is. Hopefully somewhere far far away so I don’t have to be stared at for ten minutes straight with a woman I have never met. It was almost like she never met a man before other than the two men she was with. The one with silver hair looked nothing like the other two. I bet the other two are siblings and he is a friend or a cousin or something.
“Um, what the hell was that Xavier?” Cheleste asks. She playfully gives me a light punch on my upper arm. “She fell in some love trance or something.”
“Maybe it’s my handsome features she couldn’t get her eyes off,” I joke.
“If that’s the case then she has really bad taste in men,” she chuckles.
“Hay, leave him alone. She seemed interested in Xavier!” Pierce says as he pulls Cheleste close to him, “Maybe a girl is what he needs to help him pull out that stick that’s been in his ass forever.” They share a laugh at my disappointment
“I think it was kind of cute,” June blurts out. We all fall silent and look at her. “What’s with the looks? It was a little creepy but did you see the sparkle in her eyes? She was obviously attracted to Xavier.”
Maybe June was right, but I didn’t feel anything back. Isn’t love supposed to be this magical thing where your skin melts from internal heat and your heart explodes from beating too fast? If that’s the case, then count me out. Love sounds too painful to be something I would long for. Maybe love is a lie and it is the real darkness in all of us.
“Do you guys want to start packing up? I don’t think we are going to get anyone else with the heat,” Cheleste says.
We all agree and help her pack the baked goods in little containers for her to bring back to her siblings where they will devour these in seconds. We cleaned up the tables and gave the money box to Cheleste. She offers to pay us and we all refuse. It was her hard work that made all this money. She was the one who made people crazy for her baked goods.
We were hesitant to bring down the tent because it was our only source of shade in this unbearable heat. It didn’t do much but at least it did something. As we were about to bring the tent down, an old lady snakes up on us out of nowhere. Her thick white hair clumps in a bun behind her head. The hunched back tells me that she has had years of work laboring on her body and her wrinkles indicate the amount of experiences she has lived over a very long life.
“Sorry, ma’am, we are closing down. We will be open at the next market date in thirteen days,” I inform her.
“Oh, no, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of Pure Pub,” the old lady responds.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
In all my years, I have never heard of an old lady going to the pub before. The oldest people I see drinking are retired guards and those are mostly men. Women rarely go to the pub unless they are selling their bodies to make some extra cash but this old lady would have to be delusional if she was going to try and sell hers. Well, you never know, there could be some desperate men out there.
Nodding, I give her a pleasant smile as my friends continue to pack up the tent behind me. I point down the road telling her to take a right, a left, and then at the blue barrel she should walk for five more buildings and then she will see a set of stairs that lead underground.
“I’m so old I don’t think I even remember the first turn you told me. Would you be a dear and walk with me there? I could pay you in a drink,” she says.
Silently sighing I note in my head how today has been one of the most unpredictable days I have ever lived. I don’t want to go out of my way for something I am not even interested in, but I can’t say no to an old lady. That would make me one of the worst human beings on the planet. Although, an underground bar has to be shaded and probably cool so it would be nice to be in there for a bit. It would be rude of me not to invite my friends with me, right? Luckily, she offers a drink to all of us if we walk her to the Pure Pub. We all agree and lead the sweet old lady to a pub where she doesn’t look like she belongs.
We help the old lady down the old, dusted steps that lead to the underground pub. The cool air covers my skin in goosebumps and chills. A sigh of relief escapes from my mouth. I promised myself in the cold, shaded area that I could never take advantage of shade again.
“Is this your first time in here?” the old lady asks us.
We all nod our heads. We aren’t exactly of age to be able to drink…but if this old lady buys for us then no one has to know anything.
“You have to try the Black Truth,” she says. “It is one of the best drinks I have ever tasted.”
“I don’t know, anything associated with Darkness is not something I’m interested in. Maybe we should head out of here,” June says.
“Don’t worry. You know how pubs always name their drinks menacing names to make them seem cooler than they really are? Come on, if you try it and don’t like it then there is more of it for me,” the old lady chuckles.
We all hesitantly agree to try Black Truth. We wait for the old lady to turn her back and head over to the bar. I notice that she says something to the bartender and he smiles at her as if he knew her already. But if that were true, then why would she have needed us to show her where the pub is?
“Maybe she is trying to rob us,” Cheleste says.
“No, she is far too slow to be a pick pocketer,” June responds.
“Unless it’s all an act so you would think that she would be innocent when you find your missing valuables gone,” Cheleste says.
“I’m not sure, but I feel like something is off about this whole situation. We should try the drink, all agree that it is not for us, and go back to our day as normal young adults,” I say.
June and Cheleste share a look and nod in agreement. Pierce doesn’t nod with them. He, instead, has his eyebrows furrowed slightly and the corners of his mouth are pulled down.
“I don’t know guys. What if she is just really lonely and wants to talk to people who are kind to her? Maybe we remind her of her grandchildren who live too far away for her to travel to. Come on guys, I know you have hearts for this old lady. Let’s give her company while we can and try to make her day. What do you say?” Pierce says, putting on his signature smile.
This doesn’t surprise me. He has always tried to see the good in people and because of it, he was always the one who got hurt the most when things didn’t turn out the way he expected. Don’t get me wrong, I like that he sees good in people, it makes him cheery and likable, unlike me. He always knows how to calm people down in a panic and cheer someone who is on the verge of crying. He is someone everyone needs in their lives, but I wish it didn’t hurt him as much. It sucks that the people who have the purest hearts always get hurt the most and he is one of the purest people I have ever met.
The old lady comes back with nothing in her hands and a dangerous smirk on her lips.
“The waitress will bring all of our drinks over when they’re ready. In the meantime why don’t you four tell me what you have always wanted in life? I’m curious what young people desire these days.”