With that thought alone, the blood drained from my entire body.
“A Food Safety Inspection guy is supposed to come in next week, if you and the girls can keep up the cleanliness around here,” Erica said, though her voice barely penetrated my thoughts.
I forced a nod.
“Right, well, I need to get going. I have a long week of meetings in Boise, but if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call.”
I nodded again, and I barely noticed when she walked by to leave.
If Jason was trying to sabotage my job, he knew where I worked.
And if he found my place of work, he could find where I lived.
Where Avery and I lived.
I blinked a few times before crossing to the sink to fill a paper cup with water, taking a long gulp. Once it was empty, I filled it again, chugging the water like it could somehow clear my head.
None of it was confirmed.
I had no idea who had made the complaint to Erica, and for all I knew, it was an angry customer that got one sugar instead of two.
I dug around in the top drawer for the bottle of Advil we kept back here, taking two pills to keep the impending headache at bay. I tossed the cup in the trash, giving myself a minute to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, just like Callan told me to.
I attempted to distract myself with questions, but it didn’t work as well as when he did it.
Grabbing my phone from my locker, I shot Callan a text.
Me: What’s your current view?
In less than a minute, he was typing back.
Callan: Ace attempting to bite a soccer ball. What’s yours?
Me: Unfortunately not the same
Callan: Is everything okay?
Me: Other than my boss stressing me out?
The three dots appeared and disappeared three times before he replied.
Callan: I’ll come by once I’m done with my lessons. Call me if you need me, okay?
Me: Okay. Thank you
Callan: Always, baby. I’ll see you soon
I shouldn’t want to rely on him in this moment, but I wished his arms were around me and his voice was speaking soothing words in my ear. It'd been so long since I had someone I felt like I could turn to in a time like this, and now Callan was the only one I wanted to take my mind off of everything.
I needed him, but I wouldn’t put that burden on his shoulders. I could get through this until he was able to come by.
I was strong.
***
My shift was ticking by at a snail's pace, every minute feeling like an eternity. Tomorrow was my day off, so naturally the entire day was dragging on.
I lost count of how many times I’d scrubbed the counter, but I was wiping at the same spot I’d just been working on twenty minutes ago. I was even more eager to see Callan than I was to be off. We’d texted and called since our talk in the barn—we even fell asleep on the phone together the other night—but neither of us had brought up my wrist or my ex. It was hard to figure out if he didn’t want to hear about it, or if he was simply not bringing up the topic for my sake.
The cowbell above the door announced a customer coming in, so I tossed the rag on the counter and turned to greet them.
But rather than words flowing out of my mouth, my heart stopped instead, my breath getting stuck in my lungs.
“Hello, Sage,” Jason said, and the greeting was anything but warm.
I swallowed, trying my damned hardest to compose myself. I did not want him to see that I was scared.
Fear only fueled him.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, but even I didn’t miss the tremor in my voice.
He prowled up to the counter, his movements slow and predatory. Each step echoed through the small eating area, pounding in my ears with the panic I tried to keep at bay.
“You weren’t replying to my texts.” He took another step, but instead of stopping in front of the counter, he turned to come around the side. “Or answering my calls.”
“You’re supposed to be in prison,” I said, not allowing myself to take my eyes off of him.
He came around the corner, facing me. I inched backward a step, holding onto the edge of the counter for support.
