SSS 2 - Wait where you are

Life is good. Things are OK. You tell yourself that a few times and sip your coffee. Maybe it’s a bad idea; this much caffeine could make you jittery, but you sip anyway. You were three minutes late. That’s not sufficiently late that you need to feel bad about it, especially with this weather. So for all intents and purposes, you were on time.

You just need to wait.

“What is your deal?” Taytum asks Bian, who is staring at the rainy night.

“I just hope Onee-sama is OK,” Bian replies.

“Listen, you little squirt, I’m all the Onee-sama that you need,” Taytum tells her, annoyed.

Bian looks up at her. “That’s not what an Onee-sama would say.” Taytum doesn’t hear her; she’s chugging another little vodka.

You’re starting to calm down and your normal thoughts are coming back. Your family, school, and life in CCL House. You have coverage in the diner, although it’s not the fastest. You check the weather, and you don’t like what you find: it’s only going to get worse. There are many more inches of rain coming, and tons of flash flood warnings. You peer at the map.

“Lyna?” Bian asks worriedly.

You show her your phone. “We might need to leave.”

“Why?”

“The roads are going to flood. For real. See all this?” You point at the screen. “That’s all between us and Gurlberg.”

“Can’t leave,” Taytum says, shaking her head. “We just got here. Whoever’s meeting us is probably running late because of the shitty weather.”

She’s not wrong. Maybe you could get a pass for backing out because of the weather, but it wouldn’t be a good look. You need to at least stick out and try, just in case.

You’re about to ask how long the others think you should give your contact, but as you open your mouth, one of the girls at the other booth stands up. Then the other one. One of them is skinny and tall like you, and the other is, well, really cute. You aren’t usually the type to objectify, but she has it all. Her outfit is like swamp chic with her jeans and button shirt, her glasses look expensive, and she has Bian’s sexy proportions without the miniature size.

You stop looking before Taytum notices and looks. That will destroy the moment. Your glasses are spotted with water, so you take them off to wipe them. For a moment you worry that the girls are coming this way, but they pause in front of the door. You try not to be obvious as you watch them, but they’re just standing there, looking at the storm. What are they doing? What are they looking for out there?

Then they open the door and hurry out into the rain.

You sigh and take a drink of coffee. Taytum turns to look when the headlights come on, but says nothing.

“Hey, Lyna. Come over here,” Bian says. You sigh and get up, joining them on the other side of the booth so that Bian can take a selfie. “Our first **** deal.”

“What?” you say. That’s wrong on multiple levels.

“Yeah,” Taytum says, scowling. “Maybe don’t make that joke right now.”

“Huh?” Bian looks to see what Taytum is talking about: a strong pair of headlights swings into the parking lot. It’s a Hornie County Sheriff’s Department jeep, pulling up to the diner. “Oh. Shit,” she says.

You go back to your side of the booth. “Just be cool. They can’t be here for us,” you say.

Bian looks impressed. Taytum looks pissed. You have a feeling that she hated the police long before she found out what kind of stuff CCL was up to.

You watch s as the deputy emerges from the jeep, hidden by a black raincoat with a serious hood. Her face is hidden as she approaches the diner. The noise of the storm pours in along with a lot of rain when she opens the door, and she has to fight to close it behind her.

The waitress emerges from the back, a mug of coffee in her hand. She pauses at the sight of the deputy, then smiles.

“Well, hi,” she says, coming to the counter.

“Hi,” the deputy replies, sweeping the diner with her eyes as she takes down her hood. She’s a serious-faced brunette, building like Taytum. She takes off her raincoat and hangs it by the door so it can drip on the rubber mat. Her boots squeak as she approaches the counter. Her uniform is beige.

“Is Trixie here?” she asks.

“No. She left,” the waitress replies, taking a drink.

“Her car is still outside.”

“Someone picked her up.” The waitress turns and points toward the kitchen. “Picked her up out back, actually.”

“Do you know who?”

“I’d assume boyfriend, but I don’t know her that well. I didn’t see the car, but Louisa might have.”

“Louisa?”

“Yeah. Louisa.” She steps to the side so that the deputy can see into the kitchen. “Kelly’s here too.” The waitress sees the deputy shiver. “Can I get you something?”

The deputy peers suspiciously into the kitchen for a moment, then turns and looks in your direction, resting her hand on her hip. “What did you say your name was?” she asks, but she’s not talking to you.

The waitress smiles.

“Jenny,” she says.

Seconds pass. You pick up your phone to match Taytum and Bian.

“I’ll have some coffee,” the deputy says finally.

“Coming right up,” Jenny chirps.

The deputy comes straight to your booth as Jenny heads for the coffee pot.

You all look up from your phones. The deputy takes in the mugs and pie with her eyes. She looks down critically at the damp cuffs of her slacks, then at the three of you.

“There’s a girl who works here who hasn’t come home. Her car’s outside. Seen anything suspicious?” she asks bluntly.

You look at Bian. Bian looks at Taytum. Taytum looks at you.

Yes? Or no?