Escape

Vanna came down the stairs, nearly falling over in the process from exhaustion. Once she made her way into the kitchen she was greeted with the overwhelming smell of coffee. She wrinkled her nose, making her roommate laugh.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” he told her, pushing a cup of tea in front of her. She grabbed it with both hands and brought the cup to her lips. “Up all night?” She put the mug down on the counter and sat down in front of it, messing with her horrible bed hair.

“The nightmares are kicking up again,” she told him honestly. “I only got about an hour of sleep. The same the night before.” Her fingertips played with the bottom hem of her oversized t-shirt that went halfway down her thighs. She heard a sigh.

“You got to get those under control, babe,” Russell said. She shrugged.

“I do what I can.” He gave her a smile adoring smile before taking a bagel out of the plastic bag and cutting it in half. He popped it in the toaster.

“So you’re going to be working late tonight, huh?” She nodded.

“Diner pays me overtime if I do.” He nodded back. The two were silent.

She adored Russell with every bone in her body. He was her best friend, and her only friend at that. They met at the post office four months after her surgery and quickly connected. He worked at a local arena in downtown Chicago, organizing dates, bands, and who is to be where, when. Russell was the type that girls would drool over; blue eyes, dark brown hair, pale skin, five o’clock shadow, tall.

“I’ll be out late, too,” He said. She looked at him and raised a brow. The toaster beeped.

“Show tonight,” He explained as he took the bagel out and started eating it. “Some new band. Real moody, I think. They’ve got that lead singer who just wails about his ‘tude and how he’s ‘not okay’,” he explained bitterly, using air quotes.

“Never heard it.”

“I really liked it at first but it’s literally plagued every radio station and music television channel to the point where it makes me sick.” She laughed.

“Too mainstream?”

“Fuck that shit. If everyone else likes it I don’t want it.” More silence. “Meg might go with, I dunno.” Megan was his younger sister. “She likes ‘em but it’s a school night so we’ll see how Pop deals with that. Education is numbero uno and with midterms this week you know he’s bound to lock her in her room as soon as she gets home from school.”

“I’m going to try to get some sleep before I have to go,” she said groggily, sliding of the chair and landing on her feet. She walked over and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek before going upstairs.

*

Her alarm clock went off at four o’clock that afternoon, giving her just enough time to shower and get ready. She showered quickly, drying off and putting on her dark blue dress uniform, sliding on a pair of leggings underneath and putting her combat boots on her feet. She put her long hair in a bun on top of her head. She slipped her thick cardigan on and grabbed her purse before walking out the door. It was almost an hour-long walk to work, but she didn’t mind. She liked the chilly air and the exercise.

“Hey, Ruby,” she said to the older woman behind the register as she walked into the diner. A quick glance at the clock told her it was almost 6; she made it just in time. Vanna put her purse under the counter and wrapped her black waist apron on, sticking a pack on blank receipts in the pocket and tucking a pen behind her ear. It was an all too familiar action.

Her shift went by fast. Most of the customers early on were tired college kids on their laptops, struggling to get last minute papers finished, she assumed. At around midnight there was a small crowd of people, all wearing shirts that read “MCR” and chatted animatedly, giggling and smiling to each other. She assumed that the show Russell went to was out now, since the venue was less than a mile away. They went away an hour later, leaving the place completely empty apart from the cook, Joe.

“Ay, Joey,” she smiled, putting her forearms on the counter that separated the two. He was a nice man, who was married to Ruby. Even though they married thirty years ago, they still gave each other lovey-dovey looks like they were teenagers all over again.

“Don’t call me that,” he said with a frown. Vanna smiled broadly. “What time is it?” She stepped back to glance at the clock above her head.

“Quarter after two.” Joe gave a sigh of relief. There was only forty five minutes left until they could go home.

“Thank God, it’s been a long fuckin’ night. I need sleep.” Her smile faded and she rubbed her eyes.

“You’re telling me.” She heard the bell ring as the door to the place opened and a moment later she heard someone sit down in the chair behind her. There was a black haired man in sweats and a t-shirt, his head rested in his hand.

“What can I get you?” She asked, bored tone. She bit her lip and closed her eyes to fight back a yawn, opening them a moment later. He finally brought his hand away from his face, a weird expression on his face like he just realized she was there.

“Black coffee,” he told her, “Should probably get decaf,” he added a moment later. He had a edge of disappointment in his voice. She flipped the mug next to him over so it was facing up. She walked over and grabbed the coffee pot, filling the mug up. She lingered for a moment.

“You’re the first one to come in without that one band’s shirt, MCR or whatever,” she said, hoping to strike up conversation to keep her awake. He smiled to himself, but she didn’t notice.

“You don’t like them?” He asked. His fingers played with the spoon next to him and spun it around on the table. He was careful not to look up, he didn’t want to give it away. He saw her shrug.

“My roommate says they’re overplayed. I haven’t listened to them, but based on the number of kids who walked through the door as excited as they were, I’m assuming they’re decent.” He laughed, causing her to look at him with a confused look. He looked up at her.

“It’s my band,” he explained to her.

She knew that face. It’d been seven years since she’d heard his voice, but those eyes and that smile couldn’t be mistaken. She swallowed harshly and her heart started beating fast, her panic becoming evident. His eyebrows furrowed.

“You okay?” He asked. She nodded.

“I’m glad to know you listened to me.”