Trust Me

The smells of the bakery assaulted my nostrils as I walked behind the counter and put on my apron. Baking and frosting made it worth waking up at ungodly hours to smell the sugary scents. My mind wandered as I baked on my own, silence enveloping the back of the bakery. I hummed under my breath as the customers filtered into the little shop.

A ringing filled my ears as I walked to the register. A pair of sparkling hazel eyes filled my vision as I looked up. It took me a moment to remember my voice.

“How may I help you,” I asked, plastering a fake smile onto my face.

“Hey! Can I have a coffee? Black with two sugars, please,” he said. He had an accent that made his voice sound melodic.

“Name?”

“Owen Burgess. And yours?” He smiled at me.

“Valerie. Valerie Heart. Well, Owen, it will be about two minutes. You can go sit down if you like.”

“No, I’d much rather wait and talk with you. The rest of the shop seems to be empty anyway.”

I didn’t understand how people could be so annoying in the morning. At least he wasn’t breaking out into song and dance in front of me. I walked over to the machine and readied his coffee as he continued to talk to me about nonsensical subjects. He told me about surfing and the different waters he had visited. I will admit that it was quite fascinating, but I kept up my façade.

The machine beeped, signifying an end to its work. After making it to his specifications, I handed it over to him.

“Two fifty-five,” I said brusquely.

“You could smile, you know. I bet you have a beautiful smile.”

“And you could stop talking to me and let me do my job.”

“Whatever you say,” he said taking a sip of his coffee, “Oh, and I’ll be back tomorrow, this coffee is fantastic.”

He walked out of the shop, letting the bell ring behind him.

I breathed in a sigh of relief. I hated to deal with customers. They always wanted to do that whole talking thing. I would much rather stay in the back where it was quiet.

I glanced at the clock, noticing as the hands moved slowly toward the eight.

“Shit! I’m late.”

Throwing off my apron, I grabbed my bag and ran out of the door, letting it ring behind me. The chilly air filled my lungs as my feet hurriedly carried me toward the large brick building. My feet slammed against the concrete, making my backpack jump against my back.

I ran through the double doors. The halls were empty, not a single soul to be seen. The deafening silence created a cloud of calm that soothed me, but it quickly turned to panic as I realized I was about to receive a detention.

Screw it. I was late anyway, and I did not want a lecture from Mrs. Kendricks about being a failure for showing up in the middle of class. I decided to go to my only place of solitude in the school, the only place I felt like I was alone: the auditorium.

It wasn’t anything fancy, but nobody used it anymore. The music department was nonexistent, and the school didn’t have the funding for the drama club. They also didn’t have enough money to fix the gaping hole in the middle of the stage that was created by some kids who thought it was funny to drop anvils from the walkway above the stage. Where the fuck did they get anvils? It was literally a boarded up ghost town. If there was an assembly, the students gathered in the football field or in the cafeteria.

I walked up the aisle toward the stage, setting a spotlight from one of the presets that I have come to know from experimenting with the lights. I was glad when I found that it actually worked. The light illuminated the dark stage, creating a pool of circular light that shined along the dust particles. The rest of the auditorium remained in a dim light, showing the broken chairs with the stains and ripped upholstery. It was a poor sight, but I didn’t care; this place was my home.

I sauntered over to the spotlight, steering clear of the large hole in the middle of the stage. I pretended that there was an audience. Their voices were hushed, and they were looking up at me expectantly. I couldn’t see passed the first row of lights; they blinded me. Still, I scanned the audience, as if I could see every single face. Then, I opened my mouth.

I let the notes take me. I let them swirl around me like wisps of smoke, tangling around my limbs, encasing me in their beauty. I loved music, but I could never let anyone hear me.

I was afraid. I was afraid of what they would think. I was afraid of every little thing that would happen. What if I failed? What if nothing came out of my mouth? What if they hated me?

I was too consumed in the ‘what ifs’. I was irrationally afraid of people, of love, of failure. I let my hands tremble in the wake of fear, trying to run from what could happen.

I felt the hot tears stream down my face, and I tried to wipe them away. Suddenly, there was a loud click of the door opening, and I quickly jumped off of the stage. I crawled along the dirty carpet, littered with trash and dust, until I concealed myself behind a row of chairs that wasn’t completely destroyed.

Footsteps echoed along the hardwood of the stage.

“Hello? Is anybody here?”

The voice echoed around me, but I was too scared to recognize it.

“The lights were on. I’m guessing somebody is in here,” the voice continued.

God, why couldn’t he just shut up?

“I guess the janitors must have been through here,” he whispered.

The stage continued to creak as it gave way to his weight.
For once, the silence was deafening. Then, I heard his voice. It was sweet, like spring. It was everything good, from the flowers to the gentle warmth of the sun. I was at peace. My eyes fluttered shut, and it took me to a place where my fear no longer existed, where I would skip around and smile at the simple things, where I could finally trust someone else.

My eyes flew open as I heard a loud crack above me, and I flicked my head up to see what it was.

It was the area below the second balcony. It was about to crumble and crush me under its weight. I tried to scramble away from below the balcony, but the chunk of wood was too fast.

I let out a strangled screech as it pinned me between the row of seats. My arm was caught, and I couldn’t wriggle my way out from underneath the large mass.

In my panic, I heard the footsteps come toward me. My mind began to scream at me to get away, but I couldn’t; I was stuck.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I couldn’t reply. My voice wasn’t working, but after a struggle, I finally managed to let out some unintelligible sound.

“Okay, hold on. Your arm is pinned, and I have to be careful to not hurt you. Just breathe, and try to calm down. You’ll be absolutely fine,” he said as he began to lift the heavy mass.

“Where the hell do you think I would go? I’m fucking stuck here,” I let out through gritted teeth.

I heard him grunt multiple times as he tried to lift the object. Even though he tried to be careful, he ended up sliding and dropping it on my arm, causing me to let out a scream.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“J-just get it off of me before the whole town hears me,” I replied.

A few minutes later, and the block was finally off of me. I was able to crawl out of the space.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as my savior helped me up.

Beads of sweat covered his face.

“You’re welcome.”

I looked into his eyes and recognition flooded my mind. It was the guy from the shop this morning.

“Y-you’re that guy from the shop,” I said shakily, backing away.

“I am. Hey, what are you doing? Don’t go! You should have that arm looked at! Valerie!”

I didn’t look back as I ran out of the auditorium. Instead of continuing the day, I ran out of the double doors into the cold air.

My legs hurt as they carried me to the park, under the old oak tree that my mother used to take me to as a kid. She used to read my stories and draw the scenes around her as I played with the colors and splashed them along the extra canvas she would bring for me.

I missed her. I knew I would never see her again no matter how hard I thought about her.

The tears flowed freely as my heart ached for the beautiful memories that brought me happiness.