Bella

I was better. I was clean, from everything except cigarettes, at least. “Would you mind closing up the shop for me, Sykes?” Mindy asked, her blonde curls bouncing. She unpinned her nametag from her black work polo and removed her apron. “I know that it’s my job to close the store, but my mom called me and said that she needed me to—”

“Mindy, I’ll close for you. It’s fine, okay?” I said, candidly. Her blue eyes gleamed and a small smile appeared on her cerise lips. She reminded me of Bella; long, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a hint of wittiness. Mindy thanked me and gave me a friendly peck to the cheek before letting herself out of the fast-food restaurant.

Twenty minutes until closing time and I was ready to go home. I rented an apartment mid-town, not far from Nuance Tavern, the restaurant that I depended on to keep my utilities paid. The baubles above the door jingle melodiously, reminding me that I’m still working. I look up, my thoughts elsewhere, my mind on the young lady that had just entered. “The name’s Acel, how can I assist you?”

The redhead smiled at me with soft, hazel eyes. The stem of a blow-pop dangled from her lips, a smile dancing on them. “I’d like a small order of sea-salted fries, a double-stacked cheeseburger, and a large coke. Can you help me with that?”

“That’s a lot for a little lady,” I noted, putting the information into the system. “Your total is eight dollars and sixty-seven cents.” She raised her eyebrow, but pulled out a leather wallet, retrieving dollar bills. Smirking, she set the money into my open hand, mumbling to keep the change. “Your food should be out in around five minutes.”

She cocked her head to the side, white-painted fingernails running through her hair. “You’re not from here, are you?” By here, she meant Louisa. I shook my head, tapping my nails on the counter while my other coworkers prepared her meal. “Do you have a girl back home, Acel?”

I huffed, not certain of how I should respond to her question. “I’m not sure where home is, anymore,” I told her, truthfully.

“Home is where your heart is. You’ve been longing for someone, Acel. I can tell by your eyes. They’re looking at me as I speak to you, yes, but they’re somewhere else,” she said softly. I wanted to reach over the counter and hug her, to have a shoulder to cry on. That was something I couldn’t seem to stop doing lately; crying.

I nodded my head and licked my lips. “I guess you’re right.”

“What’s the lucky girl’s name?”

Mason came from the back, placing a paper back onto the counter with “Nuance Tavern” printed along the side. The hazel-eyed redhead seized the bag from the counter, wrinkling it underneath her hold. She took the red sucker from her mouth, twirling it in her fingers. “I haven’t said her name in a while…not before I left her back in Ramsay. Her name was Bella, though, if you must know.”

“She must be a lucky girl to have your heart. Good luck, Acel.” With that, she turned daintily on the heels of her black combat boots, her multi-colored dress of blues and grays swaying. Her aura radiated confidence and clarity, and it was gone the minute she exited the shop, the baubles jingling.

I didn’t talk of her much. No, her name sounded foreign rolling off my tongue, like I was tearing open a sealed wound. Daring not to speak her name didn’t help much, though. I still had thoughts bursting of her. She was like a ghost, haunting me.

Before I knew it, Mason had clocked out and I found myself locking up the restaurant. I walked toward my ugly, beat up car, sliding into it. When I left, I’d let Emory keep the SUV, as she’d need it more than I ever could. My car was an ugly firebird that I’d got from an auction down the rode off of Clements Street.

I turned the radio while I drove down the road, bright headlights nearly blinding me. The singer hummed soft tunes of unrequited love and nostalgia. I decided that I didn’t need the gloomy vibe and turned the shitty music off. My mind and my heart were elsewhere, with her, of course, but my body was here, stuck in Louisa where I’d chosen to run away for help. Much needed help, at that.

At an intersection filled with old hags and traffic lights, I stuck a cigarette between my lips, but didn’t light it until I went underneath the green lights. That’s just how my days went nowadays.