Lost in the Shadows

Heidi had settled into her room. It was a single bedroom with a closet sized bathroom and a closet sized kitchen. It was small with no windows but it was hers for now. Once she got her paycheck in two days, she would be up to score with where she had always hoped she would be. She would go shopping to blend in a bit better with the regulars.

Though her intolerance for the boys and their talk of vampires, she also saw them as little brothers. They certainly had a sibling feeling to them and she wanted to protect them. It was the only thing she felt she could protect in Santa Carla.

The first thing after putting her backpack of clothes and toiletries away, she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. It was her first time taking a full body shower in weeks. She undressed and got into it, feeling the burn of the water run down her soft body. She closed her eyes and visions came to her.

“Heidi, Heidi, Heidi.” The named called to her in her subconscious as she ran shampoo through her hair. Her fingers danced through her hair and down onto her body. Her fingers tingled on her skin as if someone else’s hands were touching her but it was not just one person. The sensation made her open her eyes but when she opened them, there was no one there but her mind and the warm running water dancing on her.

Her mood was so high that she went to work a few minutes early with a grin on her face. She hopped in and greeted her coworker. Maria stopped talking to a surfer who she had clearly been quite fond of and looked at Heidi. “Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up.” She smirked and looked up at the surfer guy. “Since you’re here, I’m going to take off a few minutes early. After all, I did work your shift for you.”

Within moments, Maria was gone with the surfer and she was once again all alone. It was a week day which meant that it was quiet for most of the day. Even as it got darker, she helped few customers. Max was still on her mind. There was nothing more she wanted to do than to talk to him about how she was not such a doofus and was very happy to work for him and pick up as many shifts as he would allow her to have. The night went on but he never came in with his friendly face.

Motorcycles pulled up in front of the store and she knew exactly who it was coming in. The roar of the bikes was loud and clear. She had heard the same sound before. Instead of engaging on them, she went to the movie cart and began putting all of them in their place.

Seconds later, hands cupped her face, hiding her eyes. “Guess who?” The voice was not like David or Marco’s.

“Stop that.” She tried to smile as she turned around and saw the wavy haired blond boy. It was Paul. “I know what you guys are up to.” She went up to David. “Take a movie and I’m going to have to yell out for the cops.”

“We aren’t here to steal a stupid movie.” He sat on the counter. “Marco, care to tell her what we’re here for?”

Marco was looking at a shelf and turned to her for a moment before looking back at the new releases. “I don’t know. What are we doing here, Dwayne?”

“I don’t know what we’re doing here. Clearly it isn’t Maria working tonight.” Dwayne went behind the desk and looked around for maybe something that was Maria’s.

Heidi ran over to the counter and frowned. “You can’t go back there. That’s for employees only!” They were driving her nuts. Four boys were over shadowing her and there was nothing she could do about it but scream for the cops but she also didn’t want to make a big scene when they had not been a big threat since she met them.

Dwayne looked through a drawer. “Maria left something for me here. I was just trying to find it.”

“Get out!” She yelled at him and chased him out from behind the counter.

David chuckled at the situation. “That’s a truly chilling performance, Heidi.” He got off the counter and crossed his arms.

Seeing these guys come into the store was always Heidi’s worst time of the day. “You’re right. Maria isn’t here. Should have been in this morning. Then you would have seen her. Now leave before I have to alert the cops.”

It was making her worried that Paul was pacing the store. All the boys were a distraction and most likely chasing her customers away because of how much they acted like they owned the store. They were punk ass kids.

David walked over to her slowly. “You have no idea just how severe the other night was. Do you? Those surf Nazis could have taken you home and had their way with you without consent. Is that what you wanted us to let happen to you?”

All three of the boys stopped what they were doing and looked over at David and Heidi. This conversation would get good and they wanted to hear every second of it. “So, you saved me. Thank you for that but now you are terrorizing me while I’m at work. I just want you to go if you aren’t going to buy anything. I’ve had a very good day and I don’t need anyone changing that.”

David nodded his head for the boys to follow him out of the store. She sighed a breath of relief and leaned against the counter as she watched all the boys trail out after the leader.

She closed the store at the end of the night and walked out as a free woman. She had no worries about what was coming for the night. Heidi had her own place to stay and she was so thankful for the Frog brothers helping her out. For once, she felt like she could really breath and enjoy the world of the boardwalk. She felt clean and was able to do her makeup better than she had been able to.

It must have made a difference because she looked at the hermit crabs in one of the passing stores and rubbed one of their little crustacean legs, but she attracted a young gentleman. “I could buy you the crab but I’m afraid we’d have joint custody.”

The comment made Heidi chuckle but when she looked up to see who the man was, it was Marco. Her laugh came to a halt and she coughed. “You’re a clever one, aren’t you, Marco.” She looked at the little crabs in the flood lights of the place.

He looked at the crabs with her but got bored by them quickly as he had such a gem in front of him. “I just enjoy seeing my kids occasionally without having a restriction above my head.”

Heidi turned to him but looked down at his jacket. “Any father who has naked women on his jacket doesn’t deserve to see his children.” She played his game.

Marco looked down at his badges and frowned. “They aren’t naked. They’re pictures of Princess Leia when Jabba the hut kidnaps her.”

Apparently, it was not just the Frog brothers who were nerdy in this town. Even cool guys could get into that stuff. “So, you’re one of those guys?”

“There’s nothing wrong with liking Star Wars. I’d be proud of our kids for liking it too.” Hearing him say ‘our kids’ was just a little bit too much to bear. They had just met and he was already making jokes of them procreating. It was not as if she had no intention to have kids, even if it was with him but just the fact that she was interested in him already so early in the game made her blush.

“Let’s get a puppy before we think of having our crab children.” She hoped the conversation would end there.

“How about some dinner first. I’m absolutely starving and I know a good pizza place down the way.”

Heidi was hesitant to saying yes about getting food with him but he was the only normal one at the store and he was the one who took her back to her place a few nights before. “I suppose a slice of pizza won’t hurt.”

Minutes later and she found herself sitting on a bench with him eating their Hawaiian pizza. “How do you like it?”

She looked over at him and nodded her head. “It’s not Boston pizza. It isn’t too bad either though. It’s ok for California.” She tried to be kind about it but had no idea how to fake something like that.

Marco smiled and finished his pizza off. “So that’s where you’re from, Boston? Why’d you come to this part of California? This is the last place I’d come if it were up to me.”

“I know. A lot of bad stuff happens here but there are so many activities to do and it’s a fresh start. I was tired of Boston and the bipolar weather. This was my first time coming out of Massachusetts.” It took her a hot minute to finish her pizza but she got it down.

“What about your family? Did you just leave them all behind to do something you’ve never done before?”

Heidi took a deep breath as she tried to find the right words to say to him. “I don’t have much of a family left. I was stuck with my step father and I don’t want to have anything to do with him anymore and so I simply left once I graduated high school. I don’t usually tell people that and so I don’t know why I’m telling you.”

The response she gave him was not what he was expecting but he still appreciated the honesty about it instead of the bullshit that people constantly tossed around to each other. “Your mom?”

“My mom passed away last year. I’d honestly trade my life for hers if I could.”

Marco bit at his fingernail. “That’s dark. And what about if your mom lived and you died, what do you think your mom would respond with?”

Heidi shrugged and looked at the ocean. She knew that her mom would have asked for the same thing so she would not have to see her child die. “I’m here though. I have a job, I have a home, I have a few friends.”

“Do those friends include us?” Marco kept his eyes on her, begging for an answer. ‘Us’ being Marco, Paul, Dwayne, and even the famous and overly powerful, David.

“You’re a different species from your friends. I don’t think your friends like me too much.”

“They can come off a little strong and make people run away but I guess it’s no different than any other group of guys.”

She stood up and picked his garbage up from beside him on the bench but he grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes. It took Heidi by surprise by his sudden hold. Marco let go of her after a second and stood up, taking the garbage from her and threw it out.

Again, it was getting late at night. People were leaving and it was just the two of them. They took off their shoes when they got onto the beach to walk. “Sounds like you don’t like this place too much. Why do you stay?”

Marco shrugged as he listened to the crashes of the waves up on the beach. “I can’t just leave my brothers here. I need them just as much as they need me.”

“You don’t need them, Marco. You want to stay with them because it gives you a sense of security that you think you can only get with them.”

The boy just smirked and put his arms around her shoulders and brought her into him as they walked. Heidi liked it that she felt she could trust this guy. He was playful but he also got her back to where she needed to be in the end.

“So, you said you’ve found a home?” He looked down at her.

As much as she wanted to tell him where she was, she still felt it best to keep her address a secret from him. “I have. It’s small but it’s home and it’s exactly what I need to survive.”

“I’m glad you found a place for yourself.”

“Heidi. Heidi. Heidi.” The voice in her mind started up again and she wondered if she was going nuts. She stopped walking and looked ahead of her for a moment as if getting flashes of the night on the beach with the surfers. This was the area around where she was at the bonfire. There was a bad energy in that area but she was unable to figure out just what was so bad about it.

Marco stopped and turned to her. “Heidi, what’s the matter?”

Without much thinking, she turned to him and put her fingers on his shoulders, pushing her heels into the air and kissing him tenderly.

Though it came as a shock to Marco, he let the kiss happen. In fact, he indorsed it and kissed her back, putting a hand against her neck, squeezing the sides softly.

Heidi moaned at the sensation before stepping back from the kiss. “Oh my god. I’m sorry.” She covered her mouth as if her lips were completely and shamefully naked.

Marco took a step closer to her. “It’s fine.” He questioned whether he pushed her away by grabbing her by the neck but he was unwilling to ask her if that was what turned her away or if it was just a stupid kiss that meant nothing.

“Let’s just get off this beach, please.” She felt like there were a million eyes on just her but as she looked around, not a soul was in view. There was just the violent pull of the deep black ocean on the left of them. Heidi wrapped her arms around her body.

Marco saw this and thought she looked cold. He took off his artistic jacket and put it around her shoulders. Heidi held it close to her body as they walked back up to the boardwalk.

It was still dark there but she had a better feeling being up there. They put their shoes on and walked until they got to his bike. He got on and looked over at her. She was hesitant upon even looking at him.

The engine roared to life and he held out his hand. “I’m not letting you walk home all alone at three in the morning.”

She looked at him in shock of the time. “How did time slip away so quickly?” Heidi took his hand and got onto the bike behind him. After telling him where to go, she rested her head on him and watched the boardwalk pass by them.