Duffle Bag Blues

Opal's gaze was transfixed on the space in front of her but her eyes couldn't focus on anything. Thoughts whirled around her head while a myriad of emotions passed over her face. The only physical sensation she felt was the pounding in her temples. That was until she felt something touch her cheek. She blinked, not realizing she'd been crying, and looked at Parker's damp index finger.

"Please don't cry. I promise that life is behind me now and I'd really appreciate it if my past didn't change the way you view me."

Opal jerked her head back and looked at Parker like he had grown two heads. "Don't let your past change how I see you?" she echoed. "Y-You... just- you just told me that you killed people. Not that one would've been fine but you said seven. Seven!"

Parker inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly. "I can see that this isn't appropriate first date conversation... Should I take you back to your car?"

She scoffed. "No, thank you. I'll find my own way."

The sound of her name drifted towards her even as she began to walk away. Her feet carried her to the entrance of the park where she requested a car on her phone. If someone had asked her about her ride home or what she had done when she got home, she wouldn't have been able to say. Suddenly, she blinked and light was streaming through her bedroom window. She touched her hand to her forehead, wondering if she had even slept. Her eyes and mouth felt dry.

She tossed her blanket to the side and swung her long legs over the edge of her bed. Her limbs felt like they weighed a ton as she stood and shuffled towards her bathroom. The reflection staring back at her in the mirror was exhausted with red eyes and dry skin flaking around her nose. Opal turned on the shower with a heavy sigh. Inside, she turned the heat up until her brown skin took on a reddish glow. She didn't move for a while, even when the water turned cold. Her eyes were glued to her toes. She'd gotten them done for the date, a cute baby blue that complimented her complexion and matched the blue top she'd worn. She hadn't been particularly excited for the date itself but Opal loved getting dolled up for any reason. Now, there was a discomfort settling into her chest when she thought how she had wondered if Parker thought her toes were cute as they strolled down the paths of the park last night.

A new determination struck Opal when she got out of the shower. She needed to know exactly what her little sister knew about Parker. Ruby's first job when she was sixteen had been a Walmart and that's where she'd met Parker but that was easily over ten years ago. Opal couldn't believe that between then and now that Ruby would've consorted with a professed serial killer and then tried to fix him up with her own sister.

In the middle of hiking up a pair of leggings, Opal stopped.

If this was all some elaborate joke Ruby put him up to, she was going to be pissed. The thought hadn't crossed her mind until just then. Opal wasn't normally a gullible person but the way Parker had said the words so sincerely made her believe him instantly. She finished pulling up her leggings and put on a tank top before stepping into a pair of sneakers. Hopefully Ruby could she some light on the unfortunate man.