Bryn yanked down the school bus window. Not that it helped much. The bus still smelt like sweat and nacho cheese. The sweat could be explained by the freshman boys who had gym last hour and considered showering optional. The nacho cheese was a mystery
When the bus came to her stop, Bryn stood cringing at the suction-type sound her thigh made as her skin separated from the vinyl seat.
"Hey, Bryn just ripped one" an idiot said from the back of the bus. It was the same stupid joke every time someone's legs stuck to the seats.
She pretended to scratch the back of her head and flipped him off as she shuffled through the aisle. Laughter followed her out the door into the semi-fresh air. And now it was time for her daily hike.
On a good day, Bryn hated the walk from the bus stop. The up-and coming industrial neighbourhood where her family lived had ended up down and out. Boarded-up storefronts lined the street making it look like the set of a low-budget zombie film.
The roar of motorcycle engines reverberated through the air from the crowd gathered outside of Joe's Pawn Shop. People came and went, ducking into vacant buildings for reasons she'd rather not know.
A man standing in the shadows of an abandoned auto shop tracked her progress as she walked past. Her heart kicked up a notch. She glanced over her shoulder just to make sure. Yep. The hot-guy stalker was back. This was sighting number three. She'd spotted him across the street from the high school parking lot yesterday outside McDonald's the day before. Its not like he blended in anywhere.
With his pale skin and dark hair fixed in three-inch spikes, he looked like a demented manga character. The black muscle shirt he wore showed off the elaborate dragon tattoo running the length of his arm. And now he'd caught her staring. One corner of his mouth turned up in a lopsided grin.
Fantastic it would be just her luck if Tall, Dark and Tattooed thought she was flirting with him.
The morning news story about a sixteen-year-old girl found dead in a dumpster just a few blocks away flashed in her mind. Despite the sticky heat of the August afternoon, a chill slithered down her spine. If she wanted to reach her own sixteenth birthday next week she might not want to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. He could be harmless. Or, he could collect heads and hang them on meat hooks in his freezer.
Her parents' yoga and martial arts studio sat at the end of the block.
