nightrunners

xix.

Cassiopeia spent the rest of her work week picking up all types of shifts at Heyward's. Topper would often come to visit her while she worked. Her laughter would often drift to the back of the shop, where she knew JJ could hear. She pictured his face every time, knowing he despised every minute that a Kook was in the store. Topper would usually bring her coffee, even when she worked the later shift. She was grateful for his constant presence, especially since Rafe had gone MIA.

Heyward was even surprised that she was not only at work on time but wanted more shifts.

"Who has gotten inside of your brain that made you want to be around fish all day?" He teased her hair softly.

She laughed sweetly, "NYC is expensive, I need the money."

Even though the city was astronomically pricey, it wasn't the reason why she needed to pick up shifts.

She had been letting Barry's and Rafe's clientele get off a lot cheaper than what they would allow. She felt sympathy for the majority of them, knowing they were just kids who were struggling. Cassiopeia was awful at waging and often shorted herself by at least twenty dollars a night.

Even after the late shift at Heywards, she always seemed to muster up enough energy to bike all across town. Her fear of being alone at night and selling drugs slowly began to dissipate. She was only focused on one objective, to get the hell off this island as soon as possible. Sometimes before she did her nightly runs, she would stop at Barry's. She was always greeted with the usual "Country Club's girlfriend," in which she immediately corrected him, and the bitter scent of weed and whatever he was currently making in the kitchen.

He would stare at her too much, and would often get too close, but she began to pick up on his ticks. He liked seeing her shrink up and turn feeble, which was normally instantaneous for her. However, the more she got dealt, the better her self-esteem grew. She had this sense of power she had been craving for far too long. These kids depended on her for their addiction, pleasure and relaxation, she essentially held their means of escape. She wondered if that's how Rafe felt, not only being the son of a prominent Kook in town but that he held enough authority to reign over the younger generations. It was an addictive, toxic feeling and she basked in it, but she wasn't awful enough to lay a hand on them or overcharge. She oddly enough emphasized with them as she too relied on substances to get her through her brother's death.

Everyone had their way of escaping reality, she just had to work a little harder to obtain hers.

Thursday had rolled around sooner than expected and Cassiopeia began to wonder if it was a good idea to go with Topper to this party. What if the Pogues were there, or even worse, Rafe was lurking? Yes, she couldn't get him off of her mind, but she hated him for what he turned her into. This was supposed to be a summer of healing, and now she was doing his dirty work for him. She rode past Topper's beach house after work, the sun beating down on her forehead. She squinted in the distance and had to cover her eyes from the sun to see clearly. She identified an object sitting outside of his garage, and as she got closer, she realized it was Rafe's bike.

She contemplated for a moment whether it would be beneficial for her to stop, see the boy, and make some type of amends. However, her feet did the talking for her and she continued to pedal along. Rafe wasn't much of a talker anyways, he resorted to actions instead of words and lingering touches as unspoken promises.

She continued to pedal all the way home and opened the door to see her grandmother on the phone. Her tone instantly grew hush and she waved at Cassiopeia. The girl narrowed her eyes at the elderly woman before heading up the steps, knowing damn well that she was on the phone with one of her family members.