On a round table in the corner of the coffee shop, Ash waited to no avail. She wasn't good at this 'killing time' thing. Her hands were reaching for and toying with everything within her grasp - a teaspoon muddied with clumps of hot chocolate, an unopened sachet of sugar, a black coaster of woven plastic.
She looked down at her hands and sighed.
It made sense that Austin would take time away from work to properly grieve, and for whatever reason, the words kept catching in her throat whenever someone in a black apron hovered near. She couldn't help but notice they all looked a bit shaken - particularly the middle-aged woman behind the counter who kept wiping the same spot absently, her lip trembling every so often. Even Ash, who was normally wearing a sullen and sulky mask whenever she glimpsed herself in the mirror, saw a pale and anxious young woman when she spotted herself reflected back in the window. She had barely slept all night.
With her mug drained of its contents, she locked her fingers together and rested her chin on them.
If she couldn't contrive a meeting with Austin naturally, she would have to go to his house, or even his grandparent's house, to find him. If he was grieving as much as she suspected, he probably wouldn't remember that he had only vaguely indicated where he lived, but it probably wasn't worth the risk. She sighed again.
"Finished, love?" a voice asked to her right.
Ash turned. It was the woman from behind the counter who had made her drink by steaming the milk and hot chocolate powder in a metal jug, smiling weakly as she reached for the cup and tray. Ash nodded numbly, and watched as the woman bent forward, the name-tag affixed to her apron lowering itself into her field of vision. The woman's name was apparently Lindsay.
With everything neatly and efficiently gathered up and the ring beneath where the mug had been sitting wiped away with a damp cloth, the woman named Lindsay stood and was about to turn away. Ash heard her own voice before she was conscious of the fact she had spoken. It was the name. Just knowing this woman's name had given her the courage she needed.
"Are you alright?"
Her brows were still knotted in quiet consternation. Lindsay turned, peering over her shoulder, and said nothing for a few moments. Conversations continued in corners of the coffee shop as people sipped at their drinks, unaware of the two women staring at one another in silence, trying to read the other. Eventually, after careful consideration, Lindsay turned her body fully and quietly returned the tray to the table.
"Are you a friend of Austin's?" she asked, quietly.
Ash nodded. "I heard on the news. I didn't think he would be here, but..."
"You didn't know what else to do?" Lindsay finished, with a kind smile.
Ash nodded. "I haven't known him very long, so I don't want to stick my nose into something that is none of my business, but his grandparents live so far away, and I couldn't help worrying... Do you know if he's okay?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
The two women shared a morose, ironic smile.
"I think in the back of his mind, he already knew, but he couldn't help wishing she was going to come home one day. I'm hoping something good will come out of it, and he'll move on with his life, but..."
Ash's heart throbbed as she heard the other woman speak.
"...you can't help worrying that he might do something to himself," Lindsay finished, looking away sheepishly.
The brown envelope in the shoulder bag on her lap suddenly felt like an iron weight that she was carrying around. Ash lowered her locked fingers and sat up straight, entwining her hands in the strap and holding it closer.
YOU ARE READING
Fallen Ash
Fantasy* Complete * Book one in a series; can be read as a standalone. Austin has lost almost everything. On the day his girlfriend was declared missing, his whole life seemed to crumble - unable to face his family, or classmates, he has retreated further...
