The Last of Us

Forty-Three

I hadn't received an anonymous email in a while.

It made me wonder if I was somehow getting too close, whether they'd been frightened off. I couldn't think of why else they may have stopped suddenly.

Danni picks at her fries, dipping them in the garlic mayo on the table. We were sitting in Rome and Riva, back where it all began.

I'd sat in the car for five minutes before coming inside with Danni earlier. I needed to make sure Ben wasn't working today. He was the last person I wanted to see right now.

"Why do they even bother making fries here? It's a pizza joint, so they clearly don't know how to use a deep fryer."

Danni's voice is loud enough that the nearest server hears her complaint a few tables over. He peers over at us, raising an eyebrow, before returning back to furiously cleaning the table.

By this point, I'm used to her little comments, even if they aren't always necessary. The girl almost just died. She could complain about whatever she wanted, really.

I drum my fingers against the table, leaning my head in my other hand.

I try not to keep checking my phone every few seconds, wondering if I might get another clue. Maybe it was all over. Maybe the messages had stopped because the killer had already wiped nearly the entire group.

I was sure that couldn't be right, though. There is no way the killer would have appreciated Danni surviving. I'm sure that I'm not really supposed to be alive much longer, either.

So why wait? If the police were in on this, why lay low? Why not just kill us off already?

"What made you wanna eat here anyway?" Danni asks, barely hiding her distaste towards the fries she ordered. She pushes them towards me, and I shove a handful into my mouth, chewing aggressively.

I'd passed the stage of being upset at Ben; now, I was just angry. Sure, maybe it was slightly hypercritical, but at the end of the day, anything I had kept from him, I eventually told. This is different. This is straight-up secrecy.

I know it somehow relates to the case, too. Even if he wanted to deny that. Leaving me in the dark meant it would only take me longer to find the truth.

"Nostalgia, I guess," I shrug, remembering Danni had spoken to me.

"The food's shit," she mumbles, sipping her chocolate milkshake.

The cut along her forehead has begun to scab, leaving a long, jagged shape that just missed her left brow. She'd gotten that one from hitting her head on the forest floor.

The server who'd been cleaning the table before walks past, staring openly at Danni's appearance. She doesn't notice him at first as she happily sips from her milkshake.

"Do you need me to... clear your table?" he asks.

Danni looks up at him, aware he's staring at her injuries. "Take a picture; it'll last longer."

I press a hand to my mouth, trying to hide my smile. Clearly embarrassed, he walks off without clearing anything from our table.

"Dick," she rolls her eyes, staring out the window onto the street. "It's funny how people just stare. I always prefer when people actually have the balls just to ask me what happened.

"I think that's why I shaved the side of my head. I was sick of people staring at me because they'd seen me on the news. No one ever came up and asked me if I was okay, though. They'd just stare, pointing and whispering.

"So, I gave them something else to concentrate on. I fucking loved my hair. It used to be so long. My mum would brush for me every night before bed, and I—I grew tired of being this thing everyone saw as a story. I wanted my personality back. So I made myself seem tougher and act bigger. None of its real, though."

Her sudden confession startles me into silence. It's not like Danni to be so open. I want to reach out for her hand on the table, but I know she'll cringe at the display of affection. I leave it in my lap instead.

"Anyway," she sighs, finishing the rest of her milkshake. "I kinda like who I am now. Change isn't so bad. Makes me feel like I'm the one who is in control."

The server suddenly peers again at the table. I watch the slight tremble in his hand as he grabs the half-eaten bowl of fries and Danni's finished milkshake.

"Did you bring your camera with you this time?" she asks, her words dripping in sarcasm.

He laughs awkwardly, his eyes moving away from us to the road out front. His fake expression suddenly morphs into something else, something cold. "Jesus," he mutters under his breath.

"Uh, definitely not. Not sure how you could possibly mistake us," Danni retorts, picking at her nails. She hasn't realised that he's not focused on her anymore.

I follow his gaze out the window, and I freeze.

Ben is hopping out of his brother's car, dressed in his work uniform. Matt takes a long cigarette drag, leaning his hip against the driver's side door as he waves a hand towards his brother.

"Not a fan?" I ask the guy, turning back towards him as I try not to panic.

I didn't want Ben to see I was here. He'd definitely think I was stalking him then.

"Hmm?" he says, stacking the cup into the bowl.

"You didn't seem impressed when you saw that guy getting out of the car," I state.

His cheeks redden in embarrassment. "Oh, what? No, Ben's alright. I don't hate anyone."

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Danni watching me with a perplexed expression.

"You don't have to lie," I say. "I don't like him all that much right now, either."

"You know each other?"

"Yep."

The guy sighs, almost as though he wants to start ranting to me about Ben but isn't sure it's the best thing to do whilst he's working.

"Ben's fine," he shrugs, grabbing our dirty cutlery. "It's his brother that's the problem."

"His brother?" I frown.

I look out the window to see how much time I have before I'm spotted, but luckily Ben's turned his back towards us, talking to his brother about something.

"Yeah. Matt. He's a creep."

My blood runs cold. I turn back towards Danni to find her laser-focused on every word the guy spews.

"He used to make this girl I worked with really uncomfortable. Poor girl ended up quitting anyway. She was really cool to work with and stood up for herself. Then she...she...recently..."

Oh, my fucking good.

"Danni," I say urgently. "We need to go."

I chuck a twenty dollar note down on the table, thank the server and hurry towards the exit. I stop in the doorway, ensuring Ben doesn't see me as I rush outside.

When I turn back to make sure Danni is right behind me, I spot Matt. He's staring directly at me.

Smiling.