The Face Behind The Mask

11

In Lori's office on Monday, Skyden balanced a salad bowl in her lap. Lori sat at her desk, eating without inhibition, a dribble of mayonnaise on her chin. "It's probably some nosy old girlfriend of Cameron's. Some online stalker."

Skyden gave it some thought while working to spear some greens in her bowl with a flimsy plastic fork. "Pretending to be my best friend from high school? A friend who's dead."

Lori drew a napkin across her chin. "People do some weird shit. My old friend, Nikki. After she got dumped she couldn't let go of her mad crush. Sounds like high school, right?"

Skyden nodded.

"Nikki stalked his fiancee online. Was all over her social, digging and digging."

"Seriously?"

"She had to know all the girl's business. She was obsessed with finding out every last little detail. I told her she needed to get over him. He dumped her five years ago. Move on, girl."

"Wow."

"Look, Sky. Lots of people do it. I know it's creepy but..."

"And this is normal?"

"I didn't say that. Common maybe, but definitely not normal." She took another small bite of her sandwich. "Did she ask any personal questions or ask about Cam?"

Skyden nodded.

"Like?"

"Like does he treat me well? Do I think he still loves me? Do we have good sex? You know..."

"An old girlfriend. Definitely."

Skyden wasn't convinced. She pushed some kale around in the bowl, losing interest in her salad.

Lori said, "She's not calling or texting, is she?"

"No."

"You blocked her. She'll go away. Don't stress about it."

A gentle knock on the door turned both women's heads. The receptionist, Nora, leaned in. "Sorry to interrupt."

"You're not interrupting," said Skyden.

"Somebody sent you some flowers," she said. "They're up front."

When she smiled and her eyes narrowed, Nora looked like a college freshman, fresh-faced and energetic. She practically oozed enthusiasm, a grown-up girl who'd landed her first real job before the ink on her diploma had dried.

"I'll be up in a minute," said Skyden.

Nora gave a little finger wave and disappeared down the hallway.

"Sending flowers to work?" said Lori. "Did you and Cam have a fight or something?"

"I don't see him often enough to get into a fight with him." She tossed her fork and salad bowl into the trash can.

"You didn't eat half your salad," said Lori.

"Just not hungry. I'm still full from all the celebrating." She left Lori's office and started down the hallway to the reception area.

Nora gestured to a side table where an open floral box filled with long-stem red roses was displayed. "There's a card."

When Skyden opened the envelope, her smile dropped. Written inside the card was: Happy belated birthday. I need to see you. Call me. Grayson.

She turned on her heels, heading for her cubicle.

"Skyden," Nora called. "What about your flowers?"

"Keep them. Or throw them away. I don't care." Back at her desk, Skyden dropped into her chair while dialing her phone. A cheerful receptionist said, "Hemmler Gardner. How may I help you?"

"Grayson Braun, please. It's Skyden McKenzie."

"Just one moment."

Grayson picked up. "Hello? Skyden?"

"Just stop it. Anything about that you don't understand?" She felt her cheeks flush.

"Listen, Sky–"

"No. You listen. Stay in your lane. Can I be any more clear?"

"Just give me ten minutes. Meet me for coffee."

"You're a terrible listener. I don't want coffee. I don't want flowers. I don't want to hear your voice."

Feeling the turbulence of the one-sided conversation, Josh picked up speed as he walked past Skyden's workstation. Josh never pretended to like Grayson. He tolerated him because he was a client but refused to be an audience for any of the man's stories about how each day he conquered another little piece of the world. Sending flowers to Skyden seemed exactly like something he would do.

"Ten minutes," Grayson pleaded. "That's all I'm asking."

"Stop talking. You're not helping yourself. This is where it ends. So just stop. The operative word here is 'stop' in case you haven't noticed. Stop." She tossed her phone onto the desk beside her laptop.

........

A dark, drab older sedan with no distinguishing features sat at the curb, idling quietly across the street from the school bus stop. There was nothing special about the car. In fact, it was rather ordinary.

The canary yellow bus lurched to a stop, its brakes screeching. A burst of kids disembarked the moment the doors opened, erupting out onto the sidewalk, Kelsey and Brick among them.

"Later, loser," Jonas hollered out the window. Brick replied with his middle finger.

"Grow up," Kelsey muttered, distancing herself from her brother.

Brick did some jerky twelve-year-old-flailing-arms dance to annoy his sister and it worked like a charm. She jogged toward her home and crossed the driveway.

"Am I embarrassing you, Kel-seeeeeeee?" He guffawed.

While digging the house keys out of her bag, she replied, "You're embarrassing yourself." She unlocked the door and went inside.

Brick didn't notice the dark sedan creeping up from behind and stopping across the street. He dragged his feet across the driveway, pushed open the front door, and entered the house.

Upstairs in her room, Kelsey dropped her backpack on the floor. She unzipped her jeans and grabbed the running shorts draped over the back of her desk chair. She wiggled out of her jeans and stepped into her shorts when her phone chirped.

Alexa had big news about the latest school drama. Kelsey had hoped to run a few miles before dinner but as the text conversation expanded, prospects dimmed.

Fifteen minutes later, dressed for her run, Kelsey bounded into the kitchen. Brick sat at the dining room table, working his phone.

"You did not just eat the last banana!" Kelsey huffed.

"Huh?"

She yanked open the refrigerator door. "There's like tons of leftovers in here and you had to eat that banana." She opened a bottle of water and drank.

"I was hungry."

"You knew I was gonna eat it before my run."

"I didn't see your name on it," he said, rolling his eyes.

Kelsey checked the time. "If I pass out, it's gonna be your fault."

"Because I ate a banana?"

"The last banana!"

"Don't go for a run and you won't pass out. There. Solved." He sauntered out of the kitchen, a smug smile on his face.

Her tone sharpened. "I don't want to end up being a soft little dumpling like my baby brother."

"What?"

"When I was your age, I was running 5Ks. You couldn't make it to the end of the driveway."

"Shut up."

She shook her head, grabbed her keys, and headed out the front door.