Blue Moon

C H A P T E R 9

IN THE DARK

ARRAH

"Is it that time of the day already?" I groaned as Sid approached me. Every day since I began working at Wild Bow, an archery range utilizing recurve bows, she had been gracing my shift with her intolerable presence.

She stood on the side watching the customers aim and shoot. "Don't start jumping for joy on my account, Arrah. And please, wipe that grin off your face," she dryly said.

She thought I was grinning. I would say more like scowling. A scowl permanently etched on my face, one reserved for Sid.

"Your intended mate will be jealous of the passionate looks you're giving me."

"Excuse me?" I was not giving her that kind of look.

"There you go again!" she sighed. "You can't be bothered to give Kai any semblance of emotion and yet here you are exhibiting intense feelings for me," she held up a finger to me. "Hatred that is."

The opposite of love is apathy. Not hate.

Same with love, hate would mean I at least cared.

"Do me a favor and scoot a little farther to the side. Don't hog the entrance since you're not a paying customer, bystander." I was operating the register to cover for my workmate. I usually work in the range assisting customers and removing the arrows from the targets after.

Patience, I needed a whole load of patience to get through today.

Though she pretended to be engrossed with the patrons, I could still feel her gaze fall heavily on me when she thought I was not paying attention. An unwanted addition to my guards that was what Sid is.

However, instead of being concerned with my well-being, she would most likely be watching merrily if an actual mishap happens. Unlike my two watchful guards who were standing at both front ends of the store in vigilance.

"A, I got this covered." Kissing my cheek in gratitude, Michelle, my co-worker, said. "I owe you one. Thanks."

Her kid was running a fever so she asked me to take over until she could check-in. If only the owner would not come back on closing time, I would have told her to take care of her kid and not worry. However, the owner would go ballistic if he found out. He had been thinking of firing her because of the number of days she called out with an excuse not to work. She needed the money and I did not have anywhere else to be so I accepted.

"Don't mention it," I told her. "How is he?"

"I've managed to bring his fever down with meds. He's sleeping when I left and my mom stayed to keep him company." Michelle was a single mom of two delightful and intelligent kids.

Taking care of them and providing for them was not easy. Once the mall closed for the day, she would have to go report into another job for a graveyard shift. It was hard not to feel for her when she had been breaking her back working jobs.

Other than the boss, the place was a good working environment. My co-workers were friendly and easy to get along with, and they didn't ask about my patch. I liked it here.

"Fifty arrows," Sid put her money down.

Michelle handed her the receipt and pointed her to the entrance of the range where one of the crew waited. "Let your aim be true."

"I never miss." dragging me by my shirt's collar, she haughtily said and pulled me inside with her.

"There are others who will happily assist you." I was choking on my collar. Damn, she was strong. She hid her bandages under white long sleeves.