Dark Corners - Twelve Tales of Terror by Michael Bray Page B

AM.
    “ Are
you fucking kidding me? There was a fire at the bar last night.”
    She was immediately awake and sat up in bed.
    “ Holy
shit. What happened?”
    “ Nobody
knows yet. Could be an electrical fault.”
    “ Was
anybody hurt?”
    “ Nah,
place was empty, but you should see what’s left of it. I’m
down there right now.”
    “ How
bad is it?”
    “ It’s
gone. Burned to the fuckin’ ground. Looks like we just got the
night off. Hell, what am I saying—it’ll be months before
they get this place fixed up again. I was saying to Sasha that…”
    Tina wasn’t listening anymore. She was thinking of
Monde, of how he had been so sure she wouldn’t be at work the
following night. Surely he couldn’t have had anything to do
with the fire. No, she wasn’t thinking straight. No one would
burn down a bar just to free up a date. Especially not someone as
refined as Monde. Right? She saw his card tossed on the bedside table
and picked it up, wondering if she should call or make him wait a
while. She already knew the answer. She was desperate to see him
again, and her dream of being with him had not faded away as dreams
often did. Lexi was still talking, about what Tina wasn’t
exactly sure, as she had been too lost in her own thoughts to pay
much attention.
    “ Hey,
Lexi, do you want to meet up this afternoon for a bite to eat? I
could do with some advice.”
    “ Yeah
sure, where do you wanna meet?”
    “ You
know that bar down on the corner by Oakfield Park?”
    “ Yeah,
down by the Italian place right?”
    “ That’s
the one. How about we meet there around twelve?”
    “ I’ll
be there. Is everything ok, Tina?”
    “ I’m
fine. I just need a friendly ear, that’s all.”
    “ Is
it about Mr. Crème suit?”
    She felt a stab of anger and jealousy at Lexi’s
slightly teasing tone.
    “ Yeah,
it’s about him. I’ll fill you in when I see you.”
    “ Ooh
sounds exciting. Ok, T. See you in a few hours.”
    “ Thanks,
Lexi. Bye.”
    Tina hung up the phone and thought about the
implications of not having a job. Remembering she had a little heroin
left, she decided to shoot up and sweat the job problem later. “Tina,
you stupid bitch,” she muttered to herself as she cooked up the
last of the potentially lethal drug and pumped it into the same vein
as the previous night. She promised herself that would be it. No more
now that it was gone. But then again, resolutions always sounded
better with a head full of smack. She felt that familiar warm blanket
envelop her, and she drifted into a dreamless sleep.
    Tina was running late, and when she arrived at the bar,
Lexi was already waiting for her. She felt a pang of jealousy at how
relaxed and worry free her friend looked. She was reading a magazine
and was dressed in an oversized Ramones t-shirt that hung off one
shoulder, revealing a singular, pink bra strap. As Tina approached,
revelling in the smell of fresh coffee and cooked bacon, Lexi looked
up and smiled. For the next hour, Tina told her all about Monde and
her suspicions that he might have had something to do with the bar
fire. Lexi listened intently, barely speaking and allowing Tina to
tell the story in full. When she had had finished, Lexi took a second
to consider, then pronounced her verdict.
    “ I
think you should stop worrying about coincidental shit and go out
with him.”
    Tina blushed, and despite her concerns, managed a smile
    “ I
don’t know, Lexi. There’s something about him, and I’m
not sure what it is.”
    “ Can
I be honest with you, T?”
    “ Always.”
    “ I
think you’re scared to commit and looking for an excuse not to.
Give him a call. Meet up with him. See how it goes. It can’t be
any worse than spending your nights alone.”
    Or
fucked up on drugs she
thought to herself. She went on to make idle small talk with Lexi for
a while, but she felt distant somehow. A restlessness had overcome
her, an uneasy feeling of something being slightly off balance, or
more off