We cleaned up our lunch and began collecting our things. Jess grabs a couple of my bags, and I grab the rest. In the corner of my eye, I think I see something. It looked like the strange, creepy guy. Prickles of dread ran throughout my body. It was similar to the other night when Joel picked me up. Something wasn't right. I looked harder at where I thought I saw him, but there was nothing there. Only shadows. The shadows seemed to get darker the harder I looked. My mind must have been playing tricks on me. No way was that possible. He must have creeped me out more than I thought he did.
"What's wrong?" Jess asked, looking at me.
"Nothing, I thought I saw that creep again. I think he just creeped me out more than I wanted to let on." I tell her.
"Yeah, I don't blame you for that at all. He was definitely a creep. Well, let's not linger in case they do show back up." Jess said, looking over her shoulder. It made me feel better knowing she felt the same way.
I followed Jess to Michelle's. It was a nice store that had a bit of everything. Since I had enough clothes, I walked past the clothing section, and we headed towards the home goods section. They had cute candles and bedspreads. It was perfect. Nothing was too preteen or too old lady feeling to me. Jess was right. I found a beautiful purple comforter set. I loved it. It was my favorite color. It went from a deep dark purple to a pale purple.
"Hey Jess. What size bed do I have now?"I almost laughed at how silly I sounded asking my best friend things like that.
"Oh, it's a King. Plenty of room for cuddling." Jess winked.
I rolled my eyes. I had no one to cuddle with. But thoughts of cuddling Luka invaded my thoughts. His sandalwood-and-citrus scent was relaxing. I daydreamed about smelling it on him as I drifted off to sleep. I shake my head at those thoughts. Yeah, not what I need to be thinking about right now. It would be nice to have a bigger bed. Since I was 10, I've had the same twin mattress. I grab the comforter set that says King on it. I got a small lamp. They even had some crossword puzzles and a color-by-number activity book. Jess always teases me about my 'grandma' hobbies. I picked a few activity books out and even a puzzle. I came back to find Jess looking at some candles.
"Find any that smell good?" I ask her.
"Ehh, nothing really. Maybe you will find something? Do you want to do anything after this?" she asks me.
"Not really. I am starting to get really tired again." I admitted. I continued to feel drained. If I weren't so tired, I would still want to leave. The dread feeling hasn't left. I felt like he was somehow watching me.
"Are you okay?" Jess looks me over.
"Yeah. I just don't think I am at 100 percent yet". I tell her truthfully.
"Yeah, okay, no worries. I'll call our ride to pick us up here, so once we check out, we can just head straight to the car." Jess smiles at me.
"Yeah, that would be great." I felt relieved I didn't have to figure out a way to carry all this back to the front of the mall.
I quickly get to work, smelling the candles one at a time. I instantly grabbed the one that was sandalwood with hints of citrus. It smelled so much like Luka I had, too. The question was whether anyone would notice. I hoped not. I continued to smell the candles. I even found ones that remind me of the Holloway brothers. A cedar scent like Joel and the ocean after a rainstorm like Jordan. My heart hurt thinking of Jordan. He was clearly upset about something. He never stops talking to me. So, the fact that he has been avoiding me really hurts. I have been so consumed by what I was going through that I didn't stop to think that something could have happened to him. I needed to apologize for being selfish, and that when he wants to talk to me, he can. Even if he doesn't. I want him to know I am here for him. Like he has always been there for me. We gather our carts of items, and I toss in the three candles that remind me of the three men I care deeply for. We stood at the checkout, and another cashier had to help scan us because we had so much.
"I'll be right back. I am going to see if our driver can help us get all these items to the car." Jess tells me, before walking away from me.
"Okay." I nodded for her to go. The sooner we leave, the sooner I can rest.
"Are you famous?" The young cashier asks me.
"Who me?" I ask her, confused. Why would she or anyone in that case think I could be anything but a low-class girl.
"Yeah. You have a driver and are getting a ton of bedroom items along with the bags you already have." She states point blank.
"Maria, that's rude." The older cashier scolds.
"It's okay... No, I am not, I am just very lucky to live in a town that takes care of each other. You see, I lost my home and almost my mother. The community raised money for me to be able to replace what I lost. I just got out of the hospital, so I am still struggling, so a friend hired someone to help take me and my best friend to where I needed to go." I explained my situation as simply as possible. No need to go into deal. She probably didn't care at all.
"Wow, that is still pretty amazing." She said with surprise in her tone.
"It really is. I am very lucky." I let the truth of that warm me.
The older lady who scolded the young girl finished ringing up everything just as Jess and the driver returned. He grabbed a lot of the heavy items as Jess paid with the black credit card. She told me to follow the driver, and she would be out right behind me. I grabbed a few of the bags we brought with us and followed the driver. He places the items he carried out on the ground next to the car. He opens my door. As I go to climb in he reaches out for my few bags I carried. I still couldn't believe how much he carried out. Once I was inside he closed the door behind me. I leaned back and started to doze a little. I felt the door shut again and cracked an eye open to see Jess sliding in to sit next to me. The driver finished loading the items she had and proceeded to climb into the car and sit in the driver seat.
"Don't worry Danni, I am here. Go back to sleep." Jess told me softly as I began to lean on her.