Shatter

how often he is hurting in the daytime and he hides it? Heis such a brave and strong man. Still, I feel helpless. I wishthere was something I could do to stop his suffering. My mindflashes back to what he said at the graveyard today when he leanedover and put his hands on Mom’s and Abby’s headstones, “I’ll seeyou soon.” I shiver at the thought of his words coming true. I lovehim so much and he needs to get better and stay here with me. I’mcrazy about Katie and I’m so excited to be starting a life withher, but regardless of the years Dad and I have spent apart, sincehe’s been out of prison, we have become close again. Not tomention, he’s the only link I have left to my mother andsister.

Just as I’mfeeling relaxed enough to go to sleep, I hear Katie’s alarm goingoff from our room. Shit. I guess I’ll be tired and dragging my asstoday.

I put thecoffee on then go to the bathroom to splash water on my face. On myway back to the kitchen, Katie walks out of the bedroom.

“Good morning,”I say, giving her a hug.

She rubs hereyes and then smiles. I’m baffled at how she even looks good firstthing in the morning. Not me. I look like I could ride a broom whenI first get up. My hair is usually sticking up and knotty and myskin looks red and blotchy.

We sit togetherand drink our coffee while talking about her moving in. She wantsto spend the next couple of days at her place, weeding out andsorting what she wants to bring. I’m glad that I don’t have a lotof stuff, I hate moving. For most of my adult life, I had not muchmore than a duffel bag that fit all of my belongings. I guess thereason that I never accumulated a lot of non-essentials is becauseI grew up not having much. Though, the one good thing about it is,no clutter. I hate clutter. I’ve been in some people’s places thatlook like a trinket store with ornaments and crap everywhere. Inever understood the purpose of that. The more stuff that you have,the more you have to pack and carry when you move. Katie's placehas a few non-necessity things but not an overbearing amount.

* * *

When I pull upin front of Katie’s building to drop her off, we kiss and embrace..Both of us are excited by the fact that we’ll soon be sharing thesame space and won’t have to drive back and forth betweenresidences anymore. I pull away from her apartment and turn ontoCardero Street when I notice a car following closely behind me.It’s so close that I can barely see its grill. When I turn ontoGeorgia Street, I speed up and get a better look at the car behindme. Sonofabitch, I don’t believe it. Its Fournier’s black Lincoln.I step on the gas and dart in between cars then make a fast turndown another road. The Lincoln is too long and bulky to deek in andout of traffic as I just did, so it doesn’t take long before I’velost it.

I pull over onDenman street and shut off the engine. Why in the hell wasFournier’s car on Cardero Street and so close to Katie’s? Whoeverwas driving, had to be following me. The time that Fournier gave meto pay the fifty thousand isn’t up yet so he’s probably just tryingto intimidate me and show me how easily he can get to me and thepeople I care about. This has to stop, but something tells me thateven if I do pay him, it never will. I have to call Slinky and findout if he has heard from Darlene and when his big plan will godown. I hope it’s soon because I’m afraid that Fournier will dosomething bad to Katie.

I see aStarbucks across the road and decide to get a drink. Once I’m outof the truck, I’m on high alert for the black Lincoln. I feel likean owl, pivoting my head around, watching as I walk to the coffeeshop. When I’m inside, I stand in a long line up of people waitingto get their caffeine fix before they start work.

I wait forabout fifteen minutes before I get my latte. As soon as I push theheavy door open, I see it. Fournier’s car is parked in the loadingzone directly in front of Starbucks. My hand shakes so much that ifmy coffee didn’t have a lid, I’d be wearing most of the scaldinghot liquid. When I reach the sidewalk, legs shaking in time with myhands, I see Tank sitting in the front seat staring over at me. Ispeed up and walk behind the Lincoln and wait for a break intraffic to cross the road.

Seeing mychance, I quickly dash across the street and walk quickly to thetruck. A feeling of relief comes over me when I’m in my seat andlock the doors. As I sip my drink, I watch the Lincoln still idlingacross the road. What the hell is he doing just sitting there?Nobody is getting in or out of the car. Tank's sole motivation forbeing here must be to scare the shit out of me and make hispresence known. Well, it definitely works. I’m a nervous wreck.

I want to pullaway but something tells me that if I do, he’ll just follow me so Isit, watch, and wait. I want to call Slinky but I’m worried aboutTank looking in his rear-view mirror and catching me on my cell. Idecide to text instead. With still shaking hands, I type in,‘Slinky, it’s Jules. I just thought I’d let you know to keep out ofview today, the hounds are out on high alert, in fact, they’re soclose I can almost smell them.’

A few minutespass before my phone buzzes with a response from Slinky, ‘Staysafe, little one. There’s a storm brewing and the wolves probablysense it. Get away and call me when you’re clear.’

What does hemean by, ‘A storm brewing?’ Just as I reply with a thumbs up, I seea city parking attendant pull up behind the