As I stood behind the bar, Xavier gave me a wink. He did that at the start of each shift. It was our secret message to say we were closing up the club for the night, and after, he was opening me up. Normally, I would feel excitement when he did that, but tonight, the fear seemed to be taking over my body and mind. I nervously winked back at him and carried on with my shift.Later, Nora came up to me and said the most surprising thing. “All my nightmares are over. Des’s back.”I stood in awe and watched him as he glided up and down the bar. Hadn’t he disappeared for weeks? Didn’t she see him with another woman? Foremost, didn’t he dump her nine months ago? I just didn’t get it. After all this time, he came back and acted as if nothing ever happened? The strangest part was he looked good. I mean, he looked a lot stronger, just a little pale. If I didn’t know any better, I would say he had the same complexion as Xavier. Then I watched in confusion as Des cracked a joke with someone. One

Holy cow! Nora made pancakes and everything. She never cooked breakfast. Nora was more of a grab-a-bite-and-go girl. I’d never seen her in the kitchen for longer than five minutes, unless it involved microwaving popcorn, pizza, or leftover take-out.“Since when do you know how to cook?”“I’ve always cooked,” she replied. Nora pushed a stray hair behind her ear. Wait…is her hair tied back in a bun? It sure is. When I woke up, her hair was down. Her hair was always out, since she loved showing off her blonde curls, especially because it was natural. The girls at the club always teased her, asking, “How much did you pay to get your hair that color?” Or, “It’s amazing what you can get from a bottle.” She’d swat at them playfully and say, “Blondes have all the fun. Well…natural blondes do anyway.”I felt like I was being suffocated. I loved Nora, but something was not right. It was not adding up. My stomach rumbled, distracting me as the food started to whet my appetite, making me feel as

Nora had two management classes still to repeat. She didn’t pass when they graded our papers, so she had to repeat the whole semester. She went to her friend’s house for some notes, because she missed classes while looking after me. I gazed around the apartment for the first time since all this happened, and noticed it was immaculate.Everything was in the right place. It’s not messy! All the old, scruffy pillows were replaced with new embroidered ones. I lifted one up, admiring the beautiful design. Where have I seen this symbol before?I glanced at my watch. Shoot, it was eight and I hadn’t had a shower yet. I ran the water and stepped in. The first thing I did was reach back to let my hair down, but when I felt my new short bob, I realized I needed to get used to not having to do that anymore.It had been comforting letting my long hair loose after a hard day. Normally, it would take an hour to prepare, including washing, conditioning, and the painful hair-drying experience. My who

In the car, Xavier explained what happened. Basically, Xavier just retold me the same story I’d heard from Nora earlier. Meanwhile, the person I thought was his brother never got introduced. He sat at the back, humming to himself. I nodded to the back, but Xavier ignored my silent question. I was frustrated, because whoever it was back there was getting ignored too. I wanted to know who the pale-looking man was. Could he be my next boss? Patience was a virtue, but still, the whole situation felt surreal. I couldn’t speak—Xavier’s driving skills, or lack thereof, always made me nervous. Previously, I’d asked him if he was trying to kill me, and his response was always the same: ‘If I was, it wouldn’t be with my driving.’ Yep, my man had a very warped sense of humor. His cynical laugh told me it was his version of a joke. He nearly had me wetting myself; it was as if he drove with his eyes closed—stayed too close to the car in front of us, changed lanes without signaling, and even wor