"I'll see you soon!" Kylie called out as she exited the venieore. The door chiming softly as she left, the sound lingering in the empty space. I gave her a small wave and a fleeting smile from behind the ter, even though smiling was the st thing on my mind. As her footsteps faded into the night, the store settled into silence, broken only by the persistent buzz of the fluorest lights overhead.

  I was exhausted. Every muscle in my body ached, a dull throb that matched the flickering lights above. The extra shifts I'd been pig up were brutal—hell, they weren't ideal for anyone's schedule. Getting to the store at eight in the evening and not leaving until two in the m was taking its toll, especially since I had to be up for my sed job by six. The air was thick with the stale st of processed snacks and a hint of bleach from the retly mopped floors. I he money, but more than anything, I wao sleep.

  I sighed and leaned ba the squeaky white pstic chair behind the register. The cold hard surface offered no fort, much like the rest of the sterile enviro. The humming of the coolers harmonized with the buzzing lights, creating a monotonous drohat made my head spin. I g the clock hanging above the door—it was a little after midnight. I didn't expect to see any more ers tonight; maybe a few stragglers from the bar up the road, but otherwise, the world was asleep.

  Rubbing my face with both palms, I tried to wipe away the fatigue. Sitting here longing for rest wasn't going to make time move any faster. The lingering smell of hotdogs fotten on the rrill mixed unpleasantly with the sharp citrus of the ing supplies. There were plenty of things I could be doing: restog shelves, ging prices, ing bathrooms, wiping down ters, mopping floors—the list was as endless as my exhaustion.

  I groaned as I pushed myself up from the chair. The floor felt cold beh my feet, a chill seeping through the thin soles of my shoes. Opening the cupboard behind the register, the potent aroma of trated ers assaulted my senses. Grabbing a rag and a bottle of disiant, I began wiping down the ters. The rhythmic motion was almost hypnotic, the only sounds the quiet swish of the cloth and the ever-present buzzing that seemed to grow louder with each passing minute.

  By the time I finished ing, I was eyeing the vanil and chocote ice creams tucked away in the back freezer. A te-night snack souempting. Just as I was deg betweewo, the doorbell chimed—a sharp sound that echoed through the quiet store. Disappoi flickered, and I sighed quietly, taking it as a sign to save my money for bills instead of indulgences. I made my way back behind the ter.

  A maered with light brown hair and a pale face, his eyes fixed ily on the array of dy bars. He seemed deep in thought, his tration only breaking wheiced me behind the register.

  "I was w if you could help me out with some dires," he said, pg a map on the ter in front of me. "I was using GPS, but the service out here isn't the best."

  "Sure, I'll try my best," I replied, stretg and feeling a slight cra my neck. I offered a reassuring smile. Despite living here my entire life, giving dires wasn't my strong suit—'direally challenged,' as Dad liked to say.

  He smiled appreciatively and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "Thank you for your help. I'm heading to Salisbury Street." He slid the map toward me.

  "I heard that it's right by..." He trailed off, his gaze drifting down to my shoulder. My shirt had slipped slightly, revealing the odd, mangled scar I'd had for the st twelve years. A familiar surge of irritation rose, but I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I casually adjusted my shirt a my wavy red hair fall over it, just in case it slipped again. Wearing my hair down usually hid it, but sometimes a girl o breathe—especially in the summertime.

  His cheeks flushed, embarrassment evident. "I'm sorry. I—"

  "It's fine," I cut him off, already feeling bored with the exge. I couldn't bme him for staring; everyone did. How often do you see someoh a weird bite mark on their shoulder? "You're actually really close to Salisbury Street. Just tinue down the road for about three blocks, and it'll be on your left." I slid the map ba.

  He nodded, a tight smile. "Thanks for your help." With that, he left the store.

  I g my refle in the window. Pushing my hair aside, I adjusted my shirt slightly and touched the scar gently. It wasn't ugly—not to me, at least. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Just... iing. Everyone else who glimpsed it seemed to think so too.

  I don't remember exactly how I got the scar. When I asked, my dad told me I had an act at the park and scraped my shoulder on something. But I knew better. By now, the memory was nothing but a blur. I don't remember the boy's face, but his shining grey eyes have been haunting my dreams since I left the park that day.

  It was always the same two dreams, but eaight their details would be a little different. When the dreams first started, they sisted of me walking through a dark forest, the sky bright with stars on a backdrop of purples, pinks, and dark blues. Fireflies would lead me along a gently worn path towards the bank of a calm and steady stream, where I would sit and wait, though I didn’t know who or what I was waiting for. Sometimes, if I waited long enough, a small gray and white puppy would e yipping from out of the bushes. Its fur was soft to the touch, its ears floppy and just a little bit too big for its head, and its eyes glowing silver. We would py fetd nap in the grass.

  Other times, it’d be a young boy. In those dreams, I’m running through the forest, knowing that something or someone was chasing me, but I couldn’t see or hear them. I’d run until I was out of breath, my heart pounding in my ears. Then I’d feel his arms around my waist again, just before I made it to the clearing, holding me in pce just as he did that day. His head buried in the crook of my neck as we stood there, never showing his face. We would stand there for a long time, and as I grew older, I began interpreting his hug as a way for him to either seek ive fort. Every time before I would wake up, he would whisper something in my ear, but I could never uand what he was saying.

  That is until retly.

  My dreams would start like usual ahe same way. However, this time, the boy was no longer a boy, and the puppy was no longer a puppy. The puppy had bee a very rge and very intimidating grey wolf while the boy had bee a man, making the chase all the more terrifying as both the wolf and the man took part in it now. Like before, I would be caught just before I could make it to the clearing, only there was no hug this time. No, this time, I was tackled to the ground by the man while the wolf circled us, ing closer with each step. When we finally stopped rolling, the man held me down as the wolf bared its teeth, ing closer and sniffing at the mark on my left shoulder before lig it. I gasped and struggled, trying to get free, but the man only held me tighter before leaning down to my right ear. This time, the words he spoke were clear as day, his voice deep, husky, rich, and resonating with power.

  “No more running, love. I’ll see you soon,” he said, smirking into my shoulder before everything faded, and I bolted up out of bed, drenched i.

  The bell chimed again, shaking me from my dazed thoughts. I fixed my shirt and brought my hair back over my shoulder. Luis, my co-worker, walked through the door with a scowl on his face.

  "Hey," he grumbled, walking past me.

  "Hey," I replied. "What are you doing here so early? Your shift doesn't start for awo hours..."

  "I actally locked myself out of my apartment, and my roommate is out, so I don't have ao let me in. This is the only pce I had left to go," he expiaking a seat in the chair o me. "I'll just wait it out. My roommate will be ba a couple of hours anyway."

  I nodded and g the clock. We sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke up again.

  "You know, you leave if you want to," he said, scrolling through his phone. "I've seen the way you've been eyeing that clock. Besides, it's pretty useless for you to be sitting here when I just cover for you. I mean, it's not like I have anywhere else to go at the moment anyway."

  I turo look at him, a smile tugging at my lips. "Are you sure? I stay if—"

  "It's holy fine, Aria. You go."

  I gave him a warm smile and thanked him repeatedly while gathering my things. Luis probably had no idea how much this meant to me right now, and I made a mental o make it up to him ter.

  Withiy minutes, my car was safely parked in the driveway. I quietly made my the crete steps, not wanting to wake ahe rge wooden door creaked loudly as it opened, and I ged at the sound. After realizing my entrance hadn't woken anyone, I headed to the kit for a snack. As I rummaged through the fridge, a rge haed on my shoulder, causio gasp and drop a tainer of leftovers.

  "I'm sorry, kiddo! I didn't mean to scare ya," my father's gruff voice rang out.

  I pced a hand over my chest, trying to calm my rag heart while f a smile. "It's fine, Dad. Just caught me off guard," I said, reag to up the mess. "What are you doing up this te anyway? You should be upstairs in bed," I asked, g my voice.

  "Your brothers are out, so I didn't have ao help me up the steps," he said, gesturing to his leg. "I tried going up by myself, but I just couldn't do it, so I decided to sleep on the couch."

  I let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through my hair. My dad had gotten into a horrible car act that nearly cost him his life and ended my mothers. The doctors said there was very little ce of him surviving, and that if he did survive, he would have plications with walking again because of the signifit damage doo his right leg and spine. He couldn't go back to work, so I had to start w to help pay the bills, which meant I couldn't be home to help take care of him when he . My younger brothers and I agreed that at least one of us had to stay in the house at all times just in case Dad needed anything, but I guess that p out the window.

  "I'm gonna kill those brats," I mumbled under my breath.

  "Oh, don't be too harsh on them, Ari," my dad chuckled. "You guys already do so mue. You deserve to be able to go out and have fun every on a while. I feel as though I put too much pressure on you guys to take care of me. I mean, you're pulling through two jht now and even dropped out of uy to help out..." He trailed off, his eyes brimming with uears.

  He shook his head, his eyes now holding a harder emotion as he stood up straighter. "I've been doing some thinking, and I think I came up with ahat will be a solution to everything, or at least to some of our problems."

  His words sparked a sudden i in me as I looked back over to him. "Okay, how so?" I asked, genuinely ied in what he had to say.

  "Well, for starters, you'll be able to quit one of your jobs, and the boys won't have to be here as often along with some other things. You guys won't be as stressed and I think you'll be a lot happier." He started

  My i peaked and a smile crept onto my face "Really? That sounds great, so what's this idea?"

  My Dad ged as he observed my fad nervously started rubbing the back of his neck. "Well there's just this ohing though..." He trailed off , shifting his eyes away from me. My smile immediately fell and a frown took its pce as I processed his words. "What is it, Dad?"

  He looked back up to me, his green eyes b into mine.

  "You're not gonna like it."