Little Girl Blue - 𝐖𝐋𝐖

𝐈. Ludus- Ten

I knew Jane and he insisted that any friend of hers, was a friend of his.

Nicky and his bar sat idly at the end of town. Managing to stay in business thanks to the loyal patrons, usually fisherman or bachelorettes who aren't too fond of the city, come to the bar for a beer, a game of pool, on certain nights to see Greta perform.

But during the day, there wasn't much to it. The place was a disgusting brown, wood everywhere with crimson red stools and low-rise lights that glowed green. Yet the smile on his face never wavered. There was pride in serving drinks, wiping down tables, cleaning up half eaten burgers. Nicky never complained.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to see you again." He brought me a drink, leaning against the slab of wood that separated us.

The smell had become so familiar, always on Jane's lips at any hour of the day. I pushed it aside, afraid I'd get sick. "Yeah. Me neither."

"When Jane brings women home you don't usually see them again. Things must be going good if you're still around." He winked.

My eyebrows furrowed, "Pardon?"

There was a pause. "Oh," He cleared his throat and chuckled, "I just thought that since—"

I shook my head, "Jane and I are just friends."

"Yeah—you don't really seem like her type."

I thought of Kaylee. Blonde, blue eyed, large chest. I lacked in all of those areas. "I've noticed."

He chuckled and went back to his rag, tossing it between both hands. "How is she, anyway?"

I shrugged. I had assumed all those nights she was gone she would've been here at the bar. "You haven't heard from her?"

Shaking his head, "Not since you left. And even that was over a week ago." He swallowed, getting suddenly very serious, "She's fine though, right?"

I shrugged again. Had I known he didn't know, I wouldn't have come. Seeking answers seemed like such a silly thing to do anyhow, especially when it came to Jane. You were always going to be curious, cautious, worried. "I think," I spotted the drink, "She ran into an old friend, I believe. Kaylee?"

Nicky inhaled sharply while at the end of the bar someone had raised a glass for a refill. He left momentarily, jogging to the drunk customer. All this time I had only been focusing on why I was in the bar. But I never considered why Jane was. Her story, her reasons. Not completely, at least, but each day more revealed itself. In the way she moved, quiet and quick, how she spoke in riddles, it seemed. Her strange evening outings and sloppy reappearances. I was too intrigued for my own good. No wonder I ended up at Nicky's again.

He returned, perching his elbows on the counter.

"Kaylee? Do you know her?" I asked.

He sighed, "Not like Jane does."

Jane, and even I, had made it clear that it wasn't any of my business. I asked anyway. "And how does Jane know her?"

Smiling, "Ah well," He chuckled giddily, "They were sweethearts. Jane would come down to visit her dad on the weekends and holidays and I went to school with Lee. I introduced them."

I swallowed. "Then what happened?"

Nicky made a humming noise, like trying to decide if he should say more. Thankfully, he did. "It was good, for awhile. And then it wasn't. Jane's father died and things changed. She changed. She left without telling anyone and one day showed up again."

I thought of the man in the picture, tall, grey, eyes like Jane. "Sweethearts?"

Shaking his head, "But Jane doesn't really believe in love. So to her, her and Lee were friends with a silly summertime crush that messily fled into all of senior year. Though she argues everything was platonic."

Of course she does. "Well, was it?"

"No, nothing close. After graduation they had planned on moving to the city, get an apartment together until they finished school. But Jane left, very abruptly might I add, and last I heard they hadn't talked since."

"But now Kaylee is here."

"But now Kaylee is here." He repeated like the true realization of that was settling in.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"It could be. How's Jane?"

"Well she left for awhile."

"And went where?"

"Don't know."

He groaned.

I felt my leg uncontrollably bounce against the railing of the chair. It was then I knew there was a decision to be made. Do I stay or do I go? Obviously I wanted to leave, that had been the plan all along. But the plan had been a bad one, and unfortunately poorly executed. My savings are low and now there's Jane. I knew I had to stay. I had no other choice.

"Florence." It was Jane, her voice snapping from my thoughts. The stool next to mine was pushed back, a loud screech threatening the floor. My shoulders became tense, I dared not to look at her.

"Jesus Jane, go easy—" Her finger held up to silence Nicky. Eventually he walked away, a sympathetic look written across his face.

"You said you'd be back before sunset." She looked at the full cup, "that was an hour ago."

My head was down, I was somehow ashamed that this was the circumstance she had caught me in again. I was afraid that if I were to look up, I wouldn't be met with the soft green. Instead it would be a forest fire, an almost calm rage that only she could possess.

"I lost track of time." And I was terribly considering darting for the door, abandoning all instincts for a breath of air, a moment of silence, something to gather everything it felt I had lost in the span of a week—a lifetime.

I didn't want to talk or explain myself. All of which she'd be demanding me to do in due time. "Can we talk later Jane, please? I'm just so tired." I felt another headache coming.

When I went to go stand, my legs buckled beneath me. Her hands quickly wrapping around my shoulders, "Are you alright?"

"Yes." I held my head, dizzy, "...yeah I just need to get to bed." And held both of my arms tightly around her waist.

I was carried to the car, body cold and hard trapped beneath her grasp. The exhaust came over suddenly, quickly. I muttered a small thanks as she put me into the backseat, tossing her jacket over my goosebumped arms.