𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄, lando norris

05 ; have you seen the news?

My mood had hit rock bottom when I entered my aunt's warm bakery and pulled on the oversized smock over the clothes I hadn't taken off after my stay with Toni.

They smelled of Lando and were far too big, but at least they served their purpose and kept me warm in the cold season that was yet to come.

My aunt hadn't arrived yet, which must mean that she had overslept as she usually arrived on time when the store opened. At the latest when the first guest arrived, she ran into the cozy bakery with a broad smile on her lips —

But today she didn't show up even after the fifth customer and my anxiety slowly grew.

I kept looking hopefully at the glass door behind the guests, but apart from the guests, no one entered the rather small room.

I handed the elderly lady in front of me the three bread rolls she bought every day for her little family and said goodbye to her with a warm smile on my lips. It looked more forced than intentional, but I couldn't stop thinking that maybe something had happened to Jenna.

"Hey." My head snapped up and an icy chill ran down my spine as Lando stood in front of me. He had tangled hair that hung unruly over his pale forehead, making him look more sleepy than he probably was.

"Hey." I breathed speechlessly, suddenly feeling like the four walls of the bakery were closing in on me. "What would you like to order?"

I felt like a teenager in love because I couldn't look him in the eye. The certainty that he had seen and even touched my most vulnerable spot made me swallow hard.

I could still feel his feather-light touch on the scar, as if his fingers were still there —

But they weren't and I was sure they wouldn't be so warm now, given that he had just come in from the freezing cold.

For a brief moment, it seemed as if the Brit was trying to stare into my soul. He looked down at me with such an intense gaze that my knees almost buckled under my weight.

"A wholemeal bread and a pumpkin seed roll." His voice sounded unsure, as if he didn't know how to respond to me and it annoyed me, because I was sure that the guests after him could hear Lando talking to me.

With a soft sigh, I packed up his order and handed it to him, but he made no move to leave the store.

"Can I have some more of the cake you made this morning?" The fact that Lando also suspected that Jenna was there showed me that something was very wrong. He must have noticed that my aunt came here every day because it was really unusual for her not to show up.

She loved this bakery more than anything. Going into this business had been her biggest dream and I couldn't imagine her suddenly dropping it.

"Which one do you want?"

He glanced behind me to get a good look at the various cakes and tarts and then pointed to the newest cake in the range.

I quickly grabbed the cake lifter and grabbed a generous slice of the mole cake I had been frantically topping this morning.

Jenna seemed to have been here late yesterday, because the cakes had been so well prepared that all I had to do was put them out.

Lando took the cake I handed him and said goodbye with a smile on his lips.

I looked after him, waited until he had left the store and only then did I look at the next customer.

It was Mr. Maier, whose blue eyes stared at me so suddenly that I was startled for a moment. His suddenly elderly appearance startled me deeply. 

"Good morning." he greeted me politely, probably there to have the next strange cake designed —

But unfortunately I had absolutely no time for that today.

"Good morning, Mr. Maier." I smiled nicely at him and took out a pen and pad to take his order, but strangely enough, he didn't want to order a cake. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Kristof, darling?"

A hearty smile escaped his throat that reminded me a lot of my grandpa's laugh.

Or at least my grandpa's laugh before my dad died because he hadn't laughed since.

My heart tightened painfully at the thought of my father.

"Is your aunt there, child?"

It was strange that he suddenly wanted to talk to Jenna, because he usually placed the orders with me too.

"I'm afraid not. You're welcome to sit there for a minute. I'll be with you in five minutes." Whatever it was, I was sure I could deliver it to Jenna.

"Okay, all right." He gave me another smile before slowly making his way to the table with his walking stick.

The other guests' gazes lingered on me for a strangely long time, with pitying expressions on the masks they wore every day.

In this place, everyone had a mask on, because after the massacre, everyone pretended they weren't deeply traumatized —

But that wasn't even close to the truth, because just a few weeks later, five women had taken their own lives. They couldn't live with what had happened and had decided to end their lives.

A younger couple mumbled to themselves and I could have sworn I heard my name, but I ignored it.

It was nothing new to me, especially as I was one of the few survivors who had made it out half alive.

But somehow their looks were different today, full of fear and pity that I couldn't explain to myself.

I only briefly served the last three guests and then continued on my way to Kristof, who was already stirring his coffee impatiently and looking at me as I sat down next to him.

"Have you seen the news?" Mr. Maier looked at me sympathetically, as if he had to tell me that Jenna was now dead too. Suddenly it became difficult to breathe, because the worst-case scenarios were running through my head.

"No." was the only thing I could get out. My voice was lost in the air and was suddenly so weak that it was almost inaudible.

Kristof's gaze softened and he placed his warm hands on mine.

I feared the worst:

My aunt was dead.

"It's not my place to tell you this." He sounded as if he was sorry, as if something had happened to me that I hadn't noticed.

"Go home. Talk to your aunt." I nodded hesitantly, stood up and pulled my apron off my body.

I took a deep breath. Jenna seemed to be fine.

By the time I had closed and left the store, Mr. Maier had already left the bakery and was out of my sight.

The rain fell in torrents from the gloomy sky and soaked my clothes the second I had stepped out of the door and locked the store.