THE BRIDE HE BURIED

THE MARK NEVER LIES

A rush of wind blew over my face while something hard, with a powerful punch, slammed into my heart—and I screamed in astonishment.

My body flew into the air from the impact as I landed on the floor, crouching at my chest.

I gasped for air, tearing my shirt into pieces… furiously.

My body shook, and darkness still surrounded me, but I could hear… sounds… laughter and a bark.

“The f**k is wrong with you, Eve?” someone yelled.

Eve! Yes… that's me! My name is Eve!

Slowly but cautiously, I lifted my eyelids and peered at my surroundings.

I should be dead…

How? How did I get here?

I had seen Vivian shoot me—and that driver.

How did I get here?

I looked around, unable to understand anything.

“Hey, back off. She looks hurt, can you give her a break?” someone snapped.

My gaze focused on the lady with brightly colored long pink hair staring down at me with worried eyes.

“Babes, what the hell? Are you okay?” she asked.

Her touch made me flinch… was I going crazy?

I should be dead!

Was this the afterlife or what?

“Where am I?” I asked. My speech surprised me.

“Be for real, babe. You’re at work serving pizza and a cup of milkshake. The f**k is wrong with you?” she asked, looking even more concerned.

She placed the back of her palm across my neck and shook her head.

“Come with me,” she ordered.

I tried to stand up, but my legs collapsed under me like a heap of rags.

“I can't walk,” I muttered, tension beginning to rise in my head.

I really needed to know where I was.

The laughter had grown, and a man stood at a corner looking at me with eyes that looked like he wanted to bury me alive.

Was he the demon in charge of stubborn souls?

He should be dragging Vivian’s soul, not mine.

The pink-haired girl followed my gaze and scoffed.

“Ignore him… he seemed to have woken on the left side of his damn bed… if he has one,” she whispered.

Placing my arm around her neck, she helped me out of the store to a back space.

“Who's gonna serve the customers, you nitwit?” the grumpy man yelled after us.

“The hell you would,” the girl screamed back, not stopping her pace.

She half carried me into a female washroom and laid me down on a steel seat.

“What the f**k is wrong with you, girl? You’re scaring the s**t outta me!” she quizzed, the concerned look on her face again.

I studied her face… a flicker of realization spread through me excitedly.

Brenda… my bestie.

There she was! I had wanted to call her last night when that driver wouldn’t let me go, but my battery had died.

Wait! My brows squeezed in confusion—was she dead too?

“Girl, you’re scaring me. Talk! You hungry or what?” she asked.

“Are we in hell or heaven?” I whispered to her.

She looked at me for a moment, as if checking to see if I was joking, then rolled into laughter.

“Girl, be for real. You drunk or something?” she asked.

That was a valid question.

Was I still drunk?

“I don't know,” I answered sincerely.

I didn’t know what to believe anymore.

Everything looked familiar yet so weird.

I remembered now: the café, the female bathroom, the grumpy old man… but why was I there?

We had worked at this café six months ago and quit before we started our final exams, so why were we wearing the same uniforms as if we still worked there?

“You’re beginning to scare me, babes. What’s going on?” she asked again.

I took a deep breath.

Who was going to believe my story?

It hadn’t been a dream…

It had been real…

I had been shot by Vivian.

But what was happening?

“You can talk to me,” she encouraged, rubbing my back like she always did when I cried.

I touched my face and felt the tears streaming down.

I didn’t even know I had been crying.

So I told her the whole thing.

Her face displayed various emotions that couldn’t be hidden.

I was afraid she would say I was crazy—but I didn’t have to worry.

“Take your clothes off!” she suddenly ordered.

I looked at her, unsure of what she meant.

“b***h, if it’s true and you were shot, then you would have a mark where you were shot,” she explained.

I nodded and took off my blouse—and instantly, I felt my breath seize.

The mark was there!

It was right there on my f*****g belly.

I wasn’t lying… it was real.

Last night was real.

Brenda looked shocked herself.

“Girl, you were with me the whole time yesterday. You didn’t go nowhere after classes, so it ain’t adding up.”

Did she say classes?

“What date is this?” I asked.

“April 25th. Why?”

Terror froze my blood as I collapsed back on the seat.

It was the same date Eric had walked into our Media Enhancement class as a substitute teacher six months before last night.

I could never forget that date.

“Time—check the time, Brenda!”

“11:30,” she said, looking confused.

That’s it!

Our lectures began by 12:30 and he was going to walk in.

Fear gripped me…

I couldn’t see him.

I didn’t understand what was going on at the moment, but one thing I knew was that I couldn’t meet him—not today.

Maria, one of the servers, popped her head into the bathroom door and said with a smirk:

“You girls done with yourselves? Eve, your Uber is here. You have a delivery to make, ASAP.”

Uber driver!

I rushed out, despite Brenda’s screaming to come back, covering my bare chest—and there he was… the guy from last night… looking at me with those same piercing blue eyes and a grin.

I rushed back into the bathroom, ignoring the curious eyes of the customers.

“It’s him!” I yelled.

“Who?”

“The Uber driver that dropped me home last night and got shot,” I rapped out faster than Eminem.

She walked briskly outside and returned with an even more worried face.

“You sure?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Hey, I think we need to speak with my mother… she knows stuff about these voodoo shits. She can help,” Brenda said.

“You two are fired!”

We were startled and turned to see Mr. Sanders standing behind us.

“You think this is a club or something? I’ve got customers waiting in a line outside and you two are busy here rubbing on yourselves?”

“Sir, we didn’t—” Brenda tried to explain.

“Oh, shut up. Sloane told me everything. Now get out… you two. Out before I call security!” he yelled, turning red.

He didn’t want to pay us.

I knew that… I remembered.

My phone rang… Mrs. Meyers.

I was needed at school immediately…

Cold shivers spread through my body.

This was not happening!