The lost time

Caroline's

2 months ago

I was getting ready for work when someone knocked on my door. I finished putting on my cardigan I used at work and walked over to the door and opened it. I was met with a big smile. Outside stood a young woman that introduced herself as Veronica Black. She had long dark brown hair that reached her mid back, green eyes, a big smile, and a killer body. She was at least 5’8 and looked like a supermodel. “Hi, I’m Veronica Black. I just moved in next door, and I thought I would introduce myself” she said. Her voice held so much warmth that it made me smile. “I’m Alexis Warner” I answered and shock her hand. I invited her in while I finished getting ready for work, and that was it. That day she became my best friend.

ALEXIS’ POV

A man and a woman entered the diner and sat down at one of my tables. I grabbed two menus and walked over to their table. “Welcome to Caroline’s, my name is Alexis” I said with a smile while as I put the menus down on the table in front of them. I smiled to both of them before I continued. “Can I offer you something to drink?” The man looked at me for a second before he turned to his date. She ordered for the both of them, and I smiled and nodded my head at her. I hurried back to the counter where I asked Marie to bring me two bottles of water and two glasses. When she gave them to me, I walked back to the couple at the table. I opened the bottles and filled their glasses in front of them. I asked if they were ready to place their order as I smiled. I made sure to look at the woman first, then the man and back at the woman. The smile never left my lips. I didn’t want any women to think that I was flirting with her man, so I made sure to focus on the women instead of the men. I always kept a genuine smile while talking to my costumers, and since I liked my job, it wasn’t hard to do. The woman looked up at me and smiled before placing her order, then the man placed his order. He kept his smile neutral, but it didn’t bother me. I wrote down their orders and went to the counter to give it to Marie before I went over to my other tables. Just as I cleared one of the tables Veronica walked through the door and walked over to that table. She knew I had a ten-minute break coming up soon and she wanted me to grab a coffee with her. She gave me one of her bright smiles and waved at me. I grabbed a cup of coffee for her and walked over to her table. “Hi, Lexie” she said as I approached. “Hi, Ronnie. How was your day? Your boss still bothering you?” I asked her as I sat down across from her. She was always complaining about her boss, even though she never told me what she did for a living, and I never asked. If she wanted me to know, she would tell me. “It’s been super busy the last couple of days, but it’s finally slowing down. I have a few days off, so I’m just gonna relax and enjoy my them!” she didn’t say anything about her boss, that meant she didn’t want to talk about it. I gave her a quick hug and went back to work. I brought the couple their food, and asked my other customers if they needed anything, which they didn’t. I let Marie know that I was taking a small coffee break and went to sit with Ronnie at her table. She talked about what she was going to do the next couple of days, and I just listened and enjoyed my coffee.

Even if I was taking a break I always looked over at my tables, making sure the customers were satisfied. If I saw someone finished eating and looking like they were ready to leave, I always cut my break short. And that was what happened today. The couple that came in earlier was signaling for their check, so I went over to Marie and got it for them. She had seen them too and had it ready by the time I got over to her. I walked over to the table and the man gave me his credit card. He didn’t even look at the bill. I walked back to Marie and handed her the card. She was always behind the counter, making sure that everything went as smoothly as possible. She was the one that dealt with the register, giving the chefs the orders, and getting everything the waitresses needed to do their job. I was glad I didn’t have to do all of it myself, I enjoyed taking care of the customers, but the register scared me. And this way we all knew it would be done right. She gave me back the credit card and a receipt and I walked back to the couple with it. I gave it back to the man and smiled at them. “I hope you enjoyed your meal” I told them and turned to walk away, but the woman stopped me. “Miss Alexis, the meal was delicious, and you are by far the best waitress I’ve ever met. I want to give you a small tip to show my appreciation” she said and put some money in my hand. I put the money in my pocket and smiled at her and thanked her. I didn’t even look at the money she gave me, I never did until after my shift was done. It was rude to look at the tip in front of the customers, and checking it later gave me something to look forward to. I liked to think that my discretion was the reason my customers always came back, even though Caroline, the owner, said it was because I always smiled and never was rude to anyone, even if the customer was a pain in the behind.

I walked away from the table long enough for the couple to leave, then I went back to get the dishes and clean the table. And as soon as I was done cleaning it someone else came in and sat down. I continued working, serving food and beverages, cleaning tables, and talking to the customers. The last customer left just before closing time, and Ronnie came back to the diner five minutes before I locked the door. This was our routine. She came to keep me company while I cleaned the diner. I cleaned all the tables, mopped the floors, and cleaned the restrooms before I was ready to leave. I didn’t like it when the late shift didn’t get the diner ready for the next day, so I always made sure to do it myself. I was going to work the morning shift the next day, so I made sure everything was ready for tomorrow. That meant there would be less to do in the morning.

Ronnie grabbed my arm as soon as we got outside the diner. “Come on, we’re getting a cab!” She said enthusiastically as she dragged me over to the sidewalk and hauled a cab. And just like that we were on our way home.

Ronnie paid the cab driver, and we entered our apartment building. She talked about a party she had to attend this weekend and asked if I could come with her. And of course she knew that I had the weekend off. “I need you to be there with me, I don’t want to go alone, I can’t go alone! And I have to go! You can borrow one of my dresses, or we can go buy one for you, my treat” she tried to convince me that I didn’t have a reason not to go with her, so I nodded my head to her, and she smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face. “YES! We’re gonna have so much fun! You’re gonna love it!” she squealed. This would be my first party ever, so I didn’t know what to expect, but for once I actually wanted to go.

The next morning, I woke up at 5:30 am and took a quick shower. The cold water made sure I was totally awake by the time I was finished. I put on my uniform and some light make up and left for work. I had to be there by 7am to open, and it was a 30-minute walk there.

when I got to the diner, I went to my locker and put my bag inside. Then I turned on all the lights as Claire, Jeff and Benjamin walked in the door. Claire worked behind the counter, and Jeff and Benjamin worked in the kitchen. “Good morning” I greeted them before I went to the front to unlock the door. I took a quick glance at the tables, and I froze. I heard a loud scream. I didn’t realize that I was the one that screamed until Claire, Jeff and Benjamin came running from behind me.

On the floor in front of my tables was the body of a young woman. Her body was mutilated and there was blood everywhere. On one of the tables, the one Veronica sat at last night, someone had written a message in blood. I wasn’t close enough to read what it said, and I had no intention of walking closer to see what it said. I could hear Jeff calling the police and we all stood still, not touching anything. In a matter of minutes there was police officers everywhere outside the diner, but no one entered since the front door was locked. Jeff was still on the phone with them and told them about the staff entrance in the back of the building, and soon the back of the diner was crowded with police. One of the police officers walked up to me and said something, but I couldn’t hear what he said. I just stood there not knowing what to do, all my senses were blocked, and I was in shock. It felt like I was going to pass out. I could hear voices in the background, they sounded like they were far away. Then everything went dark. The last thing I felt was that someone catches me just as I fell.

When I woke up I was laying on the floor and Claire, Jeff and Benjamin, and a few police officers were standing next to me, looking at me with concerned looks. I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn’t move. I tried to talk, but no words came out. I didn’t like all the attention I was getting so I gave Claire a look and she asked everyone to back up and give me some room to collect myself. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. I had a feeling that there was more to come, and just as I had that thought a female voice asked, “Does anyone know someone called Alexis?” I opened my eyes slowly and managed to say, “I’m Alexis.” Clare helped me sit up and I looked in the direction the voice came from. A woman was walking towards me. Her face was neutral, not showing any signs of emotions, but I thought I saw a flash of worry in her eyes. It was gone so fast that I wasn’t sure if it was even there. “My name is Jessica Grey, I’m the lead detective on this case.” She bent down next to me before she continued talking. “There was a message for you, written on the table, Alexis. It was a waning.” I waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. I was beginning to be worried that someone was after me, but I couldn’t figure out who that would be. I didn’t know many people in the city, I didn’t have any enemies, no one that wanted to hurt me. “What did it say?” I asked in a whisper. She looked around at all the people in the room, studying them, like she was looking for something. “It said, ‘you’re next, Alexis’.” I didn’t know how to react to this. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Who is the victim?” I asked, worried it would be someone I knew. “We don’t know yet. So far, we haven’t been able to find any ID on her, so we have to wait for the CSI team to get here, but from what I could see it didn’t look like someone that works here. It looks like a homeless person, but we won’t know anything for sure until we get a positive ID on her”

I took another deep breath before opening my eyes. Jeff and Benjamin helped me get back on my feet and we all went back to the personnel area. I told the detective everything I knew, what I did before me, Ronnie and Marie left the night before, what I did when I came in this morning, that Claire, Jeff, and Benjamin came in right after I had locked my bag in the locker, and that nothing looked suspicious until I went to unlock the front door and open the diner. The diner was empty when we left last night, me and Marie check both the front and the personnel entrance and both doors were locked. I told her that I didn’t have any enemies that I knew about and that my life was pretty boring from anyone else’s point of view. All I did was work, hang out with Veronica at my apartment and sleep.

The detective asked me some questions about my past and I told her what I could remember. When she asked about my parents, I became quiet and looked down at the floor. “My parents died in a car accident when I was five. I don’t even know their names” I said in a low voice. I never liked being asked about my parents because I didn’t know anything about them, I always wanted to find out more about my family and where I came from, but no one seemed to know anything. Not even the social worker could tell me anything. There was only a small note about them in my file and it only said ‘mother – deceased, father – deceased’. No name, nothing about the accident, nothing about the hospital where I was picked up from – nothing.

Detective Grey looked at me and saw that pain I was feeling in that moment, and she didn’t press the matter any further. She continued asking questions about the diner, my customers and if any of them had ever threatened me. I told her truthfully that there had been some unhappy customers, but none of them had ever threatened me.

I was mentally and emotionally drained when the police car stopped outside my apartment building. Two police officers escorted me into the building and followed me all the way upstairs to my apartment. I unlocked the door, and they looked inside, making sure that there was no one there waiting for me. Then they left and stayed outside my door. Detective Grey had told them to stand guard until she could arrive and take me to a safe location. She had to stay at the crime scene and wait for the CSI team and the coroner, but she would come by as soon as she could.

I went inside my apartment and sat down on the edge of my bed. All I could think about was the dead woman I had seen and the message that was written on the table. My thought was spinning around in my head. Who was she, who did this, why leave a message to me, why me? I was a nobody, I didn’t have any family and I only had one close friend. I felt a sudden urge to check on Ronnie. I went outside in the hallway and rushed over to Ronnie’s apartment and knocked on the door. The door was ajar. ‘That’s strange’ I thought to myself, she always locks the door. I opened the door fully and was met with another gruesome sight. There was blood everywhere. The police officers had followed behind me and when they saw the blood, one of them entered the apartment to check on Ronnie. “CALL AN AMBULANCE!” he yelled to his partner, “She’s still alive.” The officer left in the hallway radioed for an ambulance and back-up before he rushed me back inside my apartment, and he stayed in there with me. I had a million thoughts rushing through my head. I needed to be with Veronica, and I told him that. He didn’t want me to leave my apartment, but when I started to panic, he let me go and stand in the hallway That was as close as he would let me to her.  Her apartment was now a crime scene so I couldn’t go inside to be with her. He then called detective Grey to let her know what had happened, and they decided that I should go to the hospital with Ronnie. After what felt like an eternity the paramedics arrived. I stood there watching them while they worked on Veronica. My best friend was fighting for her life, and there was nothing I could do to help her. I watched them work on her, giving her fluids so they could stabilize her until they could get her to the hospital. “Alexis, come with me” a woman’s voice said from behind. Detective Grey had arrived at the scene and was trying to talk to me. For some odd reason I felt calmer when she was close. “Did you know her well?” She asked me and pointed towards the now empty apartment. The paramedics had just left with Veronica. “She’s my best friend” I said. She motioned for me to follow her back into my apartment. “I need you to pack a bag, everything you don’t want to leave behind.” Her voice was stern, and I did what she told me. I didn’t have much, all my belongings fit in one bag. My clothes, toiletries, shoes and my favorite stuffed animal, a wolf. It was the only thing I had from my childhood, so I had kept it with me. As we walked out to the hallway I locked the door behind me, and I never looked back. I knew I was never coming back. I gave the key to detective Grey; she would get someone to collect my pillows and blankets. That was the only things that didn’t fit in my bag. It wouldn’t be the end of the world to leave it there, but she said I would need it where I was going. I asked her where that would be, and she told me that she couldn’t tell me that until we knew the outcome of Ronnie’s condition.