After my evening run, I've taken to stopping at a local convenience store for a sports drink while I cool off. Over time I've struck up a friendship of sorts with the clerk, a cute brunette named Evie.
I have a collection of t-shirts that I've had made with scenes, quotes or characters from cult classic sci-fi movies. Evie started commenting on them, and to my surprise, knew all the movies they were from. Needless to say, I was impressed.
"Hey Evie." I called out as I entered the store.
"Hey Aaron." She responded. "The usual?"
"As always." I answered, fishing the sports drink from the cooler, then walking over to the register.
"Weyland-Yutani, The 'company' from Alien, cool." She said, admiring my shirt.
"One of my favorite movie franchises." I smiled. "At this point, I'm not surprised you got it."
"You haven't stumped me yet, though I did have to think for a minute on the one from Blade Runner." She chuckled.
"The Roy Batty quote?" I inquired.
"All those moments will be lost..." She started.
"Like tears in the rain." We said in unison.
"Yeah." She smiled. "Not real obscure, but hard to remember only because there's so much going on in that movie."
"How's school going?" I asked. She was in college, studying to be a nurse.
"Brutal." She sighed. "I can't wait for this semester to be over, I graduate in May. It's 7 months away, can't come soon enough."
"Then you can get out of this dump." I chuckled.
The store wasn't in a bad neighborhood, per se, but a pretty girl working nights, I always worried about her.
We had an odd relationship. She was 22, wicked smart, funny and very pragmatic. She knew what she wanted out of life and was going to get it, period. I am 26, work landscaping for a local contractor, I enjoy the work and like being outside. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but we seem to connect for some reason. We spent a lot of time texting back and forth with obscure trivia and such, trying to stump each other. Neither of us was looking for a relationship, she wanted to get through school, and I'm just lost, for lack of a better term.
I did ask her once why she felt the need to befriend me. Her answer. "The first time I met you, you had on a shirt that said Tyrell Corp., Blade Runner is one of my all time favorite movies. Then when I asked what you did, you said, 'I work for ENCOM', TRON...another classic. Anybody that well versed in arcane science fiction movie lore is worth hanging out with. Besides, you looked lonely."
"Well I spent a lot of time by myself as a child, television was a friend." I sighed. I hadn't told her my story yet, so I was shocked that she could see the loneliness in me. I was abandoned as a baby, found in a church late one night. Spent my entire childhood in the system, never got adopted. I have no idea who I am. I even tried those genetic ancestry sites, but nobody seems to be related. I have no family. I never belonged anywhere. That will certainly kick the shit out of your self esteem. That's why I'm a loner. I've always kept to myself, mostly avoided contact with people, then I met Evie. I tried to shut her out, I couldn't let her get close, but like a dog with a bone, she just wouldn't let me. She always made sure to talk to me whenever I came in the store, even if I didn't want to. Over time, she dragged me out of my shell, and I have to admit, I've started looking forward to seeing her, talking to her.
She was saddened by my story, but I never sensed she felt sorry for me. She didn't befriend me out of pity, she truly enjoyed my company. She was just as well versed on movie trivia as I was.
One evening I came in after my run. I noticed someone at the counter but didn't give it much thought. He was still there when I went to pay for my drink.
"Aw, come on babe, just give me your number." He begged.
"I'm sorry sir." Evie answered. "I'm not allowed to do that." Evie saw me behind this guy, I could see by the look on her face he was trouble.
They continued to banter back and forth for a bit, he just wouldn't give up, no matter what Evie said.
Finally, I'd had enough. "Take the hint. I don't think she's interested." I said, startling him.
He spun around. "Who the fuck asked you?" He spat before he could register just what he'd done.
I'm no body builder, but I've done manual labor since I was a kid, my arms and upper body are pretty well toned. I'm 6 foot even, 200lbs, solid. He on the other hand was 5'8" or so, maybe 150lbs and WAY too fucking old to be hitting on a 22 year old, the biggest thing on him was his mouth. We were on camera, so I wasn't going to start anything, but if he touched me, or Evie, I would finish it.
I took half a step forward and glared down at him, giving him my best 'I'll kill you and hide the body' stare. "As I see it, you have two choices." I growled. "You can walk out of here, or they will carry you out after I break both your legs. How you wanna do this?"
His mouth dropped open and I'm sure he damned near pissed down his leg. "I-I-I'm l-l-leaving n-now." He stammered, bolting for the door.
"You OK Evie?" I asked.
"Not really." She said, visibly shaking. "Some of the things he said to me... Who the hell does he think he is to talk to me like that? Thanks for..."
"Glad to help." I said. "Don't give it another thought."
I stayed with her for a while until she'd calmed down, then left.
As I walked away, I noticed movement near Evie's car. Being the only car in the area, It would be clear to just about anyone whose it was. I walked around the building and crept up on the car until I could just see it from my hiding place in the shadows. That little fucker from earlier was trying to break into Evie's car. I watched from cover as he managed to open the door and crawl into the back seat, closing the door behind him. Seems the bastard wasn't as harmless as I thought. I'd recorded the event on my phone, just in case it might come in handy, then texted Evie real quick, telling her not to leave the store (she would be ending her shift in a few minutes) and that I would explain later.
I crept up on the car, then threw the door open and dragged the idiot out. He made one half-hearted swing at me before I nailed him, hard, in the gut doubling him over. I grabbed him, throwing him against the building just as Evie bolted from the store.
"Aaron." She shrieked. "What's going on?"
"I found this parasite in the back seat of your car." I seethed. "Seems he can't take a hint. Would you be a dear and call the police, I think they might be interested in his activities this evening."
After a quick 911 call Evie stood by the doors while I 'entertained' our guest. "Stand here quietly and I won't break your face, but if you start anything, I won't stop until they pull me off you."
The officer pulled up very shortly after that and I gave him my story and the video from my phone. Evie told him she could get the tape from the store, but it would be tomorrow.
"If it's not too much trouble, could you bring it down to the precinct." He asked. "I'm going to be in court tomorrow. The sooner we get it, the faster this scum goes away."
"I can go with you if you want?" I said, looking over at Evie.
"Yes please." She frowned. "This has all been more than I can handle."
We later found out this moron was already on probation for a sexual assault, so we were assured he would be going away for at least 10 years as a repeat offender, maybe more if they could prove intent to kidnap.
"You got plans for Christmas?" She asked as we left the police station.
