THROUGH MANNY'S EYES

  Lou raises his hand as he calms down. Adam puts on a brave face, but i see his lip quiver. I poke my head in between them as I speak. Hopefully, this will shift the energy back to a more calm state. Lou carefully places the doll back into a pocket that is three times smaller than the doll, but there isn't a bulge.

  MANNY

  Why do I need to distract Kate?

  LOU

  I want to give this back to her.

  MANNY

  That's great. Then let's do it now.

  Awesome! I turn with a smile to head back to the table. Lou grabs my sweater collar and pulls me back under his arm. He isn't radiating the hot rage from earlier but looks like a sweating child about to be tattled on.

  LOU

  It's not that easy. She signed a contract,

  and these were the payments.

  Take back the payment, the contracts break,

  and everything goes to shit for her. I don't want that.

  From another pocket, Lou pulls out a small blue box. Lou opened the top gently as he laid the doll on the counter. My eyes gawk at the most beautiful piece of jewelry I have ever seen. Inside is a silver chained necklace with a glowing blue gem hanging.

  The silver chain twisted like waves. It was simultaneously moving but still. An impossible beauty. You can see the depths of the ocean within the blue, literally. There is bright collared coral, fishes swimming by, and you can see the sunbeams touch the sand. There is also a strange bucket and two plastic swords i the sand. The one I would see in my nephew's room. The water was pristine, and you could smell the ocean.

  Adam looks at the necklace with his face crunched. i can't tell if he hates it, is confused, or finds it beautiful. Maybe all three

  LOU

  But if I offered a different payment

  to replace her flesh bits. Everything works.

  ADAM

  The price for her organs is Tiffany's?

  LOU

  No. The gem holds half my soul.

  With this, I can make a deal with myself.

  I was planning on giving it to her at

  the concert, but a cheap café that

  barely keeps the rats away works, too.

  ADAM

  That wasn't necessary.

  LOU

  Once she puts it on, I can return

  the organs to her, and we will bond.

  ADAM

  But what if she takes it off.

  LOU

  She'll be fine. She just

  needs to put it on once.

  MANNY

  Bonded, that sounds serious.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  LOU

  It's no big deal. Our souls intertwine

  forever; she gets baby gills,

  but she'll live longer.

  Wait, what did he say? I wasn't the only one who caught that, as both Adama and I shared a glance. One that screams, "Did he say some crazy crap?" Once our eyes met, we knew he did.

  MANNY

  This isn't right. A healthy

  relationship doesn't work like—

  LOU

  Oh, and yours is great?

  MANNY

  Yeah, it is. We don't keep

  secrets from each other.

  Adam leans over the counter to me and whispers. I know Lou can hear him, but our eyes are locked.

  ADAM

  You're going to die, dude.

  MANNY

  You should tell her

  before you give it to her.

  LOU

  I'll tell her after. Once she finds out

  what I did, she will be so happy.

  From under the counter, Adam pulls out a...GUN! Why does he have a handgun under the cafe? Yeah, i get it's Texas, but it's a cafe. He under-sold the lead as he pulled a baseball bat right after. My heart is going on hyperdrive. It was bad enough I was yelling at the fish witch, but to pull out a gun was excessive.

  Lou's eyes glow brighter as he approaches Adam, who steps back. He keeps the gun aimed at the floor and his finger off the trigger, but the bat is on his shoulder, ready to be swung. Why am I in the middle of all this?!?

  ADAM

  I don't care what you do,

  but if you four are stuck here until the storm is over,

  don't cause drama in my store.

  I don't need any of that.

  LOU

  Is that a threat?

  ADAM

  You can do some messed-up magic stuff

  and nearly chopped my hand off.

  I am allowed to be cautious.

  LOU

  Will you not serve us now?

  ADAM

  You still have money?

  Lou nods.

  ADAM

  You won't kill me or do demon crap

  where you choke and hold me off the floor.

  Lou nods again.

  ADAM

  I want to hear you promise.

  LOU

  I promise I won't choke

  you out villain-style.

  Adam steps forward, puts both weapons away, and holds his hand out to shake Lou's. He returns the favor as both shake hands. I stand there, my heart still beating like it was injected with espresso.

  LOU

  Sorry for all that.

  I lost my cool, and that was wrong.

  It's just that everything is so delicate

  and...I just want Marcy safe.

  Adam nods back with recognition. Lou turns to me.

  LOU

  My bad. Didn't mean to go there.

  I bet you and Kate are great.

  MANNY

  Thanks. She means a lot to me,

  and I can tell she feels the same.

  Lou turns to head to the bathroom in the back.

  LOU

  Good to hear. I'm using the bathroom in the back.

  ADAM

  Last door on the left.

  LOU

  I appreciate it.

  Lou walks to the back, and Adam jerks his head toward me with a panicked expression.

  ADAM

  Do you think he pisses fire?

  No joke, I'm legit worried about my toilet.

  MANNY

  I don't want to think about that man.

  Adam turns to head to the grill to make our food. He quickly doubles back and presses his face on the counter. I guess it finally hit him with all the damage Lou did. His eyes stare at every crack, and I can see them water. He whispers to himself, "My poor baby." I get it. It won't be cheap to fix, and i doubt insurance covers fish with nails.

  There's been a thought bubbling in my mind. Something Lou said earlier. Now that it's the two of us, and after everything said, I feel it's right to bring it up. The dude was asking twenty questions, so why can't I?

  MANNY

  Was he telling the truth?

  Are you cheating on your girl?

  ADAM

  Why does it matter?

  MANNY

  I mean, I can't think of doing that.

  I can't even see why someone would.

  ADAM

  Good for you.

  MANNY

  Okay, maybe I can.

  But why don't you

  break up with her?

  ADAM

  Dude, what's your deal?

  I said it didn't matter.

  I stop talking. I need to let the tension diffuse. It's clear we are all jumpy from having our worlds rocked. I'll apologize and let gentle breezes overtake this storm.

  MANNY

  My bad.

  ADAM

  It is. You act like you have it so

  much better. Don't even realize

  your girl is playing you.

  Ok, that pissed me off.

  MANNY

  You don't know anything.

  ADAM

  I do, and I know how it feels more

  than you do. You're going to end up hurt.

  Our eyes are locked. The tensions floating around us make it hard to breathe. I can feel the sweat down my head. It's different from Lou. There is a level of genuine fear. With Adam, it's different. I can't put my finger on it, but Lou is terrifying. But from what I can tell, it's not a bad dude, but why do something so atrocious?

  MANNY

  Like you're hurting your girl?

  ADAM

  I have to cook.

  Adam walks toward the grill. Trying his best to be out of the conversation. I went too far. Why did I push so hard? I never stick my nose in anyone's business, but here I am, arguing. My head is feeling cracked.

  I'm just hungry. That has to be it. Plus, the storm.