Flutter by L. E. Green Page A

remember water tasting this good. She hobbled over to the window and looked out. She didn’t see anything suspicious, but she didn’t know what she was looking for. I give up. On the sill, she saw a rubber band and used it to tie her hair back.
    Abigail opened the door to her room. She saw an open area that looked like it used to hold dance classes. There were a few punching bags and weights. The hard wood floor was a bright shiny maple. She investigated the bathroom before she realized she had to pee badly. The toilet was relatively clean for a man’s house. She used the toilet and washed her hands. The small mirror above the sink had small splatters of tooth paste and soap on it. She splashed her face with water. I need to bathe. She smelled a faint aroma of cooked food. She couldn’t resist the desire to eat and followed the smell to the ground floor of the bar. Walking down the stairs was torture. Abigail limped her way down, step by step. She held on to a rail. When she reached the main floor, she looked around the corner and saw Frankie and Roger sitting at the table having a dinner consisting of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn. She stood still.
    Roger smirked when he saw her glance at the food. “Good morning, Elvis. Come get some chow.”
    “Yeah you haven’t eaten in a day. Don’t be shy, take a seat and eat.”
    Frankie stood up as Abigail approached the table. He pulled out a chair for her. He went into the kitchen and made her a plate. Abigail didn’t speak. She inspected the pub from corner to corner.
    “Where are you from, Elvis?” Roger tried to be friendly. “Can you speak? Do you have a family?”
    Frankie came out of the kitchen and slapped down a plate and a glass of water in front of Abby. Her eyes widened like a child. She was starving. There was a big heap of meatloaf with gravy spilling over the top of a hump of mashed potatoes. “Roger, get out her face! Eat up, you need it. And take one of these.” He pushed a bottle of Motrin across the table. She immediately took the medicine and ate the food. She stuffed her face as if she hadn’t eaten in weeks. The meatloaf was juicy and flavorful. The corn was sweet and buttery. Her mouth watered as she devoured every morsel on her plate. Frankie looked at Roger. Roger shook his head and continued eating his food.
    As time went on, Abigail made a decision to stay for a while. Frankie showed her around the kitchen and paid her for working the bar. He taught her how to mix drinks, showed her how to change and connect the beer tap, and showed her the register. She was a quick learner. During all this time they spent together training, she still didn’t speak for a week. She nodded and absorbed everything Frankie told her, especially his warnings about the male patrons. Her first word was “Fuck” when she burned herself in the kitchen with hot grease. It was an exciting moment for the guys since they were only used to hearing moans and groans from the pain she felt in her leg and shoulder from the bullet wound. They clapped and whistled.
    “SHE SPEAKS!” Roger shouted.
    Frankie followed with, “Break out the champagne.” For now, Frankie and Roger were her only refuge from whatever she was running from. She decided this was a great place to lay low so she could sort things out. She was doing fine, but the only thing she could not escape from were her recurring vivid and violent nightmares.

    The night was moist and calm. The rain left a humid mist upon the street, just light of being classified as fog. Abigail and Roger cleaned up the bar from top to bottom. At the end of the night, Abby put up the last chair, hit the lights and headed to her room. Roger headed to the back door to leave.
    “I can tuck you in if you like,” Roger said just before she turned up the stairs. He winked. Abigail stuck up her middle finger and slipped away.
     

CHAPTER 4
THEY COULDN’T SLEEP
     
    Roger Atkins spent most of his late nights working on engineering