“You can see her?” Lee gripped her arms, practically lifting her off the pavement. Shock was coursing through her as Nikki tried to remember if she was still breathing. Between the cold November air and the chill that had taken a permanent place in her chest, she could barely feel his hands on her.
He shook her, not too gently and her eyes focused back to his gray stare. “You can see her?” he repeated. Nikki nodded and her eyes slid to her in question. The jade glare of Liz McArthur was both familiar and unnerving.
The unlikely friendship had sprung up years ago when Nikki had been quietly studying in a nook of the Main House Coffee Shop only to see a tall blond gracefully seat herself in the opposite chair. The blond stared at her for a moment before declaring, “You need mascara.”
Of course, after an introduction like that, Nikki had been a little unsure of how to respond and had simply settled on the truth, “It makes my eyelashes itchy.”
Liz had been so shocked she had stared at her in silence for a full minute before introducing herself. And just like that, the two of them had fallen into a pattern. Every Tuesday afternoon, Nikki took her schoolwork to Main House and ended up poring over fashion magazines with Liz.
Liz had been the first one to suggest she cut her hair into bangs, wear a little brown eyeliner to make her eyes stand out, and to throw out her training bras and granny panties and start embracing her curves.
Nikki thought that had been a little rich coming from the razor thin, tall, pixie cut blond with the mischievous grin and the sharp, cold green eyes. But Liz just seemed to effortlessly know the right things about style and seemed to enjoy the hours spent pouring over the fashion magazines, and while Liz never participated in the high calorie beverages or butter heavy scones, she always insisted Nikki buy them.
It made sense now.
Liz was staring hard at her now, brow furrowed over her dark green eyes and her little blue dress whipping in the wind. Nikki had once asked why she always wore the same dress when Liz would berate her for hours on wearing the same outfit in the same month. Liz had been so mad she hadn’t shown up for coffee for two weeks.
Nikki had learned not to ask questions of Liz McArthur after that. She had just been grateful for the steady companionship, the razor sharp critiques, the easy wit, and the effortless charm. She had never missed a Tuesday afternoon in the two years of their friendship even on days when Liz just failed to show up.
And yes, Nikki had noticed the weird looks the pair collected from the coffee house patrons. And Nikki couldn’t blame them. It must have looked little odd, seeing the shy bookworm happily discussing fashion with a woman who could easily professionally model. And who had had a boyfriend like Lee Robertson, the main barista at Main House who never failed to upgrade Nikki’s order of a tall peppermint hot chocolate to a venti with extra whip and who saved the last cinnamon roll for her.
Lee was everyone’s favorite barista and girls came from as far as West Chester to watch him whip up a grande mocha no fat, no whip, three sugars upside down sugar cookie latte. Or whatever they ordered. He was quiet but had a rather stupid sense of humor that always seemed to flare up around holidays. He had once put a fake spider in the middle of her cinnamon bun just to mess with her.
He had also been the one who had to calm her down when she had started screaming and who had to practically force the next week’s cinnamon bun down her throat, promising her it wasn’t laced with fake insects. Liz hadn’t thought it was very funny; she had rolled her eyes at him and told him he was an idiot and he quietly ignored her like he usually did when she got sulky.
Liz and Lee had been together since high school and Nikki never saw him without Liz at his side. She had seen the two of them around town but they mostly stayed to themselves, living in the apartment above Main House and walking around the park every afternoon but she had never spoken to them outside the coffee shop. Liz had always glared at her if she even smiled in their direction and Nikki understood. She had an image to maintain and talking to the town’s biggest introvert wasn’t fitting.
Liz didn’t like it when Lee talked to other girls. There were countless times when Liz would declare she would want a latte and send Nikki over to break up the conversation with her drink order. Lee always stopped what he was doing to get her drink, teasing her about sitting in the far corner where he couldn’t see what she was up to.
And it was probably due to his perfect grey eyes that changed colors with his mood, or the way his nose was bent at an angle from a car crash, or the way his hands were huge but callused from his second job as a carpenter, or the way he made her smile that Nikki Berry was hopelessly in love with him.
And now it all made perfect sense.
“Yes, I can see her.” Nikki gulped, turning back to Lee.
“Don’t’ do it, Lee…” Liz ordered, eyes narrowed at her boyfriend who didn’t even glance over at her.
“Nikki,” he said, eyes hard steel. “You can’t possibly see her…”
“I’ve known Liz since I was sixteen! We have coffee every Tuesday-“
“You can’t-“
“Lee!” Liz barked, taking a step towards them in anger.
“You can’t see her, because she’s dead, Nikki.” Lee ground out, his grip only hardening, his eyes drilling into hers. “She’s dead.”
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