Free Amber Eyes by Mariana Reuter Page B

later. Three people exited it. Behind them, the driver beckoned for us to board. Through the large window, I spotted the tickets girl behind her counter. She blew Edward a kiss and signaled him to call her. The very bitch! I hated her flirting with Edward, as if Edward were mine, which of course he wasn’t, but I did anyway. He gave her a thumbs-up. I glared at her and wondered what Jenny would have done, even though I knew quite well. I raised my middle finger and showed it to her.
    Just as the driver was checking our tickets, the redheaded cop came out.
    “Hold it there!” she called.
    Omigod! I shut my eyes and started hyperventilating. This was the end of it. I heard the cop striding across the yard, the click-clack of her boots on the pavement sounding like a drumroll before hanging a criminal.
    Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Move Justin, we’re all set.” Phew!
    I climbed the bus steps as the redheaded officer boasted her badge to the driver. “I’m looking for a missing girl. Where do you come from?”
    “Montgomery.”
    “And your next stop is?”
    “Elizabethtown.”
    “I’ll check inside.”
    “Go ahead.”
    I had to climb down to allow the redheaded cop to get into the bus instead of me. Edward was still standing on the sidewalk and didn’t move. Two minutes later, she came down.
    “Thanks, you’re all set,” she said. She passed so close to me I could actually smell her perfume: a dry, slightly minted aroma similar to the one school teachers used.
    Inside the bus, a strawberry air freshener scent was everywhere, and it was inconveniently dark as well.
    “Excuse me!” I said after I stumbled on somebody’s foot. I turned my head back and glared at the driver who seemed not to notice the boarding passengers needed some light. There were few empty seats. I feared it might not be possible for Edward and me to sit together.
    “There are two empty seats in the last row, Justin.”
    At the back of the bus, instead of the strawberry scent, there floated this greasy and vinegary tang of hamburgers and French fries. A McDonald’s paper bag containing leftovers lay on the floor.
    “It’s shocking the way some people just leave trash lying around,” Edward said in a curt whisper.
    He picked up the bag and got off the bus to throw it into the proper recycle bin. When he came back, I’d already taken the window seat, leaving the one on the aisle for him. He sat, frowned and got up. I just stared at him bewildered and he shrugged. “It’s still warm. I hate that. I’ll wait ‘till it cools.”
    It made me smile. Edward seemed to be so righteously fussy. Everything had to be perfect. He himself seemed to act exactly by the book, helping me after finding me sleeping on the sidewalk, standing alert when the officer had talked to him, and picking up the rubbish. Were all Boy Scouts that goody-two-shoes?
    Minutes later, the driver called on the loudspeaker, “Sir, please take your seat, we’re leaving.”
    Edward complied as the bus started to move. Large raindrops began trickling down the glass. The drizzling was turning into proper rain.
    “Wanna sandwich?” He took one out of a paper bag.
    “No, thanks.” I was not hungry and feared I’d puke again.
    “Then try to sleep, you totally need it. You’ll feel better tomorrow morning.”
    As the bus exited the parking yard, I kept peeking outside—I wanted to be sure the redheaded cop would not follow the bus. In spite of the street’s emptiness, the bus paused before taking Fulton Drive. A police car had parked in its way. The street was as dark as any other Somerset street—the town’s standard—but the car’s warning lights, flashing red and blue, allowed me to glimpse the redheaded cop and another one assisting old Mrs. Olsen in pink pajamas and hair-curlers to get out of the police car. She looked exactly as I’d seen her earlier tonight, which made me feel better. It would have felt so bad if I’d hurt her. The other officer