Heather's story part 11

Heather's story
By Varian Milagro


Chapter 11

Heather stood next to Bethany just inside the entrance of Boxcar, a diner just off I-80 between Laramie and Cheyenne. A large brown sign instructing them to wait to be seated stood next to a white board wishing them a happy April Fool’s day and announcing that the special of the day was a Reuben sandwich.

Bethany wore a short, leather skirt and semi transparent blouse that showed off her lacy black bra. On her feet were a pair of stilettos so tall that she nearly walked on her tiptoes. Her hair was pulled tight against her head, but then exploded into a teased out pony tail. Heather wore a plain brown dress that covered her from neck to ankle. Her straight auburn hair hung to the middle of her back. Unlike her sister, the only makeup Heather wore was a modest amount of involuntary eyeliner. Bethany looked like a walking Covergirl advertisement.

Heather tried to keep her mind off recent events while they waited to be seated, focusing instead on the scene around her, the waitresses carrying orders to the kitchen or food to hungry customers, the smell of grilled sandwiches and freshly baked pies, constant rumble of several dozen conversations being held simultaneously. It kept her from thinking about the events at the strip club, the strange ceremony where she’d been infused with magic, her sister forcing her to use that magic on the bouncer, stripping him of his manhood in order to avoid being raped. Most of all it stopped her from brooding over the time she’d spent with Rebecca.

The things she’d done with the tattooed stripper gave her shivers. Not that she’d had much choice in the matter. Rebecca had made a contribution to the ceremony and it had bonded Heather to her intimately. Once they’d kissed she’d lost all control, becoming like a five year old with a terminal case of sweet tooth left alone in a candy shop. Thinking had gone out the window, it had been all desire, wanting to give pleasure and aching to receive it from what ever part of Rebecca she could reach. The only solace was that her purity pledge was still in tact, technically. But that was only because Rebecca was a woman and the the person who’d written the church’s purity pledge hadn’t considered homosexual acts when they’d created it.

“Smoking or non?” asked a waitress. She was in her early thirties and wore a tan uniform dress along with a nametag that read, “Doreen”.

Bethany held up her burning cigarette. “What do you think?”

Heather followed her sister and the waitress to a booth in the heart of the smoking section, hating that she lived in a state that still allowed smoking in restaurants. Half of the tables were empty and the rest were mostly occupied by retirees. There were a couple tables with families at them, some with small children. It annoyed Heather that a parent would willingly subject their child to secondhand smoke.

Doreen handed them a couple menus, took their drink orders and then hastily departed. Bethany set a pack of Virginia Slims on the table in between them.

“I’m going to make you a deal. Smoke one cigarette voluntarily, just one, and you’re free to go. I’d thought about making you use your magic on someone, but I’ll let you take care of that yourself.”

Heather looked at the pack as she considered her sister’s offer. She could get Pastor William’s help if she were free to leave. He’d be able to undo whatever Bethany and Starshine had done to her. Thinking about him reminded her that she was supposed to be at work at the moment. The pastor usually took Mondays off, but it was the start of her week. Mrs. Thompson, the church’s office manager, was probably worried about her. She hadn’t missed a day of work since she’d started working there ten months prior.

Smoking would also erase the nicotine withdrawals she was currently enduring. Her sister had generously inflicted her with an addiction to cigarettes. Her withdrawals made her head pound and her lungs ache with need. The smoke drifting off the end of Bethany’s cigarette made her cravings all the worse. It stank and stung her nose, but it also reminded her body that salvation was only a few puffs away.

Without looking away from the pack, she said, “You have to promise me that you’ll leave Jimmy and Donna alone.”

“I don’t have to do anything; people have to do what I say, not the other way around.” She took a drag as she studied her sister’s face. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll hold off for at least a week. You’ll have that time to figure out a way to stop me.”

“How do I know that you’ll keep your word?”

“You don’t.”

“I’m not going to smoke.”

“Okay, we’ll do this the hard way.” Bethany scanned the nearby tables, scrutinizing each one in turn.

Heather was determined to resist her sister’s demands. It would be nice to get some relief from her withdrawals, but sacrificing her lungs and her morals to do so was too big of a price to pay. If she knew for certain that smoking would save her younger brother and sister, she’d do it in an instant, but she had zero trust in the person her sister had become. Her thoughts were interrupted when the waitress returned with their sodas.

“Are you ready to order?” Doreen said as she set the drinks on the table.

“Do you smoke?” Bethany asked.

“Leave her alone,” Heather said.

Bethany shot Heather a fierce glare that shut her up. Satisfied that she wouldn’t be interrupted again she looked up at the waitress and raised a single eyebrow.

Doreen crossed her arms over her chest. “No.”

“And they make you work in the smoking section? That’s not very nice.”

Doreen scoffed. “Secondhand smoke is just one of the many perks of working here. There’s also the long hours and low pay.”

“It could be the best thing about job; it’s all about attitude.” Bethany exhaled smoke at Doreen. “You love secondhand smoke, you love the smell of it on your clothes and in your hair. You love inhaling smoke as it rolls off the end of a cigarette or as it drifts through the air. Your absolute favorite way is to surreptitiously breathe in someone else’s exhale. If a smoker accidently blows smoke and it hits your face it is nearly orgasmic, especially if it is from an attractive woman younger than yourself. If the person intentionally blows smoke on you, it will do nothing for you. It has to be unintentional for it to turn your crank.”

The waitress bit her lip as she watched Bethany lift her cigarette to her mouth. When she blew the smoke off to the side, Doreen’s face fell.

“It looks like your name tag is crooked. Do you mind if I fix it?” Without waiting for an answer Bethany adjusted Doreen’s name tag. The smoke from Bethany’s cigarette drifting straight up into her face.

Doreen breathed the smoke straight into her nose; a large smile formed on her face.

Bethany spent a couple of minutes fiddling with Doreen’s name tag. The waitress stood patiently, breathing deeply, trying to suck in as much of Bethany’s second hand smoke as possible. When Bethany took a drag and some of her exhale brushed Doreen’s face, the waitress grabbed a hold of the table to steady herself, her knees suddenly buckling.

“Thank you,” Doreen said, dreamily, once Bethany finished adjusting her name tag.

“My pleasure.” Bethany smiled as she took a deep drag.

“You’re so mean,” Heather said as the waitress walked away.

“She’s going to enjoy work a whole lot more now.” Bethany crushed out her cigarette and then promptly lit another. “Are you going to smoke or do you want me to do some more damage.”

“I won’t be blackmailed.” Heather took a sip of her drink, happy to taste Diet Coke. In addition to all of the other trials she’d experienced over the last 48 hours, she’d been forced to drink Diet Pepsi most of the time.

Bethany waived over another waitress. This woman was a few years younger than Doreen. Like her coworker she wore a brown uniform dress, but her name tag read, “Tina.” Bethany blasted her with smoke before she could even ask what they needed.

“Do you smoke?”

“No.”

“We’re going to have to change that. Non-smokers working the smoking section is plain stupid. As of this moment you consider yourself a smoker and you always will. That you’ve never actually smoked before is irrelevant. First chance you get you will try a cigarette and then you’ll smoke a pack a day from then on. Now tell me again, do you smoke?”

“I do now,” Tina said. She eyed the pack of Virginia Slims sitting on the table.

Bethany held up the pack. “Would you like one?”

“Yes, but employees are only allowed to smoke out back on their break.”

“You no longer care about that rule. You’ll smoke at work whenever you feel like it.”

A smile grew on Tina’s face. “You know, I think I will have that cigarette.”

Bethany lit Tina’s cigarette and then watched while she coughed out smoke. She took a second drag and choked again.

“You make smoking look so easy. How do you inhale without coughing?”

“Let me help you with that.” Bethany laid her hand on Tina’s arm, her face contorting like she was straining with effort.

Tina froze, her eyes glazing over. When Bethany released her arm she shook her head and then took another drag. There was no cough this time. She exhaled a thick cloud of smoke through her nose and then took a quick follow up drag. “Thanks, Luv.” Smoke poured from Tina’s mouth as she spoke. “Ray is going to go ape shit when he sees me smoking, but screw him. It’s silly as hell that I can’t smoke while I’m working the smoking section. Am I right?”

“Sounds right to me. If Ray gives you any trouble, you send him my way.”

“I’ll certainly do that. Thanks for the cigarette.” A long trail of smoke followed Tina across the restaurant.

“I could do that to you at anytime. Or anyone else for that matter,” Bethany said. “Now light up a cigarette before I lose my patience.”

Heather looked across the restaurant to where Tina was taking the lunch order of a bewildered couple, her cigarette bobbing up and down in her mouth as she told them about the lunch special.

“I am not responsible for your actions. Your sins are on your own head and you’ll have to answer for all of them eventually,” Heather said.

“Tell that to those two girls over there,” Bethany said.

Heather set her drink down as she looked over at the table next to them. It was occupied by a woman in her forties and two girls that looked to be in their late teens. The girls looked nearly identical except for their hair color and an age gap of a couple of years. The younger girl’s hair hung over her shoulder in a long, blonde braid while her sister’s auburn hair barely brushed her shoulders. They both wore stylish jeans and cute blouses.

Heather’s eyes widened. “What are you going to do to them?”

“What does it matter to you? The sin is on my head.” Bethany leaned outside of the booth. “Excuse me, but can I borrow your salt shaker?”

The woman at the table with the two girls held out the shaker to Bethany. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, I’m Bethany and this is my sister Heather,” Bethany said.

“I’m Kim. Do you want the salt or not?”

Bethany took a quick drag and then grabbed Kim’s hand, pulling her closer. She exhaled smoke into her face and then said in a whisper, “You need to use the bathroom. Be gone for at least five minutes. Once you get back you’ll have a strong urge to smoke.”

Kim turned back to her daughters. “I’ll be back in five minutes.” She stood and walked off toward the restrooms.

Heather pulled a cigarette from the pack. “I’ll smoke. Just leave them alone.”

Bethany smiled. “Hold that thought.” She got up and then sat down at the girl’s table where there mother had been seated.

A crumpled napkin sat on the empty plate in front of Bethany. The younger girl had had a smattering of fries left on her plate and her sister was poking at the remains of a salad.

“Um, excuse me, but that seat’s taken,” the girl with the braid said as she dropped the french fry she’d been about to eat.

Bethany blew smoke into the girl’s faces. “Tell me your names.”

“I’m Leah and she’s Alexis,” the older girl said.

“Have either of you smoked before?”

Both girls shook their heads.

“How do you feel about your mom’s smoking?”

“It’s really gross and I wish she’d quit,” Alexis said.

“Do you feel the same way, Leah?”

“Pretty much, but at least I don’t have to be around it anymore.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

Leah pushed her salad toward the center of the table. “I go to the University. My mom and sister are visiting from Oregon.”

“Good to know.” Bethany turned her attention to the blonde. “Alexis, I have a way you can get your mom to quit smoking.”

Alexis perked up. “Really, how?”

“By smoking yourself,” Bethany said. “If she sees you smoking she‘ll realize that it was her actions that got you started. She’ll feel guilty and quit. It may take some time, so you need to keep at it. So, whenever you see her smoke you smoke too.”

“Will that really work?” Alexis said, a look of hope on her face.

“Of course. Now, when you get back to Oregon you’ll want to make friends with some smokers, so you can practice your technique with them. If you look like a real smoker around your mom, she’ll know that you’re serious and will be more likely to quit. Once she finally does quit, you can stop smoking too, but only if you still want to.”

“This is so exciting. I mean, it’ll be gross smoking, but I’d do anything to get my mom to quit. I can’t wait to get started.”

“Now, don’t tell you mom that you’re smoking to get her to quit,” Bethany said. “Life lessons are better learned through self discovery.”

“Okay,” Alexis said as she stared at her mother’s pack of cigarettes dreamily.

“Leah, you won’t think anything strange of your sister’s behavior. You’ll even help her if she asks. Now tell me, who’s your greatest role model?”

“That’s easy. It’s Michelle Obama. I think that she’s…”

“No anymore,” Bethany said. “You will forget all about her as you slowly become obsessed with Kim Kardashian and all of her sisters. The more you learn about them, the more you’ll want to live your life as they do.”

“But they’re vapid assholes who’re only interested in the superficial and how much attention their inane tweets receive. I’m going to make the world a better place. As soon as I finish my degree in International Relations I’m joining the Peace Corp.”

“Aw, that sounds so rewarding,” Bethany replied. “You may find studying for your degree difficult when all you care about is learning how to be a social media celebrity just like your idols, Kim, Khloe and Kylie.”

“That does sound like fun.” Leah picked up her phone and then started tapping away. “I wonder what they’re up to today.”

Bethany sauntered back to her table. Once she’d taken her seat she said to Heather, “Okay, you can smoke now.”

“Take back what you said to them and I’ll smoke this cigarette,” Heather said.

“Too late for them. Now light up or I’ll do something worse to another group of people. Maybe I’ll go over to the non-smoking section and turn everyone there into cigar smokers, even the kids.”

“You’re evil!” Heather picked up the lighter and brought it to the cigarette. When the smoke hit her mouth she spat it out. “That’s so gross.”

“Inhale or it doesn’t count.”

Heather shuddered at the idea of pulling smoke into her lungs. Still, she did as instructed. When the the smoke hit her lungs she erupted into a coughing fit. “Please don’t make me do this,” she whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. She looked over at the tables around them, telling herself that she was potentially saving innocent people from her sister’s evil. She took another puff and gagged, but she noticed that her headache was beginning to ease.

“Show time,” Bethany said as she watched Kim rejoin her daughters.

Heather took another quick puff. “Look, I’m smoking like you wanted. Now, undo what you did to those girls. Please.”

Bethany held up a hand to her sister. “Shhh, I don’t want to miss this.” She watched the other table with an intense fascination.

Kim sat down with her daughters and reached for her cigarettes. “So, have you girls decided what you want to do next? I’d like to stop by a stationary store at some point today.”

“You know, I think we should get mani-pedis after all,” Leah said.

“Really? What changed your mind?” Kim pulled a cigarette from her pack. “You know what, never mind. An afternoon at a salon with my two girls is a wonderful idea. What do you think, Alexis?”

“That’s cool,” Alexis said as she watched her mom light up a cigarette. “Hey Mom, can I have a cigarette?”

Kim scoffed, a burst of smoke shooting from her mouth. “You’re funny.” She took another drag. “I’ll ask the waitress if she can recommend a salon. I noticed that her nails looked professionally done.”

“Or I can just use Yelp.” Leah said without looking up from her phone.

“No, I’m serious, Mom,” Alexis said. “I’d like a cigarette.”

“No, you can’t have a cigarette. You’re not old enough for starters and even if you were, I’m not about to help you start smoking.”

“That’s a laugh.” Alexis snatched her mother’s pack of cigarettes and lighter off the table. “You’ve been subjecting us to secondhand smoke all our lives.”

“Give those back right now.” Kim kept her voice low, but there was a forcefulness behind it.

“Sure. Here you go.” Alexis removed a single cigarette and then tossed the pack to her mom. She stuck the cigarette in her mouth and then lit it.

Kim stared at her youngest daughter with a mix a fury and disbelief.

Leah glanced up for a moment, watched her sister take her first drag on a cigarette, and then went back to her phone. “There’s a salon on Grand Ave that’s got a lot of five star reviews.” She started typing away on her phone again.

“Put that cigarette out now,” Kim hissed.

“It’s too late, Mom. If you didn’t want me to be a smoker you shouldn’t have smoked around me for all those years.” Alexis took a tiny puff. “I’m beginning to think that smoking is the way to go. You know, if you can’t beat them, join them.”

Leah held her phone up for her sister to see. “Check out Kylie’s finger nails. Don’t they look awesome?”

“Those look amazing, Leah. You should totally get yours done just like that.” Alexis took another quick puff on her cigarette, managing not to cough too much this time.

Leah held her hands out in front of her, examining her short, plain finger nails. “It will be hell to type with them that long, but my hands will look so pretty.”

“What is going on with you two? Is this some kind of cruel practical joke?”

“Get over yourself, Mom,” Leah said. “You’ve been smoking around us for so long it’s amazing that both of us don’t smoke. And besides, it was your idea to go to the salon.” Leah showed her phone to her sister again. “I might get hair extensions, too.”

“I always thought you looked amazing with long hair. Do you think you could me some cigarettes on the way?” Alexis shot her mom a nasty look. “I doubt miss hypocrite will be buying me smokes anytime soon.”

“Of course. Anything for my baby sister.”

Bethany turned to Heather, a self satisfied smile plastered on her face. “That was fucking awesome. I need to do that kind of stuff more often.”

“God, you’re truly evil. I’m going to stop you, somehow.” After seeing what she’d done to an innocent family Heather was determined that she would find a way to stop her sister.

“Good luck with that.” Bethany took the cigarette from her sister and tapped it on the edge of the ashtray, sending the long ash sailing. “You don’t have to smoke anymore of this. I’ll finish it for you.” She took a long drag and then exhaled into Heather’s face. “I have a parting gift for you. Since you took your time lighting this cigarette, I’m going to take something from you. Once you leave this diner your memory of the last three days will begin to fade. You’ll remember arriving at my house on Saturday, but nothing after that point. If you hurry you might be able to make it to Pastor William’s house before he leaves for his week long fishing trip.”

“His vacation isn’t for another month.” The color drained from Heather’s face. “What did you do to him?” She struggled to contain the rising panic, reminding herself that Pastor William wasn’t the only person who knew how to fight evil. Jonathan, the youth pastor, would know how to get in contact with some of them.

“I paid him a visit last night and suggested that he take a vacation. I also convinced him that you should have the week off. With pay. Aren’t I nice?” Bethany took a long drag, giving Heather a chance to reply. Once she exhaled, and Heather hadn’t spoke, she continued. “Once your memory of the last couple of days has been erased you’ll decide to go to Abigail’s. You’ll feel safe at her house. After you arrive you’ll remember that Pastor Williams is on vacation and that you have the week off. You’ll believe that he is the only one who can truly help you, so you’ll wait for him to return from his vacation.”

“Why do you want me to go to Abigail’s? What does she have to do with this?”

“You’ve just been given amazing magical powers and you have no clue how to use them. Without your memories you’ll be a walking time bomb. I just wish I could be there to see it. I’ll be able to see the results of the fallout, so it’s not a total loss. No matter what happens, be sure to come to church on Sunday. Just to show that I’m still a little nice, you’ll still remember that you need to save Jimmy and Donna, but you can’t go to the house. It’s off limits to you.”

“Why do you want me at the church on Sunday?”

“You’ll have to ask Starshine about that one. It was her idea.”

“Which table?” a man bellowed from across the restaurant.

Heather and Bethany turned to see Tina pointing at them. She stood next to a large man wearing a white, short sleeve dress shirt and a pair of black slacks that looked like they’d been bought at Walmart sometime in the 90s.

“You better leave while I deal with Ray,” Bethany said. “I’d tell you to say hello to Abigail for me, but you won’t remember in a few minutes.”

Heather grabbed her purse and then hurried to the door, determined that she would defy her sister and reach Pastor William before he left for his trip. Ray stormed past her on his way to his doom. She felt sorry for him. He looked so confident and purposeful, but he didn’t know that he should be running the other way. While she had no idea what Bethany was about to do to him, she was certain that it wasn’t going to be pretty.

As she made her way to the car, her memories of the last couple of days grew dim. She locked her mind on Pastor William, repeating his name to herself, determined not to forget it. She’d do that the entire way to his house if need be.

By the time she started her car she could no longer remember why she wanted to talk to him, only that it was something terribly important. She looked over at the diner and couldn’t remember why she was there. Had she even gone inside? She was about to start driving, but then couldn’t remember where she wanted to go. She racked her brain for a minute and then she thought of Abigail. If there was anyone who could help her with a problem it was her best friend. With a destination in mind she started driving west.

Heather's story - chapter 12