Sheep's Clothing by Gary Lewis (free ebook reader for pc txt) 📕

Tony sat comfortably in the break room, scrolling through social media on his phone while he waited to clock in for his shift.

"Teen mauled in animal attack?" he said aloud as he read the news headline.

"Hey Sam, come check this out!" His elderly boss walked the short distance from the office to lean in, squinting his wrinkled eyelids as he looked at Tony's phone.

"Oh... that's a nasty one." Sam's hair was white with years of owning and operating the diner, a testament to his knowledge of Pine Bluff and its history. It was clear by the surprise on his face as they looked at footage of the blood stained dirt that the town hadn't seen anything like this in a very long time.

"Haven't I seen you in here with that one before?" asked Sam.

"Yeah," Tony said in a somber tone as he stared at his phone and the disbelief washed from his fingers into his face. “I know him, alright.”

As Tony was clocking in, the lobby door swung open to Sarah rushing toward the bar. Her dark makeup was ruined from streams of tears that had run themselves dry.

Tony stepped around the counter and she pressed her face into his shoulder as he gently squeezed his arm around her upper back with a slow pat, setting his other hand on top of her head. "I'm so sorry, Sarah."

Sarah's cries eventually settled as she shifted her weight back to her own feet. Tony walked her over to a table in the corner. "Have a seat,” he said. “Order whatever you want. It's on me.” Tony pointed his thumb back to the front counter. "I gotta clock in, but just wait here. Everything is gonna be okay."

Tony got out his phone, hesitating for a moment before making the call. "Hey, little bro, I have some bad news," he said. "It's Brad. Brad was attacked by an animal last night near the cliffs." A pause of silence filled his ear before he continued. "He's dead."

"It was whatever mauled all those cattle yesterday, wasn't it?" David's broken voice crackled over the phone.

"I was thinking the same thing, little bro. I was thinking the same thing."

Tony tried to keep David on the line as he struggled to find the right way to ask. "Listen. Sarah is here and she's really tore up about all this. I know y'all had a lot of differences since things didn't work out a while back.” He hesitated a moment before asking. “But she really needs someone to make sure she's okay right now."

"You don't have to ask,” David said. “I'm on my way.”

Tony got to work scraping the grill as he reflected on his past experiences with Brad. "You weren't the brightest bulb and you definitely had your flaws," he muttered to himself, sighing heavily as he set the grill scraper aside. "But that's not what did you in, was it? Wrong place. Wrong time." He lowered his eyes to the hot, black surface that sizzled along with his thoughts. Maybe it was something else that was in the wrong place and time. Something that just couldn't belong.

#Sarah#

Some time went by along with the last hundred or so cars that Sarah watched pass the diner as morning rush hour peaked and Central Avenue's four lanes filled with traffic. She dropped her eyes to stare into the shine of the polished hardwood table, wondering if she even felt like eating. As much as she hated letting anyone see her in such a broken and vulnerable state, today was justified.

"You can't do that in here," said a chubby red headed waitress in a scolding tone.

Sarah waved away wisps of her cigarette smoke. "I don't have the patience for your shit today."

"Rules are rules, young lady. I don't make 'em and you don't break 'em."

Sarah rolled her eyes and stood up. "I'll show you break."

The glass double-doors of the entrance opened and David quickly strode across the lobby toward them. "I'm sorry. She's had a really bad day," he said. "I've got this. Come on, Sarah." The pressure of his hand against her shoulder blade guided her with a slight push as he escorted her out of the building.

Sarah shrugged away from him as they stepped outside. "I don't need your help. I can take care of myself."

"Sure seemed that way," David said before stopping at the driver side of his car to look across at her. "Look, I'm just here for you. You shouldn't be alone right now."

Sarah rolled her eyes and reluctantly walked over to the passenger side. "You know, I'm okay. It's not like I was in love with him or anything," she said as she stomped out her cigarette on the rough pavement and got into the car with him.

As David drove, Sarah watched his morning hair disaster blow around. His elbow laid propped against the open window of his car door. Even his shirt was inside out. He didn't seem himself today. Or maybe… he finally is.

"What is it?" David asked as Sarah suddenly dropped the expression she hadn't noticed she was wearing.

"What?” she asked. “Can't a girl smile?” Sarah turned her face away to look out the window. “Just because you're a mess over everything, doesn't mean that I have to be." She reached in her pack to slide out another cigarette before glancing at David and putting it back.

###

Knee-high grass overshadowed the bumpy driveway as David maneuvered around holes, leading up to the small, rundown exterior of the two-bedroom house that Sarah called home. The surrounding woods stretched to reclaim it as vines covered the walls and porch railings, snaking along the pale blue paint that had cracked and peeled long ago.

Just behind her, David took one cautious step after another up the creaking boards as he walked her to the door.

"You're coming in," she told David.

"I don't know,” he said. “I couldn't sleep last night and I'm exhausted."

Sarah clenched her fist. "Me neither. I was... Let's see..." She lifted her finger in the air. "Oh yeah! I was waiting for Brad to answer his phone while he was getting torn apart." She