Fuck. And she had completely brought this upon herself. She could have just been fake-nice to the old lady. But she just had to let her emotion dish run away with her vindictive fucking spoon... she reached the back door of the restaurant and threw it open, stepping out into the cool night air.

The alley behind Pam's was quiet, save for the faint, occasional hum of small town traffic in the distance. She looked for somewhere to sit... identifying the dumpster as the only viable option.

Fuck it.

She sat on the lid, pulling a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lighting one. She took a deep drag, letting the smoke fill her lungs before exhaling slowly. She was tired. Tired of pretending like she wasn't drowning in her own shit and happy to be dealing with everyone else's' ignorance.

Ivy blamed the internet for her growing cynicism. She had been online since before it was for anyone but losers who couldn't score. Those dudes were her homies - the ones that would eventually degenerate into incel culture. But back then the dweebs had whimsy, and had birthed the very first memes. Ivy respected the hell out of those dudes, and she used to love the internet. Now, it was just another one of her sad addictions. The more time she spent online, the more she found herself spiraling. She could vibe the zeitgeist like a fucking magician - and she was fully bummed out by where it was heading.

Yes, though ashamed to admit it, she had been one of those people who, for the better part of the past ten years, had spent her days arguing with strangers via comment section or tweet or... no, it hadn't been a dream... even Myspace! She'd done her damndest to fight those fights over race or justice or some shit. But where had that gotten anybody? And now she sensed the sour truth so many other zeitgeist wizards were sensing: the times were changing again. "Caring about the issues" stopped being cool somewhere just before, during, or after COVID. The world was transitioning, but it was gonna be all about ruthlessness again soon. "Caring about the issues" would fall out of fashion in a year or so... maybe even as soon as a few months from now.

Because the truth was, no one actually gave a shit; no one ever had. The libs were just trying to fit in, so they pretended to care... not that the republicans were any better... but If Ivy had learned anything from her web-surfing benders, it was that what people actually care about isn't what they believe is good or evil... its what they think is annoying. And she could tell, people were getting annoyed with "Black people who wouldn't just get over it." Black folk had had a good run, but the mainstream was more than ready for the next trend.

She thought about the history of Gossamer Loom, how her people had been lured to the town after emancipation with promises of fair treatment, exploited in the mills, used as cheap labor and discarded like trash. The town's pot had never really melted 'cause the townsfolk were small-minded as fuck... and then... two sad, black nerds fell in love one night and fucked around 'til Ivy drew her first inconvenient breath. And what an inconvenience she had been for everyone! She felt the anger she tried so hard to bury rising up in her, because she didn't want to be that girl. Annoying wokie angry black feminist millennial trash; the one who made everything about race, couldn't just let things go, and tried to cancel South Park or something on Tumblr or something. I mean... Ivy had revered South Park like it was scripture! Point was, she didn't want to be a walking stereotype, the kind of girl who people rolled their eyes at. She didn't want to give the racist Loomers who'd bullied her and her family the satisfaction of caring this much.

But if she knew she was in good company, that no one would write her off or lump her into a category for saying it, the truth was that Ivy wanted to be able to embrace her heritage - to truly love being black. She thought black people who loved being black were so fucking cool. She could tell they annoyed a lot of white people, even some of the white people she liked... but she forgave that shit because what choice did she have in this town? She just didn't know how to reconcile all this shit. She knew she wasn't smart enough. No one human brain ever could handle all this shit on its own. Shit!

She took another drag from her cigarette. Maybe she should go on another bender, not a web-surfing bender, mind you, a real one - and fuck every hot guy and/or girl in sight, wake up two states over, and not know how she got there. It wouldn't be the first time. She'd done it before, stumbled out of a blackout on the beach at Coney Island, running from the cops with some guy from Queens she barely remembered meeting but who wanted her to join his church 'cause the music was really good.

That was a good night, she thought with a wry smile. Maybe she needed another one of those. Just get away from all this shit.

She flicked her cigarette onto the ground, crushing it under her heel. But then she thought of Cooper. Good old Coop, her high school sweetheart. The one who had gotten away, or maybe the one she'd let go because she was too scared of settling down, too scared of what she might become if she let herself be happy.

Why the hell had they decided it was best not to talk to each other anymore? Oh, right, because thinking about him was already making her eyes well up with tears. She was a fucking baby. She laughed bitterly to herself.

She hadn't even noticed Josiah standing in the doorway until he cleared his throat. Ivy wiped at her eyes quickly, hoping he hadn't seen.

"Hey," he said, leaning against the doorframe. "You okay?"

Ivy shrugged, trying to play it off. "Yeah, just... taking a break."

Josiah nodded, glancing down at his feet. "I broke up with Emily. Over text."

Ivy's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," he muttered, kicking at the ground. "I just... couldn't stand it anymore."

Ivy smiled slightly, feeling a weird sense of pride. "Good for you."

Josiah hesitated, then looked up at her, his expression more serious. "Have you ever felt... I don't know, like you're just pulled toward someone? Like you can't explain it, but you feel like you need to be around them?"

Her mind immediately flashed to Cooper, the way she still felt that pull toward him, even after all these years. But she couldn't let Josiah know that. She wasn't about to unload her own mess on a kid who had enough of his own problems.

"No," she lied smoothly. "I don't think I've ever felt that."

Josiah nodded slowly, looking thoughtful. "Yeah... I guess it's just me, then."

Ivy could tell he wanted to say more, but he didn't. He just stood there for a moment, as if waiting for something. When nothing came, he pushed off the doorframe.

"Thanks, Ivy. For, you know, talking to me earlier..." he said softly before turning and heading back inside.

Ivy watched him go, her mind swirling. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Josiah was a good kid, but the way he talked about being pulled toward someone... It reminded her of something. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts. She didn't need to get wrapped up in someone else's shit. She had enough of her own.

After finishing her shift, Ivy locked up the restaurant and started walking home. She felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to see Cooper. She didn't know why, didn't know what she would even say to him. But something inside her was pulling her toward him, just like Josiah had described.

She needed to see him. Now.

Ivy turned on her heel and started walking towards the woods, her heart pounding in her chest. Coop would be out there at this hour, chopping wood in the dead of night like the sexy, tender-hearted lumberjack archetype she knew he would always be.

Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe it was exactly what she needed. Either way, Ivy would see him tonight.

And sure enough, she was right; Coop was out in the forest chopping wood...

And soon enough, his high school sweetheart, Ivy Lawrence, would be at his side, stirring up the same trouble they had both agreed to protect themselves from...

But what Ivy didn't know as she headed toward the forest was that, as Coop swung his axe through the chilly night air, he wasn't alone.

Unbeknownst to him, someone was watching nearby from the shadows...

Someone who was waiting for the right moment to strike.

Who do you think is waiting in the shadows to strike, and why are they targeting Coop? Why do you think Ivy is drawn back to Coop, despite their history? Is there unfinished business between them? What will happen to them in the woods?

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Thank you for reading.

-K.R.H.