I hummed softly as I set out the cups and saucers on the table. They were cheap, white, and well used. Much like everything else at the community centre. Beside them, I emptied a packet of bourbons and some rich tea biscuits onto a plate and eyed the canteen of coffee critically.
It steamed and bubbled, and I nudged it gently, a little further back from the tables edge, but not too far as to make it awkward to use.
With a sigh, I stepped back, hands on hips and cast my eye around the back room. A circle of plastic chairs had been set out in the centre of the room. Refreshments prepared and all was ready for the group when they arrived.
"Oh, this looks great," Peter said from the doorway, and I beamed at him, pleased with the praise.
"Thanks."
I would be the first to admit that I'd been an average guy. Slovenly, with a bunch of bad habits and no real ambition or desire to do anything beyond get wasted, screw around with pretty girls and maybe make some money however I could.
Not a bad guy, not really.
Chloe, though, was smart. She was organised, ambitious and eager to embrace everything the world threw at her.
Being in her body was like I'd been plugged into an extra power source. All of a sudden, I had energy and my brain worked better. It was faster. Clearer.
My soul was the same, I still had my memories, but the hardware I was in was just so much better than what I'd previously had.
It was a little galling.
To become a better man, I'd just needed to be a girl.
I chuckled at that thought as I went about the work I'd been assigned. There were books to shelve, cleaning and tidying to be done, and a great deal of admin that, frankly, Peter wasn't really very good at.
I dived in with gusto, and the hours flew by.
All the while I listened to the conversations around me, and occasionally, asked questions of my own.
The picture I was painting, wasn't pleasant.
"Another girl got raped last night, by the park."
"Alfie Richards, arrested for beating up his pregnant girlfriend."
"Elsie got burgled, while she was asleep in bed!"
And on, and on, and on.
A litany of misery and crime that was pressing down on the minds of the people of Harehills and driving away all hope.
I gathered the empty cups of a pair of old ladies, smiling politely at them which they didn't return and took them in back to be washed. Susan grumbled but accepted them without complaint and dropped them in the soapy water.
"How're you doing, Susan?" I asked, pausing before I headed back into the main room.
"Can't complain."
"No." I rolled my eyes. "Guess not."
She rarely said more than a couple of words at a time to me, and I had the distinct impression that she didn't like me.
With a shrug of my shoulders, I left her to it. I could live with that. I didn't need to be liked.
Just wanted to be.
I'd spent enough of my years at school as an outsider, with only one real friend. Was it really so bad that I wanted more now that I had a second chance?
A quick scan of the room to make sure everything was running smoothly and I pulled my phone out of my purse, where I'd stashed it behind the counter, and checked the messages.
Nothing yet from either Zara or Brooke.
I was nervous about meeting them. They knew Chloe better than anyone, even Kevin. They'd been best friends for years and had likely shared all manner of things with each other that I had no way of knowing.
And they were coming back from Uni to visit me. Her. Which was the same thing these days.
Peter came up beside me, and I almost dropped my phone guiltily. He just smiled and waved away my embarrassment. "Not to worry. I don't mind you using your phone." He glanced around, mouth set in a happy smile. "You've turned this place around already. I can't believe how much you've helped us here."
"Happy to," I said, surprising myself as I realised, I meant it.
I'd enjoyed doing the work. Talking with the older folks and helping the kids as they looked for books. I'd sat with the toddlers as they played with the few toys we had, waiting while their mums finished their visits with the health visitor.
It made me feel good, and I wasn't ashamed to admit that. I liked helping people.
At this point, I couldn't tell if that was a Chloe thing, or just something I had learned about myself now that I finally had a chance to set aside all that bullshit, I'd been carrying around my whole life.
Either way, I was happy.
Which is probably why the universe just had to piss all over my bonfire as she walked in.
Leah Taylor.
The face of an angel and a mind full of sin. Her hair, black with blue highlights, curled around her face and she wore a scandalously short pink skirt and heels, with a black tank top that revealed a glorious amount of her bosom.
Every step was like she was on a runway, and her shapely legs went on forever.
I'd been in love with her.
Dated her, even, for almost a year.
Only cheated on her once. That's how much I was into her.
Then she'd dumped me.
One of the first steps that led down the path to my climbing into the car that night, drunk, high and reckless.
"Hey," she said, barely glancing at me. She dumped a battered copy of Pride and Prejudice on the counter and then looked at me expectantly. "You gonna sign it in or what?"
"Sure… ah…" My cheeks flushed as I searched for the pen, flustered all of a sudden as her perfume filled my senses.
"New, huh?"
"Yah," I smiled, she didn't return it, just swept the hair away from her face in a way that used to make my stomach flutter.
Used to. Now… nothing. I was gonna have to get used to the idea of a life of celibacy or sex with men because women did nothing for me anymore.
Wonderful.
I signed the book back in and she sauntered across to the shelves to look for another. She walked in a way that said she knew everyone was watching and she was fine with that. I glanced down at the book and sighed.
She should have gone to college and Uni. She was smart enough. Loved reading all the old shitty books the English teacher made us read.
I was the reason she'd hadn't. The reason she'd dumped me for a guy that gave her easy access to the meth he dealt.
Yeah, I probably deserved hell.
Leah came back and put another of Bronte's works on the counter. I signed it out slowly, studying her. She looked good. Her eyes were clear.
"You from around here?" she asked, and I shook my head.
"Nearby." No need to elaborate and alienate her more.
"You holding?"
I blinked, then my brows drew down as I shook my head, sadly. "No."
"Okay."
She took the book and left without a backwards glance, and I felt a pang of sorrow and an awful lot of guilt.
I needed to fix that mistake.
My mood was poor after that and more so when I kept checking my phone without much luck. When the message did come through, it simply said, 'Can't make it today, talk soon. Xx"
I couldn't really tell if I was relieved or upset about Brooke and Zara not coming. On the one hand it saved me a butt load of stress and lies. On the other, it left me alone with my thoughts and they were not good.
"You are alive." I glanced up at the sound of the voice and blinked as Anna stopped in front of the counter. "I was beginning to wonder."
"What are you doing here?"
"You didn't answer my text."
I slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand and shook my head. "Sorry, sorry. I was just busy. Yesterday was a bit chaotic."
"It's cool." She held up her hands, palms out and smiled. "No pressure. I was just worried about you."
"You were?"
"Sure. After what we'd talked about and then you going quiet. I began to think the worst." She looked me up and down as she folded her arms, concern written on her face. "Are you okay?"
For some reason that made me tear up and I bobbed my head. "Yah, I am. Really."
"Doesn't look it."
I busied myself with clearing off the counter and sniffed before looking back at her. "How did you find me?"
"Locator spell."
My eyebrows shot up. "Really!"
"No," she laughed. "After our chat the other day, it wasn't hard to figure out where you might come to be in the heart of the community."
Fair point.
"You came all this way to check on me." It was kind of nice, to have someone who cared that much. "Thank you."
She waved that away and looked around. "So, you got time for a coffee?"
"Actually, my plans kind of fell through. I was due to finish shortly so if you can hang around ten minutes, we can go grab a drink?"
"Sounds good."
She took a seat near the bookshelves and pulled out a random book then began leafing through it. I made sure my work area was neat and cleared away, and did a quick pass around the room, picking up rubbish that had been left behind and grabbing empty cups to take back to the kitchen.
Once I was done and satisfied all was well, I made my goodbyes to Peter and Susan and grabbed my purse.
"Ready?"
Anna looked up and set aside the book. "Good to go."
I drove and she followed in her battered Toyota. There was a café on the high street. Not one of the fancy coffee places, just a tired old café that had served the community for the better part of thirty years.
The tables were battered, the varnish chipped and worn, and they had vinyl table covers. Walls that were so stained with decades of smoke that despite repainting, the yellow streaks showed through.
Eddie, the owner, had run the place every day since he'd bought it, long before I was born, and was a pleasant enough fella who made very basic coffee, tea and hot sandwiches. None of which I would recommend for eating, mainly due to his propensity to use lard for cooking.
"Nice place," Anna said, looking around as we took our seats at a corner table.
I just grinned. "I like it."
In truth, Mum had used to bring me here when I was little. Before the booze took over and all her money went on that. I still had fond memories of the place.
Plus, it was still in Harehills and was another place I could watch, listen and observe.
"So." Anne leaned forward, cradling her mug of weak tea. "Orryn."
I sighed. Where could I begin?
"What about him?"
"How do you know his name?"
"I dunno. That's what he called himself."
Her eyes widened and she drew back, breath hissing from beneath her teeth. "You talked to him!"
"Not by choice. He comes and goes and doesn't always answer, but yeah… why?"
"Og, God." She shook her head, then her hand shot out and grabbed mine around the wrist. I pulled back but her grip was too strong.
"What're you doing?"
Her lips were moving, words spoken that I couldn't hear. Warmth spread up my arm, skin tingling, and then she gasped, staring wide-eyed at me as though she'd seen a ghost.
"Who are you and how long have you possessed this girl!"