The Bag - Reward

This story links to these that went before it: The Bag; Jason's Dilemma; The Girl; Jason and The Girl; The Skewered Apple; Girl, Disrupted which you may want to read for context.

*

Jason got up from the bench. He felt the eyes of the guard on him, like prickles. Another train arrived and Jason was soon caught up in the steady stream of workers, heading out of the station. As he was carried along, he texted Jo at work:

-I won't be in today. Sorry. Vomiting and feel really bad

A lie but it wasn't like he wasn't a hard worker. Jo could cut him some slack. He sent it and, holding the bag to his chest, went up the stairs from the platform to street level. His phone dinged. Jo.

-🤮 Hope u feel better soon.

He felt guilty. This morning was throwing him off and he didn't like it but he didn't know what other option he had. His gut was telling him that he was going to have pursue this further. It was too weird not to. For now, his priority was getting off the street, so that he wasn't seen by anyone from work. He liked Jo and working for her and he didn't want to lose his job. He just needed a day, he thought.

Like most things, this was just the entry into the rabbithole.

He moved away from his office in the direction of Close Street. He had time to kill. Best research "The Skewered Apple", see what he could find out. He needed to have a good look through the bag too.

Coffee shop. That's what he needed. A Waterstone's bookstore was ahead, its board said "Café open". Perfect.

Having got a coffee, he sat and got out his phone. He Googled "The Skewered Apple". It looked a lively place: bands, speed dating, quiz night. Pretty standard. He scrolled a little more. Pictures showing people having a good time. He didn't dwell on these. He looked at connected posts that had come up.

There was one that piqued his interest. 'Last seen at "The Skewered Apple"'. He clicked. And was rewarded.

Missing. It was her. The girl.

***

366 words

So, if she's missing, does this mean that people are looking for her? Jason will go to "The Skewered Apple" but should he go there alone?

Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please leave a comment as I love to interact with my readers.

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