“So, what’ll it be?” Erica’s tone gave no room for argument.
Jaz sighed with defeat. “I’m really not fussed, it's up to you.”
Her aunt smiled. “I'll find something. What about something to drink?”
“Orange juice if they have it. If not, water is fine.”
“Oh yes, I forgot you don’t like soft drinks.”
“Not much, no.”
Her aunt grinned. “Don’t be too long, will you? I want to be there before it gets dark.”
Jaz nodded, thanking her before she shuffled away towards the side of the building.
The toilets were separate to the petrol station, standing flush against the right outside wall of the building, visible from the parked Mercedes. She stepped in, holding her nose as the smell of piss attacked her and cautiously peered inside the first cubicle toilet before going in. She did her business and came out, washing her hands whilst she gazed at her reflection. She sighed. “You look like crap, Barker.”
Her little, deep-blue handbag that carried her toiletries and make-up was slung across her shoulder. She slid it off and placed it on the counter by the sink. She unzipped it and then unzipped the make-up bag without taking it out. She found her concealer and dabbed it under her eyes, smoothing it in. After applying a crème pink lippy and some rose blush she scrutinized herself in the mirror.
The sudden terrifying image whacked her in the face like a hard slap, coating her retinas so she couldn’t see the room in front of her. The shock of it caused her to knock over the make-up bag as she jumped back in fright. The bag hit the tiles with a cushiony-smack and the contents flew across the floor in a fan shape. She didn’t pick them up straight away, still stunned by what she'd seen. “What the hell was that?” she gasped, asking the frightened girl in the mirror.
She knew, though she had never seen anything like it before. Her question was more accurately- how the hell could an image, as vivid as if it had been right there with her in the bathroom, have appeared in front of her like that?
It was a face. A deformed face. Not a memory and not a hallucination. It felt really… present and close.
She shivered. Goosebumps ran up her arms underneath her leather jacket. She rubbed her sleeves automatically. The soft leather made a whispery sweeping sound under her fingers.
A face, she thought again, trying to describe it in her head; trying to see it again, though she was afraid it would attack her mind like it had before. It didn’t. Only the memory of the image returned like a distorted photograph; a blurred image on a digital camera.
A black face. Intense eyes. Dark, bottomless, unfathomable.
Human? No. Yes. Maybe? She didn’t know. She sucked in a sharp breath and glared at herself in the mirror. “You listen to me now,” she commanded the reflection in a harsh but quiet voice. “You need to get your shit together right now, or I will gladly check your crazy arse into the nearest mental institution, got it?” She then realized the irony that came with talking to herself and her stare faltered as she fluttered her eyelids. “Great,” she sighed in irritation. “Just, great.”
She bent down, collecting the lipsticks, blusher and mascara and stuffed them back in her make-up bag. She zipped it up roughly and chucked it into her handbag. Her mobile caught her attention. Two missed calls, she read, tapping the screen to unlock it. Lisa.
She dialled and waited.
Lisa answered on the third ring. That was slow for her.
“Hey chick, whassup?”
Jaz smiled, already feeling a little better. “Hi Lis, you busy?”
“Nope, just watching The Kardashians.”
“Oh god,” Jaz scoffed, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”
“I’d rather gouge out my eyeballs with a spoon.”
Lisa whistled out a sharp breath. “Ouch. And gross.”
Jaz grinned. “Sorry I didn’t call you back. Was on the road, didn’t feel my phone vibrate.”
“S’okay. So where are you now?” Lisa asked through a mouthful of crisps.
“Dunno. 'Bout halfway. My aunt says we’ve got about another two hours before we get there.”
“God, where are you going? Isle of Wight?” Lisa joked.
Jaz snickered. “Somewhere before Scotland. No idea. It’s all countryside that’s all I know. Some weird name I can’t remember.”
“It only takes me about four hours to get to Scotland to see Danny.”
Danny was her boyfriend. He was Scottish -Lisa had always been a sucker for the accent; she couldn't believe her luck when the love of her life happened to have it- and his family lived there. He lived in Sheffield but he spent a lot of time with his family. When Lisa was free, she’d join him or sometimes they’d go together.