Chapter 6
Chapter 6: The Sole of the Matter
Janice drove for two hours, her hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel, her eyes darting between the rearview mirror and the road ahead. The rain had stopped, but the asphalt was still slick, reflecting the neon glow of gas stations and fast-food joints. She was exhausted, hungry, and her ankle throbbed from the motel staircase. She needed to stop. She needed to think. But every time she slowed, she imagined Lila’s sedan pulling up beside her, that calm smile, that voice—lavender-scented and poisonous.
Her stomach growled. She pulled into a twenty-four-hour diner called The Last Stop, a name that felt ominously prophetic. The parking lot was nearly empty: a rusted pickup, a minivan with a flat tire, and a dark sedan that looked just like Lila’s. But it was a different model—an old Honda—and the driver was a bald man in a flannel shirt, not a blonde woman with a foot fetish. Janice exhaled. She was being paranoid. She parked, locked the doors, and sat for a minute, trying to calm her racing heart.
She needed to pee. She needed food. She needed to think of a plan. She couldn’t run forever. But what could she do? File a report? The police would think she was crazy. My coworker is obsessed with my feet, she leaves foot-shaped cakes on my car, and she has a file on me. They’d laugh her out of the station. Or worse, they’d call Lila for a statement, and Lila would show up with that damned file, turning Janice into the villain.
Keep reading "Chapter 6: The Sole of the Matter"
Open the same story in AIBookCraft. Later chapters may require an active subscription.
Free on iOS & Android · No signup to read