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The young woman felt her skin crawl as she listened to the eerie account on the small portable radio.
A young man, one of the Stop's regular diners, had been attacked at knifepoint in a nearby alley the previous night.
"My God!" exclaimed her friend and fellow Stop waitress Trish Stratus. "I've walked down that way thousands of times - you have, too, haven't you, Lita?"
The redheaded woman shifted her hazel eyes nervously to meet the other woman's warm brown ones. "Y-yes..."
"That could have been one of us...poor guy," Trish said, shaking her blonde head sadly. She reached back to adjust the pink waitress uniform she was wearing.
The young man, whose name was Christian, had been eating a late dinner at the diner last night and had been stationed at one of Trish's tables. He'd stuck around long enough after his meal to yak with Trish, Lita and especially Dawn Marie - another waitress who typically started the later shift - nursing a cup of coffee before leaving for the night. That had been a little after twelve-thirty in the morning.
Lita shuddered as she replayed in her head the tone of the news reporter on the radio.
"The man is in stable condition but remains under observation at Lincoln Memorial Hospital..."
Although Christian hadn't been stabbed, he had been clubbed over the head with some sort of blunt object. As a result, he was feared to have a concussion at best, and suffered some brain damage at worst.
The redhead shook herself out of the unpleasant thoughts and consulted her watch - ten of midnight. Dawn Marie had just stepped in, and it was coming to the end of her shift, so she would leave as soon as the witching hour struck. And thank God for that, as she was exhausted. Her feet were killing her. Considering the fact that she stood, on average, about twelve hours per day, they were actually in halfway decent condition.
After the ten minutes were up, Lita entered the small office on the other side of the establishment with the intention of clocking out. She actually had her timecard in hand when a voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Lita - whoa!"
The redhead looked up jerkily, startled to see her boss, Stephanie McMahon. The woman rarely stayed past ten. Yet, here she was, two hours later...
"You have to work a double shift tonight," the brunette announced. "Torrie called in sick again..."
"What?" Her eyes widened in surprised displeasure. Just great... This was exactly what she needed - Torrie Wilson had been calling in sick quite often these days, and Lita wouldn't be surprised if the blonde was really working another job on the days when she did. Besides, according to the rumor mill - better known as Dawn Marie - this was indeed the case, complete with Torrie baring all at a strip joint halfway across town.
"I'm sorry, Lita - but we're really short-staffed right now," Stephanie said. "I'll see to it that Torrie either comes to work or that'll be it for her..."
Lita arched a brow, wondering why the brunette would bother. She'd already given the blonde woman chance after chance to shape up.
"Well..." the redhead began, feeling like a heel for what she was about to ask. "What about Trish? Can't she work the double shift?"
"No - she's got class tomorrow morning. I'm sorry, Lita. I'll have to hire someone - even if it's just a temp...But until then..." She held her hands out in an 'I give up' gesture and shrugged.
The redheaded woman ran a hand through her long locks and sighed dejectedly.
"Okay...so much for my fantasy of hitting the sheets early tonight..."
Stephanie offered
her a weak, sad smile.