Page 110 of Hawk

“I’m very happy right now, Moose. Will you be at the diner tomorrow?”

“Yup. Just in the morning, then I’ll be taking the rest of the day off around noon. You good to close up?” I nodded and Moose kissed my forehead. “Alright then. See you tomorrow and be safe kids.”

Hawk and I laughed as Moose headed out the door. After locking up, we went into the kitchen to clean up, then snuggled on the couch watching a movie.

Like Moose said, despite the shit we went through, life was finally looking up for us.

GracieandIwereworking late at the diner. Moose had left around noon, leaving the two of us to handle things for the rest of the day. I had planned to close the diner around eleven just to give us some time to clean up.

Hawk had already come by to check on me. He would be back around midnight to make sure Gracie and I locked up, then walk me home.

We had a few customers at the booths as the clock hit ten. They were mostly truck drivers stopping for a bit before getting back on the road or heading to the park and ride to sleep for the night.

The cook and dishwasher had just left, and Gracie was cleaning up the kitchen. Wiping down the counter, I made small talk with some of the truck drivers as they finished their meals.

When they were all finished, they tipped well and left. I locked the door behind the last customer. Gracie came out from the kitchen and turned the speaker on after attaching it to her phone.

“Thank god they’re gone. I can’t wait to get home.”

I laughed as Gracie turned up the volume andBreak My Heartby Dua Lipa came blasting over the speaker.

We got to work cleaning the tables as we danced and sang. It was such a pleasant feeling to be back to myself. Gracie was wild, but she made me laugh. It was an enormous change from when I thought Lloyd would kill me.

Gracie was cleaning the last table, and I was cleaning the stools at the counter when I smelled smoke.

“Is your man outside waiting for you, Gracie?”

She turned and looked at me. “No. Why?”

“I smell smoke and I know he smokes cigarettes.”

I looked up to see smoke coming out of the window from the kitchen. Running back there, I saw that there was a fire by the back door.

I grabbed the wet rags from the sink and threw them on the fire, hoping it would put it out.

“Gracie! Call 911! There’s a fire!”

I rushed back out front to grab more rags. Gracie came flying back with me and filled up the mop bucket with water.

A crash up front made us go running that way. The large front window was smashed open and glass laid everywhere.

Gracie came running up behind me. “The fire keeps getting bigger!”

Suddenly, old beer bottles crashed through the other window. Tables were lit on fire as Gracie and I panicked.

The fire had engulfed both of our exits and we had nowhere to go. Gracie fell to her knees, crying and screaming.

I ran over to her and pulled her up. “Let’s go, Gracie!”

She shook. “I can’t! We’re gonna fucking die!”

I grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the window. Glass shards stuck out, making it almost impossible to climb out. The fire became larger, and I coughed from the smoke.

Another bottle landed by our feet and I pushed Gracie toward the counter. It exploded, shattering the table into pieces.

“Behind the counter!”

I pushed Gracie down as more explosions rocked the diner. I could hear sirens getting closer and knew they would save us.

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