Page 12 of You Were Invited
“I don’t wanna go home,” she’d sobbed into Molly shoulder as they’d packed up to leave the cabin. “I’m so done with his B.S. He won’t leave me alone now that Mom’s left. I have to take care of everything!”
“I know.” Molly hugged her tighter. “We’ll keep savin’ for the apartment. Just one more year before we graduate. You can make it.”
When did I last talk to Dad?Not that she cared.Two years...?Yes, a handful of months after she’d started to date Chris. Her boyfriend—if shecouldstill call him that— had met Dad once and had refused to be around him ever again.
Annie grabbed a bag of chips. The plastic crunched and squealed.
Christopher’s younger brother was getting married at the end of the summer. More than a few hints had been tossed her way. But every time his family had teased them about getting married, too, it had not sparked the right feelings. What was worse, Chris had barely reacted to his family’s wishes and dreams.
Annie wasn’t opposed to marriage... And it was something sheshouldwant to do with Chris…
If you don’t wanna, there’s no point.
Tears clouded her vision.
You took the coward’s way out, and now you have unfinished business. Packing. The lease. A new home. That’s if... you really do leave him for good.
He was a nice enough guy…
Just not lately.
More tears fell to her dismay, pent up after days of caging her feelings.
“Hey, Julian.”
“Hey, Rich. Forgot soap.”
“Just take it.”
Annie wiped her cheeks. With horror, she realized she was standing by the toiletries. Spinning on her heel, she tried to get away—
“Oh!” A man with a clean-shaven face and gray work overalls dodged to the side, arms up. “Sorry, there!”
“No, I’m sorry,” she said, forcing a smile without looking at him.
“Serves me right for barreling through the store,” he chuckled.
“Mmm-hmm.” She ducked her head. Embarrassment washed over her when she saw him raise an eyebrow out of the corner of her eye as she made her exit. She was probably being overly rude, but she didn’t have the energy to muster anything more than an awkward acknowledgement.
She quick-walked to the front counter. The store clerk checked her out quickly and hardly spoke at her, much to her relief.
Outdoors, she sucked in a breath of mountain air and did her best to calm down, tossing her groceries in the trunk. In a mirror, she caught sight of her pale, pinched face. The dark circles under her brown eyes looked worse now than they had that morning.
Maybe I need some food...
The gravel parking lot at the main restaurant in town, No Wait Diner, was almost full. She sat in the car to collect her nerves before going inside.
Although it wasn’t nearly as rough as the market, the diner had also seen better days. The gold lighting fixtures had been outdated even when Annie had been a child, and thousands of hungry patrons' shoes had worn away parts of the diamond pattern on the flooring. She sat down in an olive green, pleather booth, a large gash in the seat bandaged with duct tape.
Despite its quirks, the staff were all smiles and service was quick. After Annie got a few bites of her tuna sandwich and bag of plain chips in her, she started to feel in control again.
At the end of her meal, the waiter placed her bill on the table and gave her a peppermint. He had long hair that wasfaded blue-green with black roots, and under his black apron, he’d rolled up the sleeves of his white t-shirt, showing off the ring of black animal silhouettes that circled his lithe bicep. His complexion was wheatish, and he had high cheekbones.
“Pie?” he asked, smiling.
She shook her head. “Oh... no— I barely had enough room for my lunch.”
His tag read “Teagan.” He furrowed his brow. “Miss, you look like you could use a pick me up. I’ll even give you a little discount... Treat yourself later. Get one for the road.”
