Page 23 of Searching for Sadie
CHAPTER 11
SAIE
It had been three weeks since Sadie had moved to Mystic Falls. She had managed to fall in love with her neighbor and run out of money.
Neither of those things were good.
And yes, maybe she wasn't inlovewith Lucas, but she couldn’t get her mind off him, no matter how she tried. Again, last night she was sitting in her window seat as he came home with the ridiculously big bag. She had no idea what it could be, but she told herself all kinds of stories, about her murdering neighbor to try and make him unappealing, but it was just not happening.
So here she sat in a house that was so far from her style that she couldn’t bring herself to change. The show was going to start airing soon and she was almost out of money. No matter what she did her life would be turned upside down... again.
But those were all problems for another day, right now she was getting ready for her first shift at Mae's diner, and it wasn't a moment too soon because while her aunt had given this house to her with all expenses covered for the first year, there were still other expenses that were coming up.
She checked herself in the mirror by the door making sure her ponytail was straight and tight before making her way to her car. When she tried to turn the key... nothing.
No. This wasn’t happening now. She tried to turn the key again, and once again... nothing.
Great. Another expense. And another thing to add to the list of things that had fallen apart around her she would eventually have to deal with.
Tears gathered in her eyes at that thought. She was running away from so much. And the unanswered texts on her phone were starting to add up... and getting progressively more irritated with her.
As she got out of her car slinging her purse over her shoulder a friendly voice called out to her, "Is everything okay?"
She looked up to see Lucas on the other side of the bushes looking at her with his brows pinched in concern. It's been about two weeks since he took her to the carnival, and well, she may have been avoiding him ever since.
"Yeah," she answered, plastering her ‘see everything is fine’ smile on her face. "I just thought I would walk to work today."
"Work?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Where are you working?"
"At the diner," she said as she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear only to remember her hair was in a ponytail and did not need to be tucked behind her ear. She must have looked like a goofus.
He cocked an eyebrow as he watched her, it was like he could see straight into her soul, and that was not good. Nope, everything was a big ol’ mess inside of her.
"When did you start working there?"
"Well, today is my first day."
"And you just decided you wanted to walk… after your car wouldn't start?"
Her eyebrows shot up. Damn. "Yep. That's what I decided."
"I can drive you. I'll be going right by it."
"Nope, I can walk."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. It's only like a ten-minute walk." She looked at her phone, she still had ten minutes... but she would like to be a little early. But she had already said no... but when she looked at him, he was grinning at her, and damn if it didn't do something to her.
"Actually... would you mind? I don't want to be late on my first day."
"Not at all, climb on in," he said as he walked over to the other side of his truck and held the door open for her.
As she walked around the bushes and into his driveway, she smoothed down her hair and reminded herself not to be weird. He was just being nice. Because he was nice. And he did not deserve to be dragged into the mess that was about to become her life as soon as she stopped ignoring the dinging of her phone.
When she rounded the truck, Lucas was already there waiting for her with a smile on his face and a welcoming hand waiting to help her up into his work truck. Her heart stammered in her chest just at the sight of him. She hadn't really talked to him since the porch incident, sure they'd had a neighborly wave here and there, but nothing like this, being this close to him. As she took his outstretched hand and there was the little zip of a spark that happened every time they touched.
She climbed up into his truck and he shut the door behind her as she reached for his buckle. When he walked around the hood of the truck, he stopped slightly to look at her and the way his mouth turned up slightly at the side when he caught sight of her wasn’t lost on her. It was almost like he was just happy to have her in his work truck.
