Bad Influence (Seven Deadly Sins #2) ✅ Completed

Chapter Eight: In the Garden of Good and Evil

In the Garden of Good and Evil  

We stopped to grab a sub sandwich right in town, at a quaint hole-in-the-wall called the Peach Tree Sub Shop. I was surprised Dante could even think about food after what we’d just seen, but he’d insisted, making a beeline for the counter like a man on a mission.

We’d ordered our sandwiches from two young girls about my age who just about fell over each other in their rush to get to Dante first. It was actually quite comical and I would’ve laughed out loud had I not still been shaken up over what I’d witnessed inside Andy’s room.

Though as entertainment went, it was still pretty good.

The big brunette managed to shoulder her way past her shorter, red haired co-worker to snag Dante’s order first. The loser turned to me with a sour look on her face that made me worry she might stick some moldy cheese in my sandwich. I caught her eye and mouthed the words He’s gay so she wouldn’t feel too bad and not take it out on my defenseless meal. She perked right up as she made my club sandwich, throwing in a few extra strips of bacon. She gave me a quick wink which had me grinning all the way down to the end of the counter as I stepped beside Dante.

He’d just reached the cashier and watched as she placed all of his food on a large black tray. I took a peek and saw he’d ordered two Veggie Supremes, two bottles of water, two bananas, and an apple.

“Do you need anything else?” he asked me as he nodded at the girl who’d fixed my sandwich to put it on his tray.

“Just a medium Coke please,” I replied. There wasn’t much a Coke couldn’t fix. Well, maybe it couldn't save anyone’s soul, but at least it tasted pretty darn good.

Dante caught the cashier’s eye as she grabbed the medium disposable cup, “Better make it a large,” he said.

“Sure,” she replied a little out of breath and grabbed the bigger cup instead.

“A medium is fine,” I protested.

“You need the sugar,” he said without looking at me.

I figured it had to do with whatever had happened back at the hospital and let it go. It wasn't like I had a ton of experience in crazy - just a little and I was pretty sure that paled in comparison to Dante's long history.

As the cashier turned to get my drink, she kept stealing small peeks at Dante while he pulled out his wallet and took out a twenty dollar bill.

“I can get mine,” I offered easily. I’d checked my wallet earlier and found more than a few twenties in there. I wasn’t about to ask where they’d materialized from, figuring I’d enjoy the windfall as my due for all the abuse I’d taken lately. Free money was one thing; I wasn’t entirely used to anyone else buying me lunch however. I’d been pretty much buying my own food since I could walk down the street and order for myself at the corner deli but Dante just shook his head as I reached into my pocket.

“I got it,” was all he said as he laid down his money for our lunch. He thanked the cashier and put the change in the tip jar while the other girls thanked him and smiled at the same time. Grabbing our tray, he headed straight to the farthest corner of the sub shop though that wasn’t saying much since I was pretty sure my old room in the attic was bigger than this place.

Dante unwrapped his first sandwich and quietly devoured it in less than sixty seconds. When he was done inhaling his first sandwich, he opened a bottle of water and downed it in one large swallow.