Loving You

VII. Guilty

Friday, December 18th, 2015

It was more than five days before I saw Casper again. I'd been so busy during the start of the festival that he'd almost completely slipped my mind. Almost. I didn't forget, however, about the keyboard hiding in my closet. I'd been practicing every chance I got. Sometimes I even let Mia and Bexley listen to me, but not very often. Playing for people again was scarier than I ever thought it would be.

"Aces! I'm gonna need ya runnin' food, kid. That bastard, Mick, took off again!" Tim shouted from the kitchen, and I felt my entire body flush crimson with embarrassment as I ducked into the back of the diner to see what was going on.

So far, it hadn't been a great week for Rosie's Diner. First, Gus had ended up in the hospital after a bad fall down an icy patch of stairs in front of the post office, and then both Laura and Rebecca called in sick with the flu. Not to mention the fact that during our busiest times, Jana and Mick were known to strand the rest of the staff to take breaks together. If I started making the schedule, they'd never work the same days again, ever.

Long story short: we'd been drowning. All week. I'd worked the oddest shifts I'd ever had, purely because the staff was so thin and there was so much to do. It was already Friday, but the way things were going, it didn't look like I'd get a chance to catch even a single act at the music festival at the far edge of town.

Running the food to tables nine, seven, and four, I thought maybe I'd get a five-minute break as the lunch rush started to die down, but that was before I noticed Jana's unattended section. Hustling over, almost out of breath, I stopped at the first booth and pulled out my notebook, saying my speech without ever looking up.

"Welcome to Rosie's Diner, has your server been with you yet?" I dug around in my apron trying to find my elusive favorite pen, before I finally glanced up at the curiously silent patrons.

A table of four stared back at me with wide eyes and open mouths. Three men and a woman. "Well, I'll be damned," the oldest man muttered, never taking his gaze off me.

I stood paralyzed; my skin ablaze as I tried to think of a way out. Something, anything, to escape facing down my past. How had they ended up in Crystal Falls? Why would they all be at the diner together? Before I even had a chance to say anything, Jana appeared.

"Stop trying to steal my tips," she snarled, before turning to the customers and grinning. "Hello! I'm Jana, I'll be your waitress today. Anything I can get ya?"

I could've kissed her. It felt like I'd just dodged a bullet, as I slipped into a crowd of eleven that just arrived and seated themselves in my section. Well... Mia's section really, since I caught her car pulling up just outside the big windows overlooking the highway and the steep mountains beyond that. For once, the restaurant gods were smiling down on me.

Making my way into the staff room, I pulled off my apron and grinned ecstatically when Mia walked in, brushing snowflakes off her bulky coat. "Thank goodness you're here!" I almost squealed, tossing my apron on the couch and hugging Mia uncharacteristically.

"Uhm... girl, did you win the lottery or something?" Mia demanded as soon as I pulled away, shrugging into my coat and grabbing my things haphazardly.

"No! I'm just excited to go home! I've been here for nine hours. Bexley and I are going to the festival tonight!" I called over my shoulder as I took off out of the back exit, running through the alley and the parking lot until I reached my truck. Without looking back, I jumped inside and peeled out like a bat outta hell. Running away... again.

Truthfully, I just really didn't want to get screamed at in front of the entire town where I'd spent the last three years trying to belong. In private, though, where no one else could hear, I'd gladly take whatever they could dish out. I deserved it after all, Mags and Pop had taken me in when my own family didn't care.