Breaking Free

Chapter 18: Present

On our way to the diner, I ask something that has been on my mind since we left the gym. "Do you want to know what happened that night?"

He shakes his head gently. "I don't need to know what happened if you don't want to tell me. Okay?"

I nod my head. "There might be another girl who was raped by Joshua."

"Do you know where she's at?"

"No. Nobody knows. She disappeared before I started school."

"Maybe she just moved away."

"Maybe." But I have a feeling that she didn't...

"We're here," Seth announces.

I look out the Jeep window to see a building with brown boards and crafts of various kinds scattered around the front end of it.

"Interesting," I say, staring at the chicken coop close to the entrance. "Are you sure it's okay to eat here?"

Seth lets out a chuckle. "I've eaten here many times. The food is awesome."

We exit the Jeep together quietly and head for the door, which Seth pulls open and lets me go through first. As soon as I pass through the doorway, I hear country music playing over the speakers and the smell of something delicious.

"Hey, Seth! Welcome back! Oh, and you have someone with you today, I see." A gray-haired woman comes from swinging double doors that lead to the back. Her uniform name tag reads Bridgette. She has a nice round face that reminds you of Mrs. Clause.

"Yup. This is Paige," he says.

She stretches out her hand to shake mine. "Howdy and welcome to the Osteen Diner." When she smiles. I see that she is missing several teeth. "Well, you know where to sit." Bridgette turns her back to us, hurrying towards a customer who just raised a hand.

"Come on, I sit over here." Seth beckons me to follow him.

We slide into a booth, and I look over the menu on the table.

"I would order the waffle with whipped cream and strawberries on top for your first time," Seth says to me, grinning. I notice that he didn't look down at the menu.

"You already know what you want?"

"I already put the order in for you, Seth," the voice of a girl states as she approaches the table.

I look up and smile briefly at a girl with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and tired brown eyes standing at our table. She is not wearing a name tag.

"What would you like, miss?" I look at the menu and quickly tell her the waffle with the whipped cream and strawberries, and a coffee.

She nods, then turns away and disappears behind the swinging doors that Bridgette came through earlier.

"Who's that?" I ask Seth.

"Her name is Linda. She's here every time I come, but she doesn't say much to me."

Our food comes, and I stare down at the plate in front of me. The waffle is piled with whipped cream and strawberries. I smile at it. It can't help but be a dish that makes you smile. I pick up a fork and knife and cut off a piece of the waffle.

I slide the bite in my mouth, and my eyes pop open when the delicious, fluffy sweetness hits my tongue. Seth laughs across from me.

Seth was right. This is great.

Seth and I spent the rest of our time together in the diner. We were having such a good time just talking about one another that we didn't realize how late it was getting outside. The staff at the diner didn't even bother to come over to us after we got our food.