City of Kinetics

FORTY-FIVE ✴ An Unwelcome Return

       Within the next week, Sweetie's Café and Bakery had finally reopened, and Mila was glad to finally return to work. Harold was happy enough to give her extra shifts while he tried to find another waitress to hire after Breanna's death.

       Being back in the diner was almost nostalgic, but Mila couldn't erase the memories of what had happened. She tried to push back the bad thoughts from her mind as she worked all day, but she couldn't.

       Business was a little slow, which was to be expected, but Mila found her shift went by quickly despite only a few regulars coming in. She figured it would take a little while before more customers started returning.

       When she finally made it back home, it was nearly seven o'clock. She opened the front door and was surprised to find Jason and Evelyn sitting on the couch and Leila standing by them with a glass of orange juice in her hand.

       "Mila!" Evelyn said excitedly, seeing her walk in.

       Mila smiled, her eyes going over everyone. "Are you having a party without me?"

       "Took a break from work, actually," Jason said. "I'm here for dinner."

       "We have dinner?" Mila asked, knowing full well that their fridge was empty as she raised an eyebrow at Evelyn.

       "Hunter went to grab pizza," she said.

       Immediately, Mila's smile widened. "Hunter's coming?"

      Jason laughed at her expression. "Ease up, lovebird. He should be back any minute now."

       "Lovebird?" Leila repeated, her eyes widening as she looked at her. "Are you guys finally dating now?"

       "What do you mean finally?" Mila asked, walking over to her. "I don't know what you're talking about. We're just friends."

       The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, he hangs out with you every chance he gets. And don't think I don't know when you sleep over."

       Mila's mouth opened in shock. Especially because anytime she had stayed over, Leila would be gone to school before Mila woke up, so they'd never see each other.

       Leila smiled at her expression. "It's not a secret that you guys like each other. It's just like how Evelyn and Jason like each other."

       "Mind your business, kid," Jason suddenly told her, shooting her a playful look from the couch.

       Leila pointed to her orange juice glass as she took a seat on the other couch. "You're out of orange juice, by the way."

       "Yeah, I'll grocery shop tomorrow," she said, letting out a breath as she sat beside her. "I've just put it off for too long."

       "How was work today?" Evelyn asked her.

       Mila shrugged. "Boring."

       "Was it weird being back in the diner?" Jason asked.

       "A little," she admitted, nodding her head. "We didn't have a lot of customers today, so it was pretty slow."

       "I should find a job," Evelyn mused.

       "Preferably one before the landlord kicks us out," Mila teased, before her eyes went to Jason. "What about you? Any luck on the investigation?"

       Jason sighed. "I thought we could find Kane, but it's been a week of us looking and we've got nothing."

       "Maybe he's just here on silent business," Evelyn said with a sigh.