Through Her Shattered Eyes ✔

Chapter 11

I roll my eyes. "Oh, shut up, Nathan. I'm not in the mood."

"All right, no need to be test—" He does a double-take.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Did you get contacts? Your eyes are really blue."

"You...you notice my eyes?" I ask.

"How can I not? They're really pretty. Are you wearing contacts?" he answers, still looking at them.

"No, I'm not. I'll explain it to you later."

"Okay. Well, you gonna get out of the car or am I gonna have to drag you out?"

Right.

I take the keys out of the ignition and throw them into my purse. I get out and follow Nathan inside Chick-fil-A.

Surprisingly on a Thursday summer afternoon, the restaurant is almost empty. There are only four people occupying the place: an elderly couple sitting in a booth by a window and another couple, a lot younger by many years but a little older than Nathan and I.

"Wow, this place is practically isolated," I utter.

"You'd be surprised. This place doesn't really get crowded often," Nathan replies.

"I would've thought since it's summer, everyone and their grandmother would be getting lunch here."

He kind of smiles at my poor attempt of a joke. "Yeah, that's true. Are you gonna want anything to eat? I'm buying."

I think about it for a minute. The idea is tempting. I actually am hungry. I didn't bother to eat anything before I came here. But I shake my head.

"Um, not really. You can get me an unsweetened tea."

"Alexis, come on, you gotta eat something. I didn't drive all the way from work to here for us not to have lunch together."

Have lunch together? What does he think this is, some kind of date?

"No, really. I'm fine. I just want an iced tea."

He shrugs. "All right. Be right back. If you wanna find a seat for us."

Once Nathan leaves, I make a beeline for a table that's way in the back of the restaurant. It's the perfect place to talk. It's out of earshot, so no one else will be paying attention to us. I sit down on the chair. Placing a hand underneath my chin, I heave a sigh as my mind begins to contemplate how to explain these things to Nathan. I'm just going to have to see how it goes. Maybe everything will flow easily once I get it off my chest.

From my peripheral vision, I see Nathan walking towards our table. He comes back with an order of a grilled chicken sandwich, a cool wrap, two sides of fries, and two iced teas.

I sigh through my nose. "I told you I didn't want anything to eat."

"Don't be silly, I'm not letting you go hungry. Plus, I already ordered so I can't get a refund. The cool wrap's yours."

"Thanks," I mutter, taking it along with my beverage and fries.

He says nothing else, just smiles. I wait until he takes a few bites from his sandwich before speaking. He seems pretty hungry.

"All right. Talk to me, Alexis. What's going on?"

I inhale a deep breath in and tap my fingers against the table. "Well, um..."

Where do I want to start? With the nightmares? The flash? Or the memories? I don't know, I'm tongue-tied.

"Yeah?"