My Military Hero

Chapter Five (Heartbreak)

I heard the bell over the door and dashed out, notepad in hand, to greet the customers. Things were slow at first. Barely anyone came in. Only the early birds were here, but I had at least two tables fill at the same time while I was working as waitress and host. By the time 9:00 a.m. came, the place was pumping with people. Mostly families came in for a quick bite before going to church. It was so busy that Matt had to work as a waiter to help me as I couldn't keep up with all the tables.

Niko came in, his brown hair spiked up and his green eyes shining with happiness. A tall blonde stood behind him, holding his hand and smiling sweetly at us. "Guys, I would like you to meet my fiancée, Ashley," he said, walking up to Matt and me, smiling like a lovesick puppy. I smiled warmly at her. Knowing that Ashley meant a lot to Niko made me happy. Finally, he had found someone to share his love with.

"Hi, it's great to meet you. I'm Rayne!" I said, smiling widely and engulfing her in a hug.

"Sunshine, don't suffocate her now," Niko warned playfully as he ruffled my hair, calling me by my signature nickname, which Aiden had so cleverly made up, when I was seven.

I remembered that day clearly. . .

I had just been told I had acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and Aiden wanted to lighten the mood. Being only three years older than I was, he had some crazy antics. One was to think of the weirdest things known to mankind. That was pretty fun. Another was to blurt the first thing that came to mind. I had blurted "sunshine," after he said, "rain," and then he decided because my name was Rayne, that my nickname should be the complete opposite of my name. No one knows why, not even him.

All of his friends called me that up until this day, even at school, much to my embarrassment. So when Niko heard about it, he had called me that just to tease me, and he thought it was the funniest thing. Aiden was proud to be the one to give me a lasting nickname, and I was just happy to be acknowledged by so many people.

Anyway Niko and I were pretty close, since we had been friends in high school, and I was really happy for him because I knew how much Ashley actually meant to him. He'd struggled to date girls as none of them could ever handle him and his crazy ways, but Ashley looked like a keeper.

Every few minutes I would catch her sending loving glances in Niko's direction as she watched him talk with Matt about their relationship. I was enchanted by her. She was a beautiful girl, but she didn't seem to try and flaunt that. She looked like someone I would really like to have as a friend, one day.

Everyone seemed to be in their own world. The customers were eating their breakfast happily, and the couple standing before me was grinning widely at each other. That was until the door flew open and a very angry looking Locland walked through the door, his gaze landing on me as I shrunk back.

His eyes were dark, his hands clenched into fists, and he seemed to be breathing deeply as his chest was rising and falling at a fast pace. "Rayne!" he growled, and everyone's eyes landed on me as I flushed red and ducked behind Niko.

"Oh hell no! Face your own mistakes, honey," Niko said, pushing me in front of him as Ashley giggled behind him. I shook my head at him, glaring, but silently pleaded with him to protect me from the scary sight only a few feet away from me.

He only laughed and took Ashley to the kitchen. Matt went to go check on one of the tables he was taking care of. "Before you do or say anything, I'm sorry," I blurted out, bracing myself for a lecture of some sort.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was about you all morning?" he asked, pulling me into the corner of the diner and standing right in front of me, close enough that I could smell his masculine cologne.