SILVER LINED DOUBT. [JESS MARIANO]

FOURTEEN.

Marley kicked a piece of glass into the pile she was accumulating. She could hear their voices getting louder and louder from behind the windows. She could feel her throat start to tighten.

She stopped what she was doing immediately. Was she crying? Why the fuck was she crying? Marley sniffled once, shaking her head quickly. No. There was absolutely no reason for her to be crying.

As she scolded herself for getting emotional, Marley heard the bell on top of the door ring harshly, followed by the slam of a door. That same harsh ring continued. She glanced up to see Luke with his eyes blazing. He rounded the counter, almost forgetting where he was until he saw Marley looking at him hesitantly.

Luke sighed, shoulders dropping down. He said nothing to her. The look he was giving her spoke a thousand words. Marley nodded, biting the inside of her cheek. She returned to her puddle of coffee and pile of broken glass and began to mop again.

After a couple of minutes, Luke broke the silence that the diner was in. "You mind closing up alone?" he asked. Marley only shook her head. She did mind. But she wasn't going to argue with him right now.

Luke nodded in thanks, waiting a second before marching up the stairs and into his apartment.

✧

Marley had finished closing the diner ten minutes ago, but she wasn't quite ready to go outside yet. She'd been staring at the same jar of pickles for five minutes in an attempt to avoid passing that terrible, beat up car.

Why was she so timid to approach him all of a sudden? It wasn't like they hadn't spoken since he'd left. Shit, Marley, he's your friend. What is wrong with you? You've never been scared of him in your life. What's different now?

Maybe it was seeing his face for the first time in months. Maybe it was the expression he wore, the frustrated one she'd gotten to know quite well. Maybe it was the way he'd looked at her when he realized she was there. That was different. He looked vulnerable. Completely stripped of any anger. Yeah. That was different. She didn't exactly understand it.

Maybe it was the fact that Marley couldn't stand the idea that California may have returned him to his old ways. If his conversation with Luke was any indication as to how her conversation with him would go, Marley didn't know if she would be able to deal with it as easily as she had in the past. She didn't want to revert back to their old ways. Dear God, she couldn't let that happen.

Marley tore her eyes away from the pickles, taking a deep breath as she did so. Don't be such a coward. Go. Go talk to your friend.

Shutting off the light in the back room, Marley clocked out, grabbing her backpack from the doorway of the kitchen. She grabbed the key Luke had left on the counter for her to give to Jess (Luke was livid at him, but there was no way he was letting him sleep in his car in the middle of January) and stared outside timidly. No. No time to overthink this. Go.

And that's exactly what Marley did. She sighed, put her coat on, slung her bag over her shoulder, opened the door (rattling the bells a little harder than she probably should have), and walked out to the car on the other side of the street. She could see the windows icing over already. He had to be freezing.

Marley used the backs of her two fingers to knock softly on the window, awaking Jess. He didn't get up. He only snapped a firm, "Go away."

"Mariano," she said, voice shaking slightly despite how loud it was. She blamed the cold.

He sat up almost immediately. He turned to her, brow furrowed, confusion gracing his features. Jess moved to the window, cranking it down so he could speak to her. "The hell are you doing out here?"