Chasing a Broken Butterfly

Chapter 17:

4 PM rolls around and Mikey and I find ourselves in his car again. We left Lacey at his house. We figured it would be safe for her there since mostly likely the stalker wouldn't try messing with me on Mikey's "turf", as he put it.

He parks alongside the curb and we both just sit there. It feels like we're waiting for something, but honestly I think we're both just hoping that tonight happens faster than we blink our eyes.

"You know," I start off, breaking the silence, "even after the whole 'let-me-try-to-talk-Elle-out-of-going-to-The-Diner' thing earlier, you never told me why you made these plans with them anyway." I cross my arms in my attempt to look like the one with all the authority. In reality, I'm just trying to get a laugh out of him.

He stays silent for awhile, just staring out the windshield. I almost want to repeat what I just said, but by the look on his face, I know he heard me.

After a few rolled out minutes, "you ready?" is all he says and opens the door to head out.

I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, but follow suit. Is it bad? The reason why he made these plans? I guess there's only one way to find out, since he won't tell me.

The smell of greasy burgers and chocolate malts hit me when Mikey pulls open the door, allowing me to step inside first.

My stomach growls, reminding me that I haven't eaten all day. I feel Mikey's hand lay softly on my waist, guiding me to the left where I spot Nathan and Kylie. They're sitting in a booth, tucked away in the corner of the restaurant. The sight of them two sitting closely together is boiling something deep inside of me.

"Hey," Mikey says, announcing our presence. They were obviously caught up in something since they were both laughing when we arrived at their table.

Nathan looks up and I notice his eyes dart down to Mikey's hands still resting on my waist. For some reason, this makes me uncomfortable. When his eyes come back up, he scoots out of the booth and smiles the cockiest smile I've ever seen on him.

"It's about time," he raises an eyebrow at Mikey and then turns to face me. "After you," he motions toward the empty side of the booth. I slide myself in, glancing up at Kylie hoping to make eye contact and give her a smile of sorts. I just want to try to be nice today. Just today. Instead, I see a scowl on her face. More than that, it's directed at me. I'm puzzled by this until I look to my right and see that Nathan is sitting down next to me.

I see a dumbfounded Mikey still standing in front of the booth. He recollects himself quickly and slides in immediately next to Kylie.

Oh boy, this is going to be a long night...

Amid the shell shocked faces and angry glares, I'm more than relieved when the waitress makes her way to our table and takes our orders. Mikey orders his usual Apple bacon burger, Nathan just orders a large chocolate malt milkshake, and of course Kylie orders the garden salad. I roll my eyes when she makes the waitress repeat the order back to her.

When it's my turn to order, I start to panic. Under normal circumstances, I would just order my California Club sandwich, but with Nathan watching me, I feel this sudden urge to be a girl. And being a girl means eating like a girl.

"I'll have the garden salad too, please" I say.

I can feel Mikey's stare penetrating through me, so I don't look up and attempt to make small talk with Nathan instead.

"So...Nathan, how do you like the town?"

Nathan looks at me, with a devious grin and replies, "Well, I think it's starting to get better." I blush and look down. Is he flirting with me? I feel a smile tug at my lips, but it turns back into a frown when Kylie clears her throat to get our attention.

"Well, duh. I've obviously been showing you around this summer. Showing you all the good places and shit," a flirty smile makes its way to her lips. "We had a lot of fun, didn't we Nate?" She says coyly.

"Yup, we did..." Nathan says dryly.

Kylie laughs and, catching me staring at her, winks at me. She's basically letting me know that she and Nathan were intimate over the summer. At least that's what it sounds like. I don't want any part of this. I look over at Mikey and see him twirling a straw on the table, obviously feeling miserable.

I glance under the table and find his foot resting next to Kylie's. I kick his foot playfully and then hear Kylie yelp in pain.

"What the hell was that for?" she exclaims. Making every head turn in our direction. "What happened?" Mikey looks at her in question. Kylie speaks so fast I can't catch what she says, but the next thing I know, Nathan starts cracking up.

In horror, I start muttering apologies, but before I can explain, the waitress finally comes with our order. Between my plate of wilted lettuce and blood red tomatoes and Kylie's death stare, my appetite vanishes. I just want to go home already.