I'm frozen as I watch Charlie open his mouth, drawing the attention of the girl. Her eyes widen for a second, head tilting and gaze flicking over to me as she listens to the child in front of her, who is no doubt embarrassing the ever-living shit out of me.
I force myself to stand and walk over, my feet feeling like lead. Somehow, this is almost more intimidating than it was to leave the house. At least I had time to prepare for that.
Charlie's in the middle of his spiel when I get there. "He has to use the bathroom, but doesn't want to leave me alone--"
"I'm sorry," I interrupt, placing two firm hands on Charlie's shoulders and starting to steer him away. I'm hoping that through the harsh grip of my fingers, he gets the message that if I wasn't above beating up an eight year old, I would totally be kicking his ass in the middle of this pancake house. "Don't listen to him, he's senile."
I can barely bring myself to look at her, but when I do, she's smirking at my remark and shaking her head.
"I can watch him," she says, the words stopping me in my tracks as I put the pieces of the conversation together.
"Oh! Right, um... Charlie, you're sure you don't want to come with me?" I play along with his made-up scenario. I'd rather not leave him with a stranger, especially when I'm concerned he might start babbling about the way I was staring at her. Then again, I guess she already knows that.
Charlie looks up at me with purposefully wide eyes, as if I'm completely blowing it. "Yes."
"Uh, okay. Um, thank you..." I hesitate, waiting for her to fill in the blank.
"Kat."
"Kat," I repeat, liking the sharpness of the name as it comes from my mouth for the first time. "Thank you-- I'm Oliver, by the way."
She nods, eyes staying on me long enough to make my face flush. It's impossible to tell what she thinks of me, or if she thinks anything at all about me. I hope I'm as unreadable as she is, but sincerely doubt it.
"Anyway, uh, bathroom. I'll be right back." I turn on my heel, wondering all the way to the bathroom what the hell I'm doing.
I figure while I'm in there I may as well pee, so I hurry up and finish my business, mentally slapping myself for leaving Charlie with a stranger at three in the morning. I mean, what the hell was I thinking? He's a smart kid, sure, and the girl seems normal enough, but Jesus. If the two of us are going to make it through this trip alive, I'm going to have to be a little more responsible.
I barely run my hands under the water before heading straight out the door, hurrying back to the seating area. The single bite of pancakes that I had nearly comes back up when I see the empty booths at Kat's table-- thankfully, I look to where Charlie and I had been sitting and spot a blonde head of hair poking above the seat. Across from him is Kat, sitting beside my plate of pancakes with her own. My stomach settles, breathing returning to normal now that I know she hasn't kidnapped my little brother thanks to my own stupidity.
Still, the relief doesn't last for long. The realization that I have to talk to her again is enough to erase all the worry I just had for Charlie and replace it with more frustration. What exactly does he hope to accomplish with this, apart from making me a nervous wreck and watching me embarrass myself?
I take a deep breath as I continue the walk over. I slip into the booth next to Charlie, moving my pancakes from the other side of the table and offering a quick smile in Kat's direction. "Thanks."
"No problem," she says, meeting my eyes and giving me a soft smile of her own. I like her voice, silvery with just a hint of hoarseness. She raises an eyebrow, jutting her chin towards Charlie. "Charlie was just telling me you guys are on a trip?"
I nod, cutting into my food, half because I'm hungry and half because I need an excuse not to look at her. If I do, I'm not sure I'll be able to think straight, let alone talk right. "Yeah. We're on our way to New York City."
"Just the two of you?"
I can't help but resent the question, hating the insinuation that I'm not old enough to be in charge of the situation.
"We snuck out," Charlie answers, taking a big bite before continuing and rendering the rest of his explanation unintelligible. "Wrr gung tufine Olver's dad."
Kat's eyebrows raise in confusion, gaze flicking to me.
"We're going to find my dad," I translate, figuring there's no reason to keep it a secret. "It's a long story."
"How old are you?" She questions, head tilting to the side as she squints at me.
"Eight," Charlie answers, too busy with his pancakes to realize the question wasn't directed at him.
"Eighteen," I say sharply, again not liking what the question implies. I've got this under control-- what does she know about any of it? "You?"
"Twenty."
"What's got you out to eat at three in the morning?" I ask, not sure where I get the courage for the question. I guess it comes with being annoyed, which I am thanks to both her question and answer making me feel like a child.
"Got fired a few days ago-- I worked a night shift and the whole thing made my sleeping schedule kind of fuuu--" she hesitates for just a second, drawing out the vowel sound while she glances at Charlie. "--unky."
I smile slightly at the attempt to cover her swear, especially since I'm pretty sure Charlie's smart enough not to be fooled. Not that it matters, since thanks to my potty mouth, he's heard his fair share of foul language. We continue to eat, a minute or two of silence floating between the three of us. I feel a small kick at my right ankle and glare at the culprit, who once again is looking at me with wide, urgent eyes.
"So, you're from around here, then?" I ask, not sure why I keep falling victim to the pressure of an eight year old.
She nods, finishing chewing before responding. "Real close by. You guys?"
I shake my head, setting down my silverware, done with the pancakes at an embarrassingly fast rate. I try not to wonder if I'd been woofing them down like some sort of animal in front of her, and instead answer the question. "We're from Virginia. We've been driving for an hour or so."
The waitress comes by to sort out the checks; the fact that we're all sitting together now causes a little bit of confusion. Once she's gone I count the money and calculate the tip, tucking the cash into the black book and folding it closed. I watch as Kat pulls out a cracked brown wallet from her shorts, taking out her own money and organizing it next to her bill.
The waitress is back in a minute thanks to how barren the restaurant is, which I resent. Now that we're all paid for and our food is gone, there's no reason for us to stay. Even with feeling a little patronized, and knowing that she's older than me and there's little to no likelihood that she has half the interest in me that I have in her, her presence has me captivated to the point that I don't care-- I just want to stay sitting here with her, fooling myself into thinking this will be anything more than a chance encounter.
"You know," Kat breaks the silence, for the first time looking nervous as her eyes shoot back and forth between me, Charlie, and the table. "My brother lives up in Brooklyn. Maybe... I mean, if you guys wouldn't mind the company, maybe I could hitch a ride?"
"Yes!" Charlie answers the same way my brain does, his voice filled with excitement and a smile on his face.
Kat laughs, gaze shifting to me, waiting for a response. I want to say yes-- I'm going to say yes, because it isn't every day you meet a beautiful girl and she asks to sit in your car with you for the next three hours-- but I don't want to seem too eager.
"You wouldn't have to leave Charlie with any more strangers," she persuades.
I stay silent, annoyed that Charlie's plot reflects so poorly on me-- then again, I was the one who went along with it.
"Well... sure, yeah. I don't see why not," I say, liking how she looks as she breaks into a large smile.
thank you so much for 500 reads!!