A few minutes later, Katie came out of Mike’s office. Her eyes were puffy like she had been crying. She went back to her tables but lacked the enthusiasm she had before. She didn’t look at me again for the rest of thenight.
Even when she cashed out at the end of her shift, I didn’t see her. I just found a small pile of cash with a paper on top of it. On it was written my name in her familiarscrawl.
ChapterNine
Katie
Things were still awkwardwith my dad. I knew he was making a real effort to be supportive and get to know me. I just hated it took so long for him to decide he wanted a relationship with his daughter. It’s not like we were living in the dark ages. When I moved across country with my mom, he could have called or even written a letter. Maybeatext?
I was an only child, I could have easily flown out to see him during the summer. Or, he could have come to see me. But when my parents got divorced, it was almost as if he was divorcing me too. I would call and either get his voicemail or an awkward five-minute conversation before he hadtogo.
He would send me money as if that was a replacement for actually being a parent. I received two checks a year like clockwork. One for Christmas and one for my birthday. Don’t get me wrong, I never had any trouble spending the money. What teen girl would? But I had been really hurt at the time, and I guess Istillwas.
Unfortunately, he was my dad and I think there would always be some part of me that wanted hisapproval.
Not to mention I was still missing my mom like crazy. Sure, I had the things that secured my future, a padded bank account and a house to call my own. But I would give them back in a heartbeat if it meant I could have her instead. So while I had all the things people even twice my age were still dreaming about, it didn’t change the fact I was still really hurting. Even though I wasn’t stuck in my room unable to do anything beyond grieve, I still cried almost everynight.
My job at the diner was going pretty well, a spot of sunshine in the midst of my sadness. As much as it pained me to say it, I think my dad was right. This was a great step toward getting my life back on track. I was already starting to get my confidence back and the task of keeping orders straight had really helped me to focus on things beyond the loss ofmymom.
Gwen and I spent a bunch of time together. We would grab coffee and have Netflix marathons. Sometimes we’d go running together. I don’t think a day went by that we weren’t at least texting oneanother.
I was feeling mostlynormal.
If only it weren’t for the awkward night I had the previous evening. Tyler had come in with a few of the other guys who were still in town. I recognized two of them from when I lived here before, but we weren’t really friends at the time so it was like meeting everyone for the first time. It wasn’t the first time he had come in since I got caught ogling him on the river trip. He’d been in a couple of times on his own always asking to sit in my section. However, looking back, itwasthe first time Julian and I had been working together when Tylercamein.
I had been excited to see him. He was cute, funny and seemed like he might be into me. And while I still had my childhood crush on Julian, he was undoubtedly the most handsome boy I had ever laid eyes on, he just didn’t seem to beintome.
I didn’t think he even liked me. Most of the time when he saw me, he had a scowl on his face and he never tried to talk to me beyond letting me know an order was up or asking for clarification on a ticket. I was afraid to try to attempt conversationbeyondthat.
So when Tyler had shown some interest in me, I had thought, why not? Gwen always gave me a weird look when Tyler came in. I was pretty sure she was into Mitch, which meant it wasn’t jealousy. But there was definitely a hint of disapproval anytime I walked away from his tablesmiling.
He had come in with his friends just like he had before, but that night had been so different. He started his order like usual, but then added on all these weirdmodifications.
“Can you make sure all the condiments are on the side, on separate dishes. Make sure to write that part down. I’m not sure the cook will be able to figure it out if it’s not written out exactly. Oh, and this part is important, I don’t want his dirty Mexican hands touchingmyfood.”
I didn’t mean to, but I had looked back at the kitchen. I knew Julian wouldn’t be able to hear what was being said, but I felt a desire to shield him from the ugly words coming out of Tyler’s mouth. To my horror, he was looking at me with an expression on his face that said he knew exactly what wasgoingon.
I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. I turned my head back to the table. “What are you even talking about? Besides being one of the most racist things I’ve ever heard, how can you say that aboutJulian?”
“Julian is a thug,” he replied matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was part of a gang. And the bruises? Don’t act like you haven’t seen them. It’s like he just can’t stop himself from getting intofights.”
I had seen them, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious. But like I said, we hadn’t gone beyond restaurant talk. How would someone even bring that up?Hey, Julian, remember when we were best friends like five years ago. Well, I’m back and I can’t help but notice you look rough all the time. Want to tell me whathappened?
Shockingly, I hadn’t broughtitup.
“Of course, I’ve seen them. But how dare you? Julian is the hardest working guy backthereand–”
“Don’t defend the guy.” Tyler interrupted before I couldgoon.
“Of course, I’m going to defend him. It’s not right to talk like that aboutanyone.”
Tyler looked back and forth between me and the kitchen. I assumed Julian was still in full view, but refused to turn my head again. “What is going on with you and Julian?” He finally asked through narrowed eyes. “I thought we might be moving toward something and now you’re defending that guy like he’s yourboyfriend.”
“He’snotmy–”
“Dude!” Another guy at the table named Jonathan interrupted this time. He was one of the two guys I remembered from before I moved away. “I just remembered. The two of them were like, best friends or some shit before she moved away. Maybe she’s still in love with him.” He said this like it was some great revelation. “Maybe she has been all this time and that’s why she’s back now she’s graduated. Is that why you’re working at thisdumpy–”
“Shut up!” Tyler cut him off and shot a scathing look in his direction before looking back up at me. “Katie, Julian is a waste. Maybe you guys were friends when you were kids or whatever, but he’s not a good guy. You don’t want anything to do with him. Trust meonthis.”
