Starstruck - Book Two (9 page)

Monday morning I marched straight into the coffee shop to
have a word with Piper. I didn’t care that the shop wasn’t empty that day.

“Piper,” I said as I stomped her way. The rampant bitterness
in my voice was hard to contain.

The fear on her face said it all. She knew I was ticked. She
knew she had it coming.

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked her with my shoulders
square.

“Brynn, keep it down,” she said as her eyes scanned the
handful of patrons enjoying their morning cups of coffee and newspapers. “I’m
working. Why are you still here? I thought you were going back last night?”

“Yeah, plans changed,” I said. “We need to talk.”

“Now?” she asked.

“Yeah, now,” I said with an eye roll. “Luke came by last
night.”

“Really?” she said. I had her undivided attention all of a
sudden.

“Yep,” I said. “He told me to leave him alone. He also told
me to stop asking you about him.”

“Oh,” she said as her cheeks reddened.

“Exactly,” I snipped. “Why would he say that, Piper?”

In all our years of being best friends, I couldn’t remember
a single instance where I spoke to Piper with this tone, but I felt that this
was well deserved. I couldn’t have been more upset with her.

“Piper, why would he say that,” I rephrased my question.
“Huh?”

She shrugged. She didn’t want to give me an answer.

I slammed my hand down on the counter to get her attention
again.

“We’ve been talking,” she said in a quiet mutter. “Ever
since you left town, he’s been confiding in me.”

“Why? Why you?” I asked. “Is something going on between you
two?”

“No,” Piper said as she looked up and stared me straight in
the eyes. “It’s not like that at all.”

“Why would you tell him that I ask about him?” I said.
“Where’s your loyalty?”

“You didn’t just leave Rock River, you know,” she snipped.
“You left us. I guess we talk because we can relate. You were his best friend.
You were my best friend. We both feel like we lost you. We both talk about it.”

“Luke hates to talk about his feelings,” I said. “I don’t
buy it. Why would he open up to you like that? He rarely ever opened up to me.”

“People change?” she replied. “I don’t know? I don’t have an
answer for that.”

I tried to soften up a bit. What Piper was saying made
sense, and maybe I was too hard on her?

“I’m sorry for snapping,” I said as I reached for her hand.
“I hate fighting with you.”

Her eyes shifted nervously.

“You’re still my best friend,” I said. “Whether or not you
accept that.”

She cracked a cautious smile.

“So are you back for good now?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I honestly have no idea what I’m
doing. Everything’s just up in the air right now.”

“Oh,” she said. I could sense the disappointment.

“I think I should try to make it work with Hudson,” I said,
bracing myself for her opinionated response.

“You probably should,” she said.

Her answer was nothing short of unexpected. I thought she
would rather me stick around Rock River.

“Well, I still don’t know what I’m going to do,” I said.
“All I know is I’m going to head out to the diner and ask for a few shifts. I
need to make some money.”

I waved goodbye to Piper and headed out to the diner to beg
for my job back.

My heart pounded as I stepped foot into the diner. I’d
abandoned my job almost a month ago by slipping a hastily scribbled note under
the door and leaving town the next morning with Hudson. It was hardly
professional. I’d left them hanging. They didn’t owe me anything.

“Brynn!” I heard Sarah squeal from behind the cash register
as I walked in. Thank God she didn’t hate me after what I’d done.

I didn’t realize how much I’d missed her until I saw her
smiling face. She was genuinely happy to see me. Out of everyone I’d run into
since I’d been home, Sarah had easily been the most excited person to see me.
It was both sweet and depressing.

I ran up to her and hugged her tight. She was about ten
years my senior and a single mom with two small children. We had absolutely
nothing in common besides working together at the diner, but I didn’t realize
how good of friends we’d become until that moment.

“It’s so good to see you,” I said.

“I know,” she said. “We were all wondering about you. There
are so many rumors going around. And of course we see the pictures on the
internet sometimes.”

I smiled and rolled my eyes. “I hope you guys don’t believe
everything you hear.”

“Nah,” she said as she swatted her hand. “Don’t worry. We
know how you really are. We don’t believe any of the bullshit. Trust me.”

“Good,” I said. “Is Marge here?”

Marge was the owner of the diner. Our boss. She wasn’t the
warmest or friendliest person in the world, but if I wanted to get my job back,
she was the only person who could make that decision.

“You want to talk to…Marge?” Sarah said as she bit her
nails.

Marge was a very intimidating person. She was a rather large
woman with big gray curls and frequently wore red lipstick and blue eye shadow.
To anyone else, she’d appear comical, but we knew how she really was. She was
ruthless and scary and domineering, which was ironic since her husband, Marty,
was the chef. Marty was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met. I always
wondered why he settled for Marge. She didn’t deserve him.

“I was thinking about seeing if she’d let me pick up a few
shifts while I’m back,” I said. “I don’t know how long I’ll be back, but if you
guys need help, I’m here.”

Sarah looked apprehensive before nodding back towards
Marge’s office. “She’s in there. Have at it.”

I walked to Marge’s office, swallowed the lump that was
forming in my throat, and knocked on her door. She was either going to be happy
to see me or she was going to kick me out on my can and tell me never to
return.

“Marge?” I called out softly. I cleared my throat.

She spun around in her swivel chair, all three hundred
pounds of her, and looked me up and down. She didn’t recognize me at first, but
the second she did, she stood up and braced herself on her desk and looked me
square in the eyes.

“Brynn,” she said. “What brings you here?”

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for quitting before,” I
said. “Sorry for doing it the way I did it. With no notice.”

She said nothing, which made me feel even worse. I couldn’t
get a read on her. I never could.

“Everything just sort of happened so fast,” I said. “I had
to make a choice, and the plane was leaving the next morning.”

She sat back down and leaned back in the creaky chair that
was about to give out beneath her. She pursed her red lips as she looked me up
and down.

“You look different,” she said. “Good, but different.”

“Thanks,” I replied. “So as I was saying, I’m sorry for the
way I ended things here. I’m back in town for a bit. I don’t know how long I’ll
be back, but if you need help, I’m available to pick up any extra shifts you
want to throw my way.”

She cocked her head back and scratched her chins as she
looked deep in thought. She probably didn’t want to rehire me but I was sure
she needed the help.

“We are short staffed,” she sighed. “I guess you can pick up
a few shifts this week if you want.”

She pulled the schedule book out from under the mess of
papers that polluted her desk.

“Can you work tonight?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah,” I said with a smile. I wasn’t expecting to work
so soon, but I was glad to take it.

“Why don’t you work tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday,” she
said. “We’ll take it one day at a time.”

“Thanks, Marge,” I said. I could’ve almost hugged her right
then.

“And Brynn,” she said to me as I turned to walk out. “Don’t
ever leave me hanging again.”

“I won’t, Marge,” I said.

I ran off to tell Sarah that I’d be in later and she was
thrilled. She had to work a double that day, and now that I was coming in, she
wasn’t so upset about it. I said hi to Marty before I left as well. He was also
thrilled to have me back. Luke and Piper may have given me the cold shoulder,
but at least I had Marty and Sarah.

I headed back to my apartment to take a quick nap. I set my
alarm and caught a few hours of sleep before my shift began. I knew I’d be on
my feet all night, and I wanted to be as alert and refreshed as I could be.

Before dozing off, I realized I hadn’t heard from Hudson all
day. It was very odd. I figured he’d have been blowing up my phone from the
moment he woke up. Panic spread throughout my body as I wondered if he’d drank
too much the night before and something horrible had happened.

I sprung up from my near-slumber, grabbed my phone, and
called him. His phone was off. Either it was dead or he was intentionally
avoiding me. I had no other choice but to wait for him to call me. I didn’t
have time for his games.

I slipped on my black work pants, which were a couple sizes
too big, and cinched them with an old belt I had lying around. They were baggy
and frumpy, but I didn’t care. I had no one to impress. I just needed to make a
few bucks and get back on my feet.

I pulled a Brown Bag Diner t-shirt over my head and
finger-combed my hair up into a top knot. I opted for a fresh-faced look, as
most of my makeup tended to melt off my face during work anyway. I didn’t want
to waste the last of the good Chanel stuff Hudson had gotten me. I knew I’d
never be able to afford that kind of makeup ever again on my own. I wanted it
to last as long as possible.

The diner was bustling for 4:00 on a Monday. The special on
the board said beef stroganoff and a free slice of pie with every entrée. No
wonder. The locals and their pie. We did have the best pie in town, I had to
admit. Our French Silk was to die for, and Sarah and I would always hide pieces
in the back of the refrigerator for ourselves to enjoy at the end of those pie
night shifts.

“This place is nuts tonight!” I said to Sarah as I tied on
my apron and checked my pen.

“Yeah, it’s only going to get busier,” she said. “Should
make the night go by fast though.”

Sarah was always such an optimist. In all my years of
working with her, I had never seen her upset before. Even when customers would
talk down to her or complain about her, she never managed to lose her smile and
sweet nature.

“You have a table,” she said as she nodded to a booth in the
corner.

I ran out to take the order for a family of six. The parents
had to have been in their early thirties, and judging by their kids, had them
one after another. The children, two girls and two boys, were out of control.
They were already making a mess on the table with the sugar packets and pepper
shaker, and their parents were doing nothing but looking defeated.

And to think, I once dreamed of having five kids with Luke.

“Hi, my name is Brynn,” I said with a smile. “I’ll be your
server tonight. What can I start you off with to drink?”

The mom mumbled something, but I could barely hear it over
the screams and yells of her kids.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get that,” I said as I leaned down.

“DIET COKE,” she yelled, frustrated. Though I knew her
frustration wasn’t directed towards me. She was shooting daggers across the
table at her husband who was trying to wrangle a rogue two year old boy.

“I’ll take water,” he said. “Water for the kids too.”

“Okay, I’ll get those and be right back,” I said. I couldn’t
have gotten away from there any faster.

The last month I’d grown accustomed to dining at child-free
establishments. I’d never realized what a luxury that was until then.

I returned with their drinks and took their orders before
Sarah told me I had another table. A crotchety, middle-aged man popped down
into a booth. His gruff expression told me has going to be a real peach. My
first day back and I was zero for two.

“Hi there,” I said to him. I plastered a huge smile on my face
in hopes that he’d return it but he never did. “How are you doing tonight?”

“Hungry,” he said. “Haven’t eaten all day. Been on the
road.”

“Oh, yeah? Not from here?” I asked, though I already knew
the answer. I knew almost everyone in town and had never seen this guy before.