Finding Comfort

Chapter Five

Thursday, May 20th.

Last night with Tyler wasn't so bad. We talked and got to know each other a little bit more and just goofed around cracking jokes. When the time came for me to go home, Tyler dropped me off right at the tracks just like last time. 

Now I'm walking to work.. it's a little after 6 according to the sky and at this time I'm wondering why I see a very familiar truck making it's way towards me. 

Rolling my eyes I stop where I'm at and wait for him to pull around towards me. 

"Morning Princess" Tyler says with an even deeper rasp to his voice that send chills down my spine. 

"Morning Tyler, what are you doing out at this time?" I question opening his truck door and climbing in. 

"Well, I woke up and remembered that you walk to work so I figured why not head out and give a pretty girl a ride. and now that you'll be extra early we can get breakfast." He says smiling. 

I freeze at the pretty girl comment, knowing that I look like almost complete shit all the time and that I'm overly skinny and don't do anything to myself to make me look presentable to the public eye. just ask the town center. 

"Thanks, breakfast where?" 

"The diner obviously, it's the only place open at this time." He says casually. 

"Oh I didn't know that. Still new here."

"How long have you been here?" 

"Tomorrow will be a week."

Tyler nods then says, "Let me take you out sometime, I'll show you all the hotspots around town."

"Oh, no, you don't need to do that. I just want to work and lead a quiet life for now." I say as we pull up to the diner. 

"Do you ever do anything fun? I mean from the looks of it, all you do is work and walk."

"That is all I do." I confirm getting out of the truck. Not bothering to wait for a response.

"Well let me rephrase that, let me take you out.. to dinner sometime?"

"We've already done dinner Tyler, it's fine. Seriously."

Tyler just huffs, not sure what his problem is. I just ignore it and walk into the diner. Cheryl isn't here yet just the staff from the night shift since it's a 24/7 diner. 

We sit down at a booth and order food. Which is on the house because I'm an employee and Tyler is the owners son. I guess we both got a few perks out of this situation. 

Conversation goes smoothly now and after what seems like just 5 minutes it's nearly 8 in the morning. Looks like our conversation went on way longer than either of us realized because soon Cheryl is inside giving us sly smiles. 

Why she always smiles like that when we are around each other is beyond me. She's just a happy person. 

Tyler gets up and out of the booth and I follow knowing I need to go put my uniform on. 

"I'll see you later Princess." Tyler says walking towards me. He grabs my temples with both hands and give me a kiss on the forehead. which does something major to my stomach and I think I may have a stomach bug after he leaves. my face is fully flushed and Cheryl is a few feet away from me cackling like a hyena. 

"Oh Honey, I've never seen someone blush so much from a simple kiss" Cheryl says walking with me to the back. "He's a sweet boy, never been interested in any girls before..." she says slowly and deliberately. 

"Cheryl what are you saying?" I question while grabbing my uniform. 

"Just that I want grandbabbies!" she says with a Cheshire smile and walks out of the lounge.

Now I'm fully flushed again and my breathe is coming out in short pants. Why on earth would Cheryl say such things! I'm 17!

Calming my heart beats and getting my breathing under control. I go back out to the floor and start my job. 

Around 5 Tyler makes his appearance at the diner. Although he's not working today, him and his friends make it to the booth in the back. Tyler watching me the whole time he talks it up with his friends. 

His friends I notice are all male. Not one female in sight. 

After a few hours his friends call me over. I only have an hour left and Cheryl told me to go ahead and start calling it quits for the day. So with that note I wave a finger to his friends and go to the lounge to change. After getting in my raggedy clothes I question whether I should put the uniform back on to go talk to his group of friends. 

I don't want to embarrass Tyler with the clothes I have and make a bad impression. Wait why should I care? It's not the end of the world. 

So with my too small of shorts and my old faded band t shirt that now looks like a baggy crop top I make my way out and over to the group of boys. 

"Hi." I say standing next to the booth. 

Tyler smiles at me, like he has been the whole time and shoves his friend out of the booth and to the other side so that I can sit next to him. 

"Thanks Tyler but I could have sat next to.... " I trail off looking at the two guys across the booth. The one that was already on that side of the booth sticks his hand out.

"Bradley, nice to finally meet you. Heard wonderful things about you." He says smiling. 

"I'm Gavin, nice to meet you." Gavin says after wards. I shack both of their hands. 

"Hi, I'm Serena" I say with a small smile and look at Tyler who is of course still just staring at me. 

"Oh, so your name isn't Princess, that makes more sense.. I've never met anyone with the name Princess so I was kind of excited. However, you do look like a Princess." Bradley says. 

Gavin just nods his head in agreement but watches Tyler with a grin, as Tyler watches me with a look in his eye that I have no idea what it means. 

"Oh, no, Tyler just can't remember my name so he calls me Princess." I say casually because that's how I feel sometimes. 

"What, I know your name, I call you Princess because you're my princess" He says giving me a look. 

"oh" I say and blush still having no idea what he means. but knowing he gives my stomach a tummy ache. 

Tyler just chuckles and soon enough we are all just conversing and it's flowing so smoothly that I feel like I've known these guys my whole life.