Running Red: Lost Moon

Chapter 7: Hot Cocoa

Laik was sitting at a table outside the small diner on Main when he heard his name. He looked up from the colorful children's menu to find Allyssa looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Laik rolled his eyes before he looked back down at the crossword section. "You have no room to judge."

"Oh, I'm not judging."

Laik looked up in time to see her phone out. He went to grab it, but she ducked out of the way. "Delete that."

"Nope."

"Allyssa!" Laik caught the thin sweater Allyssa was wearing, and he tugged her back towards him.

Allyssa let out a laugh as Laik yanked her phone out of her hand. But, unfortunately, the screen was dark, and he let out a groan. "By the way, Rendy has it now."

Laik let out a sigh and dropped the phone on the small table. "You're a menace."

Allyssa stuck her tongue out at him before taking a seat. "So why are you sitting here with a children's menu? This early in the day on a weekday of all days? You're either sleeping off whatever thing you've been doing at night or working somewhere with a grumpy look."

"Grandpa asked me to check on something." He pointed one of the coloring pencils at Allyssa. "And for your information, I actually slept through the night last night." Laik paused and then added. "And I don't have a grumpy look!"

Allyssa hummed. "Want me to get you a little trophy that says congratulations on it."

"You shoo." Laik waved his hand at her in a little shooing gesture. "I'm trying to enjoy my quiet morning."

Leaning forward, Allyssa was about to say something when both startled at the sound of the diner door being shoved open. They watched as the new kid in town crutched his way down the street. Finally, Allyssa let out a whistle, "New kid can move on those crutches. I hated those things when I broke my leg back in Jr. High."

Another person appeared in the diner doorway. One of the grandkids of the owners. "Hey! Kid! You forgot your coat!"

Allyssa waved her hand at the tall and lanky young man in the doorway. When she got his attention, she called out. "Is everything okay, Callen?"

Callen jogged over, holding a large styrofoam cup and a worn leather jacket. "No, he was perfectly fine in the corner booth. Said he was waiting for someone."

"This early?" Laik muttered.

Allyssa quickly added, "and on a school day too?"

"Yeah, he had been on the phone with someone at first." Callen reached up to scratch at his messy sandy brown hair in confusion, causing bangs to fall in front of expressive brown eyes. "Seemed very grumpy about whatever had been said. Managed to get his order, but when I went to bring it to him." He waved a darkly tanned hand in the direction the kid had taken off in. "Then he bolted."

Laik stood up and took the cup and coat from Callen. "I'll get it to him."

"You sure?"

Allyssa snorted as she reached over to tug the children's menu closer to her. She flipped the paper over to start coloring in the blank white areas. "He's just bored."

"You're still a menace."

Allyssa looked up at Callen, "What did he even order? I can understand the coat, but what has you chasing him down?"

"He was talking about how he's been too cold and asked for one of our largest sizes of hot cocoa." Callen shrugged. "I'd toss it, but he already paid for it, and well, he's not exactly dressed for the weather around here."