The Beautiful Musician (Camila/you)

Chapter 24

Y/n stared out of the frost covered window, silently tracing lines in the condensation that had formed on the interior of the cold glass with her index finger. Her body was twisted in its seat, her weight shifted carefully so that she could safely reach over the small gap between her and the front window.

A mug, stained and chipped from years of use, sat on the counter in front of her forgotten, and filled with thick black coffee. She averted her eyes back down to the stained countertop and pushed the mug away from her as she threw down a few crumpled bills as payment for the untouched beverage.

The small restaurant reeked of greasy burgers, fries, and cigarettes, the location a safe haven for long distance truckers and wandering teens. Dodd's Diner had been in business since the late fifties, the interior having not changed much since its grand opening that crisp autumn morning all those years ago.

Checkered tile flooring, mint green stools, and stainless steel accents all attested to its dated look. Even the dark wood dividers between each of the booths looked worn from the many weary bodies that had leaned against them in anticipation for a milkshake to combat the hot weather during the summer, or a cheap hot meal to fill the bellies of the hungry.

However, despite its haggard appearance. the little diner held a special place in her heart. It was a pinpoint of nostalgia for the young artist, and a therapeutic warmth wafted through her heart every time the small bell above the front door jingled.

Her eyes lifted when she heard footsteps approaching on the other side of the counter, her ears already recognizing the sounds of the heavy rubber soles slapping the tiles.

Jim Dodd, the proprietary owner of the diner, cocked his head sympathetically and pushed the bills back towards her. He wiped his hands quickly with a frayed rag and threaded his fingers through his short brown hair as he shook his head in exasperation.

Jim grabbed the mug and dumped the contents into the sink behind him, before grabbing two fresh mugs from the small metal hooks above the grill. He poured the steaming black liquid into each cup and glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you want me to say, Jim?" Her voice sounded strange to her own ears, like a vinyl that had been played one too many times.

"How about you start with why you ran from that pretty girl of yours and ended up back home after all these years."

She turned her head away and stared out the window once again, raising the mug to her lips as her mind began to wander once more. Y/n swallowed the bitter drink and wrinkled her nose in disgust, reaching over to grab a couple packets of sugar and creamer from the metal rack.

"I don't even know where to start." She admitted, the words almost getting caught in her throat as she took another sip of her coffee to force down the lump in her throat.

"I fucked up."

Those three words hung in the air, though oddly enough, the atmosphere in the diner wasn't weighed down with sadness or despair, but rather an unsettling stillness. Almost as if the hole that had been created in Y/n's universe was something the artist had simply accepted.

The hole grew wider, the silence only growing louder since Y/n's departure. It had been nearly eleven months since the singer had seen the Cuban, her anger fading into misery and solitude since the incident.

She'd thought of reaching out for the first few days after that night, but Y/n had been unable to bring herself to actually call Camila. So, she had simply asked Jay to pack a large suitcase and left sunny California indefinitely, her manager being the only one who knew where she had gone. When Y/n had left, she'd purchased a last minute, one-way ticket back to her hometown in Colorado.