Five Steps | Chaelisa

Chapter 19

Lisa's POV

I zip down the winding hills of Lawrenceville and along Butler Street, then head across the bridge into Sharpsburg as my phone chirps out directions to Hitchhiker Brewing from my back pocket.

I am stuffed.

I ate a ton of palachinkas. Roseanne was right. Once you slathered them with her mom's homemade strawberry jelly, it was game over. Sugary and delicious, with the warm, thin pastry tasting almost sweet. Like crepes but... better.

I recognize Hitchhiker Brewing's tall smokestack from my Google searches, a holdover from its former factory days. I bank left and slow to a stop just outside before hopping off my bike, my phone's GPS calling out a "You have arrived!"

Jim still isn't here. Which makes sense. Roseanne practically pushed me out the door so I wouldn't be late, and I took those Lawrenceville hills pretty fast, thinking about calling Samantha the whole way here. My eyes are still stinging from the wind.

I sit down on the curb and, with some time to spare, press the call button just under her name. Since Sam sleeps late, I couldn't call this morning, and I'll be busy with work until late tonight, so now is the perfect time.

Plus, something about the palachinkas reminded me of our diner pancakes, and I spent most of the bike ride extra excited to hear her voice.

I hold my breath as it rings. Once. Twice.

"Lisa?" she says as she picks up. I jump to my feet at the sound of her voice, but... it doesn't sound as excited as I was hoping for. I nervously pace along the cracked sidewalk that runs alongside the parking lot. There are muffled voices in the background, the sound of a bass thumping out a few notes.

"Hey, babe! How's it going?"

"Why are you calling me now?" she asks, and I frown in confusion, pulling the phone away from my ear to stare at the screen for a second before putting it back up.

"You told me to call you."

Yesterday? At frozen yogurt? There was a heart emoji and everything.

"Yeah," she says. "But I didn't mean now. I have a gig tonight. I have to get ready."

So much for the perfect time to call.

"I know. In Kansas City." I do the math in my head. "Doesn't it not start for, like... six more hours?"

There's no way in hell she has to "get ready" for six hours. Not when I know for a fact she doesn't help carry any of the equipment.

Samantha lets out a long sigh. "Things are different on the road, Lisa. You wouldn't understand." The muffled voices in the background fade as she moves somewhere quieter. "But I guess we can talk now since it works for you."

"If you can't, it's—"

"No, no. Go ahead," she says. "What's up with you?"

"I got a job working on a food truck. It's been pretty good so far. Some solid tips. All cash. I'm just waiting for my shift to start." I kick at a small rock on the ground, watching it bounce its way down the street.

"Oh. Cool."

She doesn't ask any follow-up questions, and the silence that follows is deafening. So I ask her one instead. "How's the tour going?"

"It's been so great. People actually know our music! They sing along and everything. It's been super wild."

"That sounds awesome. I can't wait for your Pittsburgh date," I say, holding my breath.