Sweets - 𝘈 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺

88 - Table - Chris POV

With an hour left in their drive, Chris asked Alexa if she wanted to stop anywhere to grab something to eat. She hesitated a moment before she nodded. He smiled at her and she smiled in return but something just wasn't quite there. It didn't reach her eyes.

I mean, we were just excitedly talking about how great the trip was. I don't see any reason why anything would've changed in the last hour or two.

He set the worried feeling aside for now. After a few minutes he pulled into the parking lot of a little mom and pop diner. They still weren't quite into the city limits, so people were pretty scarce in the area. They had been here plenty of times before. They really liked the atmosphere, and it was nice that they allowed dogs inside too.

Chris got out and walked around to grab Dodger and his leash from the backseat before he opened Alexa's door for her. They all headed inside together and headed for a booth near the back.

Their waitress came over to take their drink order and soon enough they were alone again.

"Are you alright?" Chris asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Alexa asked, sounding a tad short.

"Every time we've come here, you've always ordered a Coke. Just surprised you went off script with the water." Chris chuckled.

Alexa shrugged. Chris expected her to laugh. Or giggle. Or something. But she didn't.

The waitress came back with their drinks and was gone again before he could blink. He watched carefully as Alexa unwrapped her straw and dipped it into her drink, swirling it around in her glass of water delicately, the condensation already beginning to build up on the side of the glass.

She wouldn't look up at him and it made his stomach hurt. What is going on?

"Alexa?"

She continued to stir her glass, the ice tinkling lightly against the sides as she rested her palm against her cheek and leaned on her elbow.

"Alexa." Chris said with a bit more gruff. Dodger became a bit restless under the table. He readjusted himself and laid his head on Chris' shoe.

She looked up at him and cocked her head to the side, as though questioning why he called her name.

"What is going on right now?" Chris asked quietly, unable to control the confusion dripping from his voice.

"Nothing."

"I'm sorry, but that's bullshit." Chris said, crossing his arms and sitting back against the booth.

"You asked me what's happening. And nothing is happening." Alexa snipped, adding another layer of bricks to her defensive wall.

Chris could see the tears starting to well up in the corners of Alexa's eyes and it made his heart ache. He uncrossed his arms and laid them on the table gently, leaning closer to whisper, "Do you wanna head back to the car?"

He watched as her chin wavered slightly before she gave him one quick nod.

Chris nodded back in return and reached into his back pocket for his wallet. As he shuffled in his seat, Dodger lifted his head, watching Chris' movements. Chris pulled out a twenty dollar bill and laid it on the table before he stood up from the booth.