Broken (A Zach Bryan Fan Fiction)

Chapter 3

I rolled out of bed and headed to the kitchen.Opening up the fridge door I grabbed the milk and pulled a box of cereal and a bowl from the cupboard. I sat on the kitchen counter and ate a bowl of cereal before heading to the bathroom. 

While brushing my teeth I grumbled to myself, not sure how I was supposed to cover up all of the damage that was done to my face. I dug out my makeup bag and began to apply some makeup to try and cover up the various bruises and cuts.

I slipped on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Before heading out the door I put my phone in my back pocket, grabbed my purse, and slipped on a pair of boots and headed off to work. 

I walked down to the diner, as I opened the door the bell rang indicating my arrival. A tall woman with dark curly hair emerged from what I assumed was the kitchen.

"You must be Brynn" she said with a warm smile "my name is Grace."

She stretched out her hand and I gingerly reached out and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you" I replied quietly.

"Here is your apron, and you will be shadowing me today" she said as she handed me a white apron along with a pen and a notepad.

She waved her hand indicating for me to follow her. 

"This is Ben" she gestured to the cook.

"Hello" his deep voice rang.

I smiled and nodded as I continued to follow Grace around as she showed me the ropes.

"Oh, it's 9:00 a.m. time to open up!" She exclaimed as she headed to the front doors to unlock.

There was a steady stream of costumers for the majority of the morning, however it seemed to be dying down right now.

I busied myself by wiping down the counter and starting to tidy up the dishes when the bells jingled indicating more customers.

"Well hello there Mr. Bryan" exclaimed Grace as she approached him.

"Oh please" he said "you know to call me Dewayne"

"Oh I know sir, just doesn't feel right!" Grace responded "how are you and your son doing"

They continued to chat until Grace started chuckling and walked back over to the counter.

"Dewayne is one of our regulars here, he'll take a black coffee, waffles, and a side of breakfast sausages."

I nodded and prepared his order, once it was ready I let Grace know.

"You can bring it to him, would be good for you to get in with the regular crowd" she said.

"Okay" I nodded.

I walked over to Mr. Bryan cautiously as I balanced his plate of food and carried his coffee.

As I approached his table he said "Oh, Grace didn't want to take care of me anymore?"

"Oh, uhm..." I stumbled over my words.

He chuckled heartily and spoke "I'm just kidding dear, my name is Dewayne, I don't believe we've met?"

He reached out his hand and I instinctively flinched, spilling the boiling hot coffee on my arm. He gave me a surprised look and quickly stood up to see if I needed help. I reflexively took a step back.

"I-I'm sorry sir, I'll go get you a fresh coffee" I spit out as I quickly set down his food and skirted away from the uncomforatble situation.

I took a minute to recollect myself, poured him a new coffee and headed back over to his table with a forced smile on my face.

"Sorry about that sir, here you go" 

"Thank you" he smiled " but I didn't catch your name?"

"My name is Brynn"

"Well hello Brynn, nice to meet you, are you new here?"

"Uh, yeah, I just moved to town"

"Well it's nice to meet you, you are working with some of the best people"

I smiled and nodded and let him know if he needed anything else I would be behind the counter.

Before leaving Mr. Bryan approached me and handed me a few bills to pay for his meal, and I rummaged around to get his change he spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, keep the change."

"Ar-Are you sure?" I stammered as it was quite a large tip for not providing much service.

"Yes" he smiled warmly then walked out the door.

The rest of my shift was rather uneventful but good, I helped Grace lock up and walked back to my apartment.

I walked quickly as it was dark out and I still don't feel safe on my own, especially on these unfamiliar streets.

The rest of the week was pretty much the same, I walked to work every morning and saw Mr. Bryan everyday. I was slowly learning a little bit about him, like how he lost his wife a few years back, was in the Navy and has 2 children.

Saturday on the other hand, was a day of complete chaos at the diner.

~whisperingspring