Phases of the moon

Chapter one (Lynn)

Lynn absent minded looked out the massive store front window of the diner that Mr. and Mrs. Woodall owned, and poured their hearts and souls into. It showed they were beloved by the small neighborhood where the dinner was and every customer that walked in. It had been a slow evening, the regulars still hadn't come in yet, it was only 8:00 P.M. she still had a couple hours to prep before the chaos started. Mr. Woodall was behind the counter reorganizing the homemade pies Mrs. Woodall baked fresh every morning and evening in the back. He was so proud of everything she did, you could see how much he loved every time he looked at her. It was the kind of love that hopeless romantics long for.  Lynn was just happy she got to watch it most days. It was the moments like this that she would start to think back to when her parents were alive. Mather and Roger martin had died nearly six years ago when Lynn was 16. She was at her childhood friend Sarah's for a sleepover, when the police showed up in the middle of the night to tell her about the fiery crash. The next year Lynn was complete numb, her parents had been her whole world, nothing really mattered without them there. Though her aunt moved into their family home to help take care of her, Lynn stayed distant from the ones she had been closest too. No seemed to understand the agony she was living. Remembering the happiest times helped her cope with her lose. This particular time she was remembering back to when she was 7, her parents took her out of town on a mini vacation. They had locked them selves in their hotel room for the weekend instead of going out on adventures like they had planned to in a small beach town four hours from their house. It was three days of junk food and cheesy movies, which were Lynn's favorite, she loved the horrible graphics. She felt so loved in those couple of days, like it was just them with not a single problem in the world. Its one of her favorite memories to revisit another was her sweet sixteen. Not long before the crash her parents gave her their last giant display of affection. They bought her a beautiful purple ball gown that sparkled and seemed to glow with the slightest light. It fit her fuller figure beautifully, her make up was slight but stunning, and her hair was curled into an updo with slight ringlets hanging down. The whole night was about her, and her parents were the best part of the whole night, they laughed and danced, he dad made a speech about the night she was born and how instantly his heart grew and he felt a love he never felt before, and that no matter what life had in store for her he loved her and was beyond proud of her. The last line of his speech lived in Lynn's head whenever she was having doubts. When Lynn emerged out of the grips of grief she realized how much her life had fallen apart, friends never came around, but her grades took the hardest hit. She struggled and worked extremely hard her senior year to recover. sadly the only friendship she was able to salvage was Sarah. Sarah didn't fully understand what Lynn was going through she knew it was what Lynn needed and that she would be there for her through anything. when Lynn had decided to follow through on the plans her and her parents had made before they died to go to Griffin universe , Sarah was her biggest supporter and was happy they would continue to go to school together. Though it wasn't very big it was pretty prestigious for it's size and location. They offered an amazing microbiology program, which is exactly what Lynn was looking for plus it was close to home, and she wouldn't have to uproot her whole life. Now half way through her masters degree, she knows her parents would be proud of her but she'd given anything to have them back.

"What going on in that head of yours?"

A shadow fell over Lynn's face and he knew with out her telling him. 

"It's hard still, I thought I would be used to it by now"

"Honey," Mrs. Woodall said walking around the counter

"Your parents were your heart, as they should have been, and they took that piece of you with them when they left. Scars still hurt from time to time even after they have healed" she said as she kissed Lynn's forehead. Mr. and Mrs. Woodall instantly took to Lynn when they hired her right after she graduated high school, and even more so when they heard her story. They worked around her school schedule and made sure she had enough to make her bills. They looked out for her more then they needed to, and she was beyond grateful for it.
Right then the bell on the door rang and started the dinner crowd.

For some reason that night's dinner rush was unusually rough, and most of the customers were rude and stiffed her on tips. They had been so busy Lynn didn't even get chance to take a break. It was night like that made her really lose faith in humanity. As she walked out into the autumn air she shook her head trying to clear some of the aggravation, her phone dinged and lit up with a message from Sarah. Their friend Matt had invited them to party to blow off steam before finals. he had a giant house that sat off the road in the middle of a field with woods that came up to the back of the house. Lynn quickly agreed needing to blow off steam, plus she love being out there it was quiet, and she loved feeling that close to mother nature. She looked up at the sky and noticed the giant moon hanging in the sky.

Hmm almost a full moon that explains a lot  she thought as she walked home to get changed.

A few hours later her and Sarah pulled up at Matt's house. Lynn and Sarah made small talk as they struggled to find a place to park. Between the car and people drunkenly dancing in the yard there weren't many options. So they decided to park near the wood away from most of the party. They slowly made their way into the house laughing at something that happened that morning. The second they walked through the door Matt greeted them. Lynn knew Matt liked her but always thought of him as harmless and a great friend.
"Hey guys," Matt smiled and hugged Lynn a little to tight.

"Hey Matt" Lynn and Sarah said at the same time as Lynn shrugged off matt

"Welcome, come in enjoy yourselves, need anything just let me know, other than you know where everything is." and with that Matt disappeared into his guest.

"You think he would get the message and just chill" Sarah laughed and nudged Lynn

"I'm not that lucky, at least he's harmless" Lynne laughed as her and Sarah worked their way to the bar. All Lynn could think was how grateful she was Sarah had decided to be DD. After a couple hours of dancing and drinking Lynn was absolutely hammered. They then spend the next couple hours drinking and dancing having an absolute blast. Around Two A.M. Sarah's ex Austin walked in, Lynn and Sarah spent the next couple hours dodging him, making a game out of it. Once they had their fun with Austin they left, by that point it was four A.M. Lynn was sufficiently drunk. Having their fill of fun, Sarah decided to get them food, and to put Lynn to bed. Sarah took them to their favorite post party haunt, a little dive bar on the edge of town called Steve's. They passed it every time they came back from Matt's. They had the greasiest burgers, which were the ultimate hangover cure. Sarah knew with everything Lynn had she was going to need a couple burgers. Sarah was leaning over the bar putting in her and Lynns orders when Austin walked in.

"Hey i saw your car, i was looking for you at Matt's but didn't see you" Austin said to Sarah.

"That's because i didn't want you to see me" Sarah snapped back.

That's how it always started, Or at least it had been like that since Sarah had dumped him for cheating on her. Austin would conveniently show up where Sarah was. Trying to get her to come back which always lead to an argument, which Lynn just wasn't in the mood to watch. so she did something she never does. Lynn grabbed her food, walked out the front door, walked passed Sarah's BMW and kept going, determined to walk home.