Escape

Burger From Heaven

        It's light out by the time I get off the bus. I literally have no idea where I am. It was all I could do to not fall asleep on the bus, let alone pay attention to where it was going. All I know is that I'm far away from where I was. From him. That's all that matters. Well, maybe food and sleep matter too but I'm getting there. Ay Dios mío. I'm so screwed. I can't stop though, I have to keep moving until I find somewhere safe to sit down. I am literally starving right now. I don't even remember the last time I ate.

        I start walking down the street in a random direction, hoping to find a cafe or something. There are people out and about, shopping and talking. Wherever I am, it's definitely not a big city. That works better for me anyway. The more low profile the better. After walking for what feels like forever (was probably 5 mins) I find a diner on the corner of a street. I walk in to find it not too crowded but not slow either. The minute the smell of food hits me, my mouth starts to water. I don't know what it is and I don't care as long as it's edible.

        I sit down at the bar, which is mostly empty, and an older woman with a kind smile comes up to me.

        "What can I get ya, honey?" She asks in a weathered yet soothing voice.

        "Um, can I get a cheeseburger? The biggest, greasiest thing you've got." I love food. All food. Lactose intolerance be damned. It's been so long since I've had a good cheeseburger. Cheeseburgers were not a luxury I was allowed with him. They would make me, in his words, "fatter than I already am."

        "Coming right up." She said with the same kind smile as she walked over to the window connecting the kitchen to the rest of the diner. She came back over and set a glass of water in front of me. "Are you alright, honey? That looks pretty nasty." Gesturing to my black eye as I remember for the first time I have no idea how jacked up I look. I couldn't bring my phone. He would've found me too easily that way.

        "I will be." Is all I say before I take a sip of my water. She gives me a look of sympathy that slightly irritates me. She means well, but I hate that look so much. She walks off only to return a minute later with the best looking burger I've ever seen in my entire life. "Thank you so much, how much is it?"

        "Don't worry about it, honey. It's on the house."

        I start to object before she quirks an eyebrow and walks back down the bar once again. I wish she would've let me give her something although, chances are, I wouldn't have been able to pay anyway. I wasn't even thinking about it until the food was brought out to me. As I pick up the burger, my stomach growls so loudly that I'm sure the whole diner heard it. I'm so hungry, I don't even care. I take a huge bite and practically moan at the taste. It is so delicious I could cry.

        As I'm about to take another bite, the bell above the door rings and I turn out of instinct to see who walked in. The sight I am met with might be just as good as this burger. Might be better. Might be.