The rejected crown (book 2)

Fragments of the Familiar

Andrea

Andrea wiped her hands on her apron, glancing at the clock above the diner counter. The night shift always seemed to stretch endlessly, with only the occasional customer to break up the monotony. Most nights, she didn't mind the quiet. It gave her space to think.

But tonight wasn't like most nights.

Her gaze drifted to the booth near the window, the one that had been occupied by the stranger who left not long ago. She'd smiled at him, poured his coffee, served him the usual, but there was something about the way he had looked at her.

Like he knew her.

Andrea leaned against the counter, absently tracing the edge of the napkin dispenser with her fingers. She couldn't shake the way his eyes had lingered on her, searching, almost desperate. It wasn't the kind of attention she usually got-no awkward flirting, no casual friendliness. It was something deeper, something that made her stomach twist in a way she couldn't explain.

"Earth to Andrea," Sam called from the kitchen, his voice snapping her out of her thoughts. "You're staring off into space again. Everything okay?"

She forced a smile and turned to face him. "Yeah, just tired, I guess."

Sam raised an eyebrow but didn't press. "Well, don't fall asleep on me. I'm not doing this shift alone."

Andrea chuckled softly and busied herself refilling the salt shakers. But her mind wasn't on the task-it was on the man who had sat in her booth.

There was something familiar about him, though she couldn't put her finger on it. His face, his voice, the way he'd asked if they'd met before. It tugged at a part of her she had long since buried, a place where fragments of the past still lingered.

Andrea didn't like thinking about her past. She'd worked hard to move forward, to rebuild her life. She'd left behind the version of herself that loved recklessly, trusted too easily, and lost too much.

But something about that man...

She closed her eyes for a moment, leaning against the counter as memories tried to surface. Flashes of laughter, of hands entwined, of whispered promises. A name lingered at the edge of her mind, just out of reach.

She opened her eyes quickly, shaking her head. "Get it together," she muttered under her breath.

"Talking to yourself again?" Sam teased, peeking out from the kitchen window.

"Only way to get good conversation around here," she shot back, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

Sam laughed and ducked back into the kitchen, leaving Andrea alone with her thoughts. She glanced at the clock again. Another hour until closing.

Her fingers moved absently to the necklace she always wore, a simple silver chain with a small pendant shaped like a crescent moon. She didn't remember where she'd gotten it, only that it felt important, like it had always been a part of her. She'd asked her mom about it once, but her mom had just shrugged and said, You've had that forever, haven't you?

Andrea didn't question it anymore. She wore it because it felt right, though tonight it felt heavier than usual.

The bell above the door jingled, startling her. She looked up, half-expecting the stranger to have returned, but it was just a young couple, holding hands and laughing softly as they slid into a booth.

Andrea let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and grabbed her notepad, heading over to take their order.

Still, as she moved through the motions of her job, her thoughts kept circling back to him. His eyes, his voice, the way he'd asked if she knew him.

And the strangest part?

Somewhere, deep down, she felt like she did.