Holding My Breath [Wattys 2016]

2 8 ~ R u s t y

Present Day ~ June 12, 2011

Sawyer slides into my booth and smirks. I raise my eyebrows.

"May I help you?" I sit back and cross my arms, glaring back at him, unwilling to blink first.

"You could tell me a story." Sawyer kicks me under the table. I kick him back harder but he just laughs. When he keeps waiting, I roll my eyes.

"Once upon a time, there was a fish named Nemo..."

"Your story," he laughs, raising his hand a little to get a waitress's attention. She hesitates for a moment when she sees him, then walks over slowly.

"I'll pass." I shrug, turning around to look at the door. Bailey and Blue should get here any minute... Colt's stuck working at the drug store. We tried to pick a day when Blue could be our waiter, but he's not working today. "I'm not that interesting."

"That's what all people with interesting stories say."

"Why are you so early? You're never early," I wonder out loud, grudgingly looking back at him. The waitress gets called to another table and she looks almost relieved to scurry that way instead. Sawyer's reputation never ceases to amuse me...

"Don't change the subject. So what is it? Run away from home? Spy undercover?" He grins with all of the possible ideas, pulling the utensils out of the napkin and twirling them on the table.

I lean forward on my elbows and whisper with a smile, "I'm on the run for murder."

He laughs, tearing the napkin into little pieces. "Yeah, okay. Seriously, what is it?"

"Sawyer... I just..." I tuck a stray hair into my cap, looking down at his pile of napkin scraps. "I'd really rather not talk about it. I'm starting over."

"But Rusty," he whines.

"Stop asking."

He waves over a waiter who walks by our table.

The guy looks a little on edge but still rattles off the specials anyway. "What would you like?" he asks, looking at me first.

"Um..." I trace my finger down all of the prices on the menu in front of me. Sawyer notices, so I look away quickly. "I'm good, thanks." I'm down to fifteen dollars. Even though this place isn't too expensive, I'd rather not go broke. The waiter's attention switches to Sawyer.

"I'll take a number two. And get her some fries." The waiter nods and walks away. I glare at Sawyer and he puts his hands up in mock surrender. "On me."

"You don't have to--" I start to argue but he cuts me off.

"Don't mention it."

"But--"

"No. Don't mention it." He smiles a little, just for a moment, then waves at the entrance. Bailey and Blue slide into the booth a second later.

"What did we miss?" she chirps. I glance at Sawyer.

"Uh..." Maybe he isn't so bad after all. "Nothing. We just got here."