Secrets And Lies

Chapter 10: Bacon With A Side Of Humiliation.

Ryan

       "Wrong side! Wrong Side!" Quade yelled from the passenger seat. His shouting was making things worse.

       "Would you stop screaming like a girl?" I said, putting my yellow jeep on the right side of the road.

Okay, so maybe I honestly do have to relearn this whole right side thing. But when my baby was in the driveway when we got home, I had to take her for a spin. I've missed her. Granted, I only got to drive her for a month by myself before I was shipped off, but I had got attached in that amount of time.

       "Please let us live!" Sam was praying in the backseat.

I was sure he regretted meeting us at the house instead of the diner.

       "Suck it up, sweetheart." Taylor laughed, enjoying the ride. I checked her out in my review. Was she recording it?

       "Taylor, put the phone away!" I shouted, almost rear-ending the car in front of me.

I made a right-hand turn and ended up on the left side yet again. I was silently freaking out; I would not give Quade the satisfaction of knowing that I wasn't confident in my driving abilities anymore. He already knew it was a bad idea to let me drive; he didn't have to know that I was on the same page now.

        "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay, not fun anymore!" Taylor screamed when she caught a glimpse of the oncoming car. I veered right, cutting off a truck that looked like the truck from Luke's house.

The owner honked at me, and we all held a finger out our respective windows. I sped ahead as the light turned yellow. Being stuck at a red light with the guy behind me after we flipped him off was the last thing I wanted.

       "Thank you, sweet baby Jesus" Sam got out of the jeep as soon as I parked and dropped to his knees, thanking a higher power for living through the ordeal.

       "Okay, drama queen, we arrived in one piece," I said, acting calm, though I was just as amazed that we made it here.

       "Barely," Quade commented, holding open the diner's door for us. The smell of sweet, syrupy goodness wafted to my nose.

      "Picky, Picky." I smiled.

Quade took my keys and informed me that he was driving on the way home. It was just as well.

"Just in time," A familiar voice sounded, making my head snap in the direction of the register.

Sloane stood before us in all her five-foot-one glory, dressed in a light blue fifties-style uniform. She had her hair, which was the same color as our grandmother's and a shade or two lighter than mine, tied in a messy bun. Her bright green eyes danced. I wasn't surprised to see her here. Sloane's stepmother, Nancy owned the diner along with the Only hotel we had in town. She had worked here since she was able to hold a tray.

"How did you know we were coming?" I mirrored her smile.

"Quade called me an hour ago. I'll be able to take a break soon." She hugged me and just about danced her way to the employee break room.

She didn't seem shocked to see it at all, and I knew that my Dad or brother must have gamiven her the heads up as soon as I agreed to come home. I was actually surprised that she didn't call me to give me a piece of her mind as to why I haven't called. But I suppose she knew I needed time to process everything.

We sat at a large 'U' shaped booth that we had claimed a long time ago as ours. Anne, a waitress in her late fifties and a fixture at Wood Port Diner, greeted us with a warm smile and demanded that we come in more. We used to eat here multiple times a week, and every time we did, Anne was the one to serve us.