Clopwyck River - revised version

Chapter Seven

An early chapter especially for @alyssa_terry Thanks for the sticking with it so far!

I look up at a pretty Chinese girl who is standing by my table. The notebook in her hand and blue stripy apron suggest she works here, and if I want something to eat, I've got no choice but to engage.
​"Um, yeah. I got here yesterday. How'd you know I'm new?"
​"By the look on your face when you walked in here, and the fact that you're hiding from everyone in that big, squidgy chair. I looked like you a few months ago. I'm a newbie too."
​"Oh." I fold my arms. "I didn't realise it was that obvious."
​"Ruby."
​"Huh?"
​She smiles, and flicks her long black hair over her shoulder. Damn her long hair. Mine was the same length as hers a few hours ago.
​"My name. It's Ruby."
​"Oh."
​"If you need to remember it, just think of me as Ruby the Newbie." She smiles at me, her eyebrows getting higher and higher. "Normally when someone tells you their name, you would then tell them yours. It's like a weird socially acceptable way of meeting people."
​"Sorry." My head is starting to hurt and my cheeks feel way pinker than I'd like them to be. "My name's Demi-Louise. Everyone calls me Demi."
​"Nice to meet you, Demi. What do you make of Clopwyck so far?"​​​
​Where do I even start?
"Um, it's okay I guess."
​"Where do you live?"
​"Blackthorn Lane."
​"Yeah, I know the place. That's not far from me. So, do your parents work around here or....?"
​Ruby puts her hand on her hip, and I realise I'm going to have to get used to this. I take a deep breath. "No, I'm staying with my sister. My Mum died a few months back and I never knew my Dad so I had to come here to stay with her and her husband."
​Ruby's face falls. "Jeez, I'm so sorry." She shakes her head. "Stupid, nosy Ruby. I need to mind my own business."
​"It's fine."
​"Well, you'll be pleased to hear that this place is too busy buzzing with what happened to that boy Ben to worry about who you are and whose boyfriend you're going to steal."
​"People know about that?" Wow, Andrew was right. News really does travel fast in Clopwyck.
​"Yeah....wait, how do you know about it?" Ruby pulls back the chair opposite me, sits down and puts her elbows on the table. "Oh my God, you're the one who helped him, aren't you?"
​She's making herself a little too comfortable at my table and I'm not getting any closer to giving her my order, so I peer around the side of my chair, hoping to see her boss or half the shop waiting to order a coffee. "Aren't you going to get in trouble? I mean, don't you work here?"
​"No." She waves her hand at me. "I mean, yes, I work here, but no, I won't get into trouble. Nigel, who owns the place, won't mind. Anyway, he can't see me behind your big chair."
​"I was kind of hoping to sit by myself."
​"I'll go in a minute. Tell me what happened? I mean it was you, right? You were there when Ben jumped in?"
​"Look, if I tell you what happened can you just take my order and leave me alone, please?"
​She raises one hand and puts the other across her chest.
"Promise."​
I roll my eyes and sit forwards in my chair, trying to ignore my rumbling stomach as I wonder where on earth I should begin.
***
"He actually said that?"
I blink at Ruby, who is now resting her elbows so far forwards on the table that she's had to tuck her legs underneath her and is kneeling on her chair.
​"Said what?"
​She shakes her head and sits back.
"Said what? Are you serious? I'm asking you if he actually said the line that sounds like it came straight from a horror film - I've done something terrible. Don't you think that's seriously creepy?"
​Yes. It's all I've been able to think about since it happened. I shrug my shoulders. "I guess so. And yes, he actually said it. Right before he set fire to himself."
​"And jumped to his watery death."
​"Isn't that a little inappropriate?"
​She shrugs off my question. "He didn't die, did he?" She ignores me rolling my eyes and goes on. "So you haven't been able to ask him what he was talking about?"
​I shake my head. "He was still unconscious when I was at the hospital. Besides, I've only just met him. It's not like I can just waltz in there and be all 'hey, I know we barely know each other, but why don't you reveal your deepest, darkest secrets to me?'"
​Ruby sits back on her legs, pulling her elbows back from the table. Her eyes sparkle.
​"Why not? When he jumped into the water in front of you, that was practically an invitation, don't you think?" She doesn't give me a chance to respond before she goes on. "I think he wanted to open up to you."
​"I don't think-"
​"I'll come with you to the hospital, and we'll see if he says anything else."
​All I've wanted to do was see Ben since I woke up in the hospital, but the thought of going alone made my stomach tie up in knots. I'd thought about asking Andrew to take me, but didn't want him to make a fuss about it. I'm glad Ruby's suggested it but don't want to appear too eager. "He's unconscious."
​"That doesn't mean he can't tell us anything." I frown at her and she registers my confusion. "Obviously he can't talk, but maybe his phone will be there, or he'll say something in his sleep, or his family might be there, or-"
​"His family?"
​She looks at me, a smile spreading across her face.
"Oh, don't tell me you're already inducted into the Leo Linton fan club?"
​"What? No, I-"
​"Don't worry; you're not alone, and Leo's actually really nice."
​I can feel my cheeks flushing.
"Have you two...?" I ask.
​"What? Oh God, no, no chance. I hardly know the guy and I doubt I'm anywhere near being on his radar. I just mean, from what I've seen, he seems like a good guy." The bell above the door gives a little clink and Ruby cranes her neck. "Speaking of the men in that family, I think someone might want to talk to you."
​Leo. My cheeks burn even brighter at the prospect of seeing him and I smooth down my new haircut and glance down at what I'd decided to wear today. Okay, but not amazing.
​Ruby jumps up, straightens out her apron, then grabs her notepad, and I realise my chance to order some food is about to run away from me.​
​"Wait, I-"
​"No time. Come back tomorrow, and we'll go and see Ben together." She dazzles me with one last smile and swishes off towards the counter.
​I peer around the side of my chair, and my heart sinks a little. It's not Leo who's just come in. A man dressed in dark blue jeans and a battered, brown leather jacket is standing in the middle of the coffee shop, ignoring the whispers and stares as he scans the shop looking for someone. He spots me and strides over to my little nook under the stairs.
​I duck back into my chair, pressing my head against its back, and hold my breath.
​"Demi-Louise?"
​I look up at him. He runs a hand through his messy brown hair, then scratches his fuzzy beard with one hand as he unzips his jacket with the other. Daria and Andrew's argument dawns on me as I notice the black shirt and white dog collar that were concealed under his jacket; he must be the parish priest, also known as Ben and Leo's Dad.
​I look down at my clothes again, convinced that I'm not appropriately dressed to meet a priest or a vicar, or whatever they're called. He speaks again, his voice tinged with uncertainty this time.
​"Sorry, I might have the wrong person. I don't make a habit of approaching young women, I promise. I'm looking for a Demi-Louise Darnell?"
​I swallow, and nod. Should I be standing? Or curtseying? Idiot.
"Yes. Um, I mean, that's me."
​"Oh, good." His shoulders relax and he smiles, a sprinkling of Leo peeking out from underneath the beard. "Mind if I sit?" He puts his hands up in surrender. "I promise I'm not going to preach anything at you or try and get you to join a cult, which seems to be what most people think the church is these days."
​Is it illegal to refuse a vicar? Probably.
"Sure."
​He pulls back the chair and sits down, stretching his long legs under the table. "Where do I start?" He rubs his beard. "I should probably introduce myself. My name's Daniel Linton, or Dan. I'm Ben's Dad."
​He waits for me to assimilate this information so I wait a few beats before I respond.
​"I'm really sorry about what happened with Ben. I wish I'd got to him faster."
​"Gosh, an apology? That was the last thing I was expecting from you, Demi-Louise. I've just come from your sister's house; your brother in law told me you were still in town so I figured you might be here. I need some coffee anyway. Good coffee." He rubs his eyes with one hand, pressing his fingers on his eyelids. "I wanted to extend my deepest gratitude for what you did for Ben. Leo told me you were there to help. I can't contemplate what would have happened if you hadn't have been. So, thank you, Demi-Louise, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."
​"Anyone would have done the same thing."
​He shakes his head. "You say that, but I'm not so sure. Not many people would take a break from their own thoughts and feelings to find out what could be troubling someone else. I think a lot of people would have carried on past Ben on that bridge. Not you, though, and for that I will be eternally grateful."
​I smile, not knowing what to say. His eyes are filled with such sincerity that it makes me feel like crying. If he knew what kind of a person I was before I got to Clopwyck, before Mum died, he wouldn't be looking at me like that. My stomach growls like a grizzly bear, and he smiles.
​"Well, I can see – or hear- that I'm keeping you from eating so I'll leave you to it. Just, if there's anything you need, I'm always here. I owe you a great deal, and I know you're not here under the easiest of circumstances."
​"What do you mean?"
​"Sorry, your brother in law, Andrew, told me that your mother passed away." My attempt to keep the panic off my face fails miserably as he stands, and goes on. "Don't worry, I promised you I wasn't going to preach anything. Just know that if you want to talk, you can always talk to me."
​"Um, thanks."
​"I'll leave you to it."
​He walks past my chair and I watch him go to the counter where he's probably going to order a double espresso. Although, are reverends allowed to drink coffee? I shake my head at my own stupidity and, alone again, grab the menu, burying my nose in it before I have to talk to anyone else.