Down the street, take a right turn and two blocks away, resided a small diner. After unpacking everything, I decided it would be a good idea to get to know the area a little bit better and as a result of this, I stumbled upon Hal's Hamburgers. Perfect timing as well considering it's about dinner time and my parents are probably going to order take out anyway.
Sending out a quick text ensuring them that I'm okay and out having dinner, I step inside and the smell of delicious savoury foods mixed with a slight sweet texture presumable from the milkshakes, suddenly filled my nose. Sighing in delight, a rapid burst of hunger bubbled in my stomach as I make my way towards an empty booth.
"Hey darlin' I'm Sarah and I'll be your waitress today" A middle aged lady spoke to me. She had a slight accent, from Texas maybe? "Can I start you off with anything?" She asked politely, flipping open her notepad and clicking her black pen.
"Yeah, can I have a chocolate milkshake and a cheeseburger with a side of fries please" I request smiling "Oh and some onion rings" I quickly add. She gives me a small smile, chuckling a little from my sudden outburst "Sure thing sweetie, won't be too long" she says, turning to leave.
I watch her walk back to the counter, greeting some customers that had just come in. I guess they are regulars seeing as she seems to know them pretty well. There were three guys and one girl, they looked about my age. One of the guys had sandy blonde hair, smaller than the other guys and had a cheeky grin plastered on his face. The other had black hair, was more bulkier and scarier than the blonde one whereas the third guy had dark brown hair and beautiful green eyes.
Taking a longer look at his deep green eyes than I should have, I find them suddenly flick over to where I am sitting. It took me a while to register that he was looking right at me. I quickly look someplace else and pray to God that he didn't think I was some creep.
The girl that's with them looks over and starts to make her way towards me as the other three order from the counter. "Hey" she greets as she sits in front of me.
"Uh hi?" I respond more like a question instead of a greeting. Her face showed a hint of amusement as I showcased my obvious amount of confusion.
"I'm Emily, are you new here? Me and my friends haven't seen you around before, it is a pretty small town after all." She greets. My friends and I, I think mentally correcting her. She seemed nice. She had blazing red hair and little freckles scattered on her face, you would only be able to notice if you were within a close distance.
"My name is Scarlet and yeah, I just moved in today actually" I reply. "That's so cool, I presume you're going to Southridge high?" She asks almost excited.
"Yeah, I am, you go there?" I reply with slight eagerness. At least I would have a friend on my first day.
"Yeah and so do these guys" She pointed to the three figures coming this way. "Guys this is Scarlet, Scarlet these are guys" She says while pointing towards each of us. I roll my eyes at her antics "Hey guys" I greet.
"Hey, I'm Mitch, this is Jordan and that's Tate" He introduced. So the blonde guy is Mitch, black hair dude is Jordan and Tate is the one with the pretty green eyes. "Can we join you?" he asks.
"Uh yeah sure" I respond. I scoot over to make room but booths were only made for four people. Mitch takes a seat across from me and next to Emily, squishing her as he makes more room for Tate while I was stuck sitting next to Jordan.
Not long after, my order comes and I wonder if I should eat or wait for them. Ignoring my selfish pleas, I try my best to pay no attention to the food in front of me by talking to Jordan. "So what did you order?" I ask as he plainly stares back at me. Well that's just rude. As I am about to speak again, Emily interjects "Sorry Scarlet, he's not much of a talker." I nod in understanding and keep quiet until find myself fidgeting under a strong piercing gaze.
I look up to lock eyes with Tate once again. Before I know it, I'm in a mini stare down with him. I squint my eyes and cross my arms in front of my chest while the others converse and ignore our little moment. Finally, I blink and he smirks thinking that he had won. I roll my eyes and notice the pair of folded hands in front of me.
"So how long have you guys been together?" I ask Emily and Mitch who were holding hands. They smile and reply at the same time, though they weren't the same answer "Two years, three years" I hear. Emily sharply looks at Mitch "Three years" She corrects him as he smiles sheepishly and apologizes.
Their food finally arrives and I start digging in, not caring at all with what I look like. "Well that's attractive" I hear. Looking up, I see that Tate was the one who had spoken. "Oh shut up, I'm hungry" I reply back to his snarky comment. "Clearly" He mutters under his breath. I roll my eyes and choose to ignore him. He may be hot but I bet he has the personality of a rock.
My accusations are confirmed as I see him smirking towards a group of girls practically drooling over him. Too bad, bad boys aren't my type... or so I thought. Relationships should be the last thing on my mind right now. Especially with what happened to my brother. I will never forget that day. I suddenly loose the need to eat, having ruined my appetite.
"Sorry but I have to go, I'll see you guys at school" I quickly say and rush out of the diner, careful not to step on Jordan's feet. "I'll give you a ride home" Tate offers but I politely decline heading out of the door.
It is freezing cold now and I try my best to get home as fast as I could ignoring the crisp air biting at my skin. After a few minutes of adventurous wonder, I realise that there's only one problem. I have forgotten the way home. The sound of a car behind me catches my attention and I try my best to ignore it but it seems like it's not going away. I turn around and see that the car is slowly tailing me. Confused and frightened, I turn to run and I would have if it weren't for someone yelling my name.
"Scarlet!" I turn back around to be greeted by the one and only Tate. "What the hell are you doing? You scared the living hell out of me you idiot!" I yell at his amused face. "Let me give you a ride, it's not safe to be walking alone at night" he offers.
"No." I answer blankly.
Rolling his eyes, he opens the passenger's door "you have literally been walking around the same block for ten minutes" he states in a know it all voice. I humph in defeat and get in, luckily the heaters are on and I am quickly satisfied with the warmth fanning over my shivering body.
I tell him my address and before he starts driving, I see him roll down his window and light up a cigarette. I watch in disgust as he takes a puff and starts the engine. I turn away before he can look at my expression and watch as he drives by a bunch of houses while I sit and wonder how long have these people lived here? Do they constantly have to move away like me?
I couldn't help but wonder how lucky some people are. Before I know it, we arrive and he is parked on my drive way, I get out and close the door of his car. Before I turn to my door, he rolls down a window "Goodnight Scar" he says and backs out into the road, disappearing into the night.
I stand there bewildered, not believing what he just called me. Scar I repeat over and over in my head with the sound of his voice. That's what my brother would always call me. A sudden wave of nostalgia washes over me as I numbly make my way to my new room. Tears threatening to spill, I cry myself to sleep once more.
I miss you.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading. I hope you like how this book is going so far. Feel free to vote/comment!
C.L
