I woke up the next morning to the smell of fresh pancakes and bacon, and rolled over to check the time on my phone.
8:57
There was also a missed call from Hudson, and I immediately groaned as a recalled lastnight's events. I was still a little heartbroken he ditched me. I mean I knew he was a football player, and he was going to eat with the guys lastnight.. but, I really looked forward to seeing him after the game. Maybe he was too upset about the score, and just went straight home.
I sighed, and called him back.
"Hey, K. Listen, I'm sorry I didn't stop by to see you after the game lastnight. I, uh-", a sadness in his tone made my heart sink. "They had to rush Olivia straight to the hospital after the game. She's getting worse, K." He drifted off, and the pit of guilt was beginning to form in my stomach.
"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, H. Where is she now? Can I come see her?" I couldn't believe I was even upset that he didn't come see me lastnight. Hudson was better than that, and I should've known something was up.
"No, they won't let anyone in except immediate family. They had to resuscitate her twice lastnight. She, she-" I could hear him begin to cry, which made me want to cry.
"Hey, hey. Listen, I'm here. Always, you've got me. She's going to be okay." I reassured him. I couldn't believe this. I knew Olivia had been sick for a long time, but I didn't know it had gotten this bad. Hudson had always been the strong one for his family, and this is the first time he's really broken down.
"Do you want to meet me at Kerry's in 15? You can get your favorite coffee, and we can talk more then?" I knew that would make things better. Our families used to always eat at Kerry's on the weekends. It was a small diner down the road. On the outside it was rundown, but on the inside it was sleek and the food was scrumptious.
I walked downstairs to find my mom finishing breakfast when she motioned towards the plates for me to eat.
"Listen mom, this looks delicious and I really apologize, but I have to meet Hudson right now, is that okay?" I squeezed my hands together, hoping she would let me go.
"Yes, sweetheart. Just be home before long." She smiled as she called my brother and sister in to eat.
The moment I walked in and saw his sincere smile, I knew everything was going to be okay. Olivia was strong just like him.
"I ordered you a chocolate milk." He fumbled with his napkin as he raised an eyebrow at me. He knew it was my favorite.
I watched as our waiter placed his coffee and my chocolate milk on the napkins placed on the tables. I glanced up to give the waiter a half-smile when I noticed something familiar about the guy underneath the beanie.
He looked up and his glance caught mine. It was him. The guy from lastnight.
"Are you guys ready to order?" He grabbed the notepad from his back pocket a flipped to a clean sheet.
"Yeah, I'll take an order of French toast with a side of bacon." Hudson handed his menu over to the boy, and looked at him with an unreadable expression. Something didn't feel right in the air here, but I just pushed it away.
"An- and, um, I'll take a chocolate chip waffle with a side of bacon." I looked back up to him, when my breath hitched in my throat. My heart began to leap in my chest.
I hadn't I had the chance to fully take in all the features on this mystery boy. He was undoubtedly attractive. He was tall with broad shoulders, and his shirt became tight around his arms where his muscles were perfectly visible. He was wearing a grey beanie with loose dark curls peaking from underneath, and he had light stubble around his sharply-lined jaw. He looked up to smile at me, his eyes making my heart leap in my throat. He had deep green eyes that were filled with secrets. Something told me he was trouble, which is exactly what I tried to stay away from, but something inside of me felt gooey around him.
I don't know why I was so drawn to him.
I hadn't noticed I was staring until he asked, "anything else for the lady?" He raised an eyebrow, and I shook my head hesitantly.
"I'll get these right in, let me know if there's anything else I can get for you guys." He ripped off the sheet in the notepad and walked away.
I immediately felt sad when he left. He probably thought I was some creep just staring at him.
"What was that, K?" My bestfriend asked in playful way. He wiggled his eyebrows in a flirty motion, and I slapped his shoulder.
"Shutup! It's nothing. I was just admiring from a distance." I placed my hands on my cheeks, because I already knew I was blushing.
He started to laugh, but his stopped before he took a sip of his coffee.
"You do that, but don't get caught up in that mess. He's a rich boy with a lot of trouble. He's nothing like us." He retorted, and I immediately felt angry.
"What do you mean he's nothing like us?" I inquired bitterly.
"Listen, K. He's just I don't know.. weird. I heard he parties a lot, has a new girl like everyday, drives a brand new Benz, but works at this run down shop. He doesn't make sense. We are just a couple of poor kids with different morals. Just be careful." He reached out to grab my hand when I pulled it away.
"Maybe you just don't know him." I whispered.
My eyes caught the boy's again as he began to walk down the aisle. He had a troubled expression on his face, which made my heart sink again. He glanced away from my eyes as he placed our food on the wooden table. The chocolate chip waffles almost instantly making my stomach growl.
"Everything look okay?" He asked, and I nodded.
Oh yes, definitely.
Hudson and I chowed down on our breakfast, our conversation leading to what we originally came to talk about. His eyes urgently filling with heartbreak. I knew he loved his sister. She was strong.
After we ate the guy came back to our table, I realized I hadn't even figured out what his name was. My eyes trailed up to his shirt, no name tag. Ugh.
I didn't want to ask Hudson because I knew that would be too obvious. After we finished, the diner got pretty busy, and mystery boy looked caught up. I wanted to catch him and say thank you for lastnight again, but he was running around like a wild chicken.
Instead, I told Hudson I was going to run to the lady's room, and he hugged my goodbye.
"Thank you for being here." He squeezed me a little harder.
After he left, I sat back down in the booth and gave him a nice tip. I didn't have much cash on me, but I gave him what I had.
Hudson said he was wealthy, but he did a great job today.
I took my receipt and and wrote a quick message.
Thank you for the excellent food, and for finding my keys lastnight, mystery boy. :)
I placed the receipt underneath the money and walked near the door to go outside. He walked over by our table, and I dropped my keys.
I reached down to pick them up, and turned to look back at the table, but he was already gone.
