Byron's Secret (Slenderman Romance)

Chapter 73. Her

Hey guys, it's been a year and a month since the last chapter. I've no excuses. I'm just on a writer's block and on hiatus for so long. I re-read the whole book and am now re-evaluating what to write :) I still might not update regularly.

【Brian's POV】

I thought I was having a great nap until I heard a familiar whine from up front, "I'm so hungry . . . I didn't even ate dinner last night." I heard Tim's groggy voice. I wonder if he's dreaming or actually awake.

I forced my eyes open and saw that it was already morning. Tim was lying on the ground on his stomach, possibly half-asleep, the Toby-kid still half-dead, and the wooden chest shut and locked beside Tim. We tried to understand the journals and things inside the box, but nothing made any sense to us. Not only were they in a foreign languageーGermanーwe are also not the type that is fit for 'researching.' We decided to keep everything back and just wait for Byron's orders.

In the middle of waking up, my stomach growled, earning a look from Tim who looked up at me, "I'm hungry too." I didn't even say anything, you whale.

But I took that as cue to get up from the couch and stretch, "I'll go pick us some food from the diner. What do you want?" I asked.

"Whatever you'll get. Anything is fine." He answered as he also sat up. "Should I just go with you?"

I shook my head, "No, you should just watch little Toby here," I said with a hint of sarcasm as I yawned, "Guy will seriously die soon. No one is taking him seriously."

"I'm gonna talk to Byron about him. I think I have an idea . . ." Tim mumbled mostly to himself. If he has an idea, it is usually a good idea, so maybe I can relax a bit, "Anyway, you're still here." Tim looked at me with a raised brow. Jesus, sometimes I think he takes food more seriously than other things.

"I'm going." I rolled my eyes and walked to the front door. I went out and shut the door behind me. It's kind of cold today. I wiped my face with my sleeves and combed through my hair, trying to look a bit more presentable to the public eyes as I took fast-paced steps to the diner. The diner is close to Tim's home, so it wasn't much of an exercise to go there. The college is close to the diner too. It's pretty convenient which is why I usually stay over at his house during weekdays.

It didn't take long until I was already in front of the doors to the diner, it was already open to serve customers like half an hour ago, so I went in immediately.

I saw the woman running the diner and cleared my throat and put up a smile, "Hey, Martha." I beamed. I fake most of my actions with the people in this town, but with Martha, there's no need. She's a genuinely nice person, "I'm going for takeouts today."

She turned from the other side of the counter and returned my smile, "Oh, you're early today, Brian." She took a notepad, "What will it be?"

"I don't know, I think I'll go for the special today." I absentmindedly looked through the same old menu, "I mean today's specialーnot special todayーwhat?" I fumbled and mostly whispered the last part to myself.

"You seem out of it today." She gave a chuckle as she wrote down my order.

"Make that two orders." I added, "And yeah, things are getting busy in college lately." I lied.

"It'll be fine, you made it through last year, you can make it through this year as well." She assured, "I'll get your orders ready." She informed and I nodded with a smile as she head behind the doors to the kitchen.

I laid my head on the table after I sat on a stool, hoping for a bit of sleep, but was immediately disturbed by the bell of the front door. I looked behind me and to my shock, it was the person I least expected to see. Suddenly, all the grogginess left my body and it felt like I had drank three bottles of redbull.