good heart | r.h

• five •

• Few Days Later •

I grab a hold of the door handle to the diner, pushing my whole body against it until the door gave way. I quickly make my way across the diner towards the register, trying my best to walk without the limp I've developed over my few days off.

"Hey girly, how are you feeling?" Beth asks, slipping onto one of the bar stools as I walk behind the counter. 

"Better, glad to be back at work." I sigh, reluctantly slipping the sunglasses over my eyes onto the top of my head.

"You sure? You seem . . different." She comments, my heart rate increasing as I feel her eyes dig into my body.

"Beth, I haven't even been in here for five minutes." I say, chuckling as I snatch my apron off the rack, quickly pulling it over my uniform.

"I'm sorry! I just have a sixth sense for seeing when somethings wrong with people." She chuckles, running a hand through her hair as the bell at the front door goes off. 

"Oh, would you look at that." Carol pipes up behind me, her hand resting on my shoulder as she pops out from the back room. 

"Yup, he's back again." Beth says, placing her chin onto her palm as she looks over. 

I follow her gaze over to see Ryan, taking his usual seat by the bay window. My breath hitches in my throat, knowing I would have to see him eventually, but I was hoping that maybe if I came in late, he wouldn't show up. 

"You know, that boy came in every morning, asking when you were coming back in." Carol says, a smile spreading across her lips as she spoke. 

"Pretty good friend you got there Evelynn." Beth smirks, turning back to Carol and I as I send her a small glare, making her laugh.

"You mind if I go and catch up a bit?" I ask, clearing my throat slightly as I finally avert my stare away. 

"Of course not dear, take as long as you need." Carol smiles, her hand moving from my shoulder down to my back. 

I dig my nails into my palms, fighting back the urge to flinch away from her touch as her hand grazes over the minefield of fresh bruises laying across my back. I let out a small sigh, a sensation of relief washing through me as she makes her way into the back room once more. 

Pulling myself back together, I grab a hold of my notebook and pencil out of my apron pocket. As I walk out from behind the counter, I slip the pencil onto my ear, the wrap covering my hand taking me back to the night I came home from the hospital.

• Flashback •

(trigger warning)

As soon as the front door creaked open, I felt two hands on my back shoving me inside. I stumble onto the floor, my freshly stitched hand slamming into the floor as I somehow try and catch myself. I hiss at the instant pain throbbing through my hand, making it almost impossible to move it as I pull my arm into my chest.

The front door slams shut behind me, the action causing me to nearly jump out of my skin as I turn over to face Grayson. Tearing off his jacket and throwing it off to the side, he turns to me, red in the face with steam practically fuming out of his ears. 

"Evelynn, Evelynn, Evelynn  . ." He tsks, his clenched fists held at his sides causing my anxiety to spike.

I open my mouth, hoping to plead for his forgiveness, to try and prove to him I've done nothing wrong, but nothing but a small scream left my lungs as his heel collided with my shin.