My Waitress (NOT EDITED)

Chapter 15

I've been quietly serving tables since I made that sudden escape from school around noon. Because of that Chloe has been keeping an eye on me and asking me if I'm alright. I only nod every time. I know she's just looking out for me. The customers I serve eye me as well. I guess they notice the dark circles under my eyes. One of them, an old lady, even asks me if I'm ok and if I have been sleeping properly. I only nod.

Usually working at Susie's Diner helps me loose some stress from the outside world. The bills and rent are the main stressor, but since school has started and has been going on for more than a month, that's also been added to the list. Just being in the diner, sometimes laughing with the costumers, hearing soft jazz or blues playing from the jukebox calms me as I serve burgers and fries with milkshakes on a cool afternoon. Those days are the best. Pouring the milkshakes makes me think of Malachi and his own Malachi Milkshake... But her words still haunt me.

You should've died with them.

Especially that last sentence.

So Victoria knows about the crash too, and that I came from New York, but she also knew my middle name, which is odd. It's like she has a whole profile of me like she's the FBI, or something. Her last name sounds so familiar, so her parents could've known mine.. in either a bad way or a good way. Maybe they knew each other for business? But why would she say that horrible stuff? Was she trying to purposely hurt me?

Or maybe that's just her.

My grip hardens on the glass as chocolate milkshake pours into it. Her insults now piss me off. She can't say anything about my parents. She's didn't know them like I did. No one should know Jeremy and Courtney Miller more than I do. They shared their thoughts and ideas with me, how the day went and would ask me for advice... but the thing is, I have no idea what kind of work they did. That's probably just a lost memory I can't remember.

The clock reads 4:00. School ended at 3:20, the group should be here by now. Gosh, I wasn't thinking when I ran. All I knew was that I had to get out of there, away from Victoria. The more I think about it, the more stupid the decision sounds like. Everyone must be worried about me— and I left everything in the cafeteria. Shoot I hope someone gets them.

"Nicole!" The doors of Susie's Diner swing open. I turn around and see the unexpected. Ethan Katzon enters in all his glory. He wears a brown sweater over a white shirt with dark gray jeans. His green-blue eyes are full of concern as he walks towards me.

"Ethan...!" I manage to say his name before he pulls me into a hug. I smile to myself and hug him back. I can tell from his hold that he's trying to be gentle because of my injury, but his hugs always seem a little rough, but I guess it's just him. It's nothing like Malachi's.

He pulls back but still holds me. He scans my face and frowns at my appearance. I was running my hands through my hair when I was in the bathroom, and I must still have circles under my eyes and look a little pale. I'm really happy to see him, I really do. But I can't just fully smile right now. And Malachi's words from a few weeks ago come back to me. Don't trust Ethan.

"Emily told me what happened," he says in a low voice. "Something about Victoria Salvatore saying shit about you to make you just leave school. I know her, my father works with their company. She's... mysterious." He tucks a few strands of hair behind my ear. "What did she say? I can do something, if you want? I can contact her parents for her wrongdoing so she can get in trouble—"

"Ethan," I interrupt. "I don't think there's anything you can do. If the Salvatores are as rich as you they would just reply with money and think that's the end of it. Don't do anything, ok? I'm fine—"