Book 1: Beyond Me and You

This is...

As I walk through the door, a small bell rings and the main waitress looks up from the counter. 

"Welcome" she says with a smile on her face. She's young, possibly a sophomore. I smile back at her and make my way towards an empty booth. The place isn't too full but for a cold winter day it does seem pretty full. 

I order a strawberry milkshake and within no time it is placed right in front of me. I stay thank you to the girl and focus on the milkshake in front of me. It's pink and is topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. The whipped cream makes the milkshake overflow a bit but once I try it I realize how good it is. It may be really cold outside but if anything, it only makes the ice cream taste better. 

"It's good right?" 

I look up to see Nathan standing next to the booth. My eyes immediately meet his and I freeze in my seat. He was the last person I expected to see. His hair is no longer neatly slicked back, instead it is disheveled as if he had ran his hand through it a few times. He's changed out of his tuxedo and is now wearing jeans and his winter jacket. Even if it's an outfit he didn't have to put a lot of thought into, he still found a way to make it look 100 times better. 

"What are you doing here?" I say bluntly. 

"I've always wanted to bring you here. I knew you'd like the strawberry milkshake" he says ignoring my question. He has a smile on his face that makes my heart melt, but I try my best to stand my ground. I can't forget how he lied to me earlier. He let me walk away knowing he lied right to my face. From the corner of my eye I can see him raise his hand to touch my hand that's resting on the table but he quickly pulls it back to his side. 

"You lied." I say as I stare at the milkshake in front of me. The tension consumes both of us and I feel paralyzed in place. I sit there as I internally fight against my desire to cry and ask him why he lied. 

He silently motions for someone to come towards us and quickly a small figure appears beside him. I am taken out of my trance and instead of look at my milkshake I come face to face with a little girl who is now sitting across from me in the booth. 

Her hair color is a slightly lighter brown compared to Nathan's dark brown hair but their eyes are the same emerald green. She wears a lilac colored coat that goes well with her blush pink painted nails. She shyly stares between me and my milkshake. Without saying a word I look over the girl at the counter and she seems to understand what I wanted because she nods her head and a few minutes later she walks up to the table and places a milkshake identical to mine in front of the little girl. 

"Thank you" she says happily as she looks at me and then at the worker. 

"Sit." I say to Nathan. He's been standing the whole time he's been here. Without another word he sits next to the little girl and smiles as he watches her eat all of the whip cream on top of the milkshake. I stare at him and admire how sincere his smile is. He turns and we make eye contact for a few seconds, neither wanted to be the first one to look away. 

"This is Ailee...my little sister" he says shyly. 'My little sister.'

His words repeat in my head. I feel like they circle my head, similar to the little birds that circle a cartoon's character when they're dizzy. He doesn't have a daughter...she's his little sister. 

"Ailee" he says grabbing her attention. She stops sipping on the milkshake and looks up at him with big doe eyes. "This is Larkin, my girlfriend." 

Ailee quickly focuses her eyes on me with the brightest smile I've ever seen. "Hi" she says softly as she energetically waves her hand. She seems to be at least five years old.