the next to do list

chapter 15

Rose came home a little bit ago but she had some work to do so I decided to go to bed early. I had work tomorrow so I wanted to get my sleep in. The only problem is that I couldn't sleep. I lay awake in my bed just staring at the ceiling.

There were a million things to think about and my mind was exhausted. Why couldn't my life be normal? I had friends who needed to lie to me. The tiniest things I couldn't tell my sister. Workplace who forgot I exist. And really weird stalker people who don't want me to fix all this.  I couldn't even tell what I was thinking about either, I was just thinking. I finally wore myself out and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

It was the next day at work and Adrian didn't come into the Cafe today. I shrugged it off deciding it wasn't my business where he was. I looked out the window and saw someone sitting at a table watching me.

Though They didn't seem cold or hard like the last person did. They wore a black baseball cap a black jacket and jeans.

When I looked over at them they held my gaze. This went on for another ten seconds before I walked out to meet him.

"What do you need?" I asked it politely as a waitress would in case this was just a normal person. He didn't answer. He just looked up at me with an expression full of emotion. I couldn't even tell which one. I would best describe it as sad and heartbroken. "Excuse me?" I said trying again. He blinked then apologized.

"I'm sorry, I was just spacing out a little. I didn't realize I was looking at you."

"It's fine, but can I get you anything?"

"Yes, I would like a black coffee please."

"Alright coming right up."

I walked back inside to get his order and found Lorin back in the kitchen.

"Hey, do you know who that is?" I asked her pointing to the man outside.

"No, he hasn't ever come here before...do you know him?"

"No, I don't." He was looking down at the table lost in thought. If it weren't for the sad expression he would actually be really good looking. He had a good build and dark brown hair.

It was possible that this was one of the people who didn't want me looking into my case, but I got the feeling he wasn't. He was just a sad depressed guy who probably just got his heart broken.

"Here you go," I said setting his cup on the table. "Have a nice day."

"Thank you."

The rest of the day passed uneventful but I couldn't get the look on that guy's face out of my mind. I tried to figure out a mixture of emotions. Longing maybe? Grief? Pain?

I tried to think about what could have done that to him. How could someone live knowing they did that to someone.

I was reading too much into it. He probably just got dumped by his girlfriend and was grieving. I wondered, what if that happened to me? I wouldn't know if I could relate to it. Maybe some high school boyfriend broke my heart but according to Rose, I didn't date much.

Adrian didn't come into the Cafe the next day either, but the other guy did. There was always something new to occupy your mind here. I found out his name was Zack and he was 25 yrs old. He seemed happier today but he still had that haunted look in his eyes.

The next week went the same way. But it only lasted a week before it all went back to normal. Adrian came back extra cheerful as nothing happened and Zack stopped coming.

"Hey look someone new, I don't think I've seen you here before," I said to Adrian jokingly.

"Haha, I just had some stuff going on."