Touch of Hellfire (Original Version)

☕️20☕️

We all just sat there, quietly, waiting for someone to speak, cough, clear their throat or make the slightest notion that they were alive.

But all we could hear was the deafening silence.

"Is Grandpa travelling again?" Rory asked Grandma, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yes," she mumbled bluntly. "Well, business must be good," I added.

Grandma set her drink down and gave a cold glare to Mom. "I'm the one who should be mad, not you!"

"Not now!" Mom complained. "You walked out of here last week without so much as a word spoken," Grandma reminded her. "Your father and I were shocked and upset."

"One, that's nothing new and two, I couldn't even get a word in!" Mom ranted.

"Something smells good," I interrupted the argument. "Braised lamb shank," Grandma told me. "You gotta love a lamb shank," I said to Rory.

"Especially braised," she quipped. "Shauna Christie shot her husband?!" Mom gasped looking at the newspaper. "She was a lovely girl," Grandma said.

"Whose husband was giving the nanny a bonus apparently, guy was shot thirty five times," Mom read from the newspaper. "But she was always a respectful and bright girl," Grandma lamented. "At least she had a husband to kill."

Mom rolled her eyes and looked away again, wishing she existed in a different period of time.

***

"Gesundheit," Rory said once Mom sneezed. "Thank you," she mumbled. "Having a cold sucks."

"Don't give it to me," I instructed her. "Evil," Mom grumbled nasally.

Luke brought over soup for Mom and pancakes for me and Rory. "I take it you still have the cold," he pointed out.

"Well spotted," Mom muttered. "Well having a healthy immune system and reducing the coffee intake may help," Luke told her.

Mom looked up at him, giving him that puppy eyed look. "At least eat the carrots this time," Luke grumbled.

Jess gave me the nod, letting me know he was ready. "Gotta go," I muttered, wolfing down my breakfast.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Rory teased me. "You're so funny," I rolled my eyes.

I walked up to him and rested against the counter. "Hey."

"Hey. One sec."

He folded the corner of his book, very slowly. "Jess," I scolded him. "Relax," he chuckled. "I'm out!"

As we were walking away, I heard Rory mutter "An entire conversation in less than ten words. Can't people use full sentences?"

I had that smirk on my face and I looked at Kirk. "Five bucks if I can have your bagel."

"Done."

I put the money on the table and picked up the bagel and threw it, hitting Rory. "Hey!" she yelped.

"It's nice to know you missed my vocab Ror, so touching," I pretended to swoon. "My ears are still fully functional."

"EVIL!" Rory yelled after me.

Me and Jess left the diner and he was shaking his head, trying not to laugh, while I couldn't contain it. "You threw a bagel at your sister's head? And paid Kirk five bucks just so you could throw it?"

"Trust me, this is the real Heather you're seeing," I smirked. "I like her," Jess smiled as he kissed me.

He wrapped his arm around me as we walkthrough town. "So, now you're working for the Chilton government?"