Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 103104 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103104 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
A grizzly-looking man with a beard in a stained white apron sits behind the counter. He gives me a hard once-over. His lips tighten. “She’s sitting in the back.”
I nod. Okay, so he knows who I am and he doesn’t like my puss at all. Fine, fine. Not here for him, and I can’t even blame him.
My steps are too damn eager as I walk to the back of the diner and slide into the red booth across from her. I saw her in class today, but we had a pop quiz over The Wizard of Oz and there wasn’t time for talking. She ate lunch with Wyatt and Piper, clear across the cafeteria from the Shark table. I watched her, pretending I wasn’t when Dane asked me why I was distracted.
Wearing frayed cut-off shorts and a faded yellow Sex Pistols shirt, she’s heartbreakingly beautiful. Her hair swings softly around her shoulders, and I feel a pang for the blonde style she wore last year. I may have had a weakness for her hair. Stupid.
“You’re early. Eager to get started?” she murmurs, setting her laptop aside and looking over at me.
Clearing my throat, I check out the interior of the diner. Cracked linoleum on the floor, walls that need another coat of blue paint, old Formica booths, and a dingy metal napkin holder next to those generic squeezable mustard and ketchup containers. A dark hallway at the back leads to a narrow space where I imagine the restrooms are. It’s not an ideal place to be alone with her for the first time without anyone from school here, but I’ll take it.
I settle in, stretching out my legs. My foot brushes hers under the table and she subtly pulls it back while I mutter an apology. “Yeah. Guess you still beat me here. Did you work a shift?”
“Not today. I saw Tyler earlier. He lives nearby at the group home. How did you know I worked here?”
Oh, Ava. I know so much.
I wave her off.
“How is he doing at Camden Prep?”
Her head cocks. “Dude, how you’d even know he was there?”
I shrug and bite back a smile at her dude. She’s getting more comfortable with me with each little moment. Is that what I want? Right now, in this moment, fuck yeah.
“Trask emailed the board and asked for a scholarship for him. My dad is on the board. He mentioned it.” Several times. That was a strange phone call on Monday when I heard the hesitant tone in Dad’s voice as he asked me if Ava was really back. Since he is on the board, he also knew Trask wanted her back, and although he felt uneasy about it, he voted yes to call her and offer the scholarship for her senior year. Like me, he recalls the spiral Dane went into after the kegger last year.
“I take it he’s found a good place?”
One of her soft smiles graces her face, and I inhale at the effect it has on my insides. “He freaking loves it so much. Loves the administration, the teachers, the kids—everything.”
I finger the menu that’s behind the napkin holder. “That’s why you came back, right? I figure you marched into Trask’s office, bragged about your big brain, maybe tossed in some threats, then asked for him to be a student.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “Why would you think that?”
“You’ve got balls. It’s what I would have done. And I can’t think of any other reason why you’d come back.”
Her lashes flutter for a moment on her cheeks as if what I’ve said makes her feel pleased.
“Wow, Knox. You’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my motives. Glad I’ve been on your mind.”
Only for about three years.
“What can I get you?” It’s the guy from the counter. He scratches at his beard and gives Ava a tender look then throws me a scowl.
She smiles broadly up at him. “Burger and fries for me, Lou. Hold the mayo. Extra tomato. You know how I like it. Coke.”
Bushy brows furrow in my direction. “You?”
“Same. Water to drink.” Dammit. I hate tomatoes. What is wrong with me?
He wanders off and yells to a girl in the kitchen who’s busy over a grill.
“He doesn’t like me.”
She laughs. “Ah, poor Knox, doesn’t have any friends in the city. I’ve worked here for three years, and Lou treats me well.”
“Good.”
She leans in. “I’ll tell you a secret: Lou’s terrified of the nuns when they drop Tyler off here to eat with me. Calls them female Darth Vaders.”
I look back at the burly man and smile. “Really? You should convince one of them to say, ‘Lou, I am your father.’”
She cocks her head. “Cute, but actually that line is misquoted. It’s not ‘Luke, I am your father,’ but simply, ‘I am your father.’ So many good twists in Star Wars, but that line, even after watching it over and over, still sends tingles down my spine. It feels like a lie, like it’s just part of his sick mind games, but Darth Vader is speaking the truth and he knows it will wound Luke and cause him to question everything.”