Chapter 4
Jax
I yawned as I opened up the cafe. It was a week and a half past my birthday, and I was still exhausted from Olivia’s visit.
It was the best type of exhaustion though.
That week had been so amazing, I wouldn’t ever take it back.
I’d be okay with being tired the rest of my life if it meant I could relive that week again.
Still, it definitely didn’t make work any easier.
It was still early, so I was the only one there. At least, that’s what I thought until I got to the front and noticed a young girl hovering in front of the door.
I walked over and opened it up. “Anything I can help you with?” I asked with as much chipperness as I could muster.
“Sorry.” The girl looked down at her feet instead of at me. “I was just waiting for the cafe to open. I know I’m early.”
An hour early, but who’s counting? If this was anyone else, I probably would have politely explained that as much as I wanted to let them in, I had to wait until the official opening time. Something was telling me I shouldn’t do that with this girl though. She clearly needed more than just coffee.
“It’s okay.” I opened the door fully and held it for her. “Come on in. Don’t tell anyone though.” I winked at her before shutting the door and locking it.
“Thank you.” The girl still wouldn’t make eye contact with me. “You didn’t have to do that, but I really appreciate it.”
“Of course. What can I get for you? It might take me a bit to have it ready, but whatever you want is on the house.”
“Can I just get a breakfast sandwich?”
“Any particular kind?”
The girl shrugged, but continued to stare at the ground. “Whatever is the easiest for you.”
“How would you feel about a ham, egg, and cheese croissant?” That was easy enough to make, and I also happened to make it really well.
“That would be great. Thank you.”
“Of course. Anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? I know it’s warm out there, but most things we have can also be made either iced or frozen.”
“Could I just have a water?”
“Of course.” I ran behind the counter and grabbed her a bottle of water out of the cooler, then pointed around the cafe. “Feel free to sit wherever you’d like.”
The girl nodded and slunk away. I watched her on and off the whole time I made the sandwich, trying to figure out what her deal was.
I was terrible at figuring out ages, but I guessed she was in high school.
I wondered why a high schooler was wandering outside of a cafe at five a.m. Hell, that was just the time I noticed her there.
She could have been there even longer than that.
Where are her parents? I laughed at myself when the question popped into my head, because it sounded like such an old person thing to ask. Was I old now? Oh no.
I brought the girl’s sandwich to the table, but instead of just setting it down, I joined her. “Would it be okay if I asked your name?”
The girl finally looked up at me, and I immediately noticed the redness around her eyes and the dark bags underneath. She looked not just sad, but also exhausted. “My name is Eliza.”
“Eliza. That’s a nice name.” I wasn’t sure why I was talking to her like a child, but I was at a loss of what to say.
She clearly had a lot going on and I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to force her to tell me anything she didn’t want to.
“My name is Jax. I’m the owner of this cafe.
I want you to stay here for as long as you want.
I’m not going to force you to talk, but if you need to, please know that you can find me at any time, and I’d be happy to talk to you. ”
“Thank you.”
When Eliza didn’t say anything else, I took that as my cue to give her some space. I stood up from the table and pointed over my shoulder toward the back of the cafe. “I’m going to go get everything ready for the day, but whatever you need, let me know. That's why I’m here.”
Eliza nodded but didn’t say anything else.
I went about my day, but constantly checked to see if she was still there.
Sometimes when I looked over, she was staring down at the table.
Other times, she was reading through one of the books I had available for my customers.
At one point, I even caught her taking a nap.
Hours passed, and even though she didn’t leave, she also didn’t ask to talk to me.
Even when I brought her more food, she simply said thank you and went back to whatever she was doing.
I stuck around longer than I planned to just in case she needed me, but eventually, I had no choice but to leave. Before I headed out, I walked over to her table one more time. “I’m done for the day. Anything else you need before I leave?”
Eliza hesitated before shaking her head. “No thank you. I really appreciate everything you did for me today.”
I waited a moment to see if she said anything else, because I could see it on her face that there was something she was holding back.
When she didn’t say anything, I spoke again.
“Okay. The shift manager tonight is Marjorie. I let her know that if you want or need anything, it’s all yours.
” I hesitated once more. It really didn’t feel right leaving her, but I also knew I shouldn’t force her to open up to me.
“Well, have a good night. Hopefully I’ll see you again soon. ”
I slowly made my way through the cafe and to the back parking lot where my car was parked.
When I got in, I laid my head against the steering wheel.
There was something inside of me tugging at my gut, telling me to go back in and find out what Eliza’s story was.
Why did a teenage girl spend the whole day at the cafe by herself?
Where were her friends? Where was her family?
What had her so upset when she arrived that morning?
There were so many questions I would probably never have answers to.
I jumped at the sound of a light tap on my window. When I looked over, I was shocked to see Eliza standing there.
I quickly rolled down the window. “Eliza, what can I do for you?”
“I was just wondering,” the young girl looked all around her as if she was checking to see if anyone else was standing there. “Do you know if there’s a homeless shelter around here?”
“A… a homeless shelter?” I choked on my own words, because out of all the things I expected her to say, that definitely wasn’t one of them. “You don’t have anywhere to go?”
Eliza shook her head. “N-not right now. Maybe not ever. I-I don’t really know.”
I honestly wasn’t sure where the nearest homeless shelter was, but I knew I could look it up and give her a ride.
I would be doing even more than what she asked for, but it still didn’t feel right.
“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you come stay with me and my wife for tonight?
Then tomorrow the three of us can figure out a plan.
Is that okay? Are you comfortable with that? ”
Eliza nodded. “Are you sure? I’m not going to get you in trouble with your wife, am I?”
That was a great question. Carter hardly ever got mad.
She definitely became frustrated with me a lot, but it was Carter.
Even when she was frustrated, she was still understanding.
She had to be understanding of this, right?
I’m sure she would do the exact same thing if she was in this situation.
“I’m positive. I’m not going to get in trouble.
” At least I hope not. “Don’t worry. My wife is amazing. You’ll love her.”
I might not know anything about this girl, but I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to meet Carter and not love her.
“Okay. Thank you so much.” The slightest hint of a smile parted Eliza’s lips, and it made any repercussions I could possibly face from Carter completely worth it.
“I live in the next town over. Do you need me to stop anywhere on the way? Is there anything you need to pick up?”
Eliza shook her head. “No. I-I don’t have anywhere to go.”
I reached out the window and squeezed her hand. “Get in, sweetie.”
While Eliza walked around the car and got herself situated, I used that opportunity to text Carter.
Jax: Soooooo… remember that time you brought a dog home without asking me if it was okay first?
Carter: Yes…
Jax: Remember how I was completely understanding? Excited even..?
Carter: For God’s sake, Jax… What did you do? Did you rescue a dog?
Jax: Not exactly
Carter: …
Carter: You’re really scaring me. You can’t talk in riddles to someone with anxiety.
Jax: It’s nothing bad. I promise. I can’t say more right now, but please don’t be mad at me.
That’s all I want to say. I had to make a quick decision and did what felt right.
I didn’t want to leave you completely in the dark, but I also think this is something we should discuss in person. It’s only for the night.
Carter: WHAT’S ONLY FOR THE NIGHT?!
Carter: I love you, but I could literally kill you right now.
Jax: Completely understandable. I’ll see you soon. Don’t call (this will all make sense when I get home).
Carter: Cool. I’m gonna go take a Xanax while I wait for you.
I chuckled as I put my phone down and started to drive.
Eliza was staring out the window, so I decided to quietly play some music rather than forcing her to talk.
It took her a whole day to tell me she needed shelter.
Clearly, it wasn’t going to be easy to get her to open up, and I needed to respect that and trust that she would when she felt comfortable.
As soon as we pulled in the driveway, I noticed Carter looking out the window. “Can you give me just one second?” I asked Eliza. “I’ll be right back.”
When Eliza nodded, I jumped out of the car and ran to the front door. I didn’t need to open it, because Carter did that for me.
She looked around me as I tried to shove past her into the house. “Is there someone in your car?”
I sucked in a deep breath. “There is.”
I quickly explained to Carter what had happened today, and how I felt like I had no choice but to ask the girl if she wanted to stay at our house for the night.
Much to my surprise, as soon as I was done, Carter started to laugh. “Sorry. This isn’t funny at all. I’m just laughing at the fact that I thought I was so great for rescuing an older dog that no one wanted, and then you go and rescue a whole person. It’s a very Jax thing to do.”
“So, you’re not mad at me?”
“For giving someone who is clearly struggling a place to stay? Of course not. For sending cryptic texts and making my blood pressure go through the roof? Hell yeah.” She pointed a finger at me as if she was a parent giving me a lecture. “Don’t do that again, okay?”
I laughed. God, I loved this woman. Could she be any more perfect? “Okay. I promise.”
“Now, could you please tell that poor girl to come inside?”
“Yes, of course.” I ran down the sidewalk and back to the car. I jumped in and shut it off, then smiled over at Eliza. “Ready to go inside?”
Eliza nodded and quietly followed behind me into the house. When we got to the door, Carter opened it once again, this time for both of us. “Hi. I’m Jax’s wife, Carter. Welcome to our home.”
Eliza looked up to give Carter a polite smile. “I’m Eliza. Thank you so much for letting me stay here tonight. I promise I won’t be any bother.”
Carter put a hand on my shoulder and shook it. “I live with this one. Nothing you do could possibly bother me.”
A sincere smile, albeit small, parted Eliza’s lips. “Thank you so much.”
I waved a hand at Eliza. “Let me show you to your room for the night.”
As we walked upstairs, I had to turn around a few times to make sure she was still following me, because she was so quiet. After dealing with Tim’s teenage years, I was convinced it wasn’t possible for someone that age to be silent.
I opened the door to the guest bedroom that Olivia had just stayed in the week prior and made space for Eliza to walk in. “Here it is.”
Eliza looked all around before looking back at me. This was the longest eye contact she had made with me all day, so I could finally see that her eyes were a sky blue color. “Isn’t this your room?”
I shook my head. “No. It is technically the master bedroom, but it’s not our room. Long story. Is there anything I can do or get for you? Do you want to borrow some clothes? Take a shower?”
Eliza’s eyes lit up at the mention of a shower. “A shower would be great.”
“Perfect. Right this way.” I led her through the bedroom, to the master bathroom. “Towels are underneath there. There’s plenty of soap, shampoo, and conditioner in the shower. Do you need anything else?”
“No. I’m good. Thank you.”
“Of course. I’ll be downstairs making dinner with my wife. Feel free to come find us when you’re done.”
I left the guestroom, but before I went back downstairs to talk to Carter, I made a detour to our bedroom to grab some clothes for Eliza. Luckily, she seemed to be pretty close to the same size as me, so I was sure my clothes would work fine for tonight.
I put them outside of the bathroom door, then went downstairs. I huffed as I threw myself down onto a chair in the kitchen. “What a day.”
Carter walked over to me and massaged my shoulders. “You did the right thing. I’m so proud of you.”
“But what do we do now?”
Carter sighed. “That’s a great question. You don’t have any idea why she has nowhere to stay?”
I shook my head. “It took the whole day for her to even tell me that. At this point, I know just as much as you.”
“She couldn’t possibly be older than sixteen or seventeen, right? It makes me wonder what the deal is with her family. You don’t think she ran away, do you?”
“Shit. I didn’t even think of that.” If she had run away, there could be a very worried parent or guardian out searching for her. “I was trying to be nice by not pushing for answers, but I guess we really do need to figure some stuff out, huh?”
“It’s probably for the best.”
“She’s in the shower right now. Let’s make dinner and figure out a plan.”
I smiled as I stood from my chair to help Carter cook. There was no way to predict what life was about to throw at you, but I was so lucky to have someone to face every battle with. “Let’s do it.”