Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
K AYLA
The following morning starts super early. I walk into the diner, greeted by Marina’s loud yell.
“What the fuck happened here?”
Yeah, I didn’t clean everything yesterday—besides the table with bleach, of course.
I won’t be able to eat there, seeing as every time I glance in that direction, I picture what happened yesterday on that exact surface.
Yesterday, I ran home like a coward, hoping I could come in early enough to clean the mess from the lamp. Oops.
“Well.” I pop up from under the counter where I was just fishing for the broom. “The picture fell.” I smile sheepishly, and Marina narrows her eyes at me.
“Just like that? Fell on the floor?”
“Yeah, can you imagine? We must have a ghost here.” My eyes widen .
“Yeah, we’re about to have one when I find out who did this.
That lamp was gorgeous.” She looks down with tears in her eyes.
I laugh—she’s so dramatic today—and go to sweep up the mess on the floor.
I should have just cleaned it yesterday, but I was too angry and exhausted to do anything, so here we are.
Luckily, Marina drops the subject and proceeds to the kitchen to get started for the day. Soon, people are coming in. At eight, the door chimes, and a familiar figure steps inside.
“Hey, Mark!” I wave at him. He’s wearing his uniform pants with suspenders that I find super funny, but I know others find them attractive.
“Hey.” He comes to the bar and leans on it, his arms straining the short sleeves of his white T-shirt.
“You’re on duty today?”
“Yeah, and it’s my turn to buy breakfast.”
“Then you picked the right place! What can I get you?” I pull my notebook from my pocket.
“You know what, I haven’t tried much here, so I’ll go with your recommendations. We need to feed ten hungry men.” His forehead wrinkles and he quickly corrects himself. “Well, ten men and women who have a long shift ahead of them.”
“I got you.” I write down the order of five of my favorite dishes in doubles and pass it to Marina in the kitchen. Returning to Mark, I pick up the coffee pot and gesture to him. “Want this too?”
“Nah, we have coffee at the station. The chief has his ways with Donna.” He winks at me, and I laugh. I so do not want to know his ways, but also, I kind of do.
“Ah-huh,” I hum and go to the fancy coffee maker, whipping up a latte for Mark.
As far as I remember from our childhood, he likes his coffee bitter—it’s not much of a preference, but a habit we grew up with; there weren’t many sweets in our lives before.
I sprinkle cinnamon on top of a nice pile of foam and place it in front of him.
“On the house. Try it.” I look at his face with anticipation.
“Looks fancy.” He eyes the drink suspiciously.
“Tastes like it too. Try it.”
He smiles and reluctantly brings the cup to his mouth.
I’m mesmerized by his lips, and not in a sexual way; all I want is for him to love this coffee.
I want to repay him in little ways for his kindness toward me.
His first sip is tiny, but the second is a big gulp.
The foam sticks to his lips. He licks them and takes another sip.
“Alright, this is good. I think you’ve ruined Donna’s coffee for me. ”
“Told ya!” My smile is wide and sincere.
And that’s precisely when I meet Justin’s eyes through the window—with my lips stretched from ear to ear.
He watches me from the outside, looking like a pissed-off God of war.
The blond version of one, anyway. His nostrils are flared, his fists clenched.
He slowly moves his attention to Mark, who feels his hot glare on his back.
Carefully placing the mug on the table, he turns around and meets Justin’s gaze.
Justin’s eyes turn into tiny, angry slits.
He makes a move toward the door but stops in his tracks when he notices me jumping across the bar to grab Mark’s hand as he stands from the chair.
“Mark, no.” He tries to pull away, but my grip is firm. “Mark, chill. He’s just looking for a fight.”
“And I’m happy to give him one,” he growls, fixating his eyes on Justin.
“Not when you’re on duty, and not at the diner. We just finished renovations, for God’s sake.” I see Mark’s body expanding with an enormous inhale as his shoulders drop. He slowly returns to his seat, and only then do I drop his hand.
Justin watches the whole thing, his eyes glued to our hands.
He clenches and unclenches his fists. Then, his eyes find mine, holding them for a never-ending minute.
So much passes between us that I’m almost knocked down by the raw emotions behind his eyes.
The raw feeling of betrayal prevails them all.
He glances at Mark one more time and strides away.
“What the fuck was that?” Mark returns my attention back to the present.
“What do you mean?” I swallow, trying to soothe the dryness in my throat. “That’s just how he is around us, you know that.”
“No, that was not it.” He turns back and watches the now empty window. “That was about you.”
“It’s always about you or me. Today it’s two of us in the same space, and he’s just double mad.” I shrug.
“Stop it,” Mark cuts in. “You know what I’m talking about. He wanted to take my head off for being near you.” He carefully watches my eyes. “Did something happen with the two of you?”
I look around, ensuring no one will hear what I’m about to say. “I found out why he hated me so much.”
“Hated? As in past tense?” His eyes go round.
“Hates.” I sigh. “He still hates me, but for different things now. Turns out, it’s a pattern for us.”
“So?” he asks curiously.
“Remember that night?”
He snorts. “As if I could forget it.”
“Yeah, so that night he got stopped by the cops, and he thought I was the one who called them on him.”
He looks dumbfounded for a second before letting out a full-belly laugh. “You? Call the cops?” And he starts laughing louder.
“Imagine my surprise.”
“I hate to say it, but he got himself into trouble on his own later. Nothing to do with you but with the cop he beat up.” Mark’s remark sounds reasonable.
“Yeah, it’s not that simple.” I shake my head.
“Why? He beat up that cop for no reason, and they charged him for it,” he insists.
“That was the cop who stopped him, you know that, right?”
“I’ve heard, yeah.”
“He had his reasons. It’s… I can’t tell why, but he had a good reason to be upset over it. Like a really good reason.” All the humor evaporates from my tone, and he senses it.
“Did someone get hurt?”
“Yeah,” I whisper.
He nods and takes a sip of his coffee. “I can understand that.”
“Yeah.”
“Wait.” He puts the mug down. “Who called the cops? I sure as fuck didn’t, and neither did you.” I give him the look . “Oh fuck. Do you think she did?”
“Who else was there?” I ask, sighing.
“Holy crap.” He rubs his beard. “That’s so messed up.”
“Tell me about it.” I think for a second. “Actually, tell me one thing. What did you all find so attractive about her that you could only think with your dick the moment she appeared, huh?”
“Availability,” Mark answers without a second thought.
“Huh?”
“She was always available, and she knew tricks.” He shrugs .
“Ew.” I scrunch my nose.
“What? You asked.”
“The firehouse order is ready!” Marina’s voice booms from the kitchen.
I go to fetch the food and pack everything up for Mark to go. When I return and place his order on the table, he gives me his card.
“Be careful with him, alright?” he says quietly.
“What do you mean?” I do know.
“You know what I mean. That sort of hate doesn’t just disappear. He learned to live with that, and now he doesn’t know how to exist without it. Just be careful, Kayla. I don’t want to see you hurt.” His eyes are troubled with worry for me.
“Thank you, Mark. I will.” I pass his card back to him.
“See you around.” He takes the food and goes to leave.
“Go save the town, hero!” I yell to him when he’s next to the door. His cheeks turn pink, but I notice a slight smile on his lips before he turns back.