Chapter 3.

Anabelle's POV.

  The diner had been busier than ever the past few days and I was wondering why. Maybe it’s because the high school students decided to move their after-school hangout to the diner since Shelby’s Shack had closed down a few days ago. It was never a shocker that the high schoolers chose there to meet up since the place was more fun with a karaoke setup and video games. 

  Shelby died last month and there was a huge fight on who will take her property. Her youngest son, Aaron was in charge of the shack and in under a month, the place went bankrupt. I really wasn’t surprised that the family business ran to the ground on Aaron’s watch. I mean, he was and still is a very self-centered and egotistical bastard. 

  He dated Gabby a year ago and just when she started falling in love with him and giving him her all, he cheated on her with a freaking high school cheerleader. Who does that? That was child abuse on the highest level. He has an IQ of zero and he is a total man whore. He used to flirt with me all the time when he and my ‘best friend’ were together.

  A hand snapped me out of my daze, catching my attention, “Sorry”, I looked at the owner of the hand to see very familiar brown eyes, like swirls of chocolate. I could just eat them if it wasn’t classified under cannibalism. A smile found its way onto my lips, “How may I help you?”, 

  “I’ll have my regular please”, he looked at me expectantly as if daring me to mess up the order. Of course, I knew his order by heart, even though this was his fourth time of coming here.

  “Bacon and eggs with a burger and cappuccino coming up”, I scribbled the order down and looked at him, a slither of a smile is etched on his lips. I turned in satisfaction and handed the order over to Shawn.

  Luckily, the diner was almost empty asides from an elderly couple and the guy sitting in front of me. Then it hit me, I didn’t even know his name. I plastered a friendly smile on my face, “So, what’s your name?”,

  “Why?”, he narrowed his eyes at me and I shrugged my shoulders,

  “Hospitality?”, I answered lamely and he rolled his eyes,

  “Blaine Hudson”. I had to admit, I expected something more daredevil like his attitude, maybe something like, Luke, Xavier or all those other cliché names you’d usually hear guys like Blaine bearing. “So, are you going to tell me yours or not? Thought you were trying to be hospitable, that is far from it”, I actually could not tell if it was a joke or he was actually being serious, but I decide to tell him anyways,

“The name is Anabelle Richards”, I held out my hand for him to shake, not surprised at the hesitation in his move to hold onto it. His hand was so big, engulfing my small ones in them, the skin of his palm was so soft, yet so hard at the same time- it was indescribable and almost familiar. Our hands were together for longer than I imagined but we released each other when a loud cough caught our attention,

“Now that that is over, get back to work, Ana”, it was my irritating boss, Phil. Sometimes, I wonder why I put up with his bullshit, ever since I turned him down, he always gave me trouble over everything- and I meant everything. No wonder his wife left him; he was a complete pain the ass- like a zit that just refused to pop. I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchen, hearing Phil apologize to the man for my ‘unruly’ behavior. It did not take a detective to know that he did not mean the apology, it was just his own way of sticking his head into my business.

 As usual, I picked Bianca up from school during my breaktime, she wanted to go to the park and since Shawn was done for the day, I let him take her, asking him to take her over to my house once they were done there. Most people might wonder why I trust Shawn with Bianca so much; firstly, he loves her to bits and would die for her if necessary, two, he is actually gay and even though most people do not know this, he came out to Gabby and I a few years back. As I said before, I just could not feel any sexual attraction towards him even though he was handsome.

Usually, when it was my break and Bianca was at the park, I would use that time to rest or take a nap in the storage closet but not today. Gabby had a dentist appointment and begged me to cover her shift until it would be over- that meant double the work for me. Of course, I agreed as she was always a great help to me and a little extra work would not kill me.

 Gabby usually left later than me as she was the one who actually handled the keys- coming early and leaving late was why she always won employee of the month all the time and had gotten a raise. I could not be bothered with that as I had set a curfew for myself- eight o’clock and nothing more, except today, I had to leave by ten o’clock because that was Gabby’s time of leaving. 

 Tired to the bone, I pulled off my apron and shoved it in my handbag before grabbing Bianca’s bag that she had thrown messily in the kitchen when she was hurrying Shawn up. A smile crawled unto my face as I pictured her dragging Shawn by his leg and whining at him to stop being such a pricy princess and take her to the park that second. How do not know how she got spoiled but she was- very.

 I walked out of the empty diner and locked it with the key Gabby had given me before heading towards my house. Somehow, I felt like I was being watched or even followed but I just assumed it was paranoid mind playing tricks on me. Until, I heard it loud and clear- footsteps, heavy ones that threw me into a sense of déjà vu. I turned back and saw the shadow of a staggering man walking up to me, he was so drunk, I could smell the alcohol smelling off of him from our distance.

 I should have obeyed my first instinct telling me to run but my legs could not move, I was frozen in place as horrible memories that I had tried to bury came crawling back out of their hole, I started to panic and my breathing came out forced when the man got closer to me and grabbed me by my hand. Why couldn’t I run?

 The man shined his yellow teeth at me, “We are going to have a nice time, baby girl”, his slurred voice snapped something inside of me, and my legs suddenly got attached to my brain once again. I tried to grab my hand back, I tried my best to escape him, to wrench myself free from this over familiar incident but I was too late and he was just too strong. 

 “Let me go”, I begged, “Please”, but he was not having any of it. I closed my eyes as he took charge over my body, unwanted memories racing through my mind. I could not scream, heck, I could not even shout. All I could do was hope and pray that this man would somehow have a change of heart and realize that what he was doing was wrong.

 Suddenly, I could not feel the man touching me anymore and I wondered whether my silent prayer had been answered. Weak kneed, I fell to the ground and let out a breath of relief with my eyes still closed, they were immediately opened once a sickening crack rang through the atmosphere. Another man was crouched down in front of the man that had sexually harassed me, “You are a sick bastard”, the familiar voice yelled before delivering another blow at the man’s head, knocking him out cold. The other man stood to his feet and brought out a phone from his pocket before dialing a number and placing the device on his ear, “There is a sexual offender here with me, just a few blocks after Charleston Diner”.

 The guy let out a sigh and placed his phone back into his pocket, “I should deal with you myself”, I could swear that I knew that voice and I was proven right when the owner turned to me with worry filled eyes.