There’s a brief silence. Then Jasmine sighs through the phone. “Alright, can you at least tell me what you see?”
I look around again. The streets are still a blur. But I can make out a few things. A few lights are on farther down the road. Is that a giant donut blinking above the storefront? That’s when it hits me. “I think I see Lucy’s Donuts.”
“Okay, that’s good,” Jasmine says. “You’ve been there before. Do you remember the diner across the street? It should be open late.”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“I want you to wait for me there, okay?”
“Waitfor you? What do you mean?”
“I’m less than an hour away,” she says. “I’m going to meet you there. Just wait for me, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Promise me you’ll stay there,” she says.
“I promise.”
“I’m leaving right now. Don’t go anywhere.”
I hang up the phone. As I’m standing there, the sidewalk starts moving again, making me feel like I’m about to fall. I stumble toward the diner, searching for something to tether myself down to.
The fluorescent lights are nearlyblinding. I’m sitting at a booth in the corner, staring into my cup of water. The place is practically empty, besides an old man at the other end of the diner. A waitress brings me some coffee I didn’t order.
“It’s on the house, sweetie.”
I take a sip and rest for a moment. I must have dozed off at some point, because someone taps my shoulder to wake me. Jasmine’s face comes into focus as she slides into the other side of the booth. She’s wearing the jacket again. The one I let her borrow. The lights reflecting off the window glass make everything around us hazy.
“How are you feeling there?” she asks.
I don’t answer. But my head is pounding.
“Looks like you’ve had a rough night,” she says.
“What are you doing here anyway?”
We look at each other. I know I should be happy to see her, but I remember she’s still leaving.
“My flight is tomorrow,” Jasmine says. “We’re heading out of Rockford, so I’m staying at a friend’s tonight.”
“How exciting.”
Silence fills the booth. Jasmine takes in a breath and lets it out. “If there’s something you want to say to me, I think you should say it,” she says.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Then what’s been going on lately? And why did you run away from Kevin?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She leans into the table. “I’m worried about you, Eric. Can you just tell me what’s wrong?”
I’m not sure what she wants me to say. Maybe I don’t even know the answer. Then it comes out of me. “I don’t want you to go.”
“Eric…” she starts.
“I think you should just stay.”
