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There was a wait, of course. But it wasn’t too long, and she sat next to him on the vinyl bench outside the restaurant while some grade school kids roughhoused across the aisle.
Her dad didn’t offer any conversation, and she wondered if he felt as awkward about this as she did.
She let her mind wander, running her eyes along the storefronts down the way. The jewelry store made her think of Hunter, and she absently ran her fingers over the stones still strapped to her wrist, hidden under the sleeve of her hoodie. The music store near the corner was almost empty, since no one bothered to buy CDs anymore. Forever 21 was blasting some R&B song with a heavy beat. Girls were streaming out the door, laden with bags, laughing and giggling and heading this way.
Then she recognized one of them. Lilah.
Seth’s girlfriend.
Her brain kicked into high gear, trying to keep up with the sudden spike in her heart rate. She felt hot, panicked. Was Seth with her? No, it was just girls. But Lilah would recognize her, right? Were Seth and Tyler here, in the mall?
“Becca?”
Her dad’s voice, and it sounded like he’d called her name more than once. She had to pry her gaze off the girls to look back at him.
He glanced down at the bench, then back at her face. “You okay?”
She followed his gaze. She’d grabbed his hand without realizing it.
Don’t be such a baby. She snatched it out of his grip and swiped her palm on her jeans.
The girls were almost beside them, and she looked down at her knees, letting her hair fall across her face. Her shoulders tightened. They’d see her. They’d have to see her.
They didn’t see her.
But they walked up to the hostess to ask for a table in the restaurant.
Her dad leaned in. “Becca?”
“Yeah.” She swallowed. “I don’t want to have lunch here.”
He wasn’t an idiot. “What just happened?”
Tension almost made her bite his head off. She glared at him from under the spill of her hair. “I just don’t want to eat here, okay?”
“Got it.” He stood up. “Let’s go.”
She sat hunched in the passenger seat of his truck, leaning against the door, knowing he wanted to interrogate her.
Sure enough, they’d barely made it to the main road before he said, “You know those girls?”
Becca looked out the window. “Not really.”
“Seemed like you did.”
She shrugged.
He let a moment pass. “Is this about a boy?”
“No!” She made a frustrated noise and shifted in the seat to face him. “Now you want to have the boy conversation? Are you kidding?”
He sighed. “I’d settle for any conversation.”
Becca straightened. Where’ve you been all this time?
The words were practically burning her lips. She just wasn’t ready for the answer.
“What about lunch?” she said when he turned onto her street.
