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Where would I get a copy of a high school yearbook? Surely the school would have that, right?
Apparently, it didn’t matter if they did. It was August, and the school offices didn’t open to the public for a few more weeks. Which meant I was out of luck…unless…
Did Rae have a copy?
How strange would it be if I asked to see it? It would be weird, and we weren’t even close to being at that point in our friendship, or whatever the fuck it was that we had yet. I wanted to fuck her, not ask to see her high school yearbook.
Shit.
Still, I needed to find someone who might have one, or at least know who I was talking about. Maybe Gavin was right and asking around the diner would be a good idea.
* * *
The breakfast crowdhad mostly dispersed by the time I had arrived, which was good. The fewer people I had to deal with, the better. An older man with graying hair, sharp gray eyes and built like a linebacker pushed through the swinging doors from the back. I remembered him; he was here when that girl had left me the note—and I’d talked enough with Roger to know this was his best friend.Carl.
He seemed to hesitate as I walked over to him, but at the last second, he tossed a rag down on the counter and crossed his arms. I ignored the way his eyes seemed to measure my worth, and how his growing sneer obviously meant he found me lacking.
Most people didn’t care for me. This man, in the past, seemed not to really care one way or the other, but now he appeared to have taken whatever pill Gary and Mabel had swallowed.
“Hello, sir, I’m Davis Brenton, and I—”
“I know who you are,” he interrupted. The increasing hunch in his shoulders and intense glare would probably deter most people, but not me.
“Well, I was wondering if you could help me with something?”
The door opened, making the bell over the top jingle. A few older women entered and huddled toward a booth. I redirected my attention to the statue in front of me.
“Not likely, kid.”
Resisting the urge to tell this guy to fuck off, I took a small breath and continued.
“You’re Carl, right? I remember you…you used to help me when I’d come in to get my orders.”
His grunt was acknowledgment enough.
“Well, a few years back there was a young girl who used to leave me notes, and reserve spots for me at the counter, do you remember her?”
Carl’s face fell, his silver brows puckered, while his sneer completely fell into a flat line. It was as though I’d spoken of someone who died. Unease slithered into my stomach as I considered the worst-case scenario had happened.
“What do you want with her?” Carl’s tone was like an ice pick, slamming down between us. Regardless of his attitude, at least it meant he knew who I was referring to.
“Nothing…I merely was curious if she was okay. Some years ago, I had worried that something bad had happened to her and I—” How was I supposed to explain this? Did I tell him that I was still beating myself up about it? I didn’t want to sound like a fucking creep, yet I needed answers.
Carl’s eyes bounced around, searching the counter for something. It was as though he was thinking over what answer to give me; maybe he was just battling on keeping her privacy, which I understood. If he couldn’t tell me anything, then fine, but that had to mean she was alive, right?
“She’s fine. Moved on, away in fact…so don’t think twice about her and leave her alone.”
“I wouldn’t—”
Suddenly he shifted, giving me his back and cutting me off. Slipping back into the kitchen, he shot one last menacing glare from over his shoulder and then he was gone.
That was fine. I didn’t need anything more from him, but why had he mentioned leaving her alone? Did that mean she was still around? I hadn’t seen her.
Maybe I’d ask Gavin for some ideas, or break down and finally ask Rae, but at least I now knew she was alive. She hadn’t hurt herself over me; she had merely gotten over me—over her crush. And while that was good, she had also been the only person on this planet that seemed to give a flying fuck about me.
Shaking my head free of the thoughts surrounding the girl, I pushed outside and climbed into the safety and seclusion of my truck.
16
