since she no longer had a room, and she didn’t want to waste her money just to have a place for a few hours.
The Old Town Diner down the street was her first stop. Some coffee and pancakes would clear the remaining fog from her head and she could come up with a game plan. The only drawback was the possibility of running into her father, who used to love bringing her and Brady to the diner before their mother died. It wasn’t likely because he’d long ago become a shut-in, living on the family savings and her mother’s insurance policy when he’d become too sloppy to hold down a job. But that didn’t keep her stomach from squeezing in fear of the prospect.
After doing a quick scan of the restaurant to ensure the coast was clear, she slid into a Naugahyde booth and grabbed the plastic menu from behind the napkin dispenser. She smiled to herself—they still had the blueberry pancakes she remembered from when she was a teenager. Brady and Marco used to bring her here sometimes to carry on the family tradition and try to give her some semblance of normalcy. And because the diner was open late and served huge portions. The guys could eat like, well, guys , and the bill would still be cheap.
She eyed the long Formica counter and saw her teenage self sitting on the third stool from the end, Marco beside her and a chocolate milkshake in front of her that was so big it came with seconds in a big silver mixing cup. They’d just finished a guitar lesson, and the milkshake had been meant to cheer her up after Brady arrived at the Vieris’ house with a black eye…
Stop it, Aly .
The waitress arrived, interrupting her thoughts, and efficiently took her order. A few moments later, she brought over a cup of hot, fragrant coffee. Exactly what Alyssa needed.
Cheap food was good, because eating out like this was not part of the plan. Even though she felt horrible about falling asleep at Whiskey’s, at least she’d saved the money a hotel would’ve cost, giving her an even hundred dollars to her name and making her feel a bit less guilty about splurging on a meal out for the first time since arriving back in Frederick. She’d enjoyed the complimentary continental breakfast the hotel laid out the day before, and then there was Van’s awesome cooking at work. It was tiding her over just fine for now. Someday—soon—she would be able to stop fretting over every little expense. Or maybe not, since the grace period on her student loans ended in six months, but she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.
Alyssa dug into her pancakes when they came, enjoying the burst of warm blueberry on her tongue. She could only make it halfway through the huge stack before she had to admit defeat. Her cell phone rang and she dropped her napkin to her plate.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Aly, it’s me,” came her brother’s voice through a crackle of static.
“Brady? Oh my God. Are you okay? Where are you?” She pressed her fingers against her other ear in an attempt to hear through the poor connection.
“I’m fine. Listen, I—” His words cut out behind a burst of static. “…tell you…weeks. Are you…”
“Brady, you’re coming in and out.”
“…I don’t know when I’ll…”
Tears pricked at the backs of Alyssa’s eyes. “I can’t hear you. Just promise me you’re okay.”
“…okay. I promise… Damn, Aly, I have to…”
“Brady?”
“…again if I can, okay?”
Alyssa nodded in reply, though of course he couldn’t see her. “Call me again when you can. I love you.”
“Me, too. Okay, gotta—” The line went dead.
Blinking the tears from her eyes, she pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it. She didn’t have the slightest idea what he’d been trying to tell her. At least she knew that, somewhere out there in the world, her brother was fine and thinking about her.
Talking to Brady always made her realize just how much she missed him. She hadn’t seen him since two Christmases
The Old Town Diner down the street was her first stop. Some coffee and pancakes would clear the remaining fog from her head and she could come up with a game plan. The only drawback was the possibility of running into her father, who used to love bringing her and Brady to the diner before their mother died. It wasn’t likely because he’d long ago become a shut-in, living on the family savings and her mother’s insurance policy when he’d become too sloppy to hold down a job. But that didn’t keep her stomach from squeezing in fear of the prospect.
After doing a quick scan of the restaurant to ensure the coast was clear, she slid into a Naugahyde booth and grabbed the plastic menu from behind the napkin dispenser. She smiled to herself—they still had the blueberry pancakes she remembered from when she was a teenager. Brady and Marco used to bring her here sometimes to carry on the family tradition and try to give her some semblance of normalcy. And because the diner was open late and served huge portions. The guys could eat like, well, guys , and the bill would still be cheap.
She eyed the long Formica counter and saw her teenage self sitting on the third stool from the end, Marco beside her and a chocolate milkshake in front of her that was so big it came with seconds in a big silver mixing cup. They’d just finished a guitar lesson, and the milkshake had been meant to cheer her up after Brady arrived at the Vieris’ house with a black eye…
Stop it, Aly .
The waitress arrived, interrupting her thoughts, and efficiently took her order. A few moments later, she brought over a cup of hot, fragrant coffee. Exactly what Alyssa needed.
Cheap food was good, because eating out like this was not part of the plan. Even though she felt horrible about falling asleep at Whiskey’s, at least she’d saved the money a hotel would’ve cost, giving her an even hundred dollars to her name and making her feel a bit less guilty about splurging on a meal out for the first time since arriving back in Frederick. She’d enjoyed the complimentary continental breakfast the hotel laid out the day before, and then there was Van’s awesome cooking at work. It was tiding her over just fine for now. Someday—soon—she would be able to stop fretting over every little expense. Or maybe not, since the grace period on her student loans ended in six months, but she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.
Alyssa dug into her pancakes when they came, enjoying the burst of warm blueberry on her tongue. She could only make it halfway through the huge stack before she had to admit defeat. Her cell phone rang and she dropped her napkin to her plate.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Aly, it’s me,” came her brother’s voice through a crackle of static.
“Brady? Oh my God. Are you okay? Where are you?” She pressed her fingers against her other ear in an attempt to hear through the poor connection.
“I’m fine. Listen, I—” His words cut out behind a burst of static. “…tell you…weeks. Are you…”
“Brady, you’re coming in and out.”
“…I don’t know when I’ll…”
Tears pricked at the backs of Alyssa’s eyes. “I can’t hear you. Just promise me you’re okay.”
“…okay. I promise… Damn, Aly, I have to…”
“Brady?”
“…again if I can, okay?”
Alyssa nodded in reply, though of course he couldn’t see her. “Call me again when you can. I love you.”
“Me, too. Okay, gotta—” The line went dead.
Blinking the tears from her eyes, she pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it. She didn’t have the slightest idea what he’d been trying to tell her. At least she knew that, somewhere out there in the world, her brother was fine and thinking about her.
Talking to Brady always made her realize just how much she missed him. She hadn’t seen him since two Christmases