Read Online Something Like Normal by Trish Doller - Free Book Online Page B

smiles. “Would you like some help?”
    I nod. “Yeah, I would.”

Chapter 5
    It’s a quarter to five and I’m still awake.
    I dress in the dark, then take the keys to the Suburban from the hook next to the garage door and drive with no destination in mind. US 41 is empty this time of night, but I enjoy it. My mom always assumed I was up to no good when I stayed out all night, but most of the time I was just driving around. I think about turning the SUV north and heading to North Carolina, but I don’t have my stuff and I’m not really allowed to go back yet.
    We were back from Afghanistan a couple of days when Sergeant Peralta—my squad leader—called me aside.
    “Just wanted to check in,” he said. “You doing okay?”
    “Yeah, I’m good.”
    “You sure?” he asked. “Because you seem like you’re dragging ass. That’s not like you.”
    The nightmares were keeping me up most nights. “Just tired, I guess.”
    “Listen, I’m concerned that you’re not dealing with Charlie’s death,” he said. “As a friend, I’m telling you that you need to get your shit together before anyone higher up the chain notices.”
    “I’m fine,” I said. “I just need to go buy a brand-new Mustang and shack up with a stripper.”
    Peralta laughed, because we’d just finished sitting through a two-hour stand-down on money management—basically, that we shouldn’t throw it away on expensive cars, blow it at the casino, or marry girls who would spend it all and dump us for another Marine. Thing is, I wasn’t sure what he was saying. Did he want me to see a shrink? And what would happen to me—to my career—if I did?
    “You’re a good Marine, Travis, and I want to see you succeed,” he said. “So I strongly suggest you take two extra weeks beyond the two-week post-deployment leave to work things out.”
    “Are you making this suggestion as a friend, too?”
    “I’ll leave that up to you to decide,” he said.
    I didn’t want to use that much of my leave—and I sure as hell didn’t want to come home—but it was an order wrapped in a suggestion. And I respected Peralta too much to disobey.
    I pull into the parking lot at the Waffle House, one of the few all-night places in town. I go inside and Harper is standing behind the counter, wearing a gray uniform shirt and black apron. Her hair is scraped up in a knot. When she sees me, her eyebrows pull together for a second before her lips stretch into a fake smile. “Hi, welcome to Waffle House.”
    “You work here?” I sit on one of the stools. There’s a button pinned to her apron that says If I had half a mind I’d still be twice as smart as you .
    She rolls her eyes. “No, idiot, I just wear the shirt so I can get free food.” I laugh as she reaches across the counter and plinks my forehead. It’s a playful gesture. A welcome change from punching me in the face. “Are you stalking me, Travis?”
    “What? No!”
    Her eyebrows lift as she crosses her arms over her chest—as if she doesn’t believe me—but she doesn’t look mad. “You’ve shown up where I’ve been four times in the last three days.”
    “Completely coincidental,” I say as she puts a coffee cup on the counter and fills it from a full pot. “Except, you know, for the time I showed up at your house, but that was more like… unintentionally intentional. The question is, do you mind?”
    She ignores me. “Are you going to order?”
    “Let’s try the All-Star again.”
    “Over easy with bacon?”
    I grin. “Aw, you remembered.”
    She flips me off, calls my order to the grill cook, and turns back to me. “What are you doing tonight?”
    “Eating at Waffle House?”
    “No, I mean tonight tonight,” she says. “After you go to sleep and wake back up again.”
    Not really sure where she’s going with this, since I’ll probably stay awake, but whatever it is, I’m game. “Anything you want.”
    “Anything?” The way she smiles makes me wonder what I’ve just agreed