Beside You

“I…um, no, it isn’t,” I mumble and look up to find him staring at me, a small smile on his face, black Ray-Bans covering his eyes. He pulls the glasses off and sets them down on the counter. I give him a smile and can’t help but stare at him, blue eyes shining.

My eyes scan him up and down and I take notice of his outfit; he wore black jeans with the knees ripped out along with a torn tank top of some band I’ve never heard of and some ratty old-looking boots on his feet. I soon realize what I was doing and shift my eyes back down to my phone, which I held in my hand. “Sorry,” I mumble as I begin to scroll through my phone again.

“It’s alright,” he mumbles with a small smile and grabs a menu. I unlock my phone and go to my messages so I could reply to them since I haven’t yet. My fingers tap on the most recent message at the top, which was from my mother. She was asking when I would be home and if I could stop at the store on the way home for her, for some simple things or something.

I reply back and tell her I will, keeping it short and sweet. I go back to my messages so I could reply back to the one from Jacquelyn. A smile appears on my face as I begin to read it. She was asking if I wanted to hang out with her tomorrow. That’s when I remember that I was off and didn’t have to work tomorrow. It could work out.

“Know what’s good to eat here? I’m famished,” he mumbles as he looks up from the menu he was holding.

“I get a burger, fries and a vanilla shake,” I tell him with a kind smile before I look back down at my phone. When I look up next, I notice Simone walking forward with my vanilla shake and food, a burger with all the fixings and the best French fries I’ve ever had. I give her a friendly smile and thank her as she sets my order down.

“Enjoy Hadley,” she gives me a smile and turns to the guy beside me.

“Ready to order, sweetie?” she asks him, notepad and pen ready to write his order down.

“I uh…I’ll have what she’s having,” he tells Simone who gives him a slight nod of her head along with a smile.

“I’ll get that right out for you,” she gives him a smile and turns to go toward the back so she could place the order. He thanks her before turning to me, a small hint of a smile on his face. As he smiled, I couldn’t help but notice a small black piercing in his lip.

“I’m Luke, by the way,” he tells me with a smile.

“Hadley,” I tell him.

“Nice name, I like it,” he replies, fiddling with the black piercing in his lip.

“Thanks,” I give him a small smile as I grab a fry and bring it up to my mouth so I can take a bite. As I eat my food, the two of us make small talk. When Simone walks by next, I hand her money to pay for my meal, a twenty with some change. He hands her some cash to pay for his. She takes it with a smile before walking away to bring us our receipts back.

Before too long, I glance down at my phone. That’s when I take note of the time. It was a few minutes past ten; 11:05. It soon hits me; I promised my mom I would stop by the store and grab a few things for her on the way home. There’s no way I could do that now, especially when most stores here are closed by this time of night. I can’t think of any that stay open later than normal other than a couple bars downtown and one 24 hour store which is a town over from here.

“Just realized I have to go….its late, I’m so sorry!” I apologize as I glance up to look at him. The place was quiet and empty except for the two of us at the bar.

“No worries,” he tells me.

“Let’s meet here again tomorrow, say, twelve thirty?” he asks, looking at me and takes a long sip of his drink. I give him a nod of my head.

“Sure,” I mutter back softly in reply, “See you then,” I tell him with a small smile as I stand up from where I sat and put the strap of my purse on my shoulder.

I give a small wave toward him before I make my way out the doors and begin to head down the street toward where I parked my car, which was actually my mom’s. Ever since I got my driver’s license, I’ve had to use hers since I don’t have enough to save up for my own. Hopefully it was still where I parked it or I’m screwed. My mom will kill me if anything happened to it. I fear for the worst as I head down the now empty, dark and quiet road, to where my mom’s black Chevy Camaro was parked.

An audible sigh of relief leaves my lips as I spot it in the place I parked it earlier. As I approach the driver’s side so I could get in, keys in hand, I notice something on the windshield, a piece of paper. I lean over so I can grab it beneath the wipers. My heartbeat speeds up at a rapid pace as I stare down at the paper I held in my hands. For real? I think to myself. There’s no way this is happening right now! I think as I stare down at the note.

It was a note that said something about how it was sitting here longer than it was supposed to or else it will be towed. I take note of the sign in front of where I was parked, which read: Parking available 9 AM to 11 PM. I let out a frustrated sigh as I open the car door and set my stuff down in the passenger side before I take my seat at the wheel. I crumble it up and drop it in the seat beside me as I put the keys in the ignition and start it up. Soon, I’m on the road and driving back home.

A good ten minutes later, I am pulling into the driveway of my house. I pull in and park beside my dad’s truck. I turn off the engine and pull the keys from the ignition. I reach over the center console to grab my purse, which held my belongings in it, like my phone. I even pick up the crumbled piece of paper – that note – and stuff it in my bag. If my mom found out, including my father, they wouldn’t be too happy, being the semi-strict parents they always have been.

I straighten out my shirt and pants a bit before I climb out of the vehicle, keys in hand. The strap of my purse hung from my shoulder as I shut the door and lock the car. I cover my mouth with my free hand as a yawn escapes my lips. It was late and all I wanted was to go to sleep, tired from my long shift at work. So thankful I don’t have to go in tomorrow.

I slowly make my way up to the front door. As I walk up the drive, I notice there were just a few lights on, my mom was still up, I think. Just as I step on the porch, I hear our dog, Daisy start to bark her head off. She was quite something; very hyper, loving dog who always wanted attention. She’s a four-year-old golden retriever, big in size yet still acts like a puppy at times, especially when there’s something she wants.

I laugh and shake my head as I reach forward to open the door. As I open the door, I am being pounced on by our dog. I smile a bit and lightly push her off me so I can walk inside. Once I walk in through the door, I shut it behind me and lock it in place. Afterwards, I walk in to the living room to find my mom in the living room. She lifts her head up and smiles over at me. “Hey, have a good day?” she asks as she sits on the couch, eyes on me.

I give her a nod along with a soft “yeah,” in reply. “Catch you up tomorrow,” I tell her with a small tired smile as I walk over to her and give her a light kiss on the head.

“Alright, love you,” she says. I mumble it back to her before I soon begin to head toward my room, the sound of paws close behind me. Ever since we got Daisy, she’s slept in my room, at the foot of my bed. As I reach my bedroom, I close the door and leave it cracked incase Daisy wanted out of my room. I set my bag down on my mess of a dresser, clothes and random objects strewn everywhere. I needed to clean this place up, but I wasn’t going to do it now, since I was so tired.

I grab some shorts and a tank top to sleep in before I walk to the bathroom. After I finish my nightly routine of brushing my teeth and washing my face, I go back in to my room, finally ready to settle down for the night. I grab my phone and check it before I set it off to the side and shut off my lamp. As I drift off to sleep, I can’t help but think of that guy from the diner, earlier, Luke. There’s something about him and I have no idea what it is, but I want to know more about him.