Chapter 1
The day started like any other day: Hope got up, took a shower and got dressed into her diner uniform. She tied her hair into a messy bun and went to work.
Hope was of average height, a bit curvy, with long, dark brown hair and brown eyes. Not what guys usually look for.
She drove to the diner, taking in the sights of her small town, thinking of how beautiful and peaceful it was.
As she started her shift, she recognized some of her regular costumers at their usual booths on her side of the diner. As she was making her way through the room, to put some dirty dishes away, she notices a man sitting at one of her booths, that wasn't a regular. She picked up the coffee pot and approached the man:
-''Good morning. My name is Hope and I'm going to be your server. What can I get you today?'' – she said with a smile, noticing that the man had piercing apple green eyes and strikes of gold in his light brown, messy hair.
-''Good morning. What do you recommend?'' – said the man with a smile that showed that he had been through a lot.
-''Well, we are known to have the best pies in the county.''
As she said that, the face of the man lit up and he gave her a childlike smile as he asked what kind of pies did they had.
-''Today we have raspberry, strawberry and apple pies, freshly baked.'' – she answered with an even bigger smile.
The man decided to go with a slice of apple pie and a cup of black coffee. As she was filling his cup, she couldn't help but noticed how kind his eyes looked and caught herself thinking what would be like to be in his arms and have those eyes looking straight into her soul. Not soon after that, she brought him his pie and returned to her other booths.
For the rest of her shift she couldn't stop thinking about him. What was about that man that made him different from all the other men that come to the diner? She didn't know, all she knew was that she wanted to see him again.
Soon her shift was over and she was headed home. Driving through town she started thinking of how she got there in the first place. It felt like it was a million years ago, when in fact it's only been four years since she got there, on a cold winter night. She had been running for so long that, by the time she got to that small town, she thought that it was time to stop running. She left behind a life of sadness, loneliness, hurt and pain, both emotional and physical. She was running from an abusive relationship, her, now ex, boyfriend put her through hell during their relationship until one day she decided that enough was enough and she left. But her boyfriend wasn't going to let that happen, so he started looking for her. Every time she was feeling safe in one place, he would appear and she had to leave again. But now, it had been four years and he hasn't come for her. She never felt completely safe, but she could breathe a bit easier.
Soon she was home, took a shower and made dinner. The next day everything would start again.