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Callie gave Stef a smile as she got out of the car, hesitating a brief moment before turning towards The Burger Stand. It had been two days of pure family time. They had lounged, watched movies, made messes of the kitchen, and just been together. Callie could still hear her moms cries at random times during the night, but had learned to ignore it and give them the privacy they needed. They were doing better. Callie thought the last two days surrounded by their family had made them a bit better. At least she'd hoped they had. All she wanted was for them to be okay.
Callie stopped as she reached the door. Two days of family bliss and back to work. It was just a five hour shift, nothing unusual, but the message from Liam still haunted her slightly. Surely he wouldn't be inside. He didn't know her schedule. She barely knew her schedule. And he couldn't sit there all day every day, waiting for her to show up. He had to leave some time.
She pushed through the door and gave the room a quick sweep. No sign of him. Good. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She wasn't sure when her heart rate had increased, but she didn't need that stress.
Callie punched in and grabbed an apron, tying it quickly around herself.
"Callie?" She turned. It was her co-worker, Ryan. "Hey, I heard you weren't feeling well the other day. You okay now?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Just had some family stuff to deal with."
"And it's fine now? Everything's cleared up?"
"We're working on it," she answered honestly. Ryan was a good guy. He'd started the same time as her, so Daphne had put them both through training. Though training was perhaps too strict a word for the joking around they'd done. Dave, their manager, had caught them once causing Callie to freeze, but he'd quickly joined in making Callie realize what a calm environment it was. She owed Daphne a lot for getting her this job. It was like a whole little family. They watched out for each other. And the other workers were cool, but the four of them had formed a group. They were closer than the rest of the workers. "Thanks, Ryan."
"Let me know if you need anything, okay? I can cover a shift if you've got something that comes up."
"I'll keep that in mind," she smiled, grabbing a rag for wiping down the tables. "Is it busy today?"
"Not really. Pretty slow. We've mainly been cleaning. Lunch rush should come soon though. There's one dude who's been here since breakfast. Not sure why'd you want to spend your whole day here…"
"Oh yeah?" Callie asked. Some dude. Liam was a dude. But that didn't mean it was necessarily him. She'd done her sweeping glance. She hadn't spotted him. It was probably some teenager who had nothing better to do with their Saturday. That was it. That was all it could be.
"Yeah. He doesn't even have a book or anything, just sits on his phone sipping his drink."
Callie smiled briefly. He sounded so offended. He took great pleasure in his work here, making sure everything ran smoothly. Anything that went against the grain was an issue. Like people who sat for hours, never ordering new food and taking up the big tables that other customers could be using.
Callie shook her head, "People these days."
"Alright." He gave her a look. She smirked. "That's enough mocking me."
"Who cares if a dude spends his whole day here? That's his sad life, not yours."
"I don't need this negativity. Go do work."
Callie chuckled as he walked away with his head held high, stepping into one of the back rooms for his break. He was a character, she had to say that, but he was a good guy. He always made sure she and Daphne were doing well, willing to do whatever he could to help in any situation.
Callie picked up the spray bottle to wipe down the tables, not even attempting to find other work before submitting to the cleaning that needed to be done. She glanced around the room again, smiling at the lack of a certain individual. He wasn't here. She was overreacting. He'd just been trying to scare her and she'd let it.
"Hey girl," Daphne called across the floor. Callie hid her grin.
"Don't shout!" Dave cried from the back.
"Don't be a hypocrite!" Ryan exclaimed from the break room. Daphne met Callie's eyes and the two burst out laughing, not caring about the few customers around to watch.
"Those boys are insane," Daphne stated, walking over to Callie.
"I heard that!"
"Good!" Daphne shouted back. Callie shook her head with a smile. "How were your days off? Do anything fun?"
"Yeah actually," Callie smiled. "We just kinda relaxed together. Went for a drive, had a giant movie marathon, went to the beach, stuff like that. It was good."
"So you're alright?" Daphne asked. Callie nodded, noting the concern in Daphne's eyes.
"I'm fine," she replied. "It had just been a bad day."
"But what set you off? I mean when we were talking you said you wanted to be at work, not at home. Next thing I know you're freaking out and bolting. So what happened?"
"I just -" Callie broke off. The flash of blonde hair entered her gaze. She stared at the sight of him. He was here. He'd actually showed up.
"You what?" Daphne pushed. She turned to follow Callie's gaze. "Oh, he's back."
"He's been here before?" Callie asked quickly, her eyes not leaving him.
"Yeah, like every day the past week or so. Maybe a little less? I don't know. I just know he comes in, orders the same thing, and sits there for hours. Annoys the hell out of Ryan. Dave too actually. But legally we can't kick him out because he's sipping away at some drink or eating his fries as slow as humanly possible. It's crazy."
"Does he say anything?"
"Like what?" Daphne laughed. "What the hell's he gonna say to a waitress? Can I get more napkins? Nah, he just sits on his phone. Yesterday he brought his laptop. Tell you what though, I wouldn't mind if he said a bit more. He's kinda cute."
"No!" Callie exclaimed. Daphne's gaze shot to Callie. "He's not cute. Okay? He's not."
"Okay," Daphne nodded hesitantly. "Are you okay? Do you know him?"
She knew she should say yes and explain who he was, but she couldn't bring herself to. It had been hard enough telling Stef and Lena everything the first time around. And the girls at Girls United knew she'd been raped, but she hadn't gone into details. She hated the details. They made her feel sick to think about. She'd just have to ignore it. Like everything else.
"No," Callie answered softly. "He just has that look to him. Like he thinks he's god's gift."
Daphne studied her a moment longer before glancing back to him.
"I can see it." She turned to Callie. "You sure you're okay? That was a pretty strong reaction."
"Guys like him are just all the same," Callie stated.
"Does he…" Daphne broke off, biting her lip. "Does he look like the guy who hurt you? You know, when you were younger?"
"Yeah." He looked like him. He was him. And she'd never be able to forget him as long as she lived.
"Want me to cover that table?"
"Yes please," Callie muttered, finally tearing her gaze away.
"Ryan and I will handle him. You just wipe down the tables, okay?"
Callie nodded. Daphne gave her arm a squeeze before heading over to the table. She gave a glance back to Callie, then focused on work. Callie squirted one of the tables with the cleaning solution and half-heartedly wiped away. He was here. And she could feel his eyes on her.
She wiped away at the tables, helping other customers as the lunch rush rang in. Hours went by with Callie keeping to the other side of the room, but she knew he was watching. He never made a move, just sat there watching her work. Daphne and Ryan ran interference, even convincing Dave to let her work in the back for a bit just to get out of his sight. They couldn't kick him out as he'd done nothing wrong. He was just a customer. Just an innocent man trying to enjoy the afternoon sitting in a booth. But there was nothing innocent about him. There never could be.
Callie stayed inside after her shift, waiting until she saw Stef's car pull up to leave. She thought she saw Liam move out of the corner of her eyes, but focused on getting to the car instead. He wouldn't try anything. Not here, with everyone around. She just needed to make sure she was never alone and it would all be fine. She was sure of it.