Leah opened the door for Rachel. Rachel hesitated after she walked in.
"We can seat ourselves," Leah whispered.
Rachel nodded and looked around for an empty table.
"What about that booth over there?" Rachel indicated a booth that was in the back corner, away from the other people.
"Looks good to me," Leah said.
They walked over and slid into the booth. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief, she looked at Leah, bit her lip and blurted out, "I'm not usually like this." Rachel wiped at her eyes as the waitress came over with some menus. Leah inhaled sharply.
"Hi Kim," Leah muttered.
Kim smiled wide, "Hi Leah..." she turned to Rachel.
Rachel forced a smile, "I'm Rachel Black, Jacob's sister, Billy's daughter, whoever you know."
"Right!" Kim smiled again, "How was your trip down?"
"It rained a fair bit, but we got here safe and sound."
"We?"
"I brought a friend from college for a brief stay," Rachel explained.
Leah noticed that Rachel was beginning to pick at her nails, how she wanted to tell Kim to shut up and go away.
"Would you like your usual Leah? Or would you like some time to look over the menu?" Kim asked.
"Actually, I was wondering what kind of pie you had today?" Leah asked.
Kim flipped open her notebook, "we have apple, cherry, and blueberry... I believe the apple just came fresh out of the oven."
Leah looked over at Rachel raising an eyebrow, "Could I have a slice of the apple with a scoop of ice cream and a glass of iced tea?" Rachel asked.
"Sure thing!" Kim jotted it down, "and you Leah?"
"A chocolate milkshake and a plate of the cheese fries, please." Leah said. She handed the menus back to Kim, "sounds good! I'll put the orders in."
Leah glanced nervously at Rachel, "um that was Kim, she dates a friend of mine. I didn't realize she was working today... She can be very... chipper." Leah explained.
"That's okay, I have to get my pie somehow." Rachel said.
They both began some small talk, Leah was careful not to push too hard. Slowly Rachel began to relax and even laughed a few times. Leah thought that this was a good start, until she heard the door open. She glanced over her shoulder and froze.
A leach had just entered the diner.