Sunday 6:00 am

I felt someone shaking me awake, "Hey, wake up. Luke's gonna be up in an hour, and I for one do not feel like explaining why the new girl I pushed to start working here is in his bed, where I said I'd sleep."

I peeked my eyes open and looked to see Jess standing over me. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and swung my legs over to the side of the bed.

"What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"6:00 am."

I quickly texted my mom some excuse that I left early to go to the library before my shift, "You know if these were any other circumstances, I would have hit you for waking me up this early." I stood up not showing the pain I felt from my sprained ankle.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. I'm beginning to think you're all bark and no bite." Jess moved to help me walk, but I waved him off.

"I'm fine. I can walk on my own." I took a step, but my ankle was still sore, and the pain showed up on my face against my will.

Jess put his hand around my waist again and put my arm over his shoulder. My cheeks flushed a tinge of pink, but it was too subtle to recognize.

"You can either report me for assault or you can take my damn help, huh? What's it gonna be?" He said looking me in the eyes.

"Fine," I mumbled, "But for the record, I could have done this on my own."

"Of course, you could have." Jess condescended, rolling his eyes.


Jess lent me a pair of his clothes and besides the sleeves being a little longer than normal they fit fine. He gave me a pair of jeans, a Guns N' Roses T-shirt, and a pair of old sneakers that he hasn't worn for a while. Obviously, no bra, so I'd have to be extra careful today.

Don't tell anyone this, but I think he wears women's jeans.

When I came out of the bathroom, I immediately recognized the mouth-watering smell of pancakes and eggs. I was careful not to put too much pressure on my ankle, so I could get around fine.

I took a seat on one of the bar stools near the register and propped my head up on my forearms.

"Some guy was forcing himself on a girl," Jess said suddenly over the sound of butter crackling on the pan.

"What?" I cocked my head, confused.

"I was walking down the street, and I heard yelling behind Doose's Market," He flipped a pancake, "There was this guy trying to force himself on a girl. That's how I got into that fight. I pulled him off her."

I was shocked. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that.

"That was very brave of you. You're like a real-life superhero now. Aren't ya?"

He laughed, "I don't know about that."

He scooped up the food with a spatula and filled up both of our plates. I was about to dig in, but I put my fork down.

"I had this boyfriend back in Jersey, and let's just say he was perfect on the outside. Kind, respectful, thoughtful. And everything was going great, until about a month ago when everything changed." I spoke looking down at my food, it smelled so good.

"Dean had started to get angry with me for things I couldn't control. Group assignments, family gatherings, and even community service projects. And one night, I forgot about our date and–" I stopped. Should I be telling him this? What would he think?

Jess reached over and put a hand over mine to stop it from shaking, "It's ok, you can tell me."

I looked up and found comfort in his brown eyes, "He hit me for the first time, and I tried to tell my mom, but she didn't believe me. No one believed me. He was so good with words; he knew exactly what to say. When he was finished with them, everyone just forgot."

His eyes darkened as he squeezed my hand, waiting a second to make sure I was finished, "Why didn't you go to the police?"

"I couldn't! My family loves him! I had no proof! I had no case." I said defeated, "So I did some research and there was this private school for smart kids near this small town in Connecticut where houses were cheap, and people were nice. I told my mom I wanted to apply for 'better education' and she bought it." I was on the verge of tears, but I told myself I would finish my story.

"What happened yesterday?" Jess asked, almost whispering as if not to scare me away.

I ran a hand through my hair, "I was just sleeping, and something woke me up. But I was skeptical since I sleep like a log, so I looked around and realized my window was open." I wiped a tear away roughly, "And he was just there, and I panicked and tried to get away, but he hurt me, and I managed to jump out the window. Thank God my room is on the first floor."

"You jumped out of the window?"

I laughed but the sound was void of emotion, and I internally cringed. "Yeah, I guess I did. At least now I can cross that off my bucket list."

"Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" I questioned and my eyebrows furrowed.

"Don't brush off the fact you were scared out of your mind yesterday and could have died with fucking sarcasm. What if you had fallen wrong? What if that dick got angrier and decided 'What the hell? Breaking a neck isn't that hard, is it? Let's find out.'"

Those words caused me to flinch slightly. "Don't you think I've thought of that! Don't think that just because I joke around after such a terrifying experience it hasn't scarred me in any way. I do it to cope, Jess. If I didn't, I would be a blubbering mess all the time, feeling sorry for myself. I think this is the better of the two, don't you?"

We both just stared at one another for a minute, trying to understand the other. In the end, Jess squeezed out an apology and waved a white flag, and we ate our breakfast with the same amount of weak insults as always.

Sarcasm was my escape just as much as books were, and I think Jess is the only one in the world that understands that about me. I think he uses them for the same reason.


After Jess and I had cleared our dishes, we got ready to open the diner. I swept the floor and let Cesar in to get prepped, while Jess wiped down the tables and turned on the lights.

We heard Luke stomping his way down the stairs, and I made sure to hide the clothes I came in so he wouldn't freak out. I tried to look as presentable as possible, and a blinding smile made its way on my face.

"Hey Luke!" I said as he appeared in the doorway.

"Uh, hi? What are you doing here so early?" He ruffled his hair and secured his baseball cap.

"My shift starts now, doesn't it?" I took a sip of coffee I made to perk myself up.

"Yeah, but you're always like an hour late to Sunday shifts." He eyed me suspiciously.

I took another sip of my coffee, "I guess you could say I'm turning over a new leaf?"

"Sure, kid." Luke grunts in reply, "Oh and sorry I would have been here earlier, but I think my alarm clock's broken. It didn't go off this morning."

"Hmm, interesting." I tried not to laugh as I caught Jess smirking in the corner.

"Maybe it's just that old age kickin' in. It's a wonder you're still able to walk." Jess quipped.

"Ha ha, very funny. Keep talking, and I'll make you clean the bathrooms." Luke threatened and I snorted.

Silence.


My shift went pretty smoothly. No rude customers or crying babies, so that was something. Luke pulled me aside when there was only an old couple dining by the window.

"Are you ok, kid?" Luke gestured to my bandage.

"Yeah, I'm ok, this is nothing. Just me, my clumsy self, and I." I actually sounded convincing. It scared me how good I was at lying.

"Good, can you refill that table's water? They're running a little low." Luke said nonchalantly.

"I'm on it, boss." And I was off with a mini salute.

"And Cass?"

"Yeah?"

"Nice shirt."

"Thanks!" I said trying to look as if I wasn't freaking out. Maybe he just liked the shirt. Maybe he was just a closet Guns N' Roses fan. Who am I kidding? He definitely knows this isn't my shirt.

Shit.


Jess agreed to walk me home after my shift, and I gave him a heads up about Luke. He didn't say anything else to me about the shirt, but I knew he would bring it up with Jess later.

He didn't seem upset or anything. Just shrugged and said, "It is what it is."

When we reached my house, I turned to Jess and enveloped him in a big hug. His body went rigid for a second, but by the next he was wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer.

"Thank you for everything." I whispered in his ear.

"No problem. For everything. But I am expecting a restock on bandages, preferably ones with gold leaf. They held a lot of sentimental value. Y'know what I mean?" He whispered to me, and I let out a hearty laugh.

We untangled, and Jess took on a serious expression, "But seriously, if you need anything I'm up till like 4:00 am. And remember to lock your windows, got it?"

"Yeah mom, I got it."

"Cass, I'm serious. Promise me." He put a hand on my shoulder.

"I promise, I will. See ya tomorrow, Jess."

"See ya, Cassie."


"But she was wearing your shirt!"

"Nothing happened!"

"She was here freakishly early! That's not normal!"

"Luke, I'm telling you nothing happened!"


I opened my front door with the spare key under the mat. I decided to take it inside with me as a precaution.

But just as I stepped over the threshold, I heard an eerily familiar laugh coming from the kitchen.

Fuck.


Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry about last week, but I'm feeling much better now. I'm working on the next chapter, and it will hopefully be done by next weekend. This was the last pre-written chapter I wrote during my writing craze, but I've been feeling pretty motivated lately. I keep dated updates in my profile just in case I can't post on time. See you next week!

-taylor's version 2.0