Chapter 16
3rd POV
Tension was at an all time high as Henrietta drove her car full of friends to her house. It was dead silent, Michael and Raven's argument was never quite settled so the left over testosterone from their little dong measuring contest was still flowing through the air vents.
"You should stop at the liquor store, I need to buy more cigarettes." Pete suddenly piped up from the back seat. Henrietta silently changed directions, turning down the street to their usual liquor store where the old man at the counter stopped caring long ago that his best customers were under-aged. Once they arrived, they all went their separate ways to different isles.
"I'll walk home from here." Raven suddenly said, putting his snacks on the counter.
"Okay." Henrietta wasn't interested in asking why.
"I think I will too." Michael narrowed his eyes. "I have something I need to do anyways."
"I don't fucking care." Henrietta sighed annoyed, snatching the plastic bag full of her purchases and walking back to her car, Pete and Firkle trailing behind her. For a moment, Stan and Michael stood there glaring at each other before turning and walking in opposite directions.
Sophia POV
I tried to patiently wait for the couple to say something, anything, but they were both staring at me as if they'd never seen a minimum wage worker before. I recognized the woman from this afternoon when we bumped into each other, and based on the little moment I almost interrupted, this was her husband. Must be an asshole or something judging by the way he won't even blink with how hard he's staring at me.
"Uh, do you need more time?" I slowly asked. My voice made the man flinch and he looked like someone who just got hit over the head with a fish or something.
"Y-yes! Yes, more time would be great thank you!" The woman said a bit too loudly and I slowly put down my pen.
"Right..." She opened her menu a bit too enthusiastically, hitting the man's arm in the process. "I'll be back in a few minutes, let me know if you need anything." She nodded with a smile that was too wide and obviously forced. The man looked like he wanted to say something as I took a step back, still staring intently at me.
"Hey Sophia," I turned to Kenneth's table; Karen was happily scooping fruit onto her pancakes and absolutely drowning them in syrup. Good for her, it's not often she gets to eat something sweet. "Can we get more water?"
"Sure." I picked up their empty glasses. Debbie didn't mind when I invited Kenneth and Karen over for pancakes, as long as it wasn't too often. They were pretty nice and she seemed to be aware of their living situation or something; I tried using my employee discount and paying for them the first few times, but she waved me off and grumbled something about pancakes being a dime a dozen. "Want fancy water?" I asked only a tiny bit sarcastically.
"Of course, only the best for my sister." He grinned a happy smile full of crooked teeth and I snorted, walking behind the counter and filling their cups with ice and filtered water, dropping a lemon wedge in each.
"Here, the best water we have." I smirked, gently setting the cup in front of Karen who was happily devouring her pancakes.
"Thanks Sophie." Karen grinned around a mouth full of pancakes, her smile eerily similar to the one sitting across from her.
"Any time Kare-bear." I ruffled her hair and walked around the restaurant, asking my usual questions of "any more coffee?", "would you like some dessert?", "here's your cheque, no rush.", but of course I was trying to rush them. If I'm being honest I was definitely taking my time in going back to that couple's table. I don't think they even looked through their menus, they were just whispering to each other the entire time. "So, are you guys ready to order?" I stood in front of their table, raising an eyebrow as they whipped their heads around, staring at me with wide eyes.
"Oh, um, yes, we'd like an order of these," the woman pointed to a picture of tuna sandwiches cut into triangles. "one of these," it was a plate with a pork chop and baked potato. "and a basket of fries please."
"Sure." I finished writing everything down. "How would you like the pork chop cooked?"
"Medium rare." The man finally spoke up, his voice was actually kind of horse.
"And you have the option of baked, mashed, or fries for the potato."
"Baked is fine." I could see him swallow thickly, there was actually a bead of sweat running down his face.
"It also comes with a salad, what kind of dressing would you like?"
"Ranch is fine." Why won't he stop staring? His wife was staring at him too, she looked constipated or something.
"Okay, your orders should be ready in a couple of minutes." I put the pen in my pocket and turned away.
"Sophia," I looked over my shoulder at him. What the hell is this guy's problem, he looked ready to jump out of the booth. "Th-thank you." He finally said, nodding and sitting back down.
"No problem." I said slowly, his wife's eyes kept flashing between him and I. Yuck, I'm still a minor you jackass. What a couple of fucking weirdos. After taking their order to the kitchen, I hid behind the counter for a little while before Porsche came into the kitchen with a tray full of dirty dishes.
"What's wrong Sophia?" She asked in her breezy voice. "Still sad about that customer from earlier?" She tilted her head and I sighed, leaning back against the counter.
"No, just a weirdo-couple that won't stop staring at me." I patted down my bangs and she patted my shoulder.
"Are they making you uncomfortable?" Her tone was worried and the corner of my lips quirked up involuntarily.
"It's fine, I'm sure they'll leave soon." I shrugged off her hand and started putting together the guy's salad, drizzling it with probably too much ranch. Holding the bowl of lettuce in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other I walked back to their table. "Here's your salad, would either of you like more coffee?" Once again it seemed like I was interrupting a conversation.
"No thank you, I think we're still good." The woman smiled, less forced this time, and I noticed their cups were untouched.
"Okay. Your food will be right out." As I turned to leave, the man once again called out.
"Sophia?" Pivoting, I turned to look at him.
"Yes?" He was running a hand through his dark hair.
"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" It looked like he was trying really hard to make eye contact. My body froze and I narrowed my eyes. You'd think with all the awkward staring, I'd have noticed his own pair of mismatched eyes. His left was a disgustingly familiar purple color with complementary black flakes in it, and his other eye an equally as familiar silvery grey. I swallowed thickly, taking a step back as I processed dozens of possibilities.
"Sixteen." I rasped out in an uncharacteristically horse voice. He nodded slowly and his wife was watching me like a hawk. Before he could say anything else I turned and fled back to the safety of the kitchen. "Shit." I gasped, slamming down the pot of coffee with just a bit too much force, Debbie sent me an annoyed look but I easily ignored it. "Fuck." I ran a hand through my hair, leaning against the wall.
His eyes. Why are his eyes like that? It's not exactly something common. And the colors are too similar to actually be a coincidence. Fuck. Oh god, his hair was black too. I unconsciously touched my own black hair. This is fucking crazy. There's no way this is happening.
"Sophia? What's wrong, are you okay?" Porsche's concerned face filled my hazy vision. When had my eyes gone blurry? "Hey, calm down you need to breathe." She put her hands on my shoulders squeezing tightly. "Here, how about you sit down, I'll go get Debbie." She ran off after she made sure I was sitting on the ground.
That lady... She was at school, my school, I literally bumped into her. Why were they there? This makes no sense. There's no fucking way this is happening.
"Kid? What's going on?" Debbie's concerned face filled my vision. "Hey, talk to me here." I could hear whispering start.
"I just- I uh-," I could only gasp out a few words. "A-air- I need air." I got up shakily and practically ran to the back. As soon as I ran through the backdoor, I stumbled to the parking lot floor, pulling my knees to my chest and shoving my head as far down as I could, taking obnoxiously loud, shaky breathes. "Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Son of a bitch." I cursed through my clenched teeth. I hope I'm over reacting, I honest to god hope I'm overreacting.
"Sophia!" Two pairs of feet ran at me. "Are you okay? What happened back there?" Kenneth kneeled next to me and Karen rubbed my back soothingly. I shook my head in response and he lightly shook my shoulder. "What's wrong? You were fine one second, and freaking out the next!"
"Th-that man..." I slowly looked up, still shaking my head and unable to say the words. "He, he uh- he was- his eyes, I-"
"Woah, hold on, did this guy do something to you?" His voiced dropped in anger and I shook my head.
"No! He was just looking at me weird, and then his eyes- they were- just looking! Did you see them?! They're the same!" His eyebrows kept lowering with every word I said.
"You're not making any sense, of course his eyes are the same, what are you talking about?"
"They're the same as mine! We have the same eyes!" I finally gasped tangling my fingers in my hair almost desperately. "His hair is black too." I whispered a bit more calmly, resting my forehead on my knees. I could feel him freeze up before he began patting my back.
"Hey, what does that mean? What are you trying to say?" Faintly, I could hear Karen sniffling next to me. 'Aw shit,' I thought idly,'I must've really scared her.'
"I don't know." I sighed heavily, trying to get my breathing under control. "It's just... His eyes and his hair... And his wife was at school, I bumped into her there... And they wouldn't stop staring and the guy was being kind of creepy and I don't know." Running my hands over my face, I grimaced in disgust as I felt how sweaty I'd gotten in such a short period of time.
"Do you think... That maybe you're related to that guy or something?" Kenneth said delicately. Managing to sit up, I ruffled Karen's hair, silently thanking her and assuring her I was okay.
"I have no idea." I shrugged, lying.
3rd POV
The whole diner was whispering to each other, having just seen the young waitress run out. Charles and Sarah noticed the two teenagers in the booth next to them get up and run after her.
"Do you think she's okay?" Charles asked worried, looking like he wanted to run after her as well.
"She's definitely noticed Charles." Sarah said softly. "You two have very similar, very uncommon eyes, and she's probably freaking out." He hunched over his coffee and sighed tiredly.
"Oh god, I hope she's okay. She looked so pale." He ran his hands through his hair a bit more roughly than necessary.
Porsche couldn't help but stare at the couple that her coworker had previously been attending, narrowing her eyes.
"Ah geeze, poor kid, the stress is probably getting to her." Debbie sighed, shaking her head with her hands on her hips.
"Debbie," Porsche began, still not taking her eyes off the couple. "That couple over there, Sophia was just waiting their table." Debbie turned around to see who she was looking at.
"Them? What about them? They don't look like they're from around here." The older waitress raised an eyebrow.
"It's just... I think they were making Sophia uncomfortable, she looked kind of creeped out and said they were being weird." Normally something like this wouldn't even cross Porsche's mind, but she vividly remembered all the weirdos they would get at Raisins - they'd usually get escorted out by Maury pretty quick, but a lot of girls would quit because of them and the few that couldn't would usually cry in the break room after their shifts - Porsche knew because she comforted her fair share of them when she still worked there.
"Is that so." Debbie glared, putting on her most annoyed face and picking up the coffee pot. She walked over and scowled at the couple. "My waitress ran out, do either of you know why?" Their eyes widened.
"N-no, she just ran off." The woman said quietly.
"Is Sophia okay?" The man furrowed his eyebrows. Debbie narrowed her eyes, taking in how interested he seemed.
"She'll be fine, if you're sure you don't know what happened, I'll send someone else to bring out your food-"
"Wait, are you sure she's okay? Shouldn't you check up on her or something?" The man looked ready to stand up, his wife was trying to sit him back down.
"Sir, if you don't calm down I'll have to ask you to leave."
"Is this something that happens often? Is it a medical condition or something? Asthma?" He seemed to be working himself up more with every question.
"Charles sit down!" His wife hissed pulling on his shoulder.
"Sir, I have to ask you to calm down and leave. You're causing a scene in my restaurant." Everyone else inside was staring. Just as he was about to open his mouth again, his wife shot up and pulled on his arm.
"I'm sorry, we'll be leaving now." She apologized, smiling awkwardly at the older waitress and basically dragging her husband out the door. "Charles, you need to get a grip!" She hissed again once they were outside.
"Did you see her Sarah? She looked ready to pass out! Some great first impression I made." He frustratedly kicked his foot through a pile of snow. "Oh god, do you think she's okay?"
"I'm sure she's fine, there was nothing on file with her having a medical condition, I'm positive she was just shocked." He slumped over tiredly.
"I'm sorry Sarah, I just..." She put her hand on his arm comfortingly.
"It's okay, I understand that you're worried about her." She said softly, reaching up to kiss his cheek. "How about we go back to the hotel and order pizza?" He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers and smiling softly.
"I seriously have no idea what I would do without you." They began walking to the pairing lot behind the diner where they'd left their car.
Sophia POV
After a few more minutes I stood up and dusted myself off, taking a deep breath as I did.
"Seriously guys, I'm fine now. How about you go back inside and I'll meet you there in a few minutes?" Karen seemed hesitant to let me go, but I think Kenneth noticed that I wanted some time to myself.
"Sure thing, come on Karen, let's go finish our pancakes." He led her away and she reluctantly followed him. I reached into my pocket and took out my phone to check the time, frowning as I realized my shift wouldn't be over for another while longer.
"Great." I sighed sarcastically. Resolved to get back to work, I stretched my arms up and took a few more deep breathes.
"Sophia?" I whipped around, seeing that weirdo couple in the parking lot. Shit, they're probably here for their car.
"Excuse me." My quiet escape didn't work as heavy footsteps ran to catch up with me.
"Hey, hold on, are you okay? Are you sure you should be going back to work, why don't you take it easy and rest?" Trying my best not to look at him, I kept my gaze on the floor.
"I'm fine, my shift's almost over anyway." This time, he grabbed my arm when I tried taking another step. "Hey!" I stared at him with wide eyes.
"Sophia I..." He swallowed thickly, licking his lips before continuing. "Can we talk? I know you don't know me, but I have some important things I need to tell you."
"What the heck- no way! Let me go." I tried pushing away his arm but he only held on tighter.
"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable, but if you'd just listen-"
"Get away from me! Haven't you ever heard of stranger danger or personal space?"
"But I'm not a stranger, at least not technically," he loosened his grip and I immediately took a step back. "I just... Your mom, Christine, didn't she ever tell you about a man named Charles Smithings?" His eyes were pleading and I looked away as I rubbed my arm.
"Fucking hell, can you get any more cliché?" I rubbed my face under my bangs. "If you have something to say, just say it."
"O-oh, okay, well uh," his wife stood next to him, laying a hand on his arm supportively. "The thing is, I'm, uh, your-"
"Hey! What the hell are you doing here?!" I looked up and saw Michael running into the parking lot. His face was flushed a splotchy red and his neck matched from what I could see as he stood in front of me, blocking me from who was obviously Mr. and Mrs. Smithings. "We told you to stay away from her! Are you assholes a pair of stalkers now? Get out of here, she doesn't want to see you!"
"Michael," I quietly tried to get his attention, clutching the back of his jacket in my fist. His breathing was heavily, but I couldn't tell if it was because he ran here or because of how angry he was.
"Leave. Get out of here, now." Michael's hands shook as he tightened them into fists.
"This doesn't concern you." The man, Charles, frowned, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Of course it does! But what would you know you conformist ass-"
"Michael," I admonished a bit louder, this time catching his attention. He looked over his shoulder at me and I shook my head. "It's fine." Faintly, I could see his eyes narrowing into tighter slits.
"Sophia," the woman spoke directly to me, easily catching my attention. "We're sorry to have bothered you, we didn't mean for things to escalate like this." She smiled apologetically. "We'll go look for you at the high school, we already met with your principal today, I hope you'll meet us there tomorrow." She nodded her head at me and I bit my lip.
"Don't even bother you fucking-"
"Okay." My voice wasn't as loud, but it easily carried over Michael's. I swallowed thickly, nervously glancing at the man's relieved face.
"Alright then. It seems a bit late for introductions, but my name is Sarah," she smiled sweetly, almost like Mrs. Biggle. "And this is Charles." She gestured to the man next to her. Getting a good look at him, I noticed how tall he was, taller than both Michael and I, with broad shoulders and legs that filled out his pants, as if he used to be an athlete or something. He waved a bit awkwardly and I nodded.
"I'm Sophia," my voice cracked a bit in the middle. "But I guess you already know that." I looked off to the side awkwardly.
"Yes, we did, it's amazing to meet you." Her voice was kind, and I couldn't bring myself to look her in the face.
"Yeah." I said a bit lamely. There was a bit of an awkward silence before the man gruffly cleared his throat.
"Well, we'll be seeing you tomorrow." He smiled at me and nodded, looking down.
"Sure." They smiled one last time before getting into a gray SUV. We silently watched them drive out of the parking and down the road.
"What the hell Sophia." Michael suddenly turned on me. I couldn't help but blink in surprise, not expecting him to turn his anger on me.
"What do you mean?"
"That's your dad. That dead-beat, kid-abandoning loser is the sperm donor that knocked up your mom however-old-you-are ago." He glared and I slowly nodded.
"I kind of figured that part out myself..." I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Then why are you giving that asshole the time of day?!" He suddenly yelled. "You should be spitting in his face and sending him back wherever the fuck he came from, not entertaining him like some stupid after school special!" He was red in the face again and glaring fiercely in a way he's never looked at me before.
"Michael, I-"
"So what? Now that your daddy's here everything is suddenly okay? You're going to act like he never left you and go live happily ever after with his stupid family like some B-rated chick flick or something?"
"No, I wasn't-" His hands were shaking and he started pacing angrily.
"So that's it huh, you can finally go back to being a conformist and living out a mediocre, middle class, piece of shit-"
"Michael!" It's not often I raise my voice but his accusations were starting to snowball and he was only working himself up. "Would you just shut up and listen?" He stopped pacing and frowned at me. "I'm not going anywhere," I started quietly. "And I'm not going to act like nothing happened either. Don't you think I have questions? My mom's never said a fucking word about my... dad, so of course I'm going to take advantage and find out what I can. Do you honestly think that looking at that guy doesn't make me sick?" His adam's apple bobbed as he swallow thickly.
"Oh..." He looked down and I roughly ran my fingers through my hair. We fell into a comfortable silence, it's always comfortable with Michael.
"Thank you though... for defending me." I looked down, licking my chapped lips.
"Whatever." He looked away but when I peeked through my bangs I could see the tips of his ears redden. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it quickly, taking a deep breath through it.
"I'm going to ask Debbie if I can leave early." Embarrassment colored my tone as I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. "Will you wait for me? So we can head over to Henrietta's house together..." His nod was quick and jerky.
"I'll be by your bike." He turned his back to me and I could faintly see the light that his earring reflected when it swung around.
"Okay." My response was almost breathless before I rushed back inside.
A/N: Be careful Michael, you're projecting. I hope you guys enjoyed :D