Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77372 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77372 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
The only routine I held onto was my running. Nothing was going to stop me from running in Central Park. Every chance I had I would be there. Even early in the morning when most would be asleep. The only silver lining about our restaurant was it closed by nine at night. At least we had our nights together.
***
“I'm not going!” Sofia yelled.
“Ah, let me think about it?” I said sarcastically, placing my finger to my chin. “Yes, you’re going! You applied for this scholarship,” I yelled back.
“Yeah, thinking I would get a full scholarship, not a partial! We can’t afford it!” she cried out.
“Let me decide what we can and cannot afford, you’re not even eighteen yet,” I barked at her.
“Ahh! You’re so bossy,” she cried back.
“I don’t care what I am, you’re going to that school and I don’t want to hear otherwise,” I screamed over my shoulder as she ran up the stairs. I knew my sister. I was the one who raised her. She was feeling guilty. I didn’t care what I had to do, but I was going to send her to that fucking school.
“What’s wrong with her?” My father said with his broken English, as he carefully sat down on the couch, holding his belly. I sighed looking at my father, my heart breaking.
“Sofia is being stubborn. Don’t worry about it, Dad.” I smiled at him and he smiled back. God, he had lost a lot of weight and the steroid pills weren’t helping him. The doctor kept saying we would have to wait and see. So I waited.
“Where are you going?” my father asked the moment I got up.
“It’s eleven thirty, Dad. If I'm going for a run, I’ll need to sleep. Night, Daddy.” I kissed him on his head and marched upstairs to my room.
I walked into a darkened bedroom. I guess Sofia had gone to sleep. I walked over to my bed and took my pjs.
“Addie? Can I really go?” she asked while she was lying on her bed, her body turned facing the window.
“Yes, you will go. I promise,” I said confidently. “Night, Sofia,” I said quietly as I left the room to go to the washroom.
I locked the door to the bathroom and steadied myself on the sink. I looked up and glared at myself in the mirror, angry that I was in this position. Why was life so unfair? I needed to come up with the tuition money, but how? My shitty car wasn’t worth anything. The house still had a mortgage and the store was bleeding money. Before I could cry, I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face. Who was this brown haired girl looking back at me? What had happened to me in the last ten years?
There was a gentle knock on the door.
“Addie. I need to use the washroom,” my father said meekly.
“Sure, Dad.” I collected my things and opened the door. His condition had worsened once we found out Sofia was only receiving a partial scholarship. It was okay, tomorrow was another day. I’d figure it out tomorrow.
***
I felt somewhat better after my morning jog. I took a little longer than normal. It was already five in the morning, so I had to gun it if I was going to open up the restaurant. I had already made sure my father wasn’t coming in. I had hidden his keys. It was my usual tactic; he hated it, but it always worked. Try as he might, this episode was bad. I had made him soup, hoping he would be able to regain some strength.
The morning rush was okay, better than before so I couldn’t complain. My father hadn’t been here in over three weeks, which was a good thing, had he seen that they were building a chain restaurant right across from us, he would have lost it completely.
“This isn’t good,” said Silvia. She was one of our most loyal patrons. She was a bit eccentric. She wore too much rouge and cheap perfume. Her age was completely unknown, but she was old. Her hair was a light purple as it puffed up high over her head.
“No, it’s not,” I said quietly looking out through the storefront window. They were close to opening it up.
I stood there, my arms crossed, just shaking my head. I was so engrossed that I failed to notice a customer had walked in.
“So, what’s the deal here? Do you actually work or stare out the window?”
It couldn’t be.
Ten fucking years had gone by. There would be no way that boy would be here.
I turned my head slightly and there in my diner’s entryway stood Daimon.
WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS
The old saying when it rains it pours, was seriously an understatement when it came to my life and me. It didn’t pour, a fucking typhoon happened the moment he walked in my restaurant and subsequently back into my life. I put my best poker face on, as I held my stance with my arms still crossed.