Page 70 of Infinity Chronicles 1
“We never talked about after school. I wasn’t sure if I should just head to Maggie’s. I thought you guys might have left for the day.” Milo is waiting by the car, he’s looking at me, but he keeps looking away when my eyes land on his. Does he think I’m still mad about this morning?
“Hi Milo,” I give him a small wave, hoping it’s enough for right now. I don’t want to apologize standing in the parking lot.
His eyes travel over my face before he responds with a simple, “Hey, good day?”
I nod, both my thumbs hooked into the backpack straps. It feels so much more comfortable to have the weight evenly dispersed across shoulders.
Ollie releases me and gives me a slight shove on my back, pushing me to the passenger side of the car. Milo already has the door open and is climbing into the backseat. I move to follow, but he pulls the front seat into place before I can. I stop, my fingers going to my lips. Ollie is in the driver’s seat when I duck my head to ask, “Are we not waiting on Dante?”
“Nah, he has to finish up with the yearbook today. Delaney complained to Mr. Schroder that he wasn’t here most of the week.”
“Who’s Mr. Schroder?” Placing my bag on the bench, I slide into the passenger seat. “Milo, I don’t mind the back, do you want to switch?”
“I have an idea,” Ollie answers, grabbing the bag and tossing into the back.
“Hey,” I admonish but he ignores me.
“Scoot over here,” Ollie pulls my arm, tugging me to the middle of the bench seat. “Milo, jump out for a minute.” I end up leaning over on Ollie’s side as Milo pushes the seat forward to get out of the back. Thinking he wants me to climb over the seat, I inch over back to the other side and turn. “Good, now hop in.” Ollie adds when the seat falls back into place.
Milo doesn’t hesitate to get in the front. I’m sandwiched between them. My heart rate jumps a little. I drop my hands into my lap, feeling a little overwhelmed by their presence. Milo’s arm goes over the back of the seat, and around me. I bite the inside of my check when his fingers delve under my hair and reach out to land on Ollie’s shoulder. Milo’s head falls to the headrest behind him, his eyes already closed.
Now that I can examine him, I see crescents of dark circles under his eyes. He looks exhausted. Did he not sleep well last night? I feel a pang of sympathy. Tonight, I’ll make sure he has a more comfortable place to sleep.
“He’s fine,” Ollie tells me, even though I didn’t ask. I take another peek at Milo before looking out the front window. Maneuvering the car toward the exit, Ollie waits in the line to turn out.
When we reach the diner, Ollie puts the car in park and opens his door for me to climb out. Milo is passed out in the passenger seat, his lips slightly parted as he takes deep even breaths. “One of us will pick you up tonight when you get off, if we don’t make it here before then.” Ollie leans in a gives me a quick peck on the corner of my mouth. Before I realize it’s even happening, he’s back in the car with a devilish grin, waving as he pulls away seconds later. I, however, stand there frozen with my fingers over the spot he just kissed.
Walking into the diner I keep my head low, I don’t know if Maggie was around to see Ollie kiss me. I don’t know what she’ll think if she was. I know she knows about me being in their Infinity, but I’m still so unsure of what that means for all of us. Is Maggie in an Infinity? I’ve never seen any men here visiting her. I know she hangs out with Gus in the back if we’re slow, and I always thought they might have something going on, but it’s definitely not obvious.
“Hey Laura,” Maggie greets me with a kind voice. I look up, so many questions on the tip of my tongue. “We’ll probably be busy again, it’s the last JV home game of the season.”
“Let me just put my stuff in the back and I’ll do a quick check of the bathrooms and make sure we’re okay on silverware while I have the time.” Happy for the excuse to escape her too knowing eyes I push past the swinging doors of the kitchen. Gus is standing over a deep stockpot, slowly stirring the contents. He looks up at me and gives me a grunt and wave before his attention returns to his pot.
Maggie definitely isn’t wrong. We’re slammed most of the night. Tables full of younger kids from school, none of them looking for trouble, but a few are loud and obnoxious. They thin when the game starts, but we still have a steady stream of people coming and going all night.
I begin to feel the effects of actual tiredness, or the effects of not being around the guys, as the evening gets closer. When I’m busy running around and my mind is too absorbed with everything I have to do, I’m okay. It’s the second I have a chance to breathe when I realize just how exhausted I really am.
The door chimes again, and I turn to greet the new customer, making sure we have an open place for them. Delaney and three of her friends are looking around the small diner, like they might be searching for someone. I know it’s not me because they’ve all passed over me like I don’t even exist, which is fine by me. I get a slight thrill knowing I don’t have a booth available that will seat four, so they’ll have to sit up at the bar with Maggie.
Feeling the pressure of someone’s hand on my shoulder I turn. “Excuse us.” The father of a family passes me with his group in tow, leaving the diner.
“Damn it,” I curse under my breath. Moving over to the table they just left, I stack their dishes and glasses. I back my way through the doors to the kitchen and drop the plates next to the washer. I’ll have to come back to rinse them, I need to get the table wiped off. They had two kids, and there is salt and ketchup all over. Snagging the towel from the bleach water, I wipe down the table and pocket the three singles and change left behind in my apron.
I know Delaney is behind me before I even turn. I can hear her snooty voice and smell her floral perfume. I wrinkle my nose, she smells like an old lady. It’s probably some expensive stuff, but I think it smells like she’s been walking around a craft shop for too long.
Fake smile in place I turn and motion for the table. “All yours. I’ll give you guys a minute to look over the menu, can I get you anything to drink?”
“Oh my God, she actually does speak,” one of the girls snickers.
Sliding into the booth, Delaney peers up at me all wide-eyed and innocent looking. “Wow, who knew?” Her eyes go back to her friends, and they completely ignore my question about drinks so I don’t linger.
After checking on a few tables and refilling some drinks, I make my way back over to them, order pad and pen in hand. “You guys know what you want to order?”
“We were actually just wondering, what’s it like to clean up everyone’s leftovers? I mean, clearly it’s something you like to do, you do it here, and we all know how hard you’re trying withseveralguys at school.”
Heat rises in my face. I know what she’s implying, even if it doesn’t make sense. “Did you say you need a few more minutes? No problem.” I turn my back to them. They aren’t worth my energy. I know the truth now, Dante was never her boyfriend. She was the one trying to make it seem like he was.
“Hey,” Delaney calls before I get too far, “we can’t wait all night. We’d like to order.” Her voice is clipped. My back goes rigid, but I turn back to their table.
