Page 3 of Stay With Me
Setting the phone down, I close my eyes, tears falling that I’ve been holding back. Of all the days she had to choose to leave, it had to be today.
I miss my dad.
We were so close, and to lose him so suddenly, when we had no idea he was sick, was hard.
Time gets away from me, and I’m pulled from my thoughts as I hear someone pull into the driveway. I stand and let in the two people I can trust above anyone else, knowing with them around, I can get through anything.
Luna Age 25
I rest my forehead on the window, condensation on the glass cold on my skin. It’s been just over nine years since I left, and I still feel like I have to keep running.
Looking at the map in my lap, I wonder how long I’ll have to keep doing this.
I’m pretty sure The Family has long forgotten me, but I’ve never felt comfortable enough to stay in one place longer than six months. Always feeling like they’re right on my trail, but I have no reason to believe they would leave the compound back in Utah.
“We will be pulling up to the Raven’s Talon bus station in ten minutes,” the driver announces over the speaker system.
Griffin’s Den is my final destination and the largest city I’ve been in since I left all those years ago, but it’s not large enough that I’ll get lost or have too many questions asked when I try to find a job.
When I first saw the job listing for someone to help at a bed-and-breakfast, it sounded too good to be true.
After talking to one of the owners, I realized that I’ll also be able to rent one of their cabins at a discount.
As the bus comes to a stop, I stand and grab my bag, which has all my belongings in it, and walk to the front of the bus. I thank the driver, who’s busy looking at something on their phone, and as I walk down the stairs, I’m hit with the dry heat of the south.
Squaring my shoulders, I walk up to one of the ride-share locations that have started to pop up at all the Greyhound busstations. I turn to the parking lot where Ann said she would meet me to bring me back to the bed-and-breakfast.
I wasn’t going to accept at first, but she insisted.
I fish in my pocket and pull out the piece of paper with the make and model of her vehicle before scanning the parking lot. My eyes land on the truck and an older woman standing outside of it.
As I approach her, nerves course through my veins. I can’t afford for her not to like me. “Mrs. Ann?”
“Just Ann, dear, and you must be Luna?” She opens the back door of the truck for me, and I place my belongings on the seat.
“Thank you,” I say softly as we both climb into the truck.
“I hope the bus ride went smoothly.”
“Yes. It was pretty smooth. Thank you for asking,” I tell her as I look out the window.
“Well, I hope you’re hungry because we’re going to meet Joe at the diner for lunch,” she says while turning out of the parking lot.
Ann makes small talk as we drive to our destination, giving me a full history of the town and the bed-and-breakfast. As we pull into the diner, my nerves come back full force. In the car, we were in our own bubble. Ann didn’t expect me to talk. She just kept talking so that I didn’t have time to get a word in.
She parks, and I climb out. Fiddling with the hem of my shirt, I wait for her.
With a soft smile, she motions for me to walk with her. “I promise it’ll be okay. We’re going to treat you to a welcome-to-Griffin’s-Den meal before we head back to the house and get into the boring side of the job.”
I nod. “I appreciate all you’re doing for me.”
I mean it too, in more than just an I-need-a-job way. I wasn’t sure where I was going to move since I had a hard time finding a job that paid under the table.
As I hold the door open for Ann, my stomach grumbles. Ann smirks at me as she walks by.
The diner smells of coffee and grease. Pictures and memorabilia cover the walls, the seats are red and black, and with more than half of the tables full for the lunch rush, I start to question if this is a good idea. Everyone seems to be having one big conversation about things happening in town. Nerves make my palms slick with sweat at the thought of sticking out as the outsider when all I want is to blend in.
“Oh, I see Joe,” Ann says, but before we can take three steps, we’re stopped.
