Collision

"Good morning," My mother greets me as I take the seat across from her at the kitchen table. I pick up the steaming cup of coffee that was sitting for me when I sat down and slowly sip on the hot liquid.

"Where's Dad at?" I ask, looking around. I didn't hear him leave this morning but he could've left while I was in the shower.

"He went into town to get us lunch." She informs me and stands to wash her empty cup. I finish my coffee with ease and hand her my cup to wash.

"Where are you going?" She asks, looking down at my dress, as I lean against the counter. I had planned on going over to Harry's house but he said that he was in Denver with his mom.

"Just into town." I decide. I've been here for almost a month and I haven't seen the entire town yet. Plus, I need something that's time consuming other than sitting at home all day.

"Would you mind getting some milk? We're running low." She turns off the faucet and wipes her hands on a dish towel.

"I will. I'll see you later this afternoon." I kiss her cheek as I make my way towards the door, grabbing her car keys in the process.

I drive around town a bit, trying to decide what to do. It's only 12:00 and I don't want to go back to the house for another few hours. My mind is made up when I pull into a parking lot leading to a diner. I'm starving and it's a good way to kill time.

The diner is small but serves it purposes. I'm seated immediately and order a chicken salad with a lemonade.

"Your order will be ready shortly." The waitress smiles at me and hurries away to the kitchen. I grab my bag and take out the book that I'm currently reading to read while I wait.

About 20 pages in, the salad and lemonade are sat down in front of me along with a pile of napkins. I thank the waitress and indulge in the large salad.

As I eat I look outside. The diner is in the center of town, giving me a view of almost everything. There's a small park with a pond with children running around and playing on the swingset. Beside that is what looks like to be Main Street with buildings lining either side of the street. People push in and out of shops, hurrying to their cars or continuing down the street. Being in a small town is all I ever wanted and now we're here for only one short year. I can't imagine going back to a big city after I've lived here for so long.

The waitress refills my glass with lemonade and hands me the check. Putting a ten dollar bill on the tab, I hand it back to her and tell her to keep the change. I stand up and head to the car.

I put the car in drive and head towards the book store I saw while eating. I park on the street across from it and hurry inside.

Three of the four walls have bookshelves covering them while the other one is made entirely out of glass. I sit cross legged in one of the chairs at a high table and take out my book.

While my nose is buried in the book, the chair across from my slides backwards and I look up to see a boy with blonde hair.

"Can I take this chair?" He asks, turning around to face me. His face splits into a grin when we make eye contact and the chair stops moving.

"Hey Jess!" Cameron waves and steps forward to hug me.

"What are you doing here?" He asks as he sits down in the chair that he was about to take.

"Just trying to find a quiet place to read." I hold up my book and he laughs. That's not entirely a lie, just not the entire truth.

"Why are you here?" I ask.

"My dad owns the place." He points to a large man huddled behind the front counter. He looks up from reading something and waves to us.

"Do you work here?"

"Partly. I just work here when he isn't here." He shrugs.

"That's nice." I set down my book just as his hand reaches out to grab it. He flips the book over to read the title.

"You like Nicolas Sparks?" He questions, amusement on his face.

"I'm kind of obsessed with him." I laugh and take the book back.

We talk for another fews hours before he has to leave. After saying goodbye, I head back out to my car. The air has gotten cooler and I check the time on my phone. It's been two hours since I left. I text my mother to tell her I'm fine and that I've already eaten as I climb into my car.

Stopping to get some milk, I take the long way home and kill another thirty minutes. It's not that I don't want to see my parents, I just don't want to sit at home with them all day.

My parents are sitting in the living room when I get home, watching a Hallmark movie. I put the milk in the refrigerator before joining them in the living room.

"There you are." My mother smiles when I walk in and pauses the movie. They both look over the back of the couch and turn around so they are facing me.

"I saw you at the book store today." My dad says.

"You did?" I sit down on the arm of a chair.

"You were with Cameron weren't you?" He asks and I nod. I guess he did see me.

"I like him." My mother says. I mentally roll my eyes, of course she likes him, she likes everybody.

"I like him better than that other boy. Henry, is his name?" My dad says.

I grit my teeth. "His name's Harry."

"Regardless, I don't think he's a good influence on you, unlike Cameron." He crosses his arms.

"Harry's not any influence on me and he's just fine." I defend him and stand up. Both of their eyes widen but they don't say a word. I ignore the look my dad's giving me and storm past the both of them, hurrying up the stairs before they can say anything more.

Notes

Hope you guys had a great weekend! Here's a treat for you!