Chapter 66

Celia

With the money that I had leftover in my pockets, I ended up buying a bus ticket to a town whose name was most familiar to me. The bus ride was long and I fell asleep, waking up to the new environment just as we arrived.

It took all day and all night to get to this place. I had heard its name once in a distant memory. Maybe my parents have spoken about it in passing, I am not too sure, but at least I am nowhere near Soren and the things that he has said about me.

His words float through my mind.

Useless. Worthless. Substitute. Waste of space. Not worth the time. Could care less.

Every single thing that he has spoken about me was like a nail into my coffin. It has sealed off my heart from him, protecting me from his sweet words that he will try to use against me, to lure back into his trap.

No. I will not go back to him. He does not deserve to see me or speak to me or know what it is that I am doing. He lost that right — if he even had it in the first place — as soon as he typed out those messages long ago.

I am simply giving him exactly what he wants. If he truly thinks that I am a waste of space, then I will leave. I will not have to make his eyes hurt just by looking at me or be the reason he feels like he is unsafe or that he is looking at something he deems to be unsavory.

No longer will I think abbot the so called Alpha King who has sworn to protect me. I will no longer give any more of my time to him and instead focus on myself and my own safety in this new town.

There is no way that Bianca and her allies could find me here. It is even more desolate than the town Soren took me to. There are few tourists and the town square is as empty as it would be if the place was abandoned.

No wonder the bus ticket to this place was so cheap. It is simply a place to stop and refuel, this is not a place to live or stay for long periods of time.

I step off of the bus and thank the driver, my eyes immediately squinting as soon as the morning sun hits my face.

The beach is just to the left of me, the tide coming back in as the time of day changes. I look around, spinning to see a nearby diner as a few people leave it, nobody entering. I push my lips to one side of my face and sigh, heading towards the diner.

My eyes feel swollen and dry despite how much I cried last night on the bus. I tried to be as quiet as possible but I could tell that people were annoyed with me. I hope they find some happiness now that I am off of the bus.

The diner’s door rings, the bell from up above sounding off as I step inside.

There is a single waitress and I can see the cook in the back through the window of the kitchen. The inside is nice and clean, a bit rundown and out dated by I guess that is because of how time barely passes by here since nobody comes to visit. I smile at the waitress, who gestures to the empty seats of the small restaurant.

“Take your pick, darlin’,” she greets me, “I’ll be with you soon.”

I nod and look back to the layout of the diner. There is a line of booths up against the wall. Only two of them are occupied. One booth has blue collar workers sitting inside of it and the other is an elderly lady.

I walk down the path and examine the seats, unsure if taking booth for myself would be selfish in case another group comes in. I turn around and look back at the people, my eyes drifting back to the elderly woman.

She reminds me of my grandmother back home. My heart aches at the sight. My grandmother would know exactly how to stitch myself back together. She would know exactly what to say to me to help heal the pain that I feel in my heart.

“Would you like to eat with me, dear?” the elderly woman’s voice is sweet and gentle. I can’t help but smile at the sound.

“Would that be okay?” I ask and walk towards her booth. She nods and waves me over, a smile spreading cross her face.

I sit down across from her and settle into the seat. It is a bit bouncy and I can feel the springs through the thin material of the seat. It isn’t the worst thing ever, though, and I count my blessings as the waitress approaches us.

“What can I get for you?” She smiles at me.

“Um,” I bite my lip and remember that I have no money. My stomach growls. “Just a water, please.”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” the elderly woman says, turning to the waitress, “get her the pancakes and bacon. Add it to my tab please, Diane.”

“You got it, Donna!” the waitress leaves and I look back to Donna, my body relaxing.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I say.

“I wanted to. You look tired and can use the food,” she smiles happily and sips her tea. “You look like there’s something on your mind. Would you like to talk about it?”

I pause. I know that this isn’t my grandmother, but something just feels so safe with her. I nod and adjust in my seat, clearing my throat.

“Well…I just found out that the man I like absolutely hates me,” I sigh, my tears coming back to me, “so I ran away.”

“What makes you think that he hates you?”

“I found his messages to another girl, the girl he was supposed to marry but that ended up with...” I pause, not wanting to get into the gory details about how I was stabbed, “one of us getting hurt. He said that I was a waste of space and that he hates me to her.”

“I am so sorry,” the woman frowns. The waitress comes back and sets down a cup of steaming hot coffee as well as a plate filled with pancakes and bacon. “Nobody deserves to be treated like that.”

I nod and weakly smile. I wipe away a tear that runs down my cheek and turn my attention to the food in front of me. I salivate at the sight and grab my fork.

“It just hurts because I thought that we were going to try and be something after all we’ve been through,” I sigh and poke the pancake. “I guess it was too good to be true.”

I stab the pancake and bring it to my mouth. It is so delicious and it melts in my mouth. I let out a sigh and my body relaxes into the booth’s seat.

“That man is definitely not the one you should be with,” the woman speaks, “you should never end up with someone who says such cruel things. It is not right.”

I nod in agreement and scarf my food down. The woman chuckles and tells me to slow down or I’ll get sick. I smile, loving just how caring she is is, just like my own grandma, and continue to eat as she tells me stories of her old boyfriends, using them as cautionary tales for me to take in the future.

It makes me feel safe and distracts me from the man I am trying to leave in my past.

#Chapter