Chapter 380 - Corner Grill

Chapter 380: Chapter 380 - Corner Grill

Karen didn’t talk to either of them for the rest of the day.

Roxie tried once after lunch and again before the final bell, but Karen either walked away or acted like she hadn’t heard her. Angela stopped trying after the second time. She looked angry more than hurt, but Roxie knew her well enough to see that Karen’s words from earlier were still sitting with her.

By the time Roxie got home, she was exhausted even though nothing had actually happened to her for the past few hours. She dropped onto the couch, stared at the television without turning it on and eventually reached for her phone.

She called Zac.

The video connected after a few rings, and his face appeared first, flushed and sweaty with his hair sticking to his forehead. Behind him, Dylan was tossing a football toward Kyle while Mason stood nearby drinking water.

Roxie frowned. "Why is Mason there?"

Mason heard her immediately and leaned into the edge of the frame. "Because I have friends."

"You have Karen."

His expression changed for half a second and Roxie almost felt bad.

Almost.

Mason walked away while Dylan started laughing in the background. Zac looked back at Roxie and shook his head.

"Nice."

"I’m tired."

"I can tell."

"You look worse."

Zac laughed and wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt. "Thanks."

Dylan appeared behind him long enough to point at Zac. "Tell her he almost died twenty minutes ago."

"I did not."

"You were on the ground."

"I was stretching."

"You were praying."

Kyle laughed somewhere behind them, and Roxie smiled despite herself. They all looked exhausted, but they were clearly enjoying themselves too.

Dylan kept talking shit, Kyle kept laughing and even Mason had already started arguing with somebody again. Zac looked tired, but he also looked more relaxed than he had in days.

Then Roxie looked closer.

His eyes were different.

He looked like he had pushed himself hard enough that even smiling took effort.

Zac noticed her staring. "What?"

"Nothing."

His expression changed immediately. "Babe."

Roxie looked away.

He stepped farther from the others. "What happened?"

She hesitated because she had called him just to hear his voice, and now that he was asking, she could already tell he was going to try to come home.

"It’s just Karen."

"What about her?"

"She still won’t talk to us."

Zac’s face tightened. "After last night?"

"Yeah."

"What did she say?"

Roxie sighed. "She was angry this morning. Really angry. Mostly at Angela."

"What did she say to Angela?"

Roxie stayed quiet long enough that Zac stopped smiling completely.

"Roxie."

"She threw Caleb back in her face."

Zac frowned. "What do you mean?"

"She said Angela cut herself because Caleb dumped her."

Zac stared at the screen.

He looked toward the guys behind him, then shifted like he was already reaching for his things.

"I’m coming home."

Roxie immediately sat straighter. "No."

"What?"

"Continue."

"Roxie."

"I’m serious. Continue training."

He stared at her like she had said something ridiculous.

"You called me upset."

"I called because I wanted to talk to you. That doesn’t mean you have to leave."

"You’re clearly not okay."

"I’m tired. Karen is pissing me off. Angela is hurt. That’s it."

"That’s not it."

"It’s enough for tonight."

Zac stayed quiet.

Dylan called his name from somewhere behind him, but Zac ignored it.

Roxie sighed. "Go train."

"You sure?"

"Yes. You already worked your last shift and now you’re trying to get back into full training. Keep going. We can talk when you get home."

Zac looked conflicted.

Roxie could see him deciding whether to argue.

Finally, he nodded. "Call me if something happens."

"I will."

"Anything."

"I know."

He still didn’t look satisfied, but he let it go.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Roxie ended the call before he could change his mind.

The bungalow felt even quieter after that.

She sat there for a while, staring at nothing, until she realized she hadn’t eaten. She could have cooked. She could have ordered something. Neither sounded appealing.

Twenty minutes later she walked into the Corner Grill.

The smell hit her immediately. Grease, coffee and whatever soup Ethan’s uncle had decided to keep on the menu even though barely anybody ordered it. Roxie hadn’t worked there in a while, but the place still felt familiar enough that she almost expected someone to hand her an apron.

Ethan looked up from behind the counter the second she walked in.

"Well, look who came crawling back."

Roxie headed toward him. "I’m hungry."

"You miss working."

"No."

"You do."

"I absolutely do not."

Ethan leaned against the counter. "I can put you back on the schedule."

Roxie laughed. "No. I’m a spoiled little princess now."

"Right. Forgot."

"I’ve retired."

"At eighteen."

"Successful people retire early."

"You were a dishwasher."

"A very successful and underpaid dishwasher."

Ethan shook his head and pointed toward her usual booth. "Go sit."

Roxie went over and slid into the seat. A few minutes later Ethan brought her a drink without asking what she wanted.

She looked at the glass and smiled. "You remembered."

"You ordered the same things."

"That doesn’t make it less impressive."

"It really does."

He started walking away.

"Ethan."

He stopped.

"Sit for a minute."

He looked toward the counter, then toward the kitchen. "Give me five."

Roxie nodded.

She waited while he finished what he was doing. Customers came and went, somebody shouted for Ethan from the kitchen and two regulars recognized Roxie and waved. Sitting there without an apron felt strange. For a few minutes she could almost imagine she still worked there.

To be honest, he was right. She did miss working here. The pay was downright cruel but the people here genuinely care. The others came out and talked to her for a bit.

Ethan finally came over and dropped into the booth across from her.

"You look terrible."

Roxie stared at him. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

"I came here for emotional support."

"That was your first mistake."

Roxie laughed under her breath.

Ethan watched her for a moment before asking, "Karen?"

Roxie leaned back. "Yeah."

"The same Karen from last night?"

"Yes."

"She okay?"

"Physically, I think."

"That sounds promising."

"She’s pissed at all of us."

"Why?"

"Because we went after her. Because Mason stayed. Because Angela kept asking questions. Because apparently caring about her is controlling now."

Ethan didn’t answer immediately.

Roxie frowned. "What?"

"I’m thinking."

"That sounds dangerous."

He ignored her. "Why is she angry?"

"I just told you."

"No. You told me what she said she’s angry about."

Roxie stared at him.

Ethan leaned back. "Maybe she’s embarrassed."

"She should be embarrassed."

"That’s my point."

Roxie frowned.

Ethan shrugged. "You all saw her completely fucked up. Mason had to hold her up. You dragged her home. Now everybody knows she lost control."

"So?"

"So maybe she hates that."

Roxie looked down at the spoon on her hand. Karen is a control freak but still.... "That doesn’t give her the right to say horrible shit."

"I didn’t say it did."

Roxie looked down at the table.

"She hurt Angela."

"What did she say?"

Roxie hesitated, then told him.

"She said Angela cut herself because her boyfriend dumped her."

Ethan’s expression changed immediately.

"That’s fucked."

"Exactly."

"She apologized?"

"No."

"Then Angela has every right to be pissed."

"She is."

Ethan looked at Roxie. "What about you?"

Roxie looked away.

He caught it immediately.

"What did she say to you?"

"She brought up my mom."

His face changed.

Roxie didn’t give him every detail, but she told him enough. Karen had used Claire’s overdose against her when Roxie panicked about the pill.

Ethan stared at her for a second.

"That’s worse."

"I know she was drunk."

"Still worse."

"She wasn’t herself."

"That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt."

Roxie picked at the edge of the napkin.

"I keep trying to understand why she’s acting like this."

"You can understand her and still be pissed."

Roxie looked at him.

"She can be embarrassed. She can be angry. She can hate that everybody saw her like that. Fine. That explains it. It doesn’t erase what she said."

Roxie stayed quiet.

Ethan pointed at her with one finger. "You do this thing where somebody hurts you and then you spend so much time trying to understand why they did it that you forget you’re allowed to be hurt."

"I do not."

"You absolutely do."

"That sounds made up."

"It’s not."

Roxie rolled her eyes, but she knew he was right enough to annoy her.

Ethan leaned back again. "It’s good to be hurt."

Roxie frowned. "That sounds stupid."

"You know what I mean."

"No. Explain cause that shit sounds stupid."

"It means stop acting like being hurt makes you dramatic. She said something fucked up. Let it hurt."

Roxie looked at him.

"And when she comes back, don’t let her walk in like nothing happened."

"She’s Karen."

"So?"

"She doesn’t apologize normally."

"Then maybe she should learn."

Roxie laughed once. "Good luck."

"I’m serious."

Ethan looked toward the kitchen when somebody called his name, then back at Roxie.

"She can come back angry. She can explain herself. She can tell you she was embarrassed or fucked up or whatever. But she should still say sorry."

Roxie nodded slowly.

That felt good to hear.

Since last night, everybody had been focused on whether Karen was safe. Roxie wanted her safe too. More than anything.

But somewhere between the pill, the panic and getting her home, the fact that Karen had hurt them had become secondary.

Ethan stood when his name was called again.

"Your food’s probably dying back there."

"Go save it."

"I always do."

He walked away, then came back a few minutes later carrying her food himself.

"You’re still spoiled," he said as he set it down.

"I told you."

Roxie started eating while Ethan stayed near the booth.

After a while he asked, "So how’s Tennessee?"

Roxie looked up. "What?"

"College. Moving. Whatever you’re calling it."

"We already found an apartment."

Ethan blinked. "Already?"

"Yeah."

"That’s fast."

"I know."

"When are you leaving?"

Roxie moved her fork around her plate.

"Earlier than we thought."

"How early?"

"Zac’s being called there after graduation. Football wants him there pretty quickly."

Ethan nodded slowly.

"So you’re really going."

"Yeah."

He looked at her for a second.

Roxie frowned. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You’re doing that thing."

"What thing?"

"Thinking and refusing to say it."

Ethan shrugged. "Just weird."

"What’s weird?"

"You leaving."

Roxie smiled a little. "You’ll survive. We’ve never seen each other for years."

"I know."

"You’ll finally have peace."

"That sounds nice."

Roxie laughed.

Ethan leaned against the edge of the booth. "We’ll probably barely see each other anymore."

Roxie looked at him.

He said it casually, but it landed heavier than she expected.

"You make it sound like I’m disappearing."

"You’re moving to Tennessee."

"Phones exist."

"You barely answer now."

"That’s because you’re annoying."

"Exactly. Tennessee is going to make you worse."

Roxie smiled, then looked around the Grill.

She had known Ethan since elementary school.

Back then, he had just been some annoying boy she happened to know. Roxie never would have imagined that years later they would work together, become close or that he would become somebody she could call in the middle of the night.

There had been a time when Roxie would never have believed she could miss him.

Now the thought of leaving and no longer seeing him behind this counter felt strange.

"I’ll miss you."

Ethan looked at her.

Roxie immediately frowned. "Don’t make it weird."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were about to."

"I was actually going to be touched. It’s not everyday, Roxie Jones says I’ll miss you to another man."

Roxie lifted her brow. "Don’t get you panties twisted, I’ll just miss my free driver."

Ethan laughed.

Roxie smiled and went back to eating.

After a moment Ethan said, "I’ll miss you too."

She looked up.

He shrugged like it wasn’t anything dramatic.

Roxie nodded. "Okay."

"Okay."

Neither of them made more out of it.

That was probably why talking to Ethan was easy.

He didn’t push her into explaining every feeling she had. He didn’t ask whether Tennessee was the right decision. He didn’t tell her what moving meant for the rest of her life.

He just stayed there until somebody called him again.

Roxie finished eating slowly.

Her phone buzzed beside her plate.

Zac.

Coming home. You there?

Roxie replied.

Corner Grill. Leaving now.

The typing bubble appeared almost immediately.

Ethan there?

Roxie stared at the message and laughed.

Ethan noticed from behind the counter. "What?"

"Nothing."

Another message came in. ℴ

Never mind. Stupid question.

Roxie smiled and typed back.

I’m coming home.

She stood and grabbed her bag.

Ethan looked over. "Leaving?"

"Zac’s coming home."

"Ah."

Roxie narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing."

"You really need new words."

"I have plenty. You just don’t like most of them."

Roxie started toward the door, then stopped.

"Thanks."

"For feeding you?"

"For talking."

Ethan nodded once. "Yeah."

Roxie turned to leave.

"Roxie."

She looked back.

Ethan pointed at her. "She apologizes."

Roxie rolled her eyes.

"I’m serious."

"I heard you."

"Good."

Roxie left before he could say anything else.

By the time she got home, Zac still wasn’t there.

She changed into something comfortable and dropped onto the couch while she waited. She meant to stay awake because she wanted to talk to him properly once he got home, but the second she stopped moving, the exhaustion caught up with her.

She barely remembered closing her eyes before the front door opened.

Zac came in looking destroyed.

Roxie opened her eyes enough to see him drop his bag beside the door. His shirt was damp, his hair was messy and even the way he walked looked tired.

"You’re home," she mumbled.

Zac looked over and smiled faintly. "Barely."

"How was training?"

"I hate Dylan."

Roxie smiled with her eyes already starting to close again.

Zac came over and sat on the edge of the couch long enough to touch her leg.

"You okay?"

"Mhm."

"Karen?"

"Still mad."

"We’ll talk after I shower."

Roxie nodded.

Zac bent down and kissed her forehead before heading toward the bathroom.

Roxie heard the shower start and tried to stay awake.

She wanted to tell him what Ethan had said about Karen.

She wanted to tell him that maybe she was allowed to be angry too.

She wanted to ask him how training went, whether Tennessee had called again and whether Dylan had actually tried to kill him.

But her body had already given up.

By the time Zac came out of the shower, Roxie was asleep on the couch.