Tethered (Book Two of The Invisible String Series)

The Runaway: Part Two

Olivia POV

So this might not have been my best idea.

Because I have no fucking clue where I am and it's raining and I didn't think to grab my jacket and my fucking phone is dead.

Fuck. Me.

Letting out groan, I plop down onto the already soaked bench and glance around to try and get an idea of where the hell I ended up. I tried to follow my usual bus route, back towards the school, but I must have gotten off at the wrong stop or something.

I hadn't exactly planned on doing this, okay? I just...I couldn't stay in that group home any longer. I felt like I was suffocating there or something, and I knew going to school the next day was only going to make it worse. I had originally planned on just walking around to try and get some air, and to wrap my head around the idea that I was gonna be transferred to another foster home, but one thing led to another and now here I am. Stuck in the middle of some dark LA street in the middle of the fucking night, with no phone and very little money.

It occurs to me that I could have answered everyone's calls earlier, before my phone went and fucking died on me. But what good would that have done me? Nancy would have just dragged my ass back to the group home, and Y/N and Lizzie are the last people I want to talk to right now.

Off in the distance I see one of those old cheesy themed diners with the neon flashing signs that says "open 24/7" and weigh my options. I could continue to sit out here and think about how shitty my life has become, or I could go in there and wait out the rain and possibly get some coffee or something.

My shoes squeak as the pavement of the sidewalk changes to the diner's faded tiled floor, and I glance around nervously. There's only two other people here. Some middle aged dude who's furiously scribbling in a notebook at the counter and the waitress who smiles when she notices me standing in the doorway. "Hello, there! Welcome to the Flip 'n Fry. Take any seat ya want, darlin."

I return the smile as best as I can, despite my sour mood and choose to take up residence in one of the corner booths farthest away from the door, where I'm positive no one will bother me should some other lost soul venture in here.

The nice waitress, who's name tag reads Debbie, makes her way over to me, her smile still firmly in place. "Can I get ya anything?"

I wrack my brain to try and figure out something I can order, just to keep me from having to go back out into the rain, and simply shrug. "Can I just get a cup of coffee, please?"

Debbie nods just before she disappears and returns a few seconds later with a mug of steaming hot coffee that she places directly in front of me. "Here ya go, darlin. If you need anything else just yell, okay?"

I nod, wrapping my hands around the warm mug, letting it warm my fingers for a few seconds before I take a small sip. I've never really been a big fan of coffee, but I'm not about to complain. Not when it provides me with the little warmth that my body craves.

Glancing around the diner, my eyes manage to catch an electrical outlet halfway hidden under my table and I hurry to dig through my bag to try and find the spare phone charger I always keep on me. I doubt that Debbie is going to care if I charge my phone here, and the sooner I can try and figure out where I am, the better. I don't really plan on staying here long anyway. Just long enough to charge my phone and for the rain outside to stop.

I somehow manage to find the charger and tug it out, causing a few of my other belongings to spill out onto the booth next to me and I let out a quiet sigh. Once I'm sure my phone is plugged in and chargingI hurry to gather up my things, pausing when my eyes land on the wrinkled envelope I'd been carrying around with me for the past week or so and feel my stomach clench uncomfortably.