it was late. or early should be said. louise was in the restaurant, cleaning the grill at three in the morning. she had nothing else to do, no one to talk to, and she mourned for company. so instead she filled herself with chores and keeping the restaurant going while her family was away. because if she didn't, who would? plus it gave her things to do.
linda and bob were gone on a month long anniversary trip; gene and tina gone to college. poor little louise all alone to run the restaurant, to pay the over priced rent, to watch jimmy pesto with andy and ollie every day, to look out the window and wish she was at the pier with her friends. for her to long to be able to do what she wanted. but nonetheless she had fun at the restaurant sometimes so it wasn't that bad.
perhaps her favorite part of the day was the — as her dad called it — 'lunch lull'. but this time more realistic. between 3:30 and 4:30 PM, when lunch was over and it wasn't quite ready for dinner. when only few strangers came and ate, mostly single people, too, as a family outing was usually dinner and later. she had very little to do then. bussing tables was easier and cooking was given more time. the clinks of coffee cups and silverware echoing in the practically empty restaurant was music to her four ears.
the news playing on the small TV in the corner, reminding all the regulars that nothing in the little restaurant had changed one bit. the same old ketchup stains on the counter, same tears in the old booths. squeaky bar stools and plates that still have the price stickers on them. the only thing that changed each month were the burgers and the amount of gum under the tables.
louise didn't miss the old ways her family did this at all. soon the building would be hers, her father had told her time and time again. louise didn't want that life, but at the same time she did. things had changed but they would change drastically if louise ever got full handle on this place. she looked around the kitchen, the lights illuminating the streets as the moon sat full over head their world. she was the only one awake, besides andy which she could see his light on across the street.
louise stepped from the kitchen back into the main part of the restaurant. she replaced mugs and plates, wrapping forks and spoons in napkins trying to give the place one hint of elegance: it didn't work. she sighed and rubbed her eyes, remembering she had just cleaned the grill. she groaned and moved to the sink to wash her hands. she lathered them in soap and rinsed them off.
her face turned back to the window, and she saw her reflection. louise was a short girl, five feet and two inches of pure bittersweet hell. her smile turned the necks of any boy you'd meet and her slim figure made it easy for her to escape after she'd kill them — she never did. but she was one hundred percent a heart breaker. her dark green tank top tucked in snugly to her pants and hell! did she rock those shorts she was wearing. her black converse made her feet look smaller than they already were. her black hair pulled back into her two iconic pig tails. sometimes a braid if she felt like it. her long eyelashes complimenting her hazel eyes perfectly, giving her the simple look of an angel. she was the opposite.
louise walked closer to the window, flipping the light switch to off. her eyes lost focus of herself and set on the other side of the street, to a tall figure standing, just looking around. they took a deep breath and smiled as they took in the scenery. louise squinted here eyes, trying oh so hard to make out who could be out at three a.m.
her stomach dropped, eyes widened and heart pounded excessively when she came to the horrifying realization that is was him. the boy she hated since she was nine. that's right: eight whole years of hatred for him — and she hadn't seen him for four of those.
her hand slapped to her back pocket, whipping her phone out and opening the messages app. the screen was dim, adjusted to how dark it was now. she clicked on the 'compose new message' box and scrolled through her abundance of contacts. she reached the L's and kept scrolling... kept scrolling... kept scrolling. until she landed on him.
her thumb hesitantly tapped on his name, her fingers shakily constructing a text message to him. she pressed send.
4 ears: Logan?
the figure pulled a lit up screen from its pocket, louise watched as she realized it was definitely bush. she texted again before he could send anything back.
4 ears: Look
she flipped the lights on, logan's head jolting to the building as it lit up. louise shivered as the message was sent on READ 03:27. she gulped as he started to make his way across the street.
