Rylie rested her chin on the side of the table as she tried to balance the unlit cigarette.
The dream she had the night before was tormenting her and she couldn't get it out of her head.
***
Rylie opened the door to the small diner, and warmth immediately hit her, flooding into her body, and taking away the icy feeling left behind by the snowy night.
She unwrapped the fuzzy scarf around her neck, and hooked it on the coat hanger. She then shed her coat, and snow-chunked mittens.
"Marie, I would love a cup of hot chocolate." she smiled at the waitress behind the counter, and walked over to the stool.
That was the diner she regularly hung out at in the big city. She had been living in New York for a couple years, and staying in the apartment with Summer and Ashton. She had nowhere else. She had no job; no friends; Summer and Ashton were even tired of her laziness. She was never going to go anywhere in life, so she plastered a fake smile on her face, and dealt with it.
"Rylie?"
Rylie turned around, and her eyes grew wide.
"Rylie Higgins?" Luke got up from his place at the booth, and walked over to her. His face was bewildered.
Rylie gulped. She had hoped she would never see him again. "Luke..." she breathed out, and turned back around to watch Marie place the small cup in front of her.
Luke sat down beside her, and watched her take a sip. "H-how are you doing?" His voice was deeper, and the corners of his lips lifted up in a small smile.
Rylie glanced at them, remembering how much she loved those lips. His lips ring was gone, but his lips were still a light shade of pink, and they still held so much love behind them.
"I'm...grand." Rylie lifted her cup up to her lips, but stopped, and looked back at Luke. "How are you?"
Luke smiled at the stained table beneath him. "I'm-"
The bell at the top of the door chimed as another person entered the unpopular diner.
"Luke!" the tall woman with the rosy cheeks, and long blonde hair smiled brightly at Luke. She stepped towards him.
Luke glanced at Rylie quickly before getting up, and embracing the woman in a hug. He pulled away, his hands still on her hips, and brought his lips to hers.
They smiled through the kiss, and Luke pulled away. He looked so lovingly at her. Rylie practically saw the hearts flutter in his pupils.
Rylie cleared her throat, and Luke looked down at her. "Rylie...this is my..." he paused and gulped awkwardly, "wife, Leann."
Leann smiled warmly, and Rylie rolled her eyes. It was her fault. She had told him to move on. She had lied and said she didn't love him. She had allowed him to have a great life, while hers fell apart. When she had seen him, she thought it was a second chance. Maybe they could start over; get their life back on track. That was obviously not the case.
***
Was it a vision into the future? Was Rylie really going nowhere? The dream had troubled her all morning, and she found herself outside the hotel staring at an old man on the bench next to her smoking a cigarette.
She blurted out so quickly that her mind hadn't registered it. "Can I have a cigarette?"
The old man looked at her and laughed as he pulled a carton out of his pocket, and flipped the cap up, grabbing one, and handing it to her.
