Even as Angel had driven into the parking lot and seen the yellow Impala parked in front of the café, he'd held out hope that this was all one big mistake.He'd parked next to Eric's car where he saw Eric and Romero standing. Eric motioned to the window of the café as Angel approached them.It was her.And she looked unbelievably seductive. She sat there gazing attentively into another guy's eyes. Angel had watched disgusted as she reached across the table and held his hand, and he noticed her cleavage was out there like he'd never seen it before in public.Eric and Romero filled him in on how they spotted the car leaving the beach and followed them to this secluded hole in the wall. Sarah wasn't stupid. She just hadn't counted on dumb and dumber spotting her.Now, standing here staring into her startled eyes, he searched for answers. Her once beautiful green eyes, that normally gazed at him so brightly and with such emotion, were almost gray. And all he saw in them was fear and w
"I have to go after him!" Sarah pleaded, as she ran toward Sydney. An older couple walking to their car stared at her with concern. The tears streamed down her cheeks, and she knew her face was a mess, but she didn't care about any of that. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and started dialing Angel's number frantically."I wouldn't, Sarah." Eric said as she walked by him.Sarah turned to look at him and tried to catch her breath. "But I have to."Eric shook his head. "I've known Angel all my life, and I've never seen him like that.""Yeah, no shit," Romero said. "That was bad."Sarah wiped her face and tried desperately to regain her composure. "But that's why I have to talk to him and explain. He just doesn't understand." She turned to Sydney. "Please take me to him.""Whatever you want, Lynni." Sydney put his hand on her shoulder."Who the fuck is Lynni?" Romero asked, disgusted. "Hey, easy." Eric frowned."I'm just wondering did she lie about her name too?" Romer
Angel waited impatiently for the light to turn green. He was already regretting having agreed to this. But he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Dana's call that night. Breaking up with Sarah was, without a doubt, the hardest thing he'd ever done, and he wanted to make sure he wasn't making a mistake. But when he called Dana this morning, she insisted she wanted to talk to him in person.Alex agreed to cover for him at the restaurant, even telling him to take his time and enjoy—as if he'd be able to enjoy anything the way he was feeling. He hoped Dana would keep it short and to the point. He was in no mood for much more. He was so tired from the lack of sleep the last couple of nights, and just thinking about Sarah made him want to bang the steering wheel.He picked Dana up, and she announced she wasn't very hungry, but she could go for coffee, so they went to Starbucks. She talked all the way there but not about anything he wanted to hear. As soon as they got their coffee, he c
The restaurant stayed busy all day. The week before Christmas always was that way with a lot of the local businesses holding their company Christmas parties there. It kept Angel busy though did little to jolt his ominous mood.He never realized how many songs had to do with lost love and broken hearts until now. He'd found himself switching the channel on his car continuously—sometimes abruptly turning it off all together, thoroughly disgusted with the lump in his throat.He'd finally turned his phone back on only to find it loaded with unheard messages and texts. Not all were from Sarah, but he cleared them all anyway. Angel wasn't about to chance inadvertently hearing Sarah's voice or reading a partial text of hers. Even that was too painful.The brunch rush was over, and the restaurant was enjoying a very short break. The afternoon crew had arrived and was getting things ready for the dinner parties that evening.Sarah's absence was glaringly obvious, so Angel had filled in his
It took a moment for Sarah to realize where she was when she woke. It reminded her of when she was little and she and her mom lived in hotels for months at a time. She'd woken many times by herself, her mom already off to work.Just like when she was little, she turned on the television. She didn't want to watch anything; she just hated the quiet. She sat for a moment on the edge of the bed and thought about the day ahead. She should've done this a long time ago.After showering and having a cup of coffee from the small pot the hotel provided in her room, she was ready to go. She could've taken the transit bus, but she decided to walk. Sarah knew well enough to come prepared. She layered up and wore her boots and beanie. She drew in the crisp cool Flagstaff air and smiled, remembering when she and Sydney used to walk everywhere. The walk was only about a mile, and it helped lessen her anxiety.Sarah arrived at the Coconino Women's Detention center just after nine. She'd called ahead
Sarah"What is it?" Sarah asked."Well, I wasn't going to say anything until I knew for sure, but you look so sad." Her mom pouted. "My lawyers found a loophole in my case."For the first time since she'd been there, Sarah thought she saw a twinkle in her mother's eyes. "What does that mean?"Her mom sat back with a cautious grin. "Well, I won't know anything until we go to court, and that won't be until after the holidays, but according to my lawyers, if everything goes well, I could be out by early spring."Sarah jumped out of her seat, causing one of the guards to look at her funny. She gave him a crooked regretful smile and then hugged her mom. "Oh, my God, Mom! That's the best news ever."Her mom beamed then went back to being serious. She motioned for Sarah to sit back down. "But you have to promise me you'll stay in California until then, Sarah. It's not that much longer."Sarah felt an uneasiness settle in her stomach, but nothing could take away the joy of what she'd ju
Christmas had come and gone with no feelings of joy for Angel. The restaurant wasn't nearly as busy the week after Christmas as it had been the week before. His parents were gone for the week, visiting family in Mexico. Every year they left the week after Christmas and came back after the New Year. Angel and Alex had covered the morning shift at the restaurant, and since Sal was there for the week, he and Sofia covered the afternoon shift.Angel was in no mood to celebrate New Year's Eve, especially knowing Sarah's birthday was at midnight and it wouldn't be him kissing her happy birthday. He slid his fingers over the chain Sarah gave him for his birthday, before dropping it back in the sock drawer and slamming it shut.Alex poked his nose in his room. "What's with you?"Angel glanced at him but didn't answer. He sat down to on his bed and began putting the socks on."I got people coming over, so get down here and help me clean this place up."Angel's shoulders slumped. "Who's com
As usual, Angel hadn't gotten much sleep. He was up early and walked over to Sofia's room, careful that he didn't wake Alex. He needed to get to the bottom of this whole Eric thing, and he didn't want Alex there riling Sofia up to the point where'd she say something absurd like she had last night.He'd known Eric too long and trusted him completely. There had to be more to the story. This wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to. He wouldn't even know where to start, but he had to do it fast before Alex was up.He knocked softly on Sofia's half-opened door before peeking in. To his surprise, she was already up and on her computer. She minimized the screen she was on when he walked in.To his relief, he didn't have to think of something to say. She spoke first. "Are you mad at me?"Angel lifted a shoulder. "I don't know."She stood up and closed the door behind Angel. The expression on her face reminded him of when they were kids. Sofie had always been handled with care. It'