Angel stood still for a moment. He knew it couldn't be, but Romero sounded so convinced. He took in what he'd just heard, then shook his head and started walking again. "Nah, dude," he said. "She's babysitting for her neighbors right now.""Call her then," Romero said.Romero's dogged tone made him uncomfortable. He was so sure. Angel stood quiet for a moment."Did she see you?" What was he doing? This was ridiculous. There was no way Sarah would be out with another guy. He trusted her."No," Romero said."I didn't see shit!" Eric yelled in the background."Yeah, well, he would've if he didn't drive like a girl. By the time we turned back, they were gone," Romero said.They'd actually gone back to check? Angel picked up the phone at the hostess desk without mentioning it to Romero."So what was she doing?" He dialed Sarah's cell phone number."Talking, I guess," Romero said. "I saw her as we passed the car, and I had to do a double take, but Eric was driving so fast and wouldn
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
The musicians made their way through the restaurant, taking requests. Sarah sat with her mom, aunt, uncle and Valerie in one of the bigger booths. Angel's parents had thrown a graduation party, so the restaurant was open to guests only.Sarah's mom squeezed her hand, and Sarah smiled. Her mom looked nothing like what she'd looked like when Sarah first visited her in jail. She'd gained weight and looked healthy and vibrant.Her mom had been right there for her during the coach's trial. After Sarah pressed charges, several other girls stepped forward to accuse him of the same thing. All in all, he was tried on several different counts ranging from sexual molestation to attempted rape. But many others testified that he'd acted inappropriately with them as well. It took the jury only two hours to deliberate.He was found guilty, and after all the counts were added up, he'd be doing at least thirty years before he'd even be up for parole. Angel couldn't have been happier. But Sarah could
Sarah lay there, tracing the engraving on the chain around Angel's neck with her fingers. She glanced at her wrist and smiled at the charm bracelet. She'd taken it off and refused to even look at it the entire time they were broken up. She almost mailed it to him, when she'd lost all hope. Something in her heart wouldn't let her, and she was glad now she hadn't.After a week of being back together, they still couldn't get their fill of each other. Angel had made sure he closed the restaurant every night ever since, and Sarah was right there with him each night. She wondered if his parents had any idea of the things they did in that back room.Angel lifted himself up on his elbow and played with her hair. "How'd you get so close?" He stared in her eyes. "You and Syd?"Ever since they'd been back together, Sarah made it a point to keep any talk of Sydney to a minimum, and up until now, Angel really hadn't asked too much. She knew once the dust settled it would be coming, and now here
Angel skidded to a stop when he realized it was the coach he'd just seen running up the trail. But he was alone. Where was Sarah? He looked down the trail. Maybe she'd fallen behind. Would the idiot really leave her alone?Eric and Romero had eagerly volunteered to help him find Sarah and were driving around the park as well. He texted Eric to let them know he'd found them and where.Angel peered through his rearview mirror and saw the coach turn into the parking lot he'd just passed up. The rain was beginning to come down harder now. He put the car in reverse and backed up fast.The tires screeched as he turned into the parking lot and saw Sarah talking to the perv next to his car. He was too close to her, and her stance seemed defensive. Angel pulled up next to them, turned off the car, and jumped out.Sarah's expression crumbled when she saw him, and she hurried to him. His fist tightened, and he was immediately between Sarah and the coach."What happened? What's wrong?" he ask
Sarah looked up at him."I mean first love."She hadn't really thought of it that way. But he was. No other boy had even come close to the way she felt about Angel. And she had an aching feeling that no one ever would.She nodded and turned her attention to her water. "It was my fault." She took a small sip. "I was really stupid."Sarah stood up. The pain was still so raw she was afraid she might get all sentimental. But the coach grabbed her hand and pulled her back."Come here. It's okay." He spoke softly. His words were kind, and his touch felt warm. Except for the night of the awful scene and the day she went to see her mom, all the times she'd cried for Angel, she'd done it alone in her room. Sydney was usually on the other end of the phone, but she still couldn't help feeling alone.She sat back down next to him. He kept her hand in his and spoke to her, looking directly in her eyes. "Listen, you don't have to talk about it. But you're a beautiful girl, Sarah, not just on the
Angel was supposed to just drop Sofia off at the restaurant but ended up hanging out and helping out. That happened a lot lately. He had nothing better to do, and the last thing he wanted was to sit around the house dredging up painful memories.Eric and Romero stopped by to grab breakfast. They sat in the bar area that normally wasn't open that early in the morning, but the restaurant was pretty busy, and Alex told them he didn't want them taking up space in the dining room. Romero had snorted that he was a paying customer but shut up when Alex told him to pay his tab.After showing a few more patrons to their tables, Angel walked over to where Romero and Eric ate. They were talking about going to watch some extreme fighting later that evening. Romero's uncle's friend was promoting it, and he could get free tickets. Angel considered it. He hadn't gone out since he'd broken up with Sarah.He was trying to snap out of the nasty mood he'd been in lately, but knowing Sarah was spending
Friday morning Angel sat in the kitchen going over last night's Spanish homework. After switching his schedule around to get out of his physics class, he got stuck with the same Spanish teacher as the previous semester. At the time he hadn't cared. All he could think of was getting out of seeing Sarah every day. Now he was seriously regretting it. The amount of homework this lady packed on was unreal.Alex was fixing himself a protein drink when Sofia walked in. "So, dad said if one of you can come into the restaurant for me tomorrow morning I can take the morning off.""I'll go in," Angel said, without looking up from his homework."Where you gonna be?" Alex asked.Sofia stuck her head in the refrigerator and said something Angel couldn't make out."Where?" Alex asked again."Running with the team." She poured herself a glass of orange juice.Angel looked up. Sofia avoided looking at him. "On a Saturday?""Ah huh." She pulled out the toaster and plugged it in.Angel frowned.
Sarah's trip to see her mom went smoothly. Seeing her was still as emotional as the first visit. But things felt brighter. Her mom still hadn't been to court, but the lawyers were even more optimistic about her chances of getting out early, and Sarah could see the change in her mom's appearance. The dark circles and deep eyes were still there but not as pronounced as before. And there was a sparkle in her eyes that made Sarah feel very hopeful.Her mom gave her something to really think about just before she left."Sarah, I want you to know that I think you've been through enough. When I get out of here, it's up to you where you wanna stay. I don't have a job here in Flagstaff anymore, but if this is where you want to be, I'll find a way to make it work. Otherwise, if you'd rather stay in California, your aunt has offered to let us stay there until I get back on my feet. You think about it and let me know."The choice seemed obvious. The only reason she'd want to stay in La Jolla di
Playing pool with the guys always helped Angel relax. This was the first time Eric had come over since New Year's. Alex and Sofia were both working the restaurant but would be home soon. Angel wasn't too sure if having Eric there was a good idea. He had talked to Alex briefly about Eric not being to blame, but Alex was dead set against having him around Sofia when no one was around. Angel hoped that didn't mean he'd make a scene even if everyone was around.It had been another slow bitter weekend for Angel. His mind was on the usual, and it was getting real irritating. Being that close to Sarah on Friday made him realize he wasn't even close to being over her. Her resentment toward him had confused him. He was the one that had gotten duped. Did she really expect him to just accept another guy in her life? That wasn't happening. Though being that close to her for the first time in so long made it tempting to accept anything just to be with her.He knew better though. Having to deal wi
Sarah didn't think there was any part of her heart left to break. She was so angry at herself for crying. Why did he still have so much power over her? It was pathetic the way her entire body went into a frenzy from just seeing him.Being that close to him had such an overwhelming effect on her. She couldn't hold in what she was feeling, but his obvious contempt for her now was undeniable. He didn't even care why she was still here.She tried desperately to shake it off on the ride home. Talking to Coach Rudy about her mom was one thing, but telling him about Angel would be quite another. Sydney would be the first to point that out.She was quiet most of the way, and he finally asked. "Are you okay?"Sarah nodded but didn't offer anything."You don't have to tell me about it," he said. "Just hope you know, even though it feels like you won't right now, you'll get over him eventually. I promise."He always knew exactly what to say. Sarah had always thought it was just a coach thin