I smiled. “Okay.”
She stared at me for a minute.
“What?” I asked.
“You know, you look very similar to Amy. Different color hair, but your features are similar.”
My cell phone began to vibrate.
“It’s my ride,” I told her and answered the phone.
“Hi,” said Nathan. “My car won’t start.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed. “The battery must be dead or something. I’m trying to get ahold of Duncan, to see if he can give you a ride home.”
“What about mom?”
“I can’t find her keys anywhere. Caleb’s already picked her up, and she forgot her cell phone here on the counter.”
“Great. Okay, let me know if you talk to Duncan. I’ll just hang out here for a while.”
I hung up the phone and Susan tapped me on the shoulder. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to listen in but… do you need a ride?”
“I might.”
“My brother should be here in a half hour. I’m sure he’ll give you one.”
I smiled. “Thanks. I can’t wait until I get my own car. Relying on someone else for a ride all the time is so frustrating.”
“I know. I’m going outside to have a smoke, you want to join me?”
“I don’t smoke but I’ll come out with you”
We both grabbed a couple of sodas and I followed her out the back door of the diner where there was a picnic table. We sat down in the darkness and she cleared her throat. “At least it’s a nice night. The moon is full and there aren’t any clouds.”
It was true; the stars were bright and it was a little cool outside, so we weren’t getting bitten up by mosquitos. It seemed really peaceful, although I kept thinking about Amy and her warnings about how dangerous it was at night in Shore Lake.
Susan lit up a cigarette and took a long drag. “Oh, man, I needed that.”
“So… you were friends with Amy?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said, looking away. “I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“She seemed really nice when I met her.”
Susan looked at me and nodded. “She was a sweetheart. Her boyfriend, though, he was scary. I’m glad she dumped him.”
“She had a boyfriend?”
She blew out another stream of smoke. “Yeah, Ethan. He hangs out here sometimes at night with his crew. They’re all kind of freaky if you ask me.”
“Why, what do you mean?”
Susan shrugged. “I don’t know; there’s just something strange about them. They come in here, hardly saying a word to each other. They just sit and stare at us, sipping their coffee. Ethan is the scariest. He’s cute, but there’s something about him that makes me nervous. He has these penetrating blue eyes that give me the creeps. Anyway, I really hate serving them, but they’re paying customers, so we can’t exactly kick them out.”
I cleared my throat. “Weird. So, why did she break up with this Ethan guy?”
She laughed. “Amy always had quite the imagination. Everyone thought she was a little… nuts, and maybe, she really was. I mean, she did kill herself. Anyway, she once told me she thought he was a vampire.”
“What?” I choked on my diet soda.
“I know, right?” she smirked. “A freakin’ vampire! Although, if I did believe in vampires, he’d be the first on my list of suspects.”
My throat was really dry as I took another sip of soda. First Abigail, and now Amy; both believed there were vampires roaming the town.
“We’d better go back into the diner,” she said, putting out her cigarette. “My brother will be here soon. I’ll see if he can give you a ride.”
My cell phone went off again as we entered the diner.
“It’s Nathan,” said my brother. “Duncan’s coming to pick you up.”
“Great, thanks,” I said.
“Make sure he brings you straight home. Don’t go jumping his bones or anything.”
“Ha-ha. You are such a comedian.”
He laughed and hung up.
“I’m getting a ride from a friend,” I told Susan. “Thanks for the offer, though.”
“No problem. Oh, my brother’s here,” she said, looking at her phone. “He just texted me. I’ll see you tomorrow, at four o’clock again?”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
After she left, I sat down at one of the booths, to finish my soda and wait for Duncan. As I watched the front door, a group of kids around my age walked through. One of the other waitresses seated them.
“Same as usual?” asked the older waitress, who I’d met earlier. Her name was Darlene and she was close to retiring.