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“Pleasure to meet you, Sam,” the waitress said with a large smile. “What can I get for you both?”
Henry placed his order and then they stared at her expectantly. Athena turned her menu toward the waitress and pointed to the large breakfast combo with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast. Then she pointed to the milk and the juice.
“I’m sorry, your meal only comes with one,” the waitress said as she scribbled something on her notepad. “Which one would you like?”
“Go ahead and get her both,” Henry spoke before Athena could decide. “In fact, make her order a double and she’ll have the second one to-go.” He retrieved both menus and held them out to the waitress. “Thanks, Hope.”
Hope nodded. “Of course, sweetie. I’ll get that going right away.”
Athena watched their waitress leave, then swiveled her gaze back to Henry. She itched to ask him why he would do something like that—get her so much—but she couldn’t bring herself to utter a single word. Speaking the least amount possible was one of her many rules. The less she talked, the safer she was.
Instead of saying anything, she clasped her hands in her lap and stared at her twiddling thumbs.
Food.
A place to stay.
This was all… too good to be true.
But maybe she could just accept it this time. There wasn’t any harm in that, was there?
* * *
Athena held onto her to-go box as she stared at the house from the night before. She still sat in the truck, unwilling or unable to climb out and follow Henry inside. He’d chatted all through breakfast and the whole way back here.
And it wasn’t until he stood outside her door that she started to really regret agreeing to this.
Henry knocked on the glass. “Come on, Sam. Unlock the door. You realize I have the keys, right?”
If he was so insistent, then he would have unlocked the door by now. What was holding him back?
“Will you just unlock it so I can open the door? I have more stuff to do today. I can’t just let you stay in the truck all day long. It still gets hot.”
She glanced at him and then down at the lock. The swirling in her stomach continued to increase and she shut her eyes tight.
Hot shower.
Warm bed.
Safe.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled up on the lock and he immediately opened the door.
“Now, was that so hard?”
If only he knew. There were reasons for her rules. And “cruel people” was only a small part of them.
Henry held out his hand. “Come on, I’m going to take you to your room and if you want to lock me out up there, then I give you full permission.”
She stared at his hand just like the night before. Only this time, she didn’t have a glass full of liquid to toss in his face. Athena grimaced at the memory. She’d agreed to come here. He’d fed her. It was time to put aside her concerns if only for a few hours and allow herself to trust him.
But maybe only him.
Athena placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her from the vehicle. The second her feet hit the ground, she tugged her hand free and clutched the to-go box once more.
“This will be nice. You’ll see. I mean, it’s better than it was even five years ago.” He chuckled. “You should have seen it back then. Man, we let this place go… but then what can you expect when you live with a bunch of children.”
She must have given him a strange look because he slowed his steps and faced her. “That probably sounded weird.” Henry rubbed the back of his neck. “We didn’t exactly have the best parental guidance growing up. It’s a long story, and I won’t bore you with the details.” He shifted his attention to the house. “Come on. It’s on the second floor. Let me show you around.”
