Wednesday morning I wake up in my bed with the sun shining bright on my face. My wrists are a dark purple today from the events of Monday night. My brother about lost it when he found out what had happened, but Valerie, thank goodness for her, was able to calm him down and remind him that the cops were handling it. Seth let me stay home from school yesterday, but I am ready to go back today. I don't know what happened to Ryker, but I don't exactly know what I would say if I see him. Dean stayed at Nina's for about an hour talking to me before he went home Monday night. I still can't believe he got arrested for defending my honor. I hated to admit it, but I loved that he did that and getting my necklace back made it even better. He had told me that Ryker was completely drunk which makes me feel stupid for not realizing that myself, but he had covered up the scent with mouthwash and that musky cologne. But still, it makes me feel nauseous knowing that I was in the car with him while he was in that state and it made me even more infuriated with Ryker.

Today will be better, I tell myself as I get dressed for school. I have to pack an extra pair of clothes in my backpack for today as I start my new job. I finally got the call yesterday, from one of my many applications, from a local restaurant for a waitressing job. I walk out of my room wearing a black and white baseball Tee Shirt and my favorite pair of blue jeans that hug my hips perfectly, my hair half up with the rest dangling down my back. I say bye to Valerie and Seth and grab a banana before driving to school.

I make it to school right on time as the bell begins to ring once I step foot in the hallway, so I rush to my English class. When I walk in, my eyes instantly dart to Dean, and he gives me a faint smile, then I look away after I realize Phobe is also staring at me, probably cursing the ground I walk on to get to my desk.

"Heard you and Sanderson broke up. That's too bad, he was the best thing you had going for yourself." She smirks, her tone sassy as ever. Is it bad I get the urge to want to punch her in the face?

"You know, Phoebe, if you think he is so great why don't you date him? A bitch and a coward could balance one another out, don't you agree?" She looks stunned, as am I by my own mouth. Her smug look disappears from her face as she opens her mouth to say something, but silence falls from her lips as she closes her mouth and turns away with a humph.

I sit down in my assigned seat as Mr. Edwards starts his lecture for the day. Dean doesn't talk to me the entire class and I can't help but feel it's because of what I said to Phoebe. It was pretty harsh, but she is always talking shit to me and I have had enough of it. After lunch hour, Nina and I change out for P.E. in the locker rooms and start walking out to meet everyone in the class when Ryker walks in. He has a black eye and a bandage barely covering his dark purple nose. I cringe when he makes eye contact with me.

"I was told he was switching all of his classes," Nina whispers to me. Just then I see Ryker hand, Mr. Benson, a piece of paper, which he writes on and then Ryker leaves with it. "That must be his transfer slip, so we won't have to deal with him, okay?" Nina tries to reassure me. I nod feeling overwhelmed and relieved all at once.

We are playing volleyball again today, and the red-haired boy starts picking teams. I get chosen on the red team along with Dean, and Nina gets chosen for the blue team. We take our spots, I get put upfront by the net on the across from Nina and Dean is next to me in the middle. "What are you doing today after school? Want to come over?" Nina asks me, waiting for the ball to be served.

"I can't believe I forgot to tell you! I got a waitressing job and I actually start training today after school," I blab, earning a glare from my teammate. She's clearly taking this volleyball thing to heart, with her focus zeroed-in on Nina and I talking as if we were enemies.

"Really? That's awesome. Where did you get a job at?" Nina questions as she watches the ball being passed over to her side of the net.

"Marie's Diner," I tell her. The ball comes to me and I pass it over the net, earning a point as Nina misses the pass because she was too busy laughing.

I rest my hands on my hips, arching my brow at her, "What's wrong with that restaurant? Does it have cockroaches or something?" I joke with her, I can't understand why she's laughing so hysterically.

"No, no, nothing like that. It's just that diner belongs to..."

"My mom. It's my mom's diner." Dean cuts her off. His mother? "Marie is my mom. So I guess I will be seeing you after school today because she had told me last night I have to help train the new waitress." He winks at me and gives me that side smirk before he walks off towards the boy's locker room.

I look over to Nina with incredulity and she is still giggling but stops to say, "Life has a funny way of bringing people together, doesn't it?"

The last bell rings and I rush to my car, change my shirt, and head to the diner. When I park, I glance around and don't see Dean's jeep anywhere. I walk in and ask the lady with white hair if Marie is available and she smiles, saying she would be right back. While waiting, I decide to sit down at the coffee bar and look around.

The diner is a decent size building with a long coffee bar that spans one entire side of the wall. The tantalizing aroma of fresh coffee and delicious smelling food fills your nostrils when you walk inside. The booths are blue and worn, but it feels almost homey. It is rather pleasing and makes you feel instantly comfortable. Portraits of old actors and actresses hang on all walls, a lot of them even autographed, saying something nice about Marie's Diner and cooking, and an old jukebox in the corner.

A short woman with light brown hair, that hangs just above her shoulders, approaches me with her hand out. I stand from the coffee bar and place my hand in hers to shake, making eye contact with her blue eyes.

"You must be the lovely, Scarlett. I am, Marie," she greets. "Thanks for coming in on such short notice, we really needed the help and when I interviewed you on the phone the other day, I was relieved to hear you say you would be willing to start right away." Her smile is genuine and welcoming, a lot like her son.

"It is nice to officially meet you, Marie. Thanks for giving me the opportunity," I say, returning the smile.

"Well, I was going to have you just mainly shadow, Dean, my son, for the evening. He can show you how to close up things and how to perform your tasks. The menu is fairly limited, so it won't take long to learn the menu. Any questions that you may have, don't be afraid to ask, okay honey?" She looks past me. "Oh, my son just walked in. Dean, come here please."

I turn around and see Dean walking towards us with his head down watching his feet while he walks. "Hey, mom." He gives her a half-smile and then looks at me for a brief moment before looking back to Marie. "Hey, Scarlett."

"Oh, you two already know each other? Perfect, that makes this even easier. Dean, sweetheart, if you could please just show Scarlett the basics tonight and also send her home with a menu so she can study it that would be great, honey. I have to go and do some orders, but I will catch up with you two later. Good luck, Scarlett and again thank you, honey." She kisses Dean on the forehead before leaving.

A couple of hours and only one cup of spilled coffee later, Dean puts the closed sign on and starts filling the salt and pepper shakers. I finish wiping all the tables down and sit down on the opposite side of the booth to help him fill the bottles. He has barely talked to me, only muttering what I need to do and that is about it. I pretty much got the hang of it after an hour and it isn't so bad, and plus the tips are nice. The only thing I know I will need to work on is how to carry more than three plates at once without dropping them.

"You did good tonight. I mean besides that one cup of coffee." Dean says with a light chuckle.

I can't help but laugh back. "I felt so bad when that happened. I thought that man was going to be so angry with me when I spilled it all over his jacket."

Dean starts folding silver wear and starts to look less uncomfortable talking to me. "No, you did really good tonight though, better than when I started. Now, look at me," He brags, gesturing to his tips sitting in an empty coffee can.

"No one likes a bragger," I joke. "Thanks, Dean," I add weakly before continuing, "I am sorry for today by the way. I didn't mean to offend you or hurt you by saying what I did. I was just tired of her saying stuff like that to me and the last thing I wanted to hear about today was Ryker and me."

"Look, it's alright, I got over it. It wasn't so much you that I was mad at." He chuckles, "Though I was fairly surprised when I heard you go off. I know how Phoebe can be and I am sorry. She doesn't know the details of why you two broke up, otherwise, she wouldn't have said anything. Or at least I had hoped she wouldn't."

I let out a small gasp, appreciating the fact she didn't know the intimate details, I assumed he had told her, being that he was the one to defend me. "You didn't tell her what happened?"

"No, of course not. It's not my business to say what almost happened to you. I wouldn't do that to you, Scarlett." His answer makes me feel warm inside. He really is such a nice guy. I still can't believe he did that for me.

"Thank you, Dean. For everything." I whisper.

I look up at him and meet his electric blue eyes staring at me. "You're welcome," he grins, handing me the napkins. "Here, you finish rolling these and I will mop the floors." I gaze after him as he walks towards the jukebox and puts on Rascal Flatts, one of my favorites. The song Bless the Broken Road hums from the machine as I fold the rest of the silverware and I can't help but watch him mop the floors. Black hair and blue eyes seeping into all of my thoughts, consuming me. These napkins may not be the prettiest once I'm done.