“That I have,” I said. “I thought grabbing a bite to eat might make me feel better.”
“Always a good idea in my opinion. What can I get for you?”
“Burger and fries,” I said. “Extra cheese.”
Tyler smiled. “Be right back.”
He went into the kitchen, and I looked around. The rest of the bar was empty, so I pulled out my phone. I scrolled through a few things before getting sucked down the rabbit hole and wandering away into bizarre trivia. I was knee-deep in facts I would never need to know when Tyler came back out of the kitchen with my food.
He set a plate with a massive burger and a mound of fries in front of me. It looked amazing, and I was already diving into the fries before he could even turn around and get me a drink. He started me off with a root beer. The reminder of my childhood favorite drink brought an unexpected spike of emotion.
“You okay?” he asked.
I swallowed hard and forced away the feelings, making myself smile so he didn’t know about the swirl of confusing emotions going through me.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Thanks for this.”
“Absolutely. It’s one of my specialties. So, what are you doing here so early? We just opened,” Tyler said.
“I was actually just driving by and decided to stop.”
“Are you telling me you were in the neighborhood?” he asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.
“Yes, but it’s actually true. I was at that interview in Lawrence,” I said.
“How did it go?”
“It went well,” I said, dipping a fry into the ridiculously delicious green sauce I couldn’t recognize in a little bowl at the side of my plate.
“It’s great that you’re going after it now. I hope you get it.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I do, too. It’ll be nice to feel like I have my own life again.”
“You mean it’ll be nice to not have to live with your parents anymore?” he asked.
“I didn’t say that,” I said, popping the fry in my mouth. “But yes.”
He laughed. “How are those burger and fries treating you?”
“They’re amazing,” I said. “Thanks again.”
“Sure.”
He looked like he was about to say something else when Ava came up and joined us.
“Hey, Becca,” she said. “Good to see you again.”
“You, too,” I said.
The door opened and a few more customers streamed in. They sat down at a booth at the side of the restaurant, and Tyler walked out from behind the bar to talk to them.
“So, how are you settling in?” Ava asked, taking a glass down from the rack above her head and using the soda spigot to fill it with lemon-lime soda.
“Well,” I said with a slight groan and picked up my burger to take a bite.
Ava laughed. “That sounded like you are thrilled with everything happening in your life.”
I let out a sigh. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to come back and live with my parents. I can’t really imagine a whole lot of people at my age would be jumping up and down with glee to find themselves sleeping in their childhood bedroom again. Especially when their parents are conspiring to essentially kidnap them and keep them under lock and key forever.”
She hitched one eyebrow as she took a sip of her drink and leaned with her hip against the bar. “They said that?”
“More or less,” I said. “My mother especially. She said she never should have let me out of the house in the first place, and she never wanted me to leave again. That she wasn’t going to let me move out or have my own life because I was just going to get hurt and she needs to protect me.”
“Wow,” she said. “That’s kind of a lot. Not that it’s exactly my place or anything, but do they not realize how completely insane they sound?”
That brought a much-needed smile to my lips and made me laugh. “That’s the thing. No, they don’t. They both think it’s completely normal to want their full-grown daughter to stay with them for the rest of her life just because of a broken heart. The whole thing really got to Nick. He said I should just move in with him. And honestly, I’m thinking about it.”
“That might be a good idea,” she said. “It sounds like you need some space. And not just because your parents don’t want you to grow up. After what you went through with your ex, you need some time to figure yourself out and decide what you want next.”
I nodded. “Thank you for talking with me. I feel better.”
“I’m glad,” she said.
The bar was starting to fill up, and Ava had to go help the guys take orders and bring out food. I finished up my dinner, tucked some cash under the edge of the plate, and left. I felt a sense of peace finally knowing I’d made my decision about leaving my parents’ house.