Still Jaded (Jaded #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

When we walked into Sparky's, the conversations hushed. Movement stopped. All eyes were on us, though I wasn't sure why. The last time I'd been there, no one had cared. Everyone paid attention this time, but then I looked at Corrigan and realized it was him. He stood self-assured. He was no longer the cocky or playful Corrigan. He'd changed for some reason. Then I looked past the hostess stand and saw Dorothy start to turn our way. When she saw who stood in the doorway, her eyes widened. I almost heard her sharp intake of breath as she froze. Her body was stiff and her limbs were jerky as she walked towards us.

Corrigan looked down on her, literally. He stood at his fullest height, but Dorothy didn't mind. She seemed nervous as she smiled. "Two?"

"Booth," I said. I hated chairs and table. There was more protection in a booth.

"Oh. Okay." Her smile faded when she saw me. Then it turned bright as she nodded towards Corrigan. "Follow me."

I elbowed Corrigan and walked in front.

"Hey."

"Hey." I quickened my pace so that I stood right behind Dorothy as she turned and gestured to the booth. When she saw that I had walked behind, her smile dimmed again, but I slid in and Corrigan moved around her. As he sat, she placed both menus in front of us and stood back. I saw her finger tremble. Her knee seemed to jump too.

"We have breakfast specials right now, but we serve all meals."

I liked the new Sparky's. They might've been Italian-owned, but the place had been renovated into another Perkins.

"I'll just get coffee," I smiled so fake that Dorothy looked alarmed.

"Okay…" She frowned before she left.

"What the hell are you doing?" Corrigan flicked my wrist.

"Ouch." I flicked him back and then punched his arm.

"What'd you do that for?"

"What'd you do that for?"

"You're acting like a psycho. And you're eating something. None of this 'just coffee' crap."

"I'm acting crazy because she's crazy. Did you see her? She didn't even know I was here until she was almost on top of us."

"Well then she's not your stalker or she would've known right away. What's your problem? Why are you trying to intimidate her?"

"Why not?" Intimidation was fun. "She's Marcus' cousin. I'll try to scare anyone related to him."

Corrigan grew silent. That perked my interest. He studied the menu, but Corrigan never studied a menu. He always knew right away what he wanted. I slammed a hand on his and said, "Out with it. What's going on?"

He shrugged and sat back. He stuffed his hands in his hoodie front pocket. "Nothing. Why?"

"You said I was being weird, but so are you. You're usually all flirty or pissed. The only times you're just normal is when you're around me. What gives? Why are you so…not you?"

He rolled his eyes. "I don't like this place. I don't understand why you always want to come here. It gives me the creeps."

He was right. It was weird, but I came back for…I wasn't sure. "I think I feel like something's not right, something wasn't right about Marcus. Maybe this was my last connection to him, the real him before he turned crazy."

"You're right, something wasn't right with him. He was crazy," Corrigan barked out.

"No, I mean—" I gave him a dirty look. "He wasn't always crazy. He became that way because of something. It wasn't us. I mean like at his home or maybe he was picked on too much, I don't know. People aren't born crazy, right? They become crazy. I think if I can understand that, it'd help me understand why what happened did happen. You know what I mean?"

"All I know is that this place gives me the creeps. I was wrong about the waitress. She's creepy. She keeps looking over here." He hunched over the menu when Dorothy started back to us.

I leaned forward and whispered, "That's because she likes you."

"Do you know what you'd like?" Dorothy asked with a tremble in her voice.

"Man, the first time I came in here, I thought you were going to try and stab me with a fork. Now you're super nice. Are you trying to give me a complex or something?" I watched Dorothy intently. I wanted to judge her reaction to my words.

Her eyelid twitched. I caught distaste for a second before she covered it and looked at Corrigan. She kept glancing at him. Most girls with a crush would look underneath their eyelids, like they wanted to hide. The shy girls never liked a guy to know who was checking him out. The brazen girls, like Cadence, stared openly and longing. They wanted the guy to know he was wanted. This girl—she was not normal. She kept staring at Corrigan as if he wasn't a real person, like she didn't realize he could tell she was staring.

I spoke up, "Do you like Corrigan? You're staring at him like he's a tasty treat."

"Sheldon!" Corrigan hissed.

My eyes narrowed as I waited for Dorothy's reaction. She froze and grew white around the mouth. Her skin looked stretched, painfully. Then she turned on me and her eyes snapped in anger. "How dare you?"