With weak knees, I stop in front of the Diner the next day. Jack was surprisingly friendly and even came across relieved to hear I wanted my old job back when I called him yesterday. He asked me to start right the next morning, so, here I am today. A bit frightened what this day will bring, and not knowing how to fulfill Franco's fucking request.

After taking a last deep breath, I push the door open and enter the stinky Diner. Nobody is to be seen, so I head straight for the back office.

"Livie!" Abbey rushes towards me and pulls me into a tight embrace. "I'm so freaking glad you're back. I can't even tell you how much!"

I giggle and pat her back. "I'm not so sure if I'm that happy working in this shithole again, but anyways, I'm here!"

Just in that moment, the door opens, and Jack shuffles in. When he sees me, he puts on a forced smile and holds out his hand. "Hey, little one. Good to have you back."

I clasp his hand and give him a bewildered smile. Never has he ever shaken my hand. Not even at my job interview.

"Uh... yea. Thanks, Jack, for taking me back!" I stutter while his beefy hand is shaking mine.

"Your can use your old locker, I haven't taken anything away from your stuff so far." Jack points to the four old lockers in the back of the room and I nod.

"Thank you, Jack!" With that, I walk over and store my jacket and bag in the old, shabby locker I always used.

Jack disappears towards the guest room and leaves Abbey and me alone.

"What the hell, Liv?" Abbey exclaims with widened eyes. "What did you do to old, grumpy Jack?"

I chuckle and shrug my shoulders. "Uh, nothing. It's creepy for me as well, trust me, Abbey!"

That's true. I might be bantering with Abbey right now, but in truth Jack being so fucking friendly scares the shit out of me.

Abbey and I set down to work and start doing our usual business. It's a quiet day at the Diner, so we have a lot of time to chat about our trip while Jack is busy in his office. Or maybe he's just sleeping as so often. It's half past three in the afternoon when Zach walks in.

"Hey, Livie," he greets me with a warm smile and leans over the counter to give me a quick kiss. "How was your day?" He looks around and I know exactly his eyes are searching for Jack.

"Quiet," I state and after making sure Jack isn't within earshot I add in a low voice, "Jack was so damn friendly. Something is going on, I'll tell you!"

"Look whose overprotective boyfriend came to pick up his little girl." Jack's voice booms through the room as he comes through the door of the back office. "Hey man."

He reaches out his hand for Zach who eyes it warily.

"Hey," he mutters, ignoring his hand, and turns to me again. "When are you done?"

Before I can say anything else, Jack starts to speak.

"Go home. I'm sure Abigail is willing to finish cleaning alone, right?" he remarks in Abbey's direction.

I frown and look between Abbey and Zach. This is getting more and more suspicious.

"Sure, honey. Have a nice evening you two!" Abbey then says with a broad grin. "We're nearly done here anyway."

I shake my head and open my mouth to object, but Jack cuts me short once more.

"I'll help her. Now go!" He utters a throaty laugh and waves us away before turning towards Abbey.

"Okay...uh...Thank you. See you tomorrow!"

With that, I get my jacket and bag out of my locker and leave the Diner together with Zach. The moment we turn the next corner, Zach grabs my hand and pulls me close.

"Are you okay?" he asks softly after eyeing me for a second. "Did anything happen with Jack?"

"Nothing!" I retort and place my hands on Zach's chest. "Jack was sitting behind his desk most of the day. I didn't notice anything suspicious. Except for his damn friendliness. That scared me a lot, to be honest."

Zach sighs and tilts back his head. "This whole thing stinks to high heaven!"

I nod and press my lips together. "Yea."

Damn right! Something is wrong, but I can't put my finger on it. The whole day, my entire body has been on alert, and I'm more than relieved that my shift is over now. Even though I have to go back tomorrow, I have survived this day, and am happy to return into my cozy little home with my caring and protective boyfriend.

"How was your day?" I ask and grab Zach's hand to continue our way home.

"Good, I guess. Jake and I managed to bring all my boxes to the new apartment," Zach retorts with a shrug. "It still feels weird having my own place now. I mean, my actual own."

Today was the key handover for Zach's new apartment, and Jake helped him to transport the few boxes with all his belongings in it which he stored at my place to his new home.

"You'll love this place. It's made just for you," I reassure him and squeeze his hand. "Although, I'll miss having you around."

Zach chuckles and wraps his arm around me while we're walking through the nearly empty streets.

"It's not that I'm out of town, you know!" he jokes, and I feel a bit of my tenseness leaving my body at the light conversation with him.

"Liv?" Zach asks with a more serious but at the same time gentle voice.

"Yea?"

"Would you mind spending the first night with me there? Maybe on Friday when your workweek is over?"

I turn my head to give him an excited smile. "I'd love to, Zach!"

"You know, it's a special thing for me and I want to share this with my girlfriend," Zach explains a bit sheepishly and tightens his grip around my waist.

I lean my head on his shoulder, and we finish our walk home in comfortable silence.

***

The next day, my shift starts like the day before, with a creepily friendly Jack welcoming me, and just like yesterday, I don't notice anything suspicious throughout the day. Jack hides himself away in his office again, even though we really could use his help, but that's nothing we're not used to when it comes to Jack.

It's a bit more busy than usual, so Abbey and I are quite occupied the whole day, which isn't a bad thing at all as the afternoon arrives much faster than yesterday. At 3pm Abbey grabs the keys and walks around the counter.

"I'm going to lock the doors, so we can start cleaning," she exclaims.

I nod and start wiping the sticky counter, as the doors are opened, and a familiar man enters the Diner.

"Good afternoon, Miss Brooks!"

Oh shit. Officer Clarks, this can't be good. Abbey and I exchange worried glances before I walk towards Clarks.

"Officer!" I greet him with a nervous smile and look behind him where a few uniformed policemen with a dog in tow enter the Diner. "Can I help you?"

"Maybe you can. Where's your boss?" The Officer looks around, searching for Jack.

I point at the back office and follow him as he heads straight for the door.

"Mr. Davis!"

Jack, who was sitting behind his desk, jumps up and his eyes widen slightly at the sight of the whole crew of policemen standing in his office all of a sudden.

"Yes?" he growls. "What the fuck is happening here?"

"Mr. Davis, I received an anonymous tip that drugs are being hidden in here."

Jack's jaw drops and he stares at Clarks in disbelief.

"My men will take a look around," the Officer informs my dumbfounded boss. "Unless you got something to say?"

Jack shakes his head and crosses his arms. He seems to have found back to his old, grumpy attitude since he states with a smug smile, "Go ahead. You won't find anything!"

Abbey and I step aside as two of the policemen and their dog, which is obviously a drug-sniffing dog, begin searching the room thoroughly while the other two leave the back office to search the guest room.

"What the fuck?"

I feel both, relieved and concerned at the same time when I hear Zach's voice booming through the Diner. Officer Clarks shoots me a knowing grin and walks towards the front doors, where one policeman is trying to hold back my pissed-off boyfriend.

"Let him in. I know him," Clarks instruct the policeman to let go of Zach and then turns towards him. "Mr. Wood, how good to see you're still alive."

There's this little bitter undertone in his voice as he speaks which perplexes me, but I'm too shocked by this situation to give thought to it.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Zach ignores the Officer's remark and rushes over to me.

"They're searching the place for drugs," I whisper and exhale deeply as I feel Zach's strong arm around my shoulder.

"Fuck!" Zach breathes and pulls me into a tight embrace. I feel his whole body is tense and his heart is beating like crazy against my ear.

"Boss, I think we found something!"

Zach and I as well as Clarks turn around to the policeman standing in the open door to the back office. Loud barking is to be heard, and I immediately feel sick.

A satisfied smile plays upon Officer Clarks mouth as he follows the policeman into the back office.

"Oh, that surprises me!" he states and turns around, shaking his head at me.

I frown and give him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"See for yourself!" he steps aside, and my gaze falls onto my locker where my handbag is lying on the bottom. Spread open and with a few packets filled with a white powder in it.

My eyes widen and I cover my mouth with my hand. Zach who looks just as shocked as I am, turns around and rushes up to Jack who's standing in front of his desk with his arms crossed.

"You piece of shit! Don't think I don't know you're behind this!" He grabs his collar and smashes him against the wall next to Jack's desk. "I see right through you, you fucking bastard!"

Jack just grins smugly and licks his thin lips in response, earning a loud shout of rage from Zach and the next moment his fist connects with Jack's jaw.

I yelp as he starts throwing punches at Jack, who doesn't even manage to land one single punch on Zach.

"Mr. Wood. I strongly urge you to let go of Mr. Davis, otherwise I'm forced to take you to the station as well!" Clarks voice booms through the room, causing Zach to stop abruptly.

"What do you mean by 'as well'?" he asks out of breath and lets go of Jack, who sinks down to the floor, holding his strongly bleeding nose. "You're not trying to tell me that you seriously believe that these are Olivia's fucking drugs?!"

I feel like I'm living out one of my nightmares. This just can't be true. Now I see why Jack has been so fucking friendly since I returned to the Diner. He had a plan to watch me walking right into a trap. And I was dumb enough to fall for his stupid tricks. Fuck!

I feel my stomach turn and the next moment I grab the trash basket which is standing right next to me, and start throwing up. Abbey, who has been silent until now and was watching the whole scene with an expression of pure shock, grasps my hair to keep them out of my face.

"Shit, Livie!" she breathes. "It's okay. We'll straighten it out."

Zach also rushes over to me and gently strokes over my back.

"Don't worry. That fucker is going to pay for that!" he whispers through gritted teeth. "And if I have to torture him myself to pull the truth out of him!"

After puking my guts out, I sink down to the floor and close my eyes. Abbey hands me a glass of water which I thankfully take.

"If you feel better now, I must ask you to come with me to the station!" Clarks announces from the background.

Zach snaps around and faces the Officer with disbelief all over his face.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he screams at the top of his voice. "You see her condition, right? Still, you are urging to take her to the station now?!"

Officer Clarks tilts his head and gives him an empathetic smile. "Mr. Wood. I understand your concern, but we will take good care of her. I promise you!"

Zach huffs and I sense he's losing his temper again, so I ignore my pounding head and jump up to grab his wrist.

"Hey. It's okay. I'm okay!" I reassure him and place my slightly trembling hand on his cheek. His hazel eyes stare down at me with deep concern and fear clearly visible.

"Baby, you're white as a sheet!" Zach objects and tucks a lose strand of my disheveled hair behind my ear.

Officer Clarks clears his throat and comes over to where Zach and I are standing.

"I'm really sorry, but we need to leave now!"

Zach sighs and turns towards him. "Can I at least come with her?"

"I'm sorry, but no visitors are permitted. However, Miss Brooks will be allowed to give you a call after questioning!"

Zach runs his hands through his hair and tugs hard on it. I can see the despair in his eyes as he places a last soft kiss on my temple.

"I'll get you back, Livie. I promise!" he whispers, and I nod with watery eyes.

Feelings of helplessness and forlornness wash over me as Clarks places his hand on my back to guide me outside.

"Oh, and Mr. Davis?" he turns towards Jack once again before we leave the room. "My team will tell you how we are going to proceed from here on. We will need to question you as well."

With that he motions me to follow him, thankfully without handcuffs, and we leave behind the bloody Diner as well as Zach, Abbey, and asshole Jack.

*****

Well. That escalated quickly. I think you all already suspected, Jack didn't become a friendly fellow overnight and had something planned, right?

What do you think is this whole thing about? Any ideas?

Please vote and comment.✨

Katie❤️