Ordinary (Anything But) Read Free Page B

seriously wrong was going on. It made her think back to when her father died and no one wanted to tell her. She’d known something terrible had happened. She’d felt it. It hadn’t mattered that no one told her. Honor had known, somehow. She swallowed, pushing the thought away. Dwelling on the past didn’t change it.
    ***
    “Honor. Table three. Hustle, hustle.” Honor’s boss, Richard McDermott, clapped his hands together an inch from her nose. He was in his fifties, happily divorced, and reminded her of The Hulk, except he wasn’t green and The Hulk wasn’t overweight. When she gave him a look, he raised his eyebrows at her on his way past to holler at some other poor soul unfortunate enough to have to work for him.
    She kept seeing that lady’s face in her m ind. She’d been so scared and upset that Honor had thought she could almost smell it. It was unnerving and making it hard for Honor to concentrate. And she still didn’t know anything about Christian as far as whether he was all right or not. Not your problem, either way. Don’t think about it. Do your job.
    Taking a steadying breath, Honor dug a pad of paper and a pen from the apron tied around her waist and walked into the dining area. The walls were wood, as was the floor, and the room was accented in navy blue décor. It smelled like onions, burgers, and French fries. Voices were loud and the clank of dishes and silverware rang throughout the establishment. There were five tables in the building, all full, and Honor was the only waitress with two hours left to her shift. Her feet were already killing her. She felt old and she had only recently turned eighteen.
    Someone nudged her back and Honor looked up into eyes the color of the ocean. “Oh. Hey, Anna.”
    Annalise Becker was tall and slender with wavy brown hair halfway down her back and the prettiest turquoise eyes. She liked to dress in loose, fluttery pale-colored clothes that made her look ethereal, like a fairy or goddess. Anna was Honor’s best friend, had been since their first day of kindergarten when their nap mats had been placed by one another.
    Her friend smiled. “Hey. Where were you after school?”
    A flashback of Ryder in the bathroom swam through her head, then of Christian being pushed into a vehicle, followed by his mother’s weird behavior, and along with it came unease.
    “What are you talking about? I wasn’t anywhere,” she answered quickly. “Why?”
    A pucker formed between Anna’s eyebrows. “Ooh-kaay. Moving on from odd reaction to completely innocent question.” She shook her head and the scent of lavender teased Honor’s nostrils. Anna rested a hand on a hip and zeroed in on Honor with her eyes. “You weren’t where you said you’d be after class. I thought you were stopping by my house. So? Where were you?”
    Honor thumped a hand against her forehead. “ Crap. I am so sorry, Anna. I completely forgot you wanted to show me your dress.” Anna’s older sister was getting married in June and Anna was the maid of honor. Apparently the dress was hot pink and horrendous. Anna wanted Honor to commiserate on the pain of having to be seen in public in such a fashion atrocity.
    “Honor. I don’t pay you to stand around talking to your friends. Get moving,” Richard tossed over his shoulder as he strode for the kitchen, his overabundant gut jiggling as he moved.
    She rolled her eyes. “I gotta go before I get fired.” Honor grabbed Anna’s cool hands. “But I promise I had a really good reason for unintentionally standing you up. I’ll explain later, okay?” Only she didn’t know what she would tell her friend and she didn’t know if she should tell her the truth.
    “It had better have been a boy. That’s all I have to say. Nothing else is forgivable.”
    Honor dropped her friend’s hands. “Uh…”
    Anna leaned closer. “Honor Alexis Rochester, it was a boy, wasn’t it?” She let out a squeal and clapped her hands.
    “Sort of. But not in the