Escaping The Beast: A Darkhills Romance (The Darkhills Series Book 2) by Elizabeth Greene (young adult books to read TXT) 📕

quiet uncertainty, “I was just hoping to grab a bite to eat before I head on my way,” Katherine still felt eyes glued to her and she wondered whether she had made a big mistake.

It was late, and everyone in the bar was drinking or snacking on nuts. The kitchen was probably closed. If the place even had a kitchen.

“Sure thing, I can fix you something,” the woman smiled broadly, her freckled face beaming in welcome, “right this way, we’ve got a table just over here.”

Katherine followed dutifully behind the slightly waddling woman, feeling too awkward to back away from the place now. She swallowed her nerves and held her head high, trying not to make eye contact with any of the other customers.

“What’s the matter with you all?” The barmaid called out to their audience, “you’re all acting like you’ve never seen a woman before in your life. Eyes back on your beers gentleman.”

Katherine blushed furiously. As if the situation wasn’t awkward enough.

“OK, here you go, hon,” she was ushered into a cosy booth that had a clear line of sight to the bar and the door. “I’m Rose, I’ll be your server this evening. We don’t have much on offer, we’re still looking to hire a real chef, but I can fix you a mean grilled cheese or a salad if you’d prefer?”

“Erm,” Katherine wavered. She should have the salad, but her stomach growled again and her mind was suddenly made up for her. “A grilled cheese sounds great, and could I get a coffee please?”

“You absolutely can. Two grilled cheese and one coffee coming right up,” the woman repeated back and turned to leave.

“Oh no, I just want the one sandwich,” Katherine reached out her hand to stop the barmaid from leaving.

“I know; the other one is for me,” she grinned, making her green eyes sparkle with mischief, “this little one won’t grow big and strong on its own,” She patted her stomach happily and headed through a door behind the bar

Katherine smiled to herself as she took her phone out from her purse to occupy her while she waited, the woman seemed genuinely nice. Which was a rarity. In her experience, people were only nice when they wanted something from you. She supposed in this case, she was a paying customer so it made sense for the barmaid to be friendly.

She checked the directions again and figured she only had another hour’s drive to go. Nerves churned in her stomach. She hated bailing her father out. She used to wish things were different. She used to want to have a normal father with a normal steady job so she could’ve had a normal upbringing. But she learned long ago there was no point wishing for something that she would never have, all it did was make her sad and feel sorry for herself. Neither of those feelings would help her improve her situation.

A message flashed up on her screen from her father.

Where the Hell are you?

Katherine sighed. So typical of him, there was no: ‘Hey honey how are you? Hope the drive is OK.’ Nope. Her dad just wanted her to get there and sort shit out for him. She contemplated telling him to sort his mess out himself this time. She thought about telling him he’d have to wait until tomorrow just to make him stew for a bit, but then god only knew what would happen to him in the meantime. She considered replying with a message assuring him she would be there in just over an hour. But she decided against any of those options and stowed her phone away in her purse. If she was driving she wouldn’t be able to reply, so she didn’t have to say anything. Besides, if you have nothing nice to say, it was better not to say anything at all.

She was doing exactly as he had asked. He was very strict about when she should arrive. He wanted her there by midnight.

Because that was a normal time to do business. She rolled her eyes.

She wouldn’t be surprised if he was currently swindling someone out of their money and she was going to arrive in time for him to make a fast getaway. She must’ve been the only person she knew who had been taught to drive from age eleven, all because he had needed someone else who could bail him out after her mom had left them.

Some days she didn’t hate her mother for running out on them. Sometimes she could understand why she did it. To be honest, she had no problem understanding why she left her father. She just hated her mom for leaving her to deal with him on her own. For leaving her to figure out how to become a woman without being there to guide her along the way.

Katherine mentally put a halt to the pity parade that threatened to march through her mind.

She didn’t really wish her mother had stuck around. She would’ve probably taught her the importance of batting her lashes and shaking her ass to make her popular with the boys. Or how to cook up the best crack. As it was, she had been taught the important life skill of walking and dancing in skyscraper heels from the moment she took her first steps, and she could roll a perfect joint while still in elementary school.

Was she sad that her mother had died of an overdose two years after she had left? Yes, of course, she was. Did she wish she could’ve had more time with her? No, she didn’t. Having one dysfunctional parent to take care of was more than enough, and at least her father wasn’t a drug addict. A dealer and an occasional dabbler, but not an addict.

“OK, here we go,” the barmaid returned carrying a heavily laden tray.

Katherine jumped up to try to take it from her, worried that a pregnant woman shouldn’t be hefting around anything too heavy. She was lightly batted