"It'll be ok... Torr... we'll find him sooner or later... hopefully before Friday."
Shanelle told me, taking another bite of her burger. She felt bad for me, I could tell.
"It's ok... I know I got my hopes up when I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have thought I would find him. Tampa's a huge place, it would have to be a miracle if we found him now..." I mumbled, nibbling on my french fries. I didn't have an appetite. Shanelle just nodded. "Do you think I should have told him I was me when I saw him the first time...? Or maybe I should have gone and seen him at the mall?" I asked her, thinking over my past decisions.
"I'm not sure... I mean, you just did what you thought was right at that moment..." she told me. I just nodded back at her.
I layed my head down on the table for second, just thinking some more. Shanelle was quiet, so was I. It was quiet and peacefull for a good few minutes. Suddenly I heard,
"Oh... my, God..."
I jerked my head up to the sound of Shanelle's whisper.
"What? What's wrong?" I asked right away.
"L-look over there... he just came in..." she informed me. "That tall guy, right there... blue hat, sunglasses..." she continued.
"What about him? Do you know him?" I asked her, a bit annoyed.
"No... but you do." she finished. "It's him."
"It's so not him." I squealed. "It can't be him. That would be miracle."
"It... it is him." Shanelle insisted.
We were both silent, watching him as he stood in line. I saw him pull his hat lower as he ordered. Then, with his tray in his hands, he turned towards us and started walking. I was frozen, I just couldn't move. I saw his face. It was him.
"Torr... say something when he walks by. Get his attention." Shanelle told me.
"No... I can't. I couldn't..." I mumbled. He was getting closer.
"Fine." Shanelle finished.
"Fine? What do you mean fine?" I asked back.
"I will then." she replied.
I was silent, and in shock, as Shanelle dropped her wallet on the ground, on purpose, just as he approached us. He stopped, looked at just Shanelle, bent down and picked it up.
"Oh, thank you so much." she told him with a cute smile. I couldn't help but smile at her.
"No problem." he answered. He just stood there for a second, wondering what to do. Then he took a look back at me. He looked away, but soon he was staring at me. "You're... you're... the girl I saw at the highway truck stop..." he told me, totally shocked. "You're... Emily, right?"
I was silent. I didn't know how to respond to that. Shanelle kicked me under the table.
"Uh... actually... no." I told him.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You look like this girl I saw..." he told me, a little embarassed.
"Um... well... I lied to you." I blurted out.
"Excuse me?" he asked, confused.
"I lied to you... at the truck stop... I told you I was Emily, but I'm not." I told him, looking him right in the eyes.
"So, it was you at the truck stop?" he questioned.
"Yes." I replied plainly.
"So... you're...?" he asked, but already knew the answer. He wasn't prepared it hear it, though.
"Torrance... Torrance Anderson." I told him.
He was silent. Dead silent. He looked away, and then back... and away again. He didn't know what to do or say. He knew it was me, I knew it was him. But we were both in shock.
"Alright... well... I'll, um, leave you two alone... ok?" Shanelle broke the silence and stood up. I gave her a sit-back-down look, but she shook her head no. Then she pushed Nick down into the booth across from me. "I'll be sitting over... there." she finished and then smiled at me before leaving. Then she was gone.
