I wrapped my jacket around me tighter, protecting myself against the wind. The night was cold, much colder than usual. The sky was darker than ever, a black so uniform that it looked like velvet. Thick clouds obscured any celestial lights from pouring through. The dim lights of the street lamps flickered, blinking at me as I walked by.

I felt my face turn numb and my nose and cheeks turn pink. My eyes watered against the wind and my hair whipped into my face, blinding me and obscuring my path. But I knew where I wanted to go.

I pushed open the gates to the Beverly Cemetary. Walking briskly forward, I counted the rows. One...two...three...four. There. He was there. Fourth row. Tenth from the right. I walked ahead, passing by the names of those that have passed on. James Sullivan 1908-1978. Paula Knolls 1927-1989. Bethany Wright 1999-2010. RIP. RIP. RIP. 'Death is simply the next journey.' 'There is no fear in death'. Death. Death. Death.

Eight. Nine. Ten.

There it was.

                                                                       RIP

                                                                Levi Holden.

                                                                 1988-2011

                                                     'It's not that I'm afraid to die;

                                       I just don't want to be there when it happens.'

I found myself holding my breath, both unable to breathe and unable to think. My heart was clenching in my chest and I thought for a moment if it was possible that it would just burst from the pain I was experiencing.

There he was; fast asleep under a layer of dirt and a wooden casket, where he would lie as long as the earth existed. His soul was probably wandering around somewhere, waiting to be judged just like the rest of the people that lay below the earth.

I placed the red roses on top of the grave. The color contrasted so vividly with the dark ground. He had always liked red roses. Those were the ones he always gave me when I was mad at him. He never liked white roses.

"I don't understand the concept of white roses," she said as they walked by a flower shop.

"Those are just for people that have never fallen in love," he replied.

I sat on the damp ground, crossing my legs underneath me. I stared at the marble slab of stone that had his name engraved on it. I couldn't help but smile at the quote. He had once told me that when he died, he wanted his grave to say something funny. He said that he didn't want anyone to feel sad when they came to visit him after he was gone. But little did he know that it didn't matter what his grave said. There was no comforting the immense pain that shot through my chest every time I saw his name.

"Today's our wedding day," I whispered into the empty darkness. "Remember when I told you that I probably would have been too nervous the day before our wedding that I wouldn't even be able to sleep?" I asked out-loud, my voice cracking as the tears spilled down my cheeks. "You told me I wouldn't be able to sleep regardless. And I just laughed," I continued. "You always made me laugh," I added, the tears falling fast now. I choked up, holding my stomach as my heart twisted in agony.

"Why can't you make me laugh anymore? Why did you have to leave? I told you not to go. I was so scared. I was so scared of losing you and I didn't want to let you go," I cried. "Why did you go?!" I shouted into the night. "Why did you leave me here?!" I yelled at the stone in front of me.

The tears fell quickly, making dark spots on my jeans and the on the dirt underneath me.

"Why did you leave me here?" I asked again, my voice feeble and quiet.

I stopped crying then. I wiped the frozen tears off my cheeks, but I didn't leave. Not yet. I sat and stared at the marble stone in front of me, not blinking, not seeing, just being.

I left the cemetary after about an hour. With heavy steps and an even heavier heart, I walked out and towards the beach, not watching where my feet were taking me, but letting them lead the way on their own.

When I got to the beach, I trudged through the wet sand and went over to the jagged, protruding boulders. I climbed on top of them, reaching the side of the cliff. Then I hoisted myself up and found the person I was subconsciously hoping to find.

Silently, I sat down beside Caleb. He looked over, taking in my tear stained face and distant stare. He didn't say anything, though. Instead, he put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and he rested his head on top of mine. Occasionally, he'd brush my arm with his thumb.

I don't know how long we sat like that for. All I knew was that when I finally came to, the sky was lightening up. I blinked and looked around. Caleb blinked, too, as if just now realizing where he was and who was with him. We looked at each other, blank expressions on our tired faces.

Without saying anything, we both got up. Caleb took my hand in his and helped me down from the cliff. He led me to his car, not letting go of my hand. Then he dropped me off at my house. I didn't say anything. He didn't say anything. And I watched as he drove off into the brightening sky.

"Nicole, you don't have a shift today," Steve said when I walked in.

"I know. I just didn't want to be alone," I replied. Something registered in his mind and I saw concern flash through his eyes.

"Want to help me make the cheesecake? I know you like doing that," he said. I nodded, thankful that he didn't ask me any questions. I went to his side. He had already taken the ingredients out.

I pulled a clean bowl over and put on a pair of gloves. I took the box of graham crackers and took out several pieces. Making the crust was my favorite part. There was something satisfying in crushing the graham crackers into millions of sand-like pieces.

"Has the diner situation improved at all, yet?" I asked, because my mind was starting to cloud up and I felt my throat constricting as a lump formed.

"Not really. It's actually gotten worse, if you'll believe that," Steve replied, beating the cream cheese in his own bowl.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"I was thinking about calling everyone in for a meeting again tonight," he said.

"What will it be about?" I asked.

"I guess you'll find out," he replied, sighing. Whatever it was, I had a feeling it wouldn't be good.

Steve and I continued to work in silence. I melted the butter for the crust and Steve moved on to beating in the sour cream and eggs. The door to the kitchen opened and Randy and Jaime walked in.

"Nicole! When did you get here?" Jaime asked, surprised to see me.

"I came in from the back about fifteen minutes ago," I replied.

"Oh," she said, registering the weary look on my face.

"Are you guys making the cheesecake?" Randy asked, also seeing my expression and trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. For tomorrow. Cheesecake Thursdays, you know," Steve replied.

"God, it's such a shame more people don't come here. Those cheesecakes are the best," Jaime said, hopping up on a stool.

"Is anyone out there?" I asked.

"Oliver and Reese," Randy answered. Jaime shot a look at me, a mischievious smile on her lips. If it were any other day, I would have smiled, too. But it wasn't any other day. It was that day.

"Would you guys be willing to stick around after your shift?" Steve asked the two.

"Sure. I've got nowhere to be," Randy said.

"What a shocker," Jaime replied.

"You're working late tonight?" I asked Jaime. She nodded. "What about Tay?" I asked.

"She's with my parents," she answered casually. I raised my eyebrows. So she had taken my advice.

"Can you guys call the rest of the crew and ask if they can make it tonight?" Steve asked, directing his request at Jaime, since Randy was now occupied with squinting into the graham cracker box.

"Sure," she replied, glancing at Randy as he fished a cracker out and happily stuck it in his mouth. He chewed and noticed us all looking at him.

"What?" he asked, his mouth full of cracker.

"You're hopeless, Randy," Jaime said, clapping him on the shoulder and turning to walk into Steve's office.

"What?" he asked, looking at us. "What did she mean by that?" he asked after swallowing.

"Beats me, Randy. I have no idea what she meant," Steve said sarcastically. Randy didn't catch on. He simply blinked at us and then turned to walk into the office after Jaime.

"What did you mean by that?" we heard him asked before the door shut behind him. I glanced at Steve.

"I don't care how crazy that kid is, I just can't let him go," Steve said, a smile on his lips. I felt the corners of my own lips tug up slightly.

This was the reason I came here to the diner whenever I was upset. It was like my own personal dysfunctional family. The people here, everyone single one of them, had their own unique way of making me feel better.

The first few days after Levi's death had been really, really horrible for me. I was a complete mess. My personality did a full 180 and I became the opposite of the person I had been before. Going from the carefree girl that laughed at everyone's jokes to the girl who continuously blanked out on the world around her, I changed completely. If it weren't for Steve, Jaime, Oliver, and the rest of the crew, I would have never made it out of that state that I fell into.

After it happened, Oliver took me to meet a woman named Patty he had met after one of his classes at the University. Patty was a homeless woman, with stringy blonde hair, hollow eyes and cheek bones, and a smile that could light up the world. She often walked around near the University, begging for money to help her feed her and her three children.

I had asked Oliver why he had introduced me to that woman. He told me that whenever I feel like the world is crashing down on me, remember that I still have it better than some people. And if people like Patty, who have such rough lives can make it through, then so can I. And I did.

I remember asking Steve to donate some money to Patty. I helped her find a shelter home for homeless people and she had introduced me to her three young children. Since then, Patty cleaned herself up and managed to get a job at Wal-Mart as a janitor. With the money she earned there, she was able to support her children. She was able to turn her life around. So why couldn't I?

Almost a year later, I was still that same broken girl. I still hadn't managed to leave my past behind. I couldn't; it had been the best years of my life. But I did change my attitude. Although I was no longer that friendly and out-going girl that I once had been, I was still functioning. I became quiet and reserved, keeping to myself and hiding my emotions. Some days were worse than others. But most days, I learned to cope silently.

Later on that night, after we closed, everyone was gathered around in the diner to hear what Steve had to tell us. I was dreading what he had to say. We were standing around, waiting for a few others to trickle in. Oliver and Reese decided they wanted to partake in the discussion, so they were sitting at the bar by Randy. Steve let them because they were such loyal customers.

At the moment, we were waiting for Jimmy and Caleb to get there. We were idly chatting when the door open and Jimmy walked in.

"Sorry, I'm late. I got a flat tire," he said.

"You always have the worst luck," Luke said.

"Tell me about it," Jimmy huffed. "Am I the last?" he asked.

"No, we're still waiting on Caleb," Gavin answered. He nodded and took a chair off the table and sat on it. The door opened again a few moments later and Caleb walked in...with Serena trailing behind him. We all looked at him curiously, especially me. He wouldn't meet my gaze and simply stood by the windows, crossing his arms over his chest.

"All right," Steve said, trying to ignore the fact that there was a complete stranger in the diner amongst us. "Now that we're all here, I'd like to thank all of you again for coming here on such short notice," he said.

"Anything for you, buddy," Gavin said, clapping him on the shoulder. Steve chuckled, although it seemed forced. Steve continued to tell us how he was sorry for being so last minute and not informing us of the meeting earlier.

Jaime, who was standing next to me, nudged my arm. I blinked, tearing my gaze away from Serena, whom I had been staring intently at. Something was off about the girl I was looking at; more off than usual.

"Who's the chick?" she asked, her voice low.

"That's Serena. I met her at La Bonne. She drinks coffee there. She also doesn't sleep at night," I explained in hushed tones. Jaime nodded, glancing at the girl that was dressed in bright blue skinny jeans, a striped shirt and a black leather jacket. Always high-fashion. I squinted at the girl again and she tilted her head slightly to the side. That's when I saw it. Several dark marks on her neck. I narrowed my eyes.

"So I called you all here because, like I said before, you all should know what's going on," Steve said.

We turned our attention back to our boss. I tore my gaze away from Serena's neck, my mind reeling.

"The diner..." he paused, a sad look on his face. "The diner hasn't improved much at all. In fact, it's been getting worse. We're getting fewer customers as the days go by and I'm afraid that..." he stopped.

Steve was visibly getting upset. I felt Jaime move over and go up to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. If she hadn't gone, I would have. I hated seeing Steve upset. He shot Jaime a grateful smile and then cleared his throat.

"I'm afraid that the diner's going to have to shut down," he announced.

______________________________________________________________________

A/N: A LOT happening in this chapter. Now you know who the mystery man is. If you hadn't figured it out from the last chapter (or the chapters before) he was supposed to be her husband, but he passed away. I still haven't said how he died, though.

Vote for the Caleb/Nicole scene? If not, then vote for the Randy scene.

Do you think everyone's going to lose their jobs now? Why do you think Caleb brought Serena to the diner? What are the marks on Serena's neck?

I think the story is taking off in a great direction. I hope you guys are fully drawn in now.

Anyway, leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for voting! In just a few hours I got 34 votes, which is excellent beyond belief.

Levi is in the side bar. Portrayed by the hunky Chris Pine.

XOXO

PS. Thanks for those messages about my exam, everyone. You have no idea how much those meant to me. <3