The Sapphire Heiress

Chapter 5: Tara

We've been on the road for about four hours now and we're still nowhere near our destination. Mom and Dad told us we would take a twelve-hour ride to the new place. That's quite far. We're not even half-way there yet. I wonder what kind of place we're moving into.

“Mom, Dad. I'm already hungry. When are we going to eat?” Complained Drew.

“Yeah, me too. Can't we stop somewhere to eat?” I said.

“Hmmm... If I remember correctly, there's a Diner just past the gas station. I think it's only 10 minutes away from where we are now,” Dad said.

“Just right in time. I'm also feeling quite hungry now. Driving is so tiring. Let's make a stop there and have a good meal together. Oh, let's also take that chance to switch driving, hon." Mom said.

Sure honey! Let's switch later after eating so you can rest. I'll switch places with you later and drive until we get to our new home.” Agreed Dad.

Everyone agreed to make a stop at a nearby Diner, to eat. There's still a long way before arriving at our new home, so it's better to stuff ourselves with food first before continuing our journey.

Roughly around 10 minutes after passing the gas station, we saw the Diner and finally stopped the car. We parked at an open spot in the parking area, then all of us got off and went for the door.

The Diner was small and old. It had a western vibe. Cowboy style to be exact. It's very similar to the ones we see in movies. Wooden exteriors with a wooden swing door. There was even a rodeo bull statue just outside the door to its left.

When we went inside, the interior had the same style. Wooden tables, chairs and counters.

Although it was just a small and old Diner, you could see that the place was well maintained. It was neat. Old, but neat.

Drew and I went and took our seats first at the corner table on the right, near the counter, and Mom and Dad followed.

Each of us took turns looking at the menu to choose the food and drink we liked.

“I want to try their Spicy Buffalo Wings with Potato Wedges on the side.” I told Mom and Dad.

“That sounds great, Tara. As for me, I think I'll go for their Rodeo Ribs with Onion Rings. How about you, hon?” Dad asked.

“I'll have the same, hon. I'm starving. Drew, have you chosen yet?” asked Mom.

“I want some Cowboy Style Chicken Fingers with some Corn Cobs.” Said Drew.

“Okay, how about drinks? What do you guys want?” asked Dad.

“Cola is fine Dad.” I replied.

“Me too Dad. Iced-cold Cola.” Said Drew.

“I'll have water, honey.” Said Mom.

“Okay, let's order now. Waiter...” Dad called while waving his hand to get the waiter's attention.

The waiter heard my dad and saw him waving. He immediately went to our table to get our order.

He was a tall young man with dark brown hair and thick eyebrows. Maybe he's around his early 20s, I guess. He was carrying a pen and a notepad with him.

“Are you ready to take your order sir?” He asked.

“Yes. We'll have one Spicy Buffalo Wings with Potato Wedges on the side, one Cowboy Style Chicken Fingers with Corn Cobs, two Rodeo Ribs with Onion Rings, two ice-cold Cola, one bottled water and a black coffee for me please.” Ordered Dad.

“Let me repeat your order sir. That would be one Spicy Buffalo Wings with Potato Wedges on the side, one Cowboy Style Chicken Fingers with some Corn Cobs, two Rodeo Ribs with Onion Rings, two ice-cold Cola, one bottled water and a black coffee for you sir. Would that be everything sir?” The waiter said.

“Yes, that would be all. Thank you.” said Dad.

“I'll be back with your order sir.” The waiter then went to the counter.

While waiting for our food to be served, I noticed that there were quite some people dining in here. Mostly motorists, I believe, since there were several parked cars and motorbikes outside.

At one table, there were six people eating happily. There were two adults, two kids and two teenagers.

The older man was thin. You could tell immediately just by looking at his face; he had sunken cheeks. I also saw how long and bony his arms and fingers were too. He had black hair with a hint of balding, making his forehead look bigger and wider. He was wearing a black and white striped polo shirt, black pants and black leather shoes. He's probably in his late 40s.

Sitting next to him to his right was an older woman in her early 40s. She had curly red hair, which was obviously dyed maybe a few weeks ago. You could already see some grey hair sprouting on top of her scalp. She wore light make-up with light pink lipstick, which actually made her look younger than her age. She wore a white buttoned down blouse and a bright red ankle-level skirt paired with black heels. She looked really gorgeous.

Beside the woman were two kids who looked exactly identical. Twin boys. They were both chubby and cute with dimples on their right cheeks. They wore a matching denim jumper with a white shirt inside and white rubber shoes. They looked around 5 years old.

Across them sat two teenagers. One boy who was around 16 years old and a girl who was about 14 years old.

The boy had spiky hair, obviously styled with a lot of hair gel. He also had a mole above his left eyebrow. He wore a dark blue shirt and a black skinny jeans paired with white sneakers.He had this cool kid in school vibe.

The other teenager was a lovely young lady with a short bob cut hair with one blue-colored hair strand on the right side. She didn't wear any make-up so you could see some freckles on her cheeks just below her eyes. She wore a white Sunday dress and had a black leather jacket over it and a pair of black heeled ankle boots on. She rocked that look.

They looked like one big happy family. I wonder why they're here eating at a Diner, in the middle of nowhere. Are they moving too? Or are they just having a nice little out of town trip? Do we look like that too? Or do we look like a total mess from all the stress that we get from moving?

Anyway, at the table just right in front of the counter sat a couple.

The lady was pretty and slender. She had a rock star vibe. She had purple pixie hair and was wearing a black shirt and black tattered jeans. Her lipstick was a dark shade. It looked like dried up blood. She also had a nose piercing and multiple ear piercings.

On the other hand, the guy she was with was a big muscular guy with short black hair, a military cut, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans and white shoes. Both his arms had tattooed sleeves. He was ruggedly handsome. The bad boy type, if I may say.

They looked like they were having an argument. I could see the lady pouting like a child while he was talking to her with a contorted face out of anger.

What's their deal? Did one of them catch the other cheating? Are they breaking up or something? Nevertheless, shouldn't they deal with whatever it is in private? Do they really have to fight and make a scene in public?

People around started staring at them and murmuring some things softly. The couple noticed but didn't really care less.

“Here's your food.”

I looked away from the couple when I heard the waiter arrive with our food. He started putting everything on the table and left immediately after.

“Yum! These are delicious.” Drew chomped his chicken fingers happily.

“They should be. You wanna know the secret?” I asked Drew.

“What secret?” asked Drew.

“The secret as to why those chicken fingers are delicious.” I replied.

“Ooooh. I wanna know, I wanna know. Please tell me Tara.” Pleaded Drew.

“Are you sure you can handle it?” I asked.

“Yes, I can. I'm a big boy now. Come on, tell me!” responded Drew.

“Okay, listen carefully. The secret is...” I cut off my response on purpose for the thrill.

“The secret is what Tara?” Anticipated Drew.

“Those fingers are NOT chicken fingers.” I told him.

“Hmmm. They're not? But they taste like chicken to me. Delicious chicken.” Replied Drew while stuffing his mouth with chicken fingers.

“No, they're not. They're...human fingers!” I replied teasingly.

“Wha...whaaat? They're hu...hu...man.. fing..gers? Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!” Screamed Drew with wide eyes, dropping the chicken fingers he was holding on the plate.

“I was laughing out loud as soon as I saw my younger brother's reaction. He believed what I said and now he stopped eating his chicken fingers. He's now eating his corn cobs while sniffling. At that moment, Mom and Dad looked my way and told me off.

“Tara! Stop teasing your brother. You know he easily believes whatever you say.” Mom said.

“That's enough, Tara. This isn't the first time you did that to your brother. Tell him the truth and apologize or else I'm going to ground you.” Dad angrily said.

“Okay,okay. I was just kidding. No need to take it seriously.” I faced Drew and apologized.

“Drew, I'm sorry. What I said wasn't true at all. Those are real chicken fingers. They're not human fingers. I was just teasing you.” I told Drew.

“See?” I grabbed and ate some chicken fingers to show Drew they really were chicken fingers and not human fingers.

He looked at me with a sigh of relief and spoke.

“I really thought they were human fingers. You swear they're real chicken fingers?” asked Drew with a serious face.

“Yeah, I swear. They're real chicken fingers. You saw me eat some, right?” I assured Drew.

He looked at me as if asking for approval if it was safe to eat or not. I smiled and nodded to confirm. Then he started eating his chicken fingers again.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate my brother. In fact, I love him a lot, but I just really love teasing him. He's so fragile and such a crybaby. Teasing him is kind of my love language.

We only have each other, so even if I tease him constantly, I make sure that I apologize after. Even though it's fun to tease him,I wouldn't do anything that could potentially harm him.

I will do everything to protect him from any danger. I swear if there's a time that he needs my protection, I will lay my life on the line just to keep him safe. He is my brother, after all. My one and only precious little brother.