It was later that Benj showed up, almost at the end of Avery's shift. She had been cleaning her tables when he walked in with flowers in his hand. Avery had almost forgotten about how utterly happy seeing his face made her. Especially after the type of day she had, she found herself wanting to burst into tears and run into his arms.
She had frantically looked behind her, toward the hall that led to the back office, knowing Allen was in the back and could emerge any minute and catch Benj here. After what had happened, she had made sure to keep Benj far away from the diner. She didn’t want Allen to hurt him. She let out a shaky breath as she approached him at the door, heart in throat. He held a smile on his face, his blue sweatshirt crooked, exposing and black t-shirt underneath. He had hi
