Distorted Hope

  Distorted Hope—Marissa Honeycutt

  Text copyright © 2015 Marissa Honeycutt

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  All Rights Reserved in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher or author constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from this book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher. Thank you for your support of author’s rights.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Distorted Hope—Marissa Honeycutt

  Text copyright © 2015 Marissa Honeycutt

  Cover design: Beyond Def — Laura Hidalgo

  Edited by: Beyond Def — Tiffany Fox

  Print & EBook Interior/Layout Design: EBookBuilders for Beyond Def

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  For The Reader

  About Marissa

  Contact Marissa

  Marissa's Books

  To Darby, who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. This book would never have gotten finished without you. Literally.

  “What can I get you guys today?”

  Not that I needed to ask: corned beef on wheat with fries for Jason, turkey on white with fries for Steve, and two Cokes. They always ordered the same thing and came in at least twice a week.

  “Should we be hurt she keeps asking us that, Steve?” Jason asked his tablemate with a grin.

  “Maybe you’re not as memorable as you think you are, man,” Steve retorted with a laugh.

  Steve was so wrong; Jason was very memorable. I guessed him to be around thirty. Being six feet tall, slender, with tawny-blond hair, crystal blue eyes, and a smile to die for, he was difficult—nay, impossible—to forget. Not that Steve was bad looking; he was actually quite… hot. But I’d never been interested in the tall, dark, and handsome type and they were never interested in me, so it worked.

  “So, let me see,” I said, giving a mock-thoughtful look. “Veggie sandwiches for both of you, right?” I grinned.

  Jason gave a mock-horrified look. “I am truly wounded, Kyra. To suggest such an unmanly food item.” He put his hand over his heart. “Do you not know me at all?” he teased, looking directly into my eyes and making my heart skip a beat.

  I blushed furiously. “Corned beef and turkey sandwiches coming right up,” I mumbled, backing away from the table and almost tripping over my feet as I hurried to the computer which faced away from the tables. I took deep breaths to get my heartbeat back to normal as I tapped their order into the computer.

  “What’s wrong, Kyra?” Maria, my coworker, asked with a giggle. “Did he look at you again?”

  I stared at the screen, pretending to concentrate on entering their order, even though we both knew I could practically enter it with my eyes closed. “He has to look at me. He’s polite that way.”

  “You should ask him out. He’s definitely interested in you.”

  I gave Maria an exasperated look. She’d said this several times and I never believed her. “Why on earth would he be interested in me? He’s a… a genius! I’m a frickin’ waitress.” Jason really was a genius. Not only was he the youngest chemical engineering professor at Arizona State University, he’d also been published in multiple research journals.

  “Server,” Maria corrected.

  I rolled my eyes at the politically correct term.

  “He comes in here at least twice a week and always sits in your section,” Maria pointed out. “I don’t think he’s here just for the food.”

  “We serve good food here,” I muttered. Sure, the diner wasn’t five-star gourmet, but the sandwiches were really good.

  “There are at least five other good places to eat between here and the university,” Maria continued. “Why else would he make the trek all the way here?”

  I shrugged in answer to Maria’s question. “We have excellent fries.” I filled two plastic cups with soda, put the straws in my apron pocket, and headed back to Jason and Steve’s table. When the door jingled, I turned to greet the newcomers.

  A tall man with a military haircut stood in the doorway, dark brown eyes sweeping the restaurant as if searching for something. He wore jeans and a white dress shirt with a blue blazer over it. I always felt sorry for guys who had to wear jackets in the Phoenix summers.

  A man with red hair and freckles—without the boyish aura which usually accompanied that description—walked in behind him. He said something to the dark-eyed man, who nodded, and then walked back outside.

  I welcomed the dark-eyed man with a smile. “Feel free to take any available table. We’ll be with you in a sec.”

  “Thanks.” Dark–Eyed Man looked me up and down and smiled, then walked to a table in my section. I looked down at my white uniform dress, wondering if I’d spilled something on it.

  I dropped the sodas off at Jason and Steve’s table with a shy smile, then gave Maria an apologetic look as I returned to the counter to get a menu for my new table. When I turned around, I saw that the table now had four men sitting around it. After grabbing three more menus, I went to greet them.

  “Hi, my name’s Kyra,” I said, handing each of them a menu. “Can I get you guys something to drink while you look over the menu?�
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  One of the men who hadn’t been there when the others came in grinned at me, his blue-green eyes mischievous beneath light brown hair. “Hey, sweetheart, I’ll take—” he began in a flirtatious tone, but stopped when Dark-Eyed Man gave him a look. “Er, Coke.”

  The others ordered the same and I walked away, returning a few minutes later with a tray of sodas. Jason caught my eye and smiled warmly at me, making me blush and tip the tray slightly. I grabbed the tray with my other hand before I dumped the sodas all over the floor.

  “Is that your boyfriend?” Dark-Eyed Man asked as I stopped next to their table. His eyes were so dark they almost looked black.

  “What?” I exclaimed, stopping midway through putting a soda in front of him to stare. I blinked several times and finished placing the cup on the table. “No,” I shook my head and gave a mix of a sigh and nervous giggle. “No, definitely not a boyfriend.” I wish.

  “Why do you say that?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I—” I looked down at myself then over at Jason with longing and shook my head again. “I don’t think I’m his type. Have you decided what you’d like?” I asked, changing the subject.

  He gave me an amused smile and ordered a BLT, handing the menu back to me. The rest of the men gave their orders and I went back to the computer, avoiding looking at Jason’s table. When Jason and Steve’s sandwiches came up, I almost asked Maria to deliver them. I was certain Jason had overheard the conversation and I was thoroughly embarrassed. But Maria had gone in the back and I couldn’t avoid them. I took a deep breath and picked up the plates.

  “Hey, Kyra,” Jason said as I placed their sandwiches in front of them. He cleared his throat and looked nervous. “I, uh, was wondering… Um, are you doing anything tomorrow night?”

  More than a little surprised by the question, I fell back on my usual ‘evade and deflect’ response. “No. I mean, nothing other than my normal Friday night stuff,” I added quickly with a casual shrug. I didn’t want to admit my usual ‘Friday night stuff’ involved hanging out at my apartment watching a movie… or reading a book. After a moment to think about it, I tilted my head, trying to understand why he was asking me that question. “Why do you ask?” I apparently wanted to torture myself. How could he possibly have a vested interest in my Friday night activities?

  Jason ran his hand through his hair, looking sheepish. “I was just wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me, but if you’re busy… I understand.”

  My heart pounded as I stared at him, not quite sure I’d heard him correctly. He’s asking me out to dinner? With him? Me? I realized I was gawking at him and quickly looked at the ground. “Oh. Well…” How do I back out of what I said without looking like a complete idiot? “I mean, my usual stuff isn’t concrete or anything… nothing formally planned… that might be nice… to go out to dinner… with you.” God, I sound stupid. Might? Really?

  His eyes brightened. “Really?”

  I was stunned by the happiness in his eyes. That couldn’t possibly be from what I said. “You really want to take me out to dinner?”

  Jason laughed. “Well, that is why I asked. It would be kinda stupid to ask you if I didn’t want to.”

  “Yeah,” I smiled shyly, “I guess.”

  “How does seven o’clock sound?” He actually sounded eager.

  Am I dreaming? “That sounds great,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

  He grinned. “Cool. Give me your phone number and I’ll text you and then you can text me your address.”

  “My phone’s in the back.”

  “No prob. Text me when you get off work.”

  I gave him my number and he typed it into his smartphone. “There. Text me when you have a chance.”

  “Okay.” I smiled shyly and then walked back to the counter, staring wide-eyed at Maria.

  “Did he ask you out?” she asked in an excited whisper.

  “Yeah, he did.” I was certain I had a stupid grin on my face. “I can’t believe it!” I shook my head and glanced at my new table to see if they needed anything. The dark-eyed man was looking at Jason’s table. Was he studying them? “What do you think of those guys?” I whispered to Maria. There was something… scary about them.

  “Cute.” Maria grinned and pulled the plates for one of her tables. “Why, you want a date with them, too?” She winked and walked away.

  I looked back at Dark-Eyed Man. Something seemed… off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he seemed dangerous.

  The men’s food appeared in the window and I delivered it. Dark-Eyed Man shifted in his seat as I put his plate in front of him and I saw something under his jacket. Omigod! Is that a gun? I froze and looked at him with wide eyes. He met my gaze and smiled calmly. “Nothing to worry about, Kyra,” he said—his voice quiet but firm—and motioned to the counter. “Go back to work. You didn’t see anything.”

  The other men chuckled as I nodded and walked away, stunned. It was legal to carry guns in Arizona but not many did around here. I tried to not shake as I cleaned the counter but noticed Dark-Eyed Man watching Jason and Steve several times. Was he going to do something to them? The man caught my eye and I looked away quickly, willing myself to not look again.

  The lunch rush began and I got busy. Jason found me before he left and reminded me to text him my address. Dark-Eyed Man and his friends left a few minutes later.

  I’m just imagining things. I read too many books. It’s just a coincidence. I pushed the questions out of my mind and concentrated on being a good server so I could make my share of rent this month.

  Stacey, my roommate, sat on my bed and watched as I attempted to pick an outfit for my dinner date with Jason. Stacey had lunch at the diner a couple times a month and had seen Jason. She, like Maria, had tried to convince me to ask him out many times, but I didn’t like the idea of asking guys out. That and I really didn’t want to be rejected.

  “What about this?” I asked, pulling a blue, cotton skirt and white sweater out of the closet.

  Stacey shook my head and made a face. “It’s your first date, Kyra. You need something… special.”

  “I don’t have anything special. I never go anywhere.”

  “Well, that’s your first problem.” Stacey laughed. “If we had more time, I’d take you shopping, but you didn’t tell me yesterday.”

  “Stace, you know I don’t have the money to go out shopping like you do.” Stacey worked downtown as a paralegal. She had a steady paycheck. I didn’t.

  Stacey rolled her eyes. “You do, you just don’t want to spend it.”

  “That is for emergencies.” My grandparents had left me a little bit of money when they died, which I put in a savings account as an emergency fund.

  “Not having something to wear for a first date—”

  “…does not constitute an emergency,” I finished for my friend.

  Stacey sighed and dragged me into her room. Opening her overstuffed closet, she pulled out a fitted, sleeveless, lavender dress.

  “That’s too short,” I protested.

  “It’s not too short for normal people, Kyra. Besides, you’ve got great legs. You should show them off. Put it on, let me see.”

  I rolled my eyes but put the dress on anyway. It stopped mid-thigh. “It’s still too short.”

  “You look hot.” She handed me a pair of three-inch heels, which I put on reluctantly. “Now even hotter. Your legs look great.”

  I frowned. “‘Hot’ doesn’t belong in a sentence referring to me.”

  “It would if you’d let me help.”

  “I let you once. It didn’t work out very well.”

  “Ryan was an asshole. He still is.”

  I swallowed. “This is a mistake. I shouldn’t have agreed to go out with Jason.” I pulled the dress over my head and dropped it on Stacey’s bed before stalking back to my room to get my phone. Canceling the date seemed like the sensible thing to do.

  Stacey and I had been friends since we were ma
tched as lab partners our sophomore year of high school. I had been teased mercilessly throughout elementary and middle school and played the role of the school nerd very well. To say I was flabbergasted when one of the most popular girls in school befriended me is putting it mildly. I didn’t believe her at first, but Stacey proved her loyalty by being my defender. She wouldn’t stand for anyone to make fun of me when she was around. It still happened, but the teasing occurred less often after our friendship began. Stacey even tried to get me to be accepted into the ‘cool’ group, but the other kids wouldn’t allow it and by that point, I was beyond wanting to fit in. Stacey refused to give up friendship with me and met me in my comfort zone, even while she remained popular.

  Before our junior year began, I let Stacey give me a makeover to start the year off right. And it did. The popular kids accepted me into the group and I had a place to belong. I’d had a secret crush on this guy named Ryan for years and when he invited me to the homecoming dance, I walked on air for weeks. My grandmother had taken me shopping for a beautiful dress and I took my time getting ready and waited for Ryan to pick me up. And waited. And waited. And waited.

  Stacey called me two hours after the dance started and told me Ryan had turned up with Crystal, another popular girl. It turned out he had been planning on taking Crystal the whole time. I yelled at Stacey, accusing her of being in on the joke. It had taken me months to accept that Stacey hadn’t been involved in the ‘plot to humiliate Kyra.’ However, I learned my lesson and swore I would never put myself out there again. I went back to my nerd status. It was safe. Lonely, but safe. Stacey was the only person my age I trusted and the only person I allowed into my life for a long time.

  After we graduated high school, Stacey began her studies at Arizona State. I had planned on working for a couple of years to save some money before starting college, but when my grandparents died shortly after I finished high school, I never got around to starting. I moved in with Stacey and got a job working at the diner. I’d been there for three years. It was a good job with a good set of regular customers. It even helped me come out of my shell a little—helped me realize there really were nice people out in the world.