There are long dining tables set out like a canteen at one end of the room, with more comfortable seating at the other end, gathered around low tables. Windows stretch along one side of the room, but they’re set in close to the ceiling, so you see out to the treetops and the sky. The room still has a faint smell of fresh paint along with the food everyone’s eating. There’s the odd person reading and a few more scrolling phones, but most people are just chatting.

I take a seat at the long tables with the salad I just grabbed from the kitchen. Eden and Akira are taking calls outside and said they would meet me down here. I’ve gotten familiar with a lot of faces this last week, but I haven’t eaten lunch with anyone apart from the other waitresses I started with.

“Hey, Rosey! Wanna sit with us?” Patricia, one of the waitresses who’s been here from the beginning, calls from the long table closest to the wall. She seems to know everyone here, including all the managers.

A guy I recognize from reception takes the seat Patricia was indicating.

“Thanks,” I mouth. “I’m okay.” Honestly, I’m happy to have a few minutes to myself. I’m used to carving out space in noise and chaos and taking some downtime. Hell, that’s been my life for a long time. We lived on top of each other in the trailer. I would have been driven mad if I hadn’t been able to find a way to create some peace for myself along the way.

I stab at my goat cheese salad when my phone buzzes with the arrival of a text. I know it’s not going to be Byron. He’s so focused on a thousand things when he’s at work, and on top of that he’s got his friends here. That doesn’t stop my heart lifting in my chest at the thought that I might get a message from him. I hold my breath as I pull the phone out of my pocket to check.

My stomach lurches at my youngest sister’s name on my phone.

Shit.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the wedding—since I got on a plane in a white gown and Lydia’s gray hoodie. I’ve been able to block out what’s going on in Oregon for the most part. I’ve been focused on Star Falls: my new job, the storm, Byron. Anything but what I’ve left behind.

After I’ve swallowed my mouthful of salad, I swipe open the message.

I miss you. Mom says we can’t contact you. Don’t tell her I’m messaging you.