THE LONELY BOY

Ray kept to himself after his heated encounter with Jake. He cooled off and stayed inside his car, parked outside Douglas' house. He was safe within its confines. No Jake around bothering him. Nobody around to mess with his head.

It was exactly twelve midnight. The night was still young, but Ray had no intention to go back to the party any longer than he first planned. Because of Jake's threats to him, any interest he had in a fun Halloween party faded away. Going home was not an option either. He was sure that Nickel Penny had already closed for the night anyway.

Nobody was there, he was certain of it. But, if there were somebody at the diner, they would not be in the mood to be drinking buddies with Ray. Or listen to his bullshit. Or watch him get drunk. Or clean after his mess.

"Nickel Penny... " he whispered to himself. "I miss my bed so much."

Nickel Penny was a diner business that Ray took over from his Aunt Mallory. He bought it with the money he was only supposed to get when he turned twenty-one years old. He made a deal with his parents and grandfather to let them give it to him in advance.

He told them that Nickel Penny was his version of becoming an independent individual.

"Why should I wait for my 21st birthday when I could do a lot with the money now?" was his selling point. His pitch to them was him earning his keep all on his own. He wanted them to understand that owning Nickel Penny was his attempt at making a name for himself.

A name outside the intimidating shadow of the Carter family.

Aside from Nickel Penny being his source of income, it became his home. Its building had a cozy, small apartment located on the second floor. It also had a rooftop area with a great view of the town square and Concord Street.

Being a Carter, of course, he had a place in Grace Ranch—the ancestral home and land of the Carter family. He liked his childhood home, very much so, and went to visit whenever he felt like going. He had no complaint about Grace Ranch and its comforts. A lot of his fondest memories of the family happened there.

It was a perfect home—with its vast land, ranch animals, and the big white mansion—for a family like the Carters.

But Ray liked to live alone for the time being—especially after what happened to him two years ago. That dreadful night changed him. That night played a major role in his decision to live on his own which, to his relief, his family supported.

So, Ray got Nickel Penny, instead of a big, presidential-style Grace Ranch. His Aunt Mallory was more than willing to sell the diner. She built Nickel Penny from the ground up since she was only an up-and-coming chef. She trusted her nephew to do well because, according to her, her only son had zero interest in it anyway.

Because of this, Ray would always be grateful to his aunt and, of course, his cousin, Michael, who had no problem with it.

In the two years Ray lived at Nickel Penny, he thought it was helping him prove to people that they were mistaken. That he was not the troubled boy they knew him to be anymore.

People came to Nickel Penny to eat, drink, and hang around for small talks and the good old town pleasantries. It pleased Ray to know that people included him in those conversations every now and then. They engaged with him.

Ray liked his life at Nickel Penny, no doubt about it. He liked his way of doing things around. He was the boss and took great pride in running it like a well-oiled machine. He surprised himself that he actually had a knack for it. He was doing honest business, and he loved both the place, the people and the opportunity.

Despite this—and no matter how hard he insisted Nickel Penny had become his safe haven—it was an empty place. There was an empty feeling. At the end of a hard day's work—the close sign on the door and his staff going home to their families—he was alone.

He liked solitude, sure; he wished for peace of mind, always. Yet, there were nights, even having both solitude and peace of mind, felt like he was missing something.

He could not put a name on it.

That was why he needed that rooftop with the town's view—a place to breathe and think.

Man, this might be a sign for me to get the fuck home now, Ray thought to himself. He set the radio's volume to the max. The Black Keys was on. "This is more like it," he remarked.

He was singing along to The Black Keys' latest song when he saw Lily walk out of Douglas' house party. She stood not far from where he parked his car. He saw her hug herself as if she was too cold.

Stupid, she is cold. It's past midnight. Ray mentally kicked himself. Without thinking it through, he turned the radio off. He immediately went out of his vintage Nova and walked towards an unaware Lily.

He stated, "It's cold out here," taking her off-guard.

Lily screamed. Shrieking voice. Wide eyes. A hand to her heart.

When she realized it was Ray Carter, she went into attack mode at him. "What the—. You are so freaking dead, Carter! You almost gave me a freaking heart attack! You freaking jerk!" She hit him on his chest, his arms, and his shins.

Amused with their current situation, he replied, "Hey now! Relax. I didn't mean to scare you. Ooff—do you honestly think you're hurting me? Because I am telling you, you're not. I'm a little relieved you're not hitting me down there. Hit me everywhere, okay? But not there."

"I want to hurt you so bad! Argh!" She was pushing him away from her. She tried, but he was a big guy, so it was like hitting a punching bag at the gym.

It was not long until she began to relax. A smirk was on her face.

She kept hitting him while he kept on taking everything she gave him. He was enjoying every second of it until they both couldn't help it any longer and ended up laughing together. At each other.

They went on from fighting to crazy, real quick.

"Whew! You know, McQueen? You don't disappoint me at all. You're amusing. Weird. Fun. So interesting... and cute—" he stopped himself when he noticed his hand was on Lily's head, somehow petting her.

Lily did notice the hand on her head. She stopped laughing and stiffened. Because of the awkwardness of it, he removed his hand from her head and put it on his head instead.

"Sorry," he told her.

"Okay."

The silence between them.

So, she changed the mood. "Cute, Carter? I'm cute? And here I thought I am Fram Hill's It Girl! I'm amusing, weird, fun, interesting, and cute. Ha!" She was shaking her head, much to Ray's delight.

She rolled her eyes at him and continued, "What else? Your own chew toy, pink throw ball, your new hobby?"

"Hmmm… let me think. You're not a chew toy, for sure. You seem the type of person to like the color red so, no, not a pink throw ball. I'd say you're a hot car, babe." He immediately regretted that last word.

"What did you say? Bab—" She flustered.

Thinking it through this time around, he decided he didn't care if she heard it loud and clear. "Babe."

That got her confused. "Oh."

Both of them were holding their breaths.

***