22 Hunger, Part 2

"Michelle, no," I said, trying to focus on the road through my tears. "We have a whole month before we have to make any rash decisions."

"Why didn't he just kill me instead of turning me into a monster?" Michelle asked, her voice tired as she looked out the window.

"We'll figure something out, Michelle," I said, sliding my car into park in front of Maverick's Grille, our usual hang out. "Hang in there, Michelle. In the meantime, try not to worry. We'll think of something."

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say." She shook her head, then got out of the car before I could say anything else.

I took a deep breath and got out of the car, too, wondering what we were going to do.

We walked without another word up the stairs to the wooden front porch. Michelle gave me a weak smile, then opened the door and walked in.

"Well, hello, girls!" Clarice, our usual waitress, greeted us with a smile. "Your usual table?"