"Feel free to take your breakfast break hun, I'm fine for now though, thank you. I'll be right back."And just like that, she was left alone with the man. Taylor wasn't much good with one-on-ones. Especially with men, no matter how nice they looked. A slight spike of anxiety sprang up in Taylor, but she'd play it as cool as possible. His response about not needing a top-off on his coffee left Taylor wondering what to do now. Taylor bit the inside of her lip and grabbed a rag from the sanitizer bucket underneath the counter to began wiping everything down.
It hadn't been much longer before she heard Mr. Kingsfield speak up from behind her again. The mustard stain on her hand was brought to her attention. She knew it was there, and she'd intended to leave a slight glob of it on there to sooth the burn sight. Must have been bugging the guy to see it. Maybe he thought it was unsanitary. She chuckled half-heartedly and took the napkin tenderly from the P.I. mumbling rather shyly,
"Fun fact: Rubbing mustard to a burn area takes away the pain and reduces blisters and scarring." She gave him a nice smile for a few moments before it faded as she rubbed the mustard off her hand, her expression becoming more serious.
"I hadn't intentionally done so, but I kind of overheard you about Riley. I just wonder, do you think she's still out there? Is there a possibility she's not fallen victim to the killer who.... killed the Mayor? Didn't know Riley the best on a personal level, but having worked here for the last couple years, I saw a lot of her and got to know her and the family fairly well. I'd like to think of the Walkers as a sort of extended family of mine. You know? Just.." Taylor sighed softly.
"Just really hope we can find her." It felt kind of lame to say, knowing the P.I. probably heard that all day long for the last week since he arrived here, but it was true for so many reasons.
Declan managed to hear Oli across the restaurant, turning to wave with a charming smile flashed her way. He'd have to hit Oli up later and see what their plans would be this coming moon, as it was closing in ever so quickly. Then his eyes caught Miranda's, and for a moment he was distracted. Enough so that he ran into a chair as he made his way to Finley. His face flashed beet red as he side stepped around the object and practically bounded over to Finn. Embracing her in his arms and spewing his sad excuse for an apology, instantly feeling a jab into his arm. He looked down at the punch point, then back up at Finn's face. He was trying to hold back a smile, but was having difficulty doing so.
"Was that supposed to hurt? Cause it didn't." He half-ass laughed until he realized her sincerely irritated expression. His smile quickly faded, his own expression becoming one of sorrow and solace.
"I'm sorry, Finn. I just... Jenna really pushed me, and I couldn't stand to be around her at the time. It just really hurt to think..er, to know that that's how she feels about me. Regardless of what I am. I know she has her concerns, and that's fine. But to accuse me of potentially being the," Dec looked around quickly, a slight chill running down his spine as he whispered the word
murderer, talking at a normal level again afterwards.
"I didn't mean to run out on you, and I sure as hell wasn't going radio silent on you specifically. I'd been over at Miranda's, and I got a call from..." Declan's chest clenched, causing him to pause a moment. Running a hand through his hair, he took a deep breath and tried again.
"My cheating ass girlfriend, Jenna. Her.. whatever you wanna call him had her call me and tell me about her screwing around behind my back while she was there with him. It wasn't her at first on the phone. He had the nerve to tell me it all, and she told me not to contact her anymore and hung up on me." Declan's fist tightened into a firm ball, his knuckles cracking under the extreme amount of pressure put on them.
He forced himself to sit down in the chair beside Finley, placing his arms crossed on the counter in front of him and his head turned away from his friend. Tears threatened to spill over his eyelids, but he wouldn't let them. Not here. Not in a public place. Declan talked lower, sounding almost defeated.
"Please don't hold this over me, Finn. I just really needed a break from it all after What happened with...the Jennas'. Was just too much for me, and I didn't want to blow up at anyone cause I wasn't right in the head." He rubbed his eyes with a knuckle, destroying any evidence he may start crying at any moment. Though he hated it, Declan tended to be quite the crybaby. Just in the comfort of his own home. He always went by the saying his dad told him through his childhood, "
Never let them see you cry." And he never did.