It was so cold. Amber began coughing and sneezing again.
Link looked over at her and then said," Here, take my coat." He then unzipped the hoodie he was wearing and handed it to Amber.
"Thank you, Link," she said still a bit nervously.
He smiled at the girl and then replied, "Of course, Amber.I think you caught a cold, so you need it more than I do."
He seemed like an incredibly nice guy, but she still didn'treally know him. Amber was still a bit uncertain whether or not to trust him, but she decided she didn't have much choice.
They arrived at a cute little diner with a '50's vibe to it. It had black and white checkered floors, red booths and the waiters and waitresses all dressed in "50's-esque uniforms. A waitress took them to a booth in the corner and said she would be right back before leaving.
"Order anything you want. You don't need to worry about the price," Link said.
"Okay, thank you again, Link." Amber glanced down at the menu a and then said " Um... please don't make fun of me, but do you think bacon and eggs are good?" She asked, a bit embarrassed.
"Wait, you mean you've never had bacon and eggs before?" Link said with a surprised look on his face.
"Uh... no, I haven't. I usually just ate bread for breakfast," She mumbled as her face turned bright red.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I embarrassed you," Link replied once he noticed Amber blushing.
"No, no it's okay Link. Your reaction is probably what anyone else would have had when hearing that," the girl said quietly.
"Um... yeah, bacon and eggs are great. Is that what you would like?" Link asked.
"If it's not too expensive," Amber replied. She kept her eyes on the menu, too afraid to make eye contact with the man in front of her.
"I said you don't have to worry about the price, Amber. I mean, you've been eating bread for breakfast everyday. You need the nutrients, so don't worry about it," Link said concernedly.
"Thank you. You've been so kind to me. I don't deserve this," Amber said.
"Amber, don't ever say that again. As far as I can tell, you haven'treceived the love and attention you deserve from your parents and I'm going to help you. Okay?" Link said.
"Ok." I said, defeated.
"So, Amber, tell me a little more about yourself. What do you like?" Link asked her, changing the subject.
"Well, I like to read, but I haven't actually owned any books. I would read books at the library sometimes. When I was very young my parents started abusing me and I had to raise myself. I know how to cook pretty well, but I didn't do much for fun, mostly I just tried to avoid being beaten all the time." She said quietly, not wanting to talk about her life.
"That's horrible! You poor thing!" Link said sympathetically. He then got up from his side of the booth, sat down on Amber's side, and pulled her into a gentle hug. She hugged him back and began drying on his shoulder. She didn't want to, but she couldn't really help it.
"Shh... there, there. It's okay Amber, you're safe now. They'll never be able to hurt you again." Link said as he hugged her small frame. Shortly afterward, she stopped crying and pulled away from his arms. He got up and went to the other side again. After that the waitress came back and we gave her our orders.
"I suppose you'd like to know more about me. Well, let's see. My name is Link Neal. Iam thirty-eight years old. I was born in North Carolina and lived there until I moved here in 2011. I work with my best friend. We're YouTubers," Link started.
"Wait, you're a YouTuber? Are you famous?" I asked shocked that I was sitting next to a YouTuber.While never actually watching any YouTubers, or YouTube in general, she knew some from hearing other kids talking about them. Apparently, they were like celebrities and were very cool.
Link laughed. "Well, our main channel has four million subscribers, our second channel has twelve million, our third channel has over two million, and our fourth has about four hundred fifty thousand," Link said.
"Wow, that's awesome! Can I see some of the videos some time?" She asked, sounding happier than Link had ever heard her.
"Sure, hold on, I have my phone here. I'll use the diner's wifi while we wait for our food to come if you'd like," Link said pulling out his phone.
"Yes please," Amber said enthusiastically. He got up, sat next to her again and began to play video after video. She laughed so hard the other people at the diner were giving them dirty or at least confused looks, but they didn't care. Amber had more fun than she ever remembered having. Link was the greatest thing that had ever happened to her.
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Hey guys!
Hope you're still enjoying the story. Rhett will show up in the next chapter or two. Please vote or leave a comment. I really want to know if you guys like the story. Thanks so much for reading.
BYMB,
Annie
