Avery thought she might have been spoiled by the motel bed the night before. She had spent many nights on park benches since running away, but never before had she been so miserable after waking up. She found herself wishing they had stayed in the man-eater’s house, even if there was a risk the police could have found them.

She shook the thought away, wincing at the pain it caused her stiff neck.

“You okay?” Shane asked, giving her a worried look.

“Just hungry.” She lied. Well, it was only a half lie. She really was starving.

A loud grumbling noise came from Noah’s stomach. When Avery looked at him, his face was red with embarrassment.

Shane laughed. “I saw a truck stop diner when we pulled off the highway yesterday.” He jerked his head in the direction of the highway.

Avery followed without a fuss. Now that she was thinking about food, she wondered how long it had been since she had eaten an actual meal. A diner may not be home cooking, but it was sure to be a lot better than granola bars and grocery store free samples.

By the time they were seated in a booth, Avery was excited. She could smell the bacon cooking in the kitchen, and the pancakes she had seen on someone’s plate looked perfectly fluffy. She grabbed a menu and started searching for the item with the most food. She didn’t want to draw attention by ordering too much, but she was pretty sure she could have eaten nine pancakes.

“Do they have omelettes?” Noah asked, shifting uncomfortably beside her.

“Uh…” Avery flipped through the menu, looking at the categories.

Shane beat her to it. “There’s six options.” He started reading the list to Noah.

He was finishing the list of what went into the Chef’s Omelette when a body stopped at the edge of the table. Avery looked up, thinking it was the waitress. Instead, she found a trucker staring at Noah curiously.

“Can we help you?” She asked. She glanced at Noah out of the corner of her eye, trying to gauge his health. He didn’t appear to have any reaction to the new arrival. Avery didn’t know how she felt about that. Something had made the man stop.

The trucker turned to Avery but nodded at Noah. “Can your friend not read English?”

Avery bristled, but Shane beat her to the punch once again. “Can you read braille?” He retorted with a harsh look.

“Huh?” The trucker looked back at Noah, who had angled his face up toward him. “Oh, uh, sorry.” He stammered.

“Not that it would have been any of your business anyway.” Avery crossed her arms and glared. “Did you come over here just to ask about my brother’s literacy?”

“No.” The trucker shook his head quickly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to-- Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me. It just sort of came out.”

Noah’s laugh drew everyone’s attention. “Apology accepted. You’re not the first person to get curious about my blindness.” He leaned forward and fiddled with a napkin. “Was there another reason you came over?”

The trucker rubbed the back of his neck. “Feels kind of stupid to bring up now.” He shuffled his feet and sighed. “It’s just that you don’t usually see many kids in places like this. And the ones you do, well, they usually need help.”

Avery wanted to tell him to mind his own business. She didn’t trust him. Never in her life had she known someone to go out of their way to help strangers for no reason. There was always a catch, and she wasn’t interested in knowing what it would be.

Shane rose from his seat. He was about as tall as the trucker, and had a great deal more confidence when he faced him. Avery didn’t think she could have mustered a more distrusting stare.

“Last time I accepted a ride from a concerned stranger,” He spoke evenly, in a commanding tone. “They wanted something other than gas money, if you know what I mean.” He narrowed his eyes.

Avery stared, wondering if Shane was telling the truth. She had no doubt lots of people found him attractive, but she had never thought about where that might lead. Shane got what he wanted because of Aphrodite’s genes, but what did he get that he didn’t want?

The trucker was floundering. “My work pays for the gas.” He blurted. “And I’m engaged. Not that I’d want that from kids if I wasn’t. I just wanted to help!”

Avery raised an eyebrow. Was he going to cry?

Noah tapped the table to get their attention. “Are you going east?” He prompted.