Chapter 7 - The Local Haunt
To ground herself in her new reality, Clara developed a routine. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, she drove into town to eat at the Crossroads Diner, a nostalgic, slightly rundown establishment that served as the heartbeat of Pine Ridge.
It was there she became familiar with the local cast of characters. The diner was managed by Sarah, a kind, forty-five-year-old woman with short, practical hair and a faded apron. Sarah was a fixture behind the counter, shifting effortlessly between warm professionalism and the suspicious, protective glare of a town matriarch.
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Then there was Jax.
Jax was impossible to miss. A tall, forty-eight-year-old man with long black hair, a thick beard, and arms heavily covered in faded tattoos. He always wore a weathered leather vest and sat at the far end of the counter. Jax was a former motorcycle racer, a quiet giant who tried to project an aura of hardened strength. Yet, Clara often noticed him staring thoughtfully out the window, his tough exterior masking a deep, unspoken weariness. Clara found a strange comfort in observing them from her corner booth—broken people, like her, finding peace in the quiet pockets of the world.
