Lacey

I went to bed with a heavy and battered heart. Adonis’ words echoed in my mind and kept me up for most of the night. Sometime around three in the morning, I finally fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up late morning feeling hung over. I rubbed my eyes and sat up in my bed. For obvious reasons, I had no desire to see Adonis today. I hoped he and my brother had already left.

I opened up my bedroom door and listened carefully for any sound that showed Adonis or my brother were still in my house, but the house was quiet. Still dressed in my pajamas, I wandered downstairs to see where my mom was. As usual, she was busy in the kitchen. My mom didn’t work, and she’d stayed at home to look after my brother and I. She disliked the word homemaker; she preferred the title home executive.

We were now old enough to look after ourselves it was still nice having mom around during the day. My father worked as a chartered accountant and he worked long hours.

My mom was baking muffins when I walked into the kitchen.

“Mm smells nice.” I walked over to her. She smiled at me as she took off the oven mittens and I pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“I made your favorite.”

“And that’s why you’re my favorite parent,” I teased with a wink. My mom’s smile widened.

Chocolate muffins were my favorite. Actually, pretty much anything with chocolate was my favorite.

“Thanks.” I sat down by the kitchen counter.

“Do you want something to drink?” my mom asked.

“Coffee, please,” I said. She gave me a raised eyebrow.

From the time they had diagnosed me with migraines, she’d been trying to monitor my diet to ensure I ate properly. She’d hoped that by doing that it would lessen the severity and the amount of migraines I suffered from. So far none of it had worked, but I loved my mom for trying. She’d read somewhere that too much caffeine could trigger the headaches, so she was always watching how much coffee I drank. With a raised eyebrow studied me for a moment before she relented and made me a cup of coffee.

I smiled as I watched her. I had an exceptional mom.

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she handed the cup.

“I’m fine, just a little tired.” It was hard trying to get any sleep when my heart hurt so badly. I took a sip of the coffee and savored the rich taste.

“The headaches seem to getting worse.” Her mom studied her.

I remained silent, and I dropped my eyes to the cup I held in my hands. I didn’t want to face what that could mean. It would definitely entail a visit to the doctor and scans.

“Stop, mom. Lots of people suffer from migraines,” I said, trying to convince her that there was no need to worry.

She bit her lip as she contemplated what I said.

“Fine, but you’re still going for your checkup at the end of the month.” She made a point of giving me that don’t mess with your mom look, and I nodded my head. There was no getting out of that.

“What are you going to do today?” she asked.

“I thought it might be time to get a part-time job.” Slowly, I took a sip of my coffee. I’d been spending the last few months taking a break and trying to figure out what I was going to do next, but I still hadn’t figured that out. A job would keep me busy and allow me to earn money until I could decide on a career.

“That sounds great,” my mom said.

“What sounds great?”

My back stiffened at the sound of Adonis’ voice. It was impossible to keep my eyes from finding him in the kitchen’s doorway where he stood yawning. It felt like someone had hit me in the stomach when my eyes met his. I hated myself for my body’s instant reaction to him.

Even though he made me angry, it didn’t dampen the effect he had on me. Even first thing in the morning with his hair a mess. He wore his favorite Green Day shirt and sweatpants. Green day was his favorite band. The shirt was old but no matter how many holes it had; he refused to get rid of it.

In the last couple of days he had put me through so many emotions, hurt and betrayal. I pulled my eyes from him, intent on ignoring him. My mom gave me a curious look before she turned to Adonis, who’d walked into the kitchen and was about to sit down in the chair beside me.

“Lacey wants to find a part-time job,” my mom told him. I felt his eyes on me, but I refused to look at him. It was childish, but I couldn’t help myself. He’d hurt me and I would not play nice.

“That’s great.” He stood beside me, and I gave him a stiff nod. 

I kept my eyes firmly on my mom as I tried to ignore Adonis beside me. My stomach tightened as I held onto my mug.

“Are you sure it won’t increase your stress levels?” my mom asked.


I shrugged. “It might, but I have to do something.” I understood my mom’s concern, and I didn’t want to do anything that would increase the migraines, but I couldn’t just do nothing. I would have to learn to deal with my migraines while trying to move on with my life.


Maybe what happened last night had triggered something in me that was ready to move onto the next phase of my life and getting a job was the start of it.


At that moment Alex walked in, stretching as he yawned. It took the attention off me. He gave me a nod as he took the spare seat beside Adonis and my mom offered them coffee.


“So where were you thinking of looking for a job?” Adonis asked, and I wanted to ignore him, but with my mom and brother were watching.


“I haven’t decided yet.” I kept my answer vague before I studied my mug, refusing to meet his eyes.

Besides, I didn’t know why he cared. He’d almost kissed me, and then he’d gone out and gotten a girl’s number. Reminding myself about it increased the ache in my heart.


“So what’s for breakfast?” Alex asked my mom still half asleep.


“Chocolate muffins.” She set a basket of freshly baked muffins in front of us.


The boys grabbed a muffin each and shoved them into their mouths. I rolled my eyes at them. They could be so childish sometimes. My mom just shook her head at them.


My appetite had disappeared, and the muffins didn’t look as appealing as they had before. I drank the last of my coffee and got up to put my empty mug in the sink.


“Aren’t you going to have one?” my mom asked as I left.


“No, I’ll have one later.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “Will you give me a lift into town later?”

“Sure,” my mom said.


I went upstairs to get ready. Tired of thinking about Adonis and the girl who’d give him her number, I pushed all thoughts of that from my mind and tried to concentrate on where I could go looking for a job. There were a few restaurants in town that I liked to eat at, so maybe I would try there. I’d never worked as a server before but it wasn’t rocket science so I should be able to figure it out. I wasn’t sure what other options I would have other than that, besides I feeling hopeful.

Later, when I was ready to go, I found my mom in her bedroom folding some washing on her bed.


“Can you give me a lift into town?” I leaned against the doorway, watching my mom.


“I can’t today.” She shook her head. “I forgot about some stuff I needed to do.”


I felt disappointed, especially when I was so determined to organize my life.


“But don’t worry, Gray offered to take you.” She picked up a shirt and folded it.


“What?” I wasn’t sure I’d heard right. I hated how my heart raced just at the mention of his name. Would there ever be a time I would be immune to him?


“Gray said he’ll take you.”


It stunned me. What the hell was he playing at? I felt resentful he had offered to take me instead of my mom. 

“It’s okay, mom.” I was already trying to figure a way out of getting a lift with Adonis, even though I didn’t want to put off my job search for another day.


“It’s no problem. He assured me it was no trouble.” She stopped what she was doing to fix her curious eyes on me. “Is there a reason you don’t want him to drive you?”


There was no getting out of this without making my mom suspicious of my feeling. I had no choice but to smile at my mom. “No, it’s fine.”


I walked towards the stairs, trying to calm my nerves. My hurt bubbled below the surface, mixed with my anger. I didn’t want to see him, never mind get a lift into the city with him. Why on earth had he offered to give me a lift? His actions left me more confused than ever before. It was like push and then pull; it made no sense.


But I’d moved on and allowing him to drive to and from work wasn’t part of that plan. I went to my room and got my phone. I called Reece.


“Can you meet me in town in an hour?” I asked her, a little breathless. My heart was racing.


“Sure,” she said. “Where?”


“I’ll text you the address,” I said. “I’m going for a job interview.”


“See you then. Good luck.” She was in college, but luckily on Mondays she didn’t have any classes. I texted her the address.

I set my chin with determination before I descended the stairs. The sound of the TV made me head for the living room first. I found him was sitting alone, watching TV. His eyes brightened, and he smiled at me when he noticed me standing in the doorway. He switched off the TV and stood up. I didn’t return the smile. It was too hard to pretend everything was all right when it wasn’t.

“You ready to go?” he asked, and I gave him a silent nod.

I didn’t miss the slight surprise at my standoffishness. He followed me out and we walked to his car. It was a sleek black SUV with tinted windows. He opened the passenger door for me and I got it. He closed my door, and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.


Despite how angry I still was with him, I couldn’t help feeling nervous at his proximity. His car smelled like him and I clasped my hands together when he opened the door and slid into the driver’s side.

“Where are we going?” he asked before he started up the car.


I’d gone online and checked out a few adverts for a serving job that didn’t need previous serving experience. There had only been a couple which had narrowed down my job search. I gave him the address of the first restaurant and he programmed it into his GPS.


He backed out my driveway, and I turned to look out the window. Usually I loved to be around him and I would use this time to revel in my hidden feelings, but this time it just hurt to be so close to him and remember what he’d said to my brother.


“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked, and I pressed my lips together for a moment before I answered him.


“What do you mean?” I raised an eyebrow in his direction. He had his eyes fastened on the road.


“You know. You’re supposed to be keeping your stress under control for your migraines.” His voice was matter of fact. I couldn’t help bristly at his remark. “Any job will have some amount of stress.”


Annoyed, I turned to face him.

“What do you want from me, Gray? I can’t just do nothing. At some point I have to get a job and I’ll deal with it,” I replied watching him as he shot me a side glance before turning his eyes back on the road.

“But what happens if it increases your migraines?” he asked.

“Then I must go to the doctor for more scans and stuff,” I said, looking ahead. 


It wasn’t something I liked to think about. I didn’t want to go back to the doctor. I wasn’t an optimist by nature and when I was first diagnosed with the migraines it had scared me. The doctor had assured me I could manage them with medication. He’d also said there was a possibility that it was just a stage I would outgrow.


But he told me if they increased I would have to go back to see him and he’d have to run more tests. That had caused the alarm bells in my head to sound. If the migraines increased, then it meant there could be another reason for them, and that scared me a little.


My migraines had increased a little, but not enough to cause alarm. Many people suffered from them and they lived normal lives, so I didn’t see why I couldn’t.


I kept my attention on the passing scenery, trying to keep from looking at him while he drove. The silence was uncomfortable, but I wasn’t in the mood to make light conversation. He seemed to be deep in thought and I was thinking about the interview. I’d never been for a job interview before and the closer we got to the restaurant, the more nervous I got.


Adonis shot a look to my fiddling hands.


“Don’t be nervous. You’ll be fine.” He placed a hand over my hands and his touch made my heart flutter.


“Thanks.” My eyes lowered to see his large hand cover mine and I struggling to stay unaffected by it.


That was the thing about him. He never got nervous, or at least I had never seen him get nervous. He always seemed calm and in control. It probably made him well suited for his job. You couldn’t exactly be a nervous type of person performing in front of thousands of people.


It was sometimes easy to forget that he was a famous musician with more fans than I could count. Maybe it was because I knew him before all of that had happened and to me he was the same boy who I had grown up with. The only difference now was how my heart raced at the sight of him and how I felt a flutter of awareness when he was close.


A knot of nervousness tighten in my stomach when he pulled up in front of the restaurant and switched off the car before he moved to face me. It was a family-owned restaurant that specialized in gourmet burgers and other various fried food.


“I’ll wait here for you.” Adonis lifted his hand from mine and making me very aware I could still feel the warmth of his touch on my hand.


“It’s okay. You don’t have to. Reece is going to meet me here.” I opened the door, hoping for a swift escape.

He was silent for a moment, and I watched his jaw tighten. Yeah, he didn’t like the fact that I had side stepped him like that.


“Does she know where to meet you?” he asked, his forehead furrowed in a frown.


“Yes,” I said, enjoying the fact that I’d got out of getting a lift back home with him.


“Fine.” He tried to hide his annoyance. “But you call me if she doesn’t pitch.”

I nodded my head before I closed the door. I didn’t wait for him to pull away before I turned my attention back to the restaurant. All thoughts of Adonis left my mind as I entered the restaurant. Even though it was early, the place looked quite busy. The host was a friendly girl who looked a couple of years older than me.


“Hi, can I help you?” she asked, giving me a warm and welcome smile.

“Yes, I’d like to talk to someone about the job,” I felt so nervous, it was nerve-wracking.


She got an older guy who was the manager. We sat down at an empty table so he could interview me. He’d introduced himself as David, and he told me about the job. As nervous as I was, he put me at ease and after half an hour he offered me the job.


“Thanks.” I felt relieved.

“No problem,” he replied as we stood up. “I think you’ll fit in here well.”

I beamed at his confidence in me.


“Be here tomorrow at nine,” he told me, and I nodded excitedly. 


I’d gotten the job; I wanted to squeal as I walked out, then I spotted Reece waiting in her car at the curb. When I reached her car, I opened the door and got in the car.


“And how did it go?” She shoved her sunglasses back. 


I smiled at her. “I got it.” She squealed in excitement and hugged me.


For once, I felt independent. I’d got a job. It wasn’t much, but I’d got it on my own and that made me feel proud. At that moment, I felt like anything was possible. Even getting over Adonis.