t h i r t e e n

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This morning was quite a weird one.

I walked into work but this time for a different reason. I handed Adam my work shirt and name tag and told him a few short words.

"I have to quit."

He asked me why but I couldn't tell him the real reason. She was watching my every move. I had to be careful.

"Personal reasons." I shrugged. He pursed his lips and handed me a few papers I had to fill out in order to fully resign from my job. I saw her smile from across the room.

Now I sit on the couch by myself, my only comfort being the fuzzy blanket wrapped around me tightly like a second skin.

I had already filled out my resignment papers and mailed them to the bookstore, afraid to even step foot in the small building.

She may have taken my job, she may have taken my previous apartment, but she isn't going to take anything else. This is it.

I'm now pretty sure Luke is going to stick around, as long as he doesn't learn my secret. Now he knows that Jess has a boyfriend back home -a very loyal one, in fact- and won't go after her again. That's the slightest bit reassuring.

But I couldn't risk my safety being around her at work, even with cameras watching. Jess is smart and cunning, and after turning on me so suddenly I wouldn't be surprised if she lunged at me out of no where.

Also, if I stayed there she might have an easier chance of following me home from work and finding out where Luke and I live. She must have figured out by now that I moved, and I'm willing to bet a million bucks she checked Luke's old place too.

The only reason I knew I had to quit my job was because of a certain text.

From: Jess Tabernacki

Guess who's stayin in Australia, bitch! Guess i gotta get a job now, huh?

I'll admit it scared the crap out of me at the time, but it doesn't surprise me that she's going this far. She's always been a drama queen and a diva.

But this time around it's becoming a bit more serious. We're adults, she shouldn't be acting so immature over God-knows-what. I don't even remember doing anything to her. I kicked her out of the apartment for making out with Luke, but I had good reason. She has a boyfriend, and Luke and I were beginning to become a thing at the time. Now I think we're together without the label.

The only thing making me feel better is the news I recieved from Luke yesterday.

He found a good pet shelter, which he took me to yesterday as a surprise, and showed me the few cats he picked out for me to choose from. He explained that he came here to narrow down the choices while I was shopping with Calum.

I ended up picking a cute kitten named Fuzzy who was found in an abandoned house with his dead mother. Not too much trauma, which is nice.

Turns out that since he's a young kitten he'll need to stay at the vet for another week to finish getting shots and to get fixed. We also plan to microchip him in case he gets out somehow.

It's a lot of responsibility, but I think we can handle it.

Suddenly Luke bursts through the door, carrying a small blue bag with the newspaper in it.

"We've got coupons!" He exclaims, tossing me the bag. I sort through the papers and find one for a pet store nearby.

"Let's go get stuff for Fuzzy." I suggest, standing up from my warm spot on the couch. The blanket falls to the floor in a pile but I ignore it and stick my feet into a pair of boots.

-

As soon as we get to Petsmart I find the car aisle and begin tossing things into my cart. Kitty litter, litter box, cute toys with feathers and strings. Everything is cute. If I'm going this crazy over a cat I can't imagine how I'll be if I ever have kids.

"We also have a coupon for canned food." Luke pipes, showing me a coupon for buy two get two free canned cat food. I find the righr brand and toss a few into the cart, along with some dry food and a cute food and water bowl set.

"Shopping for cats is so fun." I comment, observing a sweater on a rack made for cats. "How would you even get this on it?"

"Wrestle it." Luke shrugs.

I shake my head and place the sweater back on the rack beside a hotdog costume for dogs. Maybe someday Luke and I will get a dog, too.

-

Luke and I sit on the bed under the sane fuzzy blanket from earlier, huddled around my laptop as we catch up on Orange Is The New Black on Netflix. Even though there are lots of boobs throughout the series I think this has to be my favorite show.

"Weren't you supposed to go to work today? What happened?" Luke blurts suddenly, scaring the pee out of me. I was so focused on the show that I forgot he was even beside me.

"I quit."

"What?" He gasps, his face contorting. I'm not sure if he's shocked or constipated. "Why?"

"It just wasn't working out for me. The only good thing I got out of it was a few friends." I shrug. He purses his lips and turns back to the screen.

"This has nothing to do with me, does it?" He asks, not looking away from the screen.

"No, nothing to do with you. I just didn't want to work there anymore."

"Are you gonna find a new job?"

"As soon as you do." I joke, pushing him over slightly with my shoulder. He elbows me back and smiles.

"I may actually get a job as a performer at some bar. Pays pretty well." He admits. He reaches for a water bottle on the night stand and takes a long swig.

"Really? I didn't know you could sing."

"I didn't know either until Calum heard me singing in the shower the other day." He smirks, screwing the cap back on the empty water bottle and tossing it onto the floor.

"Did you already have the interview?" I question.

"No, but Ash works there and he recommended me to his boss. I'm supposed to call some time this week to set one up."

Luke and I continue to talk pointlessly until we finish season two of Orange Is The New Black.

"Is that all Netflix has?" Luke groans, slamming his hands onto the keyboard of the laptop. "I need more!"

"Calm down, let's just go to bed. It's like, midnight." I fall backwards onto the bed, throwing my arms out in either direction. Luke shuts the laptop and sets it on the nightstand before laying back down beside me.

He kisses my forehead and wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. I don't resist. Instead, I curl up into him and get comfy while he pulls the covers over us. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.

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I KNOW IT'S SHORT DON'T KILL ME

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