Pranking the Bad Boy {Completed}

Chapter Nineteen - Amber's Advice

~Chapter Nineteen - Amber's Advice~

Matt wasn't at school on Monday. Or, if he was, I certainly didn’t see him.

Annie talked to me, but she seemed distant. Great, she was taking Matt's side in this. I felt alone without my friends to talk to, especially Annie, the one person I thought would understand me and what I was going through.

I briefly wondered if she knew of Matt's feelings towards me - it was still too weird to think about - but I didn't dare ask her.

All in all, I was having an admittedly crappy day.

Thankfully Cole didn't harass me too much. I don't know whether he just sensed that I wasn't in the mood for his playful bickering or whether he was embarrassed about our near-kiss the night before - for a girl who had never before been kissed in her life, I sure was pretty popular in the kissing department last night - or maybe it was something else completely.

Whatever it was, I was blissfully free of his company for the day.

After I had watched Matt's car disappear, I had stood out in the pouring rain for two minutes before my mother came out to fetch me. I then spent the next two hours crying into her shoulder and assessing my feelings towards both Cole and Matt. It was so confusing. I had two cute boys, and my feelings towards them were torn, my heart broken completely in half.

I still didn't know which one I loved.

Cole was the Bad Boy, handsome, with a hidden, soft side he concealed from everyone else but me.

But Matt was my best friend, sweet and loyal, and I trusted him completely. I would jump in front of a gun for him with no regrets, and I knew he would do the same. At least, I thought I knew he would.

I couldn’t decide who I loved. My thoughts were just this jumbled mass of confusion.
By the time I got to work that afternoon, my head was throbbing, I was lethargic from sleep deprivation, and I could barely string two sentences together without sounding like I was drunk. The only reason I really came instead of calling a sick day, was because I really needed to talk things out with the friend who was actually speaking to me.

As soon as I stepped into the familiar cafe, I spotted her, her slim figure darting around the tables, cleaning seats and tables and conversing with customers.

I tapped her on the shoulder when I reached her, and she spun around expectantly. "Oh, Grace, it's you." She looked confused. "What are you doing here? Your shift doesn’t start for another half an hour. Were you scheduled in earlier?"

I took a deep breath. "Um, no. I'm early because... Look, have you taken your break yet?"

"I was planning on taking it in five minutes. Why?"

"Is there any chance you could take it now, please? I really need to talk to you. You're the only one I can really talk to."

One good thing about Amber is whenever you need help, the whole world stops and she'll be there for you in a heartbeat. She nodded, wiped her hands on her apron and called out to Maggie that she was clocking in her coffe break out the back room.

We moved into the Employee's Only Room and we sat side-by-side on a red velvet loveseat.
"Now, you wanna tell Auntie Amber what's wrong?" she asked, clapping er hands on her knees and turning towards me with raised eyebrows.

I smiled. "You're basically the only friend who's willing to talk to me now," I admitted sadly.

"Why?"