Preacher Man // ross lynch + driver era

10

I haven't seen Ross in a few days. I've been picking up extra shifts at the bookstore in attempt to save some money for Christmas gifts and for the upcoming semester. My loans for classes are already taking a beating out of me and I need to afford books somehow. Ross has been at his family's house often, his mom asking to see him every chance he can. I don't blame either of them, the connection they have is too cute for words.

When I'm not working, I'm at the apartment attempting to hang out with my roommates. Kayla tells me all about Chance and the wonderful dates they go on. She seems beyond happy and it only makes my heart grow warmer for the two of them. Rocky and Liv decided to stick it as "friends with benefits" then they started going on dates, but insist they want to keep the same label. They're hardly ever home since they found the two boys, I miss hanging out with them all the time, but I'm more than happy for them.

As I picked up a double at the bookstore, my shift being from 9 AM to 9 PM, I find anything to keep myself occupied. My feet hurt. My head hurts. The coffee brewer from the little café has set off the alarm twice since the new kid still won't get the hang of it. All of the books are organized until people come in and decide to shove the book they examine into the wrong genre.

My manager left and allowed me to run the store tonight. Thankfully it was a quiet Wednesday and nobody really came in.

I rearrange the new collection of books we have, sorting them near the John Greene books. I only have forty minutes left until I close up and I couldn't be more thankful.

I glance over at a suspicious girl standing near the poetry books. I peer around the corner to see her slip one of the white covered books into her side purse and head toward the door. I groan to myself and approach the front entrance.

"Hi," I say, attempting to give her a friendly smile. "Could you please go pay for that?"

Her eyes widen. "Excuse me? Are you accusing me of stealing right now?"

The $13.99 book sits inside of her purple bag. I nod, "I watched you. And I know I can pull the several security cameras and show you how obvious it was. Let's not make this difficult, Miss."

"No! Absolutely not. I didn't steal. Now move!" She screams at me.

What battles do I want to fight today?

I cross my arms. "Empty your bag. I'm not playing this game. If you have nothing suspicious in there then there's nothing to worry about. Just hand me the book and you can be on your way - as simple as that. I won't call the cops."

You can tell she wasn't changing her mind. That's why I didn't stop my coworker when he pulled out his phone and dialed three quick numbers, putting the phone to his ear.

All of a sudden I feel her hands shove me, the door I was standing in front of flings open and I go flying outside of the store, landing hard on my bottom. I watch as she sprints down the street, making a quick left.

I stare at my coworker and shrug, saying the name of the street she turned down. He walks over and helps me up, the shoppers inside looking at me as if this was the most intense thing they have ever witnessed.

I look at my coworker and pull the door shut, "I'm gonna go clean up. Sorry everyone, we are going to have to close up a few minutes early and get this settled." I smile, walking toward the employee lounge.

Pebbles and dirt are covering my palms, red streaks decorating the lines. I wash my hands, making sure to get rid of any and all dirt, blood and anything else I managed to get on me. I turn around and look at my jeans, a rip through the bottom of my butt. I roll my eyes and pull down my shirt as far as I can so nothing shows.