Preacher Man // ross lynch + driver era

96

I walk into work on Friday as normal. My mind hasn't drifted much away from Max. I haven't heard from Mike and I know we work together this shift so I'm curious to how the night went.

I had about two hours left of the shift. Ross lands in an hour so I'm excited to see him. Mike finally comes in through the back door.

"Hey," I call over, my hands clutching ten books to put away.

He smiles at me. "What's up, Hayley?"

"Same old. So... wanna catch me up?" I ask rather bluntly.

Mike sighs and walks over to me. Although it's just the two of us in the store, he talks in a hushed voice. "He is bipolar. I knew about it all because he liked to open up about it. He hasn't been taking his medications is what his mom informed me. He's getting a few days off work, for obvious reasons of course. He texted me the morning after and apologized. He also wanted me to tell you that he's sorry if he frightened you, but he deleted your number and didn't have it," he explains.

I nod, placing the books on the table. "I understand. I just... I didn't know. He freaked me out, of course, but it's no big deal. Is he doing better?" I ask.

He nods. "Yeah. He has off until tonight. He has been taking his medication again and obviously asked me to not schedule you guys together. What happened between you?"

The next two hours mostly consisted of me catching Mike up on all the drama. When I glanced at the clock, my heart started racing.

"Have a great shift. I'll see you Tuesday? I think." I say.

"Yes. We are having an employee meeting tomorrow about the store closing. I'll email you the notes. Shifts will be less as I'm thinking of cutting store hours in half as we start liquidation," he explains.

I nod and say my goodbyes then head out to my car. I dig through my purse to find my phone and keys as I approach my car. I immediately pout as I see a bouquet of roses on the hood of my car.

I take them off along with the card and get into my car. I open the card easily and my eyes skim it quickly.

Hi baby,

I can't wait to see you. Meet me at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. Room 816.

I love you,

x Ross

I smile and immediately text him that I'm on my way. I excitedly bounce in my seat as I drive the twenty minutes. I thankfully wore a cute outfit to work since I assumed we'd meet up after.

I walk into the way too nice of a hotel and go to the elevator. I click the top floor and I'm basically jittering around because I can't wait to see him.

Once the doors open, I walk down to the furthest room and feel if it's open. When I felt the handle go down with ease, I slowly opened it.

Rose petals were lined in a row leading into another room of this suite. I immediately pout and walk inside, closing the door behind me. I lock it and continue walking as I follow the trail. With tears in my eyes, I turn the corner to the open bedroom and smile as soon as I see the blonde on the bed, just waiting for my arrival. Candles are lit around the room and there's two silver lids and wine on the table.

"Hi," he says softly with a smile on his face. I blink quickly and allow the two tears to flow down my face. I lift my hands up in a 'I have no idea what to even say in this moment' kind of movement. "Don't cry. Come here."

I cross the room quickly at his soft demand and walk straight into his arms. I slide my hand up into his hair as I basically cradle his head against me. "I love you so much," I whisper. "You didn't have to do this."