The Lifeguard Hates You (Completed)

July Chapter 5

When Candy comes back from lunch Shawn and I are just finishing grilling up burgers for dinner.

Other than the one night we ordered pizza, since Rory has left, I've been eating nothing but burgers and mac and cheese.

Literally nothing is a menu option I've been living with recently. Without her around to make dinner or breakfast I haven't had anything to eat as I don't usually wake up in time to make myself something or I'll be too tired at the end of the day to make anything unless I go to Shawn and Candy's for dinner.

I can't bear staying in that empty cabin either.

I've never had to live on my own before and the quietness of it all is killing me.

I had always thought that I wanted to be alone, but now that I have it I'm miserable. It's even worse because out of everyone I have around me I thought Rory was the one who would stick through all my bullshit. It never actually occurred to me that Rory might have a breaking point or that I might have been nearing it.

Nor did I ever think that Rory would quit.

Sure, we all complained about our jobs, sure Rory was just as overworked and underpaid as I was, but we had always been like our own little family unit and it was killing me that she had left us. Out of all of us I was positive she would be the last to leave.

I notice right away that Shawn is watching me, waiting to see if I'd pounce on the instinct clawing at me to demand to hear everything Candy had learned about Rory and her new job... and relationship. I don't indulge him though and instead I go back to flipping burgers even though at this point I'm over cooking them.

It's partially out of habit because Rory always liked her burgers well done to the point of charred.

"How was lunch?" Shawn asks her for me and I silently thank him.

Candy shrugs and doesn't seem to be all that happy.

"It was okay," she says. "Don't quite like the situation but not much I can do about it now."

They are both shooting me a side glace and I try not to get angry.

I get it, we're in the situation because of me, I'm to blame, stop bringing it up.

I say nothing, I don't bother telling them that I don't like that they keep bringing up the guilt that I know I'll have to live with, I figure that at this point I deserve everything they plan to throw in my face. Instead I turn away from them, even though I really want to ask if she saw Bryce and Rory together. I mean she must have, she was over at their place.

"Her new place is huge, Bryce has this house that's supposed to house six people all to himself," she says in a sudden giddy rush. "They have marble floors, really good cherry wood for everything, Rory's room like the size of our living room!"

Right so in other words her new place is ten times better than the one she just left, so I can't even say that the amenities were better.

So, what are we at now?

She looks better now that she's gone and I mean it, she somehow managed to get attractive since she left, and the place is better... am I forgetting anything?

"She's getting a three dollar raise, her uniform is sophisticated and looks good on her, her hours are better and you should have seen the romantic dinner Bryce had for her when we returned," Candy continues and I frown.

Okay, everything's better over at Polished Elite.

"Sounds wonderful," I huff out, the first thing I've said and when I look up from the grill I can see that Candy and Shawn are glaring at me.

"It's your fault this is happening," Candy snaps and I'm surprised. This is the first time she's flat out blamed me and I hadn't expected it. I mean, it's true, but I didn't need to hear that.

"I know that Candy!" I find myself yelling.

It's been pretty easy to set me off recently. I thought my temper tantrum days were over, I haven't had a full one in forever, even though I've been in many situations that called for one.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Apologize to her!" Candy shouts back. "I want my friend back and don't you lie, you want her back too!"

"I do not!" I shout. We're in each other's faces now, she's gone red and I've reached a level of loudness I haven't hit since this morning. "I do not need Rory!"

"Yes, you do! We all see it! You're falling apart without her. You're barely eating because you got used to her making food for you and no one wants to be around you because she was the only one who kept you from screaming at everyone!" Candy screams. I'm in shock because that's not true but then again... yes, it kind of is.

I had gotten used to Rory making meals for me so I had been choosing to sleep in instead of eating and because I'm at the main building all day I didn't have time to make meals for when I came home. And I guess Rory was the one who always calmed me down when I started getting angry, or at least, she was always the one who was there when I did get that angry.

Was that because the others just trusted her to calm me down?

I had always thought that it was because she was always the only one who upset me, but that wasn't strictly true either. Thinking about it now, she often took the brunt of my rage for the yearly summer new hires and Candy and Shawn very frequently differed my anger onto Rory which I now see was purposely.

Jeezus.... Rory really was my off button.

"Fine! I'm falling apart! I got comfortable! But I don't need her, we have that new guard to replace her now so I'll be..."

"She quit," Shawn says.

He had been ignoring this screaming match up until now. He was too busy taking the burgers off of the grill and getting a plate of burgers ready for himself.

He looks up at me with a calm look on his face. "You screamed at her for a total of 21 minutes before Rory came in and got you to stop. She immediately went into Lacey's office and resigned her position."

I blink my eyes, I had not known that. The poor girl hadn't even managed to move all her stuff in, she was going to do that after her first shift.

Shawn takes a bite into the burger he's prepared while Candy and I were arguing and while I wait for him to chew and swallow it dawns on me that I know what he's going to say to me.

"Looks like Rory is the only one who can put up with you."

That stabs at me, it really does, because it implies that my best friend can't. I stomp away from him, snatching one of the four burgers he has on his plate as I storm towards the door. Neither of them call me back and I'm honestly a little surprised and hurt.

I finish wolfing down my burger and turn towards the outdoor pool. I don't want to face my silent and empty house just yet.