𝔸 𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕪 ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟.
From the moment she started working at Freshmart, Octavia has been in love with Caleb Dale. For seven years...
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"What are you still doing here? Go home."
Startled, Octavia looked up to find Caleb leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, something indulging in his blue eyes. Like every time she saw him, Octavia's brain malfunctioned for a few seconds, too busy gorging on the sight he offered.
All this time and she still marveled at how perfect he was.
She didn't care what all her friends said; he wasn't too old to be ridiculously attractive. He was the perfect love child of Brad Pitt and Chris Hemsworth, and it didn't matter if he was twelve years her senior. There was something inherently handsome about him, an undeniable appeal, a compelling charm. He looked like one of those old movie stars in Westerns – a little rough but still dashing.
Even with his thick knitted sweater, she could make out his muscular arms and torso. Still, it made her feel sorry she wouldn't be here by the time summer came again. She'd miss seeing him in his casual T-shirts, just tight enough to hug his hard-earned muscles.
"Octavia?" he called her when she didn't answer. Oh, no... she was staring.
"Yes, sorry. There were mistakes in two of the registers, so it took longer than usual."
"It's Christmas Eve. Cut yourself some slack for once. You're no longer an employee as of..." he trailed off, glimpsing at his watch, "twenty minutes ago. Go home."
He waited for her to nod before leaving. His loyal German Shepherd, Vixen, followed him like a shadow. With a grunt, Octavia let her forehead fall on the desk.
She was a coward. A pathetic and helpless coward.
In all truth, she had finished with the registers over half an hour ago and had since been trying to find the courage to give Caleb his parting slash Christmas gift.
After seven years of working at the Freshmart store, she was finally leaving. What had begun as a small part-time job in high school had grown into more, providing her with a much-needed salary to pay for her online college expenses. But she'd had her degree for over a year now, so it was time she started her actual career as an illustrator.
She would have left long ago had she not been in love with the owners' son.
With a sigh, she stood from her comfortable chair and moved to put the registers in the safe, as she'd done countless times before.
Once out of the office, she made her way to the public area of the store. The surrounding silence was odd. This past week, they'd had swarms of customers flooding the place in preparation for the festivities, and for the past month, Christmas songs had been constantly playing in the store. The quietness felt surreal now, especially given the freezing tempest outside.
Everyone was long gone, busy preparing their Christmas dinners, spending quality time with their families. At the thought of what her night would be like, Octavia grimaced. There was nothing of quality to be expected from her father's new wife and her obnoxious daughters.
