𝐔𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃

25 | my fault

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When I was younger, around thirteen or so, back when my father was still working as a deep-sea miner at the Coldwater Mining Company and we were still somewhat financially stable, we would visit my aunt Kennedy who lives in New York. She used to work at a patisserie at the time and while she was within reach, we would go to her every summer. She would show me around the ropes and I would help her decorate wedding cakes and naturally, I took a liking at baking and desert making.

Four years later she finally got married and moved to Paris with her husband where they own their own patisserie and their business is fruitful. Unfortunately, I don't get to see her as much as I would like, but at least the few skills I obtained from her proved to be useful.

Obviously, I'm not a professional baker, much less a pastry chef, but I'm working at a patisserie-coffee shop myself and other than handling the cashier and cleaning, I sometimes help with the cake preparations, but that's only when things get hectic around here.

Honestly, just sitting at the cashier, making coffee and packing up deserts for the customers is a dull task. I would rather work with the rest of the staff in the kitchen, because at least that way I'll have more fun productive things to do with my time and I won't have to face rude customers that mostly consist of impatient conservative people who will glare at you like you're a speck of dust on their perfectly polished shoes.

And much to my luck, today has been a hectic day.

"Nox do you have any time? I need a hand." Anna, one of the chefs in the decorator department asks and I tell my colleague to take my place when she leads me into the kitchen. "I need to go help fix the freezer in the basement otherwise we're screwed, so would you please place these strawberry toppings and the macaroons on these cakes? The other girls are too busy right now."

"Sure," I smile. "How do you want me to place them exactly?"

"Just put them over the half of the circle." She gestures at the half side of the tall light pink cake that is currently sitting on the glossy glass stand. White chocolate drips down the edges of the cake and it looks mouthwatering. "The macaroons go in the middle."

And with that she rushes to the basement, leaving me alone with the rest of the chefs. I wash my hands before attending the task that she assigned me, as I carefully place the white chocolate dipped strawberries on the cake. Each and every one of them has a different soft pattern, like pink ribbons or spots, but once I'm done, I notice that something is missing. The design itself is minimalistic and it looks really pretty in its simplicity, but it needs something else that breaks the quiet.

My eyes fall on the edible glitter that's on one of the shelves, so I grab the hot pink shade and sprinkle some of it all over the strawberries, creating a little path that spices things up. It's not much, but I hope Anna will appreciate it. She trusts me with the decorating aspect, so I don' think she'll mind.

"Nox, what are you doing back here?" A woman dressed in a white uniform suddenly asks me. Miss Hawthorne, she's the head pastry chef. "Where's Anna?"

"She had to go to fix the freezer in the basement and she asked me to finish this." I reply.

"Jesus, I've been looking for that girl everywhere." She mutters. "Get back outside, I'll handle the rest. Sorry for bothering you."

"It's okay, don't worry about it."

"Actually, can you please do the dishes before you go?" She asks sweetly. "It's only a few trays. If you're too busy with the cashier, I'll just ask Emmeline." And this is what I like about her; she knows how to manage her staff, always trying to make sure people are comfortable and secure in their workspace. She always keeps her chin up.

"No, it's fine." I smile and get to work. I finish up the dishes quickly then head back to the coffee shop area when I notice a familiar figure entering the space. Her brown eyes find mine and she arches a brow as she stalks towards the counter.

Shit, the last person I wanted to see is this bitch.

Balling my fists under the counter, I manage to say in the politest voice I could muster from the depths of my core, "Hello, how can I help you?"

"Why, hello Nox didn't expect to see you here." She says in a saccharine tone that makes me sick to my gut. "How's work?"

"It's great." I reply shortly. Just get to the point.

"It's so good to see you."

I can't say the same about you.

"You know, I think I saw you several weeks ago." She continues. "Were you at the club downtown? You know, the one you used to go with Elijah?"

This bitch is trying to provoke me and she's doing an insanely good job at it. "Yes, I was there with a few friends. I didn't see you there though."

"Well, I saw you." She muses. "Cam is missing you."

"I'm afraid his nostalgia is one sided." I say flatly and cross my arms. "Drop the act, Madison. Just say what's on your mind and let's get over it."

"Elijah is still hung up over you." She finally says.

"He's no longer my business."

"But he is mine." She presses. "And I'm sick of it."

This time I don't even bother to hide my annoyance as I roll up my eyes. "You're holding up the line Madison. Are you getting anything or not?"

"I just want you to clear the air with him, because this is getting exhausting."

"I cleared shit out with him weeks ago. And I dealt with Cam when we were at the club." I tell her. "From now on if one of them approaches me, I'll call the police."

She laughs to herself. "You're still playing the victim, even after what you did to Elijah."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, you're the one who screwed up when you went in that car." She snaps. "That's when everything went to shit. And it was all because of you. He only asked one thing from you. One fucking thing that he could have easily gotten from me. Loyalty. And you fucked his life up" Madison deadpans, her brown eyes slicing through mine, "when you climbed into that car."

I stare at her speechless while blood rushes to my temples and sweat pearls on my forehead. My palms feel cold and clammy as I reminisce what happened all those years ago. Back when I thought I found the crowd that accepted me for the person I thought I was. When I thought that Elijah would never change no matter what would come between us, because I was willing to stay his forever as long as he was loyal to me.

"Elijah only asked one thing from you. One fucking thing that he could have easilygotten from me. Loyalty. And you fucked up. You deserved everything you got for hurting him."