Lovers of Yesterday

Chapter 28 • Pancakes

Rubbing my eyes, I walked out into the living room. The sun was shining into the living room, making me unable to open my eyes until I gotused to the light. When I was able to, Lynch was no where to be seen. Someone cleared their throat behind me and I spun around.

Lynch was leaning against the doorframe into the kitchen. His eyes swept over my face and neck and I self-consciously reached for my face to hide the bruises. My face heated when I realized I never put on a shirt last night. I was only walking around in his sweatpants that hung low on my waist and a sports bra.

"I- I'm gonna got put a shirt on." I stumbled over my words as I turned back to the hallway.

His voice stopped me. "What's the scar on your shoulder from?"

He sounded like he was barely restraining his anger. I quickly soothed the thought. "From when I was a kid. I got a nasty cut when I hit a branch climbing down a tree. Really, you can ask my parents about it. They were the ones who took me to the hospital."

"Alright." He seemed to believe me so I turned and all but ran back to the guest room. How could I forget I was staying over at his place?

I found a shirt in my suitcase and yanked it over my head before pulling a brush through my hair. It was knotted and probably looked like a rats' nest. When I felt presentable enough, I headed back out and to the kitchen where Lynch had been. He was already dressed in jeans and a tee while he stood over the stove. A plate of pancakes sat on the counter as well as a bowl that most likely held batter.

I stopped next to him, watching as he flipped the one cooking to check if it was done and then picked it up to move it over to the plate. It was kind of nice to wake up and find him already making breakfast but it wasn't something I could get used to. I had a feeling we'd go our separate ways once I was free of Liam.

"Go ahead and grab a plate, sweetheart. You can get started on eating. There're only a few more left to make." He gestured to a couple plates set out. "Maple syrup is in the door in the fridge."

Following his instructions, I opened the fridge and found the maple syrup where he said it would be. I pulled it out and brought it over to the counter where the plates were. I stacked a few pancakes onto my plate and poured maple syrup over top.

I took my plate over to the table and sat down to begin eating. Lynch soon followed after he turned the stove off and moved the pan off the hot burner. We ate our pancakes in silence. When I finished, I stood up and brought my plate to the sink. While I rinsed it, he finished his breakfast and walked over to the sink. I stepped away so he could rinse his plate while I loaded mine in the dishwasher.

I left and went to go change. At least I remembered to fold and put my uniform up. I pulled it out of the top drawer in the dresser and quickly changed clothes. I ran a brush through my hair again and checked my bruises. It felt like it was becoming habit now to check and see what my face looked like.

I grabbed my phone and tucked it in my back pocket while heading to the living room. Like yesterday, Lynch was waiting for me. He looked over my face, stopping on my cheek and neck. While the one on my cheek was beginning to fade, the one on my neck was prominent and hideous. There was no way to hide it though.

As if sensing my self-consciousness, Lynch walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I hugged him back, feeling a little better.

"Let others see what a monster he is. They'll have your back when the time comes you're ready to leave him." He spoke gently.

I pulled away and he let me go. "I know. I just don't like them."

"I get that, but they aren't permanent. At least not physically. You'll still hold onto the memory. Unfortunately, that's not something that will go away easily."

I nodded. "Let's get going. I don't want Bridget to get mad at us."

He smiled and turned back to the door. As always, he held it open and let me walk ahead of him. We fell into step next to each other on the sidewalk and only followed one another when someone was walking past us. We didn't say anything; we just walked together.

The silence was nice. For once I wasn't overthinking about Liam. He was pushed into the furthest corners on my mind. I was happy right now. That's what mattered to me.

• • •

I moved around behind the counter, preparing one of the customer's orders. Lynch was put on book duty so he was on the other side of the store, checking the shelves to see what needed to be restocked. Every once in a while, I'd glance over to see how he was doing. I knew he'd be fine but I felt the need to check up on him every so often.

Like I expected, he was always fine. When he had what he needed, he disappeared to the back to go find all the books he needed. I was able to focus more on what was in front of me once I couldn't see him anymore. Vivian was silently working next to me. She hadn't said much of anything to me since the first day Lynch began working at the coffeeshop. If she did say anything, it was strictly work-related.

It felt awkward to talk to her after I heard her conversation with Lynch from a few days ago but I had to act like things were normal. She ignored me for the most part while we worked. That made it easier for me to focus on my work. When our break started was when she finally spoke to me.

"Are you and Liam still together?" She asked as we walked back to the lockers.

"Yeah," I answered warily.

She stopped and I turned to face her. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she glared at me. "If y'all are still together then why the fuck are you hanging around Lynch?"

I hesitated to answer her. "I'm having issues with Liam. Lynch has been helping me."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're just a cheating whore. I bet you're just saying that to get attention from him."

"No!" I was taken aback. "I'm not- you don't understand what's going on."

"I don't? Then please explain."

"I- It's not something I feel comfortable sharing that with you. It's personal."

"Why not? Are you just saying that because you know you've been caught lying?"

I shook my head vigorously. "Something really is going on between me and Liam and Lynch is just helping me. If you don't believe me, that's on you, but I don't have to tell you."

"I can't believe you. What is so bad that you can't tell me? You knew I was gonna try to talk to Lynch and you took him from me and cheated on Liam in the process. I'm going to tell him what you're doing, you slut."

"Who's telling who what?"