Pretty Boy

Chapter 4

CW: Domestic Abuse

RJ could hardly focus her entire day at work. All she could think about was Steve.

I should never have driven him. I can't believe I offered to drive him again. I wanna see him again. I have to stay away from him. I can't hurt him again.

She felt like her head was gonna burst open. She truly believed she would implode if she didn't talk to someone about Steve. Only she didn't really have many people to talk to. The only friend she made this past year was Steve. She had her sister, and that was about it. She had Max. She took a deep breath and let herself relax for a moment. She would talk to Max when she got home. Max would listen, Max would understand.

She returned to reshelving books. She continued all the way through her cart until she got to the last book. She looked down at it and then looked up; it went on the highest shelf. She looked around for one of her taller coworkers, but everyone happened to be preoccupied with something.

I can figure it out.

Normally there'd be a step stool to help her, but out of nowhere today, some hooligan stole it right out of the store. Why someone needed to steal a stool was a mystery to RJ. All she knew was that she needed to get the last book on the shelf.

She situated her right foot on the lowest shelf which gave her a few extra inches, but even then, she was still too short. She reached further and further. She hoped that eventually, she would slip the book right into place. Suddenly she had an idea. She figured if she put her left foot on the next highest shelf and jumped up for a moment, she could slide it into place.

She set her left foot on the next highest shelf, took a deep breath, and used her right foot to propel herself upwards. The book slid right into place. She stepped down and let out an accomplished sigh.

She heard light clapping coming from beside her. She looked over to see a boy about her age with long fluffy brown hair in a leather jacket. She recognized him from school. He was easy to pick out as he didn't exactly fit in with the crowd. His name was Eddie Munson, and he was often the punchline of a joke. People called him everything: Freak, Loser, Nerd, and everything in between.

"Well done," Eddie remarked.

"Oh well, I'm glad someone saw my magnificent feat...Someone stole our step stool, so I had to get creative," RJ responded.

He laughed softly, "Go backwards? No good at all. Go sideways? Impossible! Go forwards? Only thing to do, on we go!"

"The Hobbit!" RJ exclaimed.

Eddie seemed surprised at her ability to recognize the quote, "Yeah."

"Oh my god, I'm reading it right now! I love it! I mean it's so full of whimsy and wonder and I was telling my friend about it this morning and I was saying how he'd hate it and...Well, friend is a may not be the right word to use," RJ caught herself rambling and laughed nervously, " I'm sorry I don't need to tell you all that."

He smiled, "Oh no, don't worry about it...Men, am I right?"

They shared a laugh.

RJ often saw Eddie around the school. She admired him in a way. He was so shameless about being exactly who he was, despite the torment he endured from the other students. She often found herself wishing she could be more like him.

"You're Eddie, right?" She asked.

"Yup, that's me, Eddie The Freak," He replied as he leaned against the bookshelf.

"Hey, freaks are cool. Who wants to live their entire life being a normie right?"

Eddie laughed softly, "You get it."