Protector (TFP)

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ -ᴅɪꜱᴇᴀꜱᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍɪɴᴅ ɢᴀᴍᴇꜱ-

...

Nothing too important.

I raised an eyebrow at the vague response, and it wasn't long before a stark realization filled me.

You're illegally racing again, aren't you

... uh, would you believe me if I said no.

Nope.

I swear you're going to get

arrested one of these days.

I didn't know you cared so much about me, little damsel.

I hesitated, rolling my eyes. After Nick had given me his number, we texted back and forth, and even though I'd had his number for a few weeks, I didn't know much about him. All I knew was that he wasted most of his time illegally racing or working at his mysterious job he refused to tell me about, and by his secrecy, I could only assume it was something illegal as well.

I knew his strangeness should've deterred me, but I couldn't help but be curious, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I was attached to the weirdo. Just as I was going to give him a witty response, a sharp cough interrupted me. I visibly flinched, quickly snapping my phone shut.

"Hard at work, I see?" I slowly turned toward the voice, a sheepish smile making its way to my lips. In front of the counter was Arthur, the older man staring into my very soul. "Let me guess. You're texting Nick again." I chuckled awkwardly, sliding my phone on the counter.

"It won't happen again," I promised, my cheeks heating in embarrassment. He was silent for a moment before he sighed, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Don't look so tense, Astra. I don't bite, you know?" He joked, his lips lifting. I smiled, allowing myself to relax once again.

"Sorry, I'm just jumpy today." He lifted an eyebrow at that, his hazel hues studying me momentarily. He seemed as if he was going to say something but only shook his head.

"Well, I came here to tell you to start preparing for closing. I'm sure you can get it done without being distracted." He teased, pointedly looking at the black phone in front of me. I sent him a playful glare as I grabbed the phone, purposefully putting it on the cash register. He smirked at my dramatic show and threw the keys at me- something I had barely caught, much to my chagrin- before taking over the counter.

It was almost impressive how fast I managed to lock up the valuable antiques and clean everything, the cleanup not taking more than ten minutes. I still had 20 minutes left of my shift, so I decided to bug Arthur, watching him as he started counting the money he had made for the day.

As my gaze followed his hands, my thoughts returned to Nick, the curiosity in my stirring. I knew I shouldn't look so much into the boy's life through Arthur, but I figured the older man knew him somehow and could give me some insight. After a minute of debate, I awkwardly cleared my throat.

"Yes?" Arthur wondered, his attention still locked onto the bills below him.

"Can I ask you a somewhat personal question?" I wondered, gently fiddling with my crystal.

"Depends on what it is." He responded lightly. I smiled, feeling a little bit less awkward.

"How exactly do you know Nick?" His demeanor shifted, his hazel eyes meeting mine. His hands had stopped their movement, and I couldn't help but stiffen slightly at the sudden change.