Coming to terms with his sexuality, Theodore Moore is a seventeen year old who is just about getting by. He makes minimum wage and has aspiring, out-of-reach dreams to become a lawyer.
Violent and aggressive, Antony Barbosa is everything wrong with...
Antony’s arm was around me when I woke up. I blinked multiple times, trying to get used to the light as I rub the tiredness out of my eyes. I was so tired last night that as soon as I got home, I collapsed onto my bed and fell asleep. Antony must have joined me. I slowly turned around to face him, but he was still asleep, so I carefully moved his arm and slipped out of bed.
Thank God Thomas never came home last night, because I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain this. It made me wonder where he spent the night, however. I creeped down the stairs and saw my mum in the living room, slipping on her coat. She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I rolled my eyes.
“You brought someone home last night.” She grinned at me, and I squinted my eyes at her, crossing my arms over my chest. “Come on, who is it? I was tempted to take a sneak peak this morning, but I didn’t want to be nosey.”
“I can’t tell you.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Do you know where Tom is?” I asked her, trying to change the subject. She glares at me, lowering her head.
“I have no idea.” She sighed, grabbing her car keys from the couch. “Tell him to call me when he gets home.” She adds, and I nod my head.
“Of course. Are you going to work?” I asked her, raising both my eyebrows.
“Yes.” She winks at me. “You have the house to yourself.” She adds, grinning, and I usher out of the front door to avoid talking about Antony. She blows me a kiss before leaving and I close the door behind her, leaning against it. My eyes flutter to a close for a few seconds before I hear footsteps rushing down the stairs. I walk over, and then Antony is opposite me, pulling his coat on over his shoulders.
“You don’t have to leave.” I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest. Antony looks up at me, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “No one’s home, so…” I cleared my throat, and he tilted his head at me, his tongue in between his teeth.
“Well, I am a little hungry.” He says, and I press my lips together in thought.
“I need to be at work in an hour, so we can grab summat to eat on the way, if you want.” I asked him, and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Sure." He said quietly, and I nod my head before grabbing my coat and flinging it over my shoulder, holding it to my chest.
-
“Promise you won’t steal anything?” I say to Antony as I walk into the corner shop that I work at, followed by my best friend’s brother. Antony scoffs, walking into a random aisle as I walk behind the counter, shrugging off my coat.
“I can’t promise that.” I hear him speak, and I shake my head, pulling my phone out of my pocket and placing it next to the cash register. Then, I heard the rustling of a packet being opened, and I sighed in annoyance, shaking my head.
“Antony.” I grumbled, and he walked out of the aisle, a packet of opened crisps in his hand. He was already chewing, and I glared at him, flattening my hands on the counter. “You have to pay for that. Anika will fucking butcher me if anything else goes missing.” I tell him, but he only shrugs his shoulders. “We literally just ate.” I blinked at him.
“Don’t worry.” He rolled his eyes, and I grimaced, shaking my head at him when he turned around and walked back into an aisle.
“Don’t eat anything else.” I warned him, just as the bell rang and the door opened. Anika walks in, smiling at me. I press my lips together, glancing at where Antony just disappeared off to.
“Andreas is back tonight, so you don’t have to take over his shift.” She tells me, unwrapping the scarf from around her neck. “Do we have any customers, or is it too early?” She asked, looking around.
“Um-” Her eyes land on Antony as he walks back out of the aisle, the crisp packet still in his hand. I cleared my throat and Antony looked up, his gaze flickering from me to Anika. His eyes squint slightly. “Yeah- yeah, we have one.” I itch the back of my head.
“Oh.” Anika blinks, looking from me to Antony and back again. “Wait-” She turns towards me, her hands on her hips. “Isn’t that the one who’s been taking our stock?” She asked, raising her eyebrow. I pressed my lips together once more. “Did you use the gun?” She whispered, and Antony snickers from behind her.
“Look- he’s gonna pay for the crisps.” I nod my head, and Antony raises his eyebrow just as Anika glances back at him.
“Make sure he does. We can’t afford to have any more stock stolen.” She tells me, and I nod my head. Then, she picks up an empty box from beside the counter and walks off to the back of the shop and into the little room hidden back there. As soon as she’s out of sight, I skip past the counter and snatch the crisps out of Antony’s hands.
“What?” He snickers, and I hit him on the shoulder. “Fucking hell, Moore, it’s just a packet of crisps.” Antony jokes, stepping away from me. I glared at him.
“I’m not losing my job because of you, you understand?” I told him, and he mocks me, turning away. I grab his arm and pull him towards the door. “Get out. Go home.” I told him, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Chill out-”
“I’m chill, don’t you worry.” I tell him, opening the door for him. “Go home, Antony.” I cleared my throat and he stared at me like I’d grown an extra head.
“Fuck you, man. I was just having a laugh.” He scoffs, and I lightly shove him out of the door.
“It won’t be funny when I lose my job, will it?” I snapped. This job isn’t only keeping me afloat, but it’s also keeping my family afloat. I do everything I can to help, especially with my parents struggling to pay Tom’s uni tuition. It certainly won’t help situations if I get fired from the one job that was willing to give me a chance with no way of getting a new one, especially living in this neighbourhood.
Antony just stares at me, taking another step back. “Alright, then.” He nods his head multiple times. He turns away from me, and I lick my lips, not wanting to leave it on an awkward note.
“Look, I’ll, ur… I’ll come over tonight, and-”
“Yeah, don’t bother.” Antony says, his back still facing towards me as he walks away. “There’s no point.” He states, and my heart thrums against my chest, telling me there’s no way I can let him go like this.
“Why not?” I asked, but he only lowers his head, stuffs his hands into his pockets and continues walking. “Antony.” I said his name like it was poison on my tongue, but he was too far away to hear. I huff, and walk back into the shop, slamming the door shut behind me.
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