Cashier Boy // Jack Duff ✔

twenty-two

I glared at him. He looked nice though. His hair was slicked back and he was dressed in khakis and a loose button up.

Mikey got up and walked out of the room, looking at Jack and I as he walked by.

I turned away from Jack and walked to the bed and sat down.

Jack was still leaned up against the door frame with his arms crossed, but I was trying my best not to look at him. I just looked down at the floor, hoping he would just walk away.

Instead, I saw his shoes standing right in front of me.

"Amy, I-"

"-Do you think you're some type of royalty or something?"

"Amy, listen, I-"

"No-" I said, standing up, "you listen for once. You can't just get with me and love and kiss me, then go out and think you can just grab any other pretty girl you want, then forget I even exist." I sassed, poking his collarbone. "That's not how this works."

"Amy, please, just shut up and listen." His voice was so strong and so demanding.

I looked him in the eyes.

I missed those eyes. I missed that little sparkle. I missed feeling like I was in some type of forest paradise when I looked into them.

"What?" I asked.

He furrowed his eyebrows, a worried expression plastered on his face. He licked his lips.

I crossed my arms. "Well?"

Unexpectedly, he grabbed my hips and pulled me close. His lips smashed against mine. I'm not gonna lie, I missed this feeling. His lips were so soft.

I relaxed the tension and fell deep into the kiss. It took me a minute to process what I was doing and what was going on. My eyes shot open and I pulled back and pushed him away, crossing my arms once again.

"You're trying to make things better by playing with my feels. I'm not-"

"No, I kissed you because I know it relaxes you. I want you to be relaxed so you can listen to my side of this."

I exhaled deeply. He was right. It did call my nerves a little.

"Well, so here's the thing. That girl I was with, well.... her name is Gracie. You know how I work at Food City as a cashier?"

I nodded at him.

"Well, the manager there, she uh, likes me a lot.... and uh, she said she would pay me a little extra money if I could "be" with her. If they makes any sense."

I did a little nervous, sarcastic laugh and a smile appeared on my face. "So you're telling me.... that you guys are dating.... just because she's paying you money." I asked.

"We're not dating, we're just "with" each other. But, Amy, I still really like you, and I hope that you're not mad, but I mean I completely understand if you are, but.... I still wanna be with you." He said, nervously.

"You chose money over me. You really hurt me because you didn't even tell me this. I thought I was being replaced. I even started to think that I didn't even have a place with you, like I was just there. Like I was just what you used in your freetime. Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"Amy, I'm sorry, but my family, my sister broke her ankle, my Mom is struggling with paying her bills, I needed this little bit of extra money. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I really should have. I'm so sorry, Amy."

The way he said my name. I got chills every time.

"Awe, Jack!" I said, stepping forward and hugging him tight. "I'm sorry." I apologized.

He hugged me back.

"Jack?" I heard a voice call from the hall. "Jack? Are you in here?" Gracie stumbled into the room. She was so drunk that she couldn't walk properly. "Jack, there you are, come back downstairs, you're missing the party!"

Jack looked at her, then looked at me. I nodded, telling him it's okay for him to go. He smiled and whispered "I'll text you later." Then he walked away.

I sighed. I didn't really like the fact that Jack was going to hang out with her more often than me, but he's doing this for his family. I threw myself onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

As I waited for Rachel to come back from the bathroom, I looked around the room from where I was laying.

There were old, abstract paintings on the walls, white shaggy curtains drifting in front of the windows, and a lipstick stained wine glass on the nightstand.

I stared at the wine glass. It was such a pretty color. It was a solid dark red. It was so calming to look at.

Then, suddenly, there were bubbles forming in it. Then I noticed that the entire glass started shaking. Then the entire room.

"What's going on?" I heard someone from downstairs yell.

"Earthquaaaake! Everybody down and cover!" Someone else yelled.

The house was filled with screams and sounds of things moving and breaking.

I grabbed a pillow and covered my head with it. My screams were muffled and my breath was heavy.

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A/N: This chapter caught up on a lot of things am I right.

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