Whose Fault? (Editing)

Chapter Twenty

Eli, his parents, and siblings were sat there staring at me. His parents and Gavin were looking at me as if I had three heads, Sadie was practically jumping in her seat from excitement, and Eli looked like there were a billion other places he'd rather be. It took me a moment to gather myself, put on a friendly smile, and continue with what I was saying, "can I get you guys started with something to drink?"

It was deadly quiet between his family and I for longer than I anticipated and I was starting to get antsy. Finally Sadie tugged on my apron and asked for a chocolate milk, which seemed to stir the others from whatever trance they were in previously. I got the rest of his family's drinks before turning in Eli's direction.

I was finally starting to be able to shove everything back and then he just had to show up at my work. All the time I had spent shutting it all away was now wasted! The ache in my chest returned stronger and I couldn't look at him without tears stinging my eyes so I looked beyond him as I asked what he would like. After I got it, I told them I'd be right back with it then I hurried off quicker than I ever had before.

I made my way to a hidden corner in which customers couldn't see and pulled my phone out to text the one person I had left, 'Max' I sent to him.

'What's wrong,' was his reply.

'Eli. Here.' I typed trying not to break down.

'Do you want me to come over there?'

'No.' I sent quickly then typed my last response to him before going off to get their drinks. 'Encouragement needed.'

I shoved my phone in my apron pocket and started back to work, I grabbed their drinks and brought them over before seeing if they needed more time before ordering—they did.

I checked up on my other tables and made sure they were all set. Like I mentioned before, we were super busy and it was to the point now where I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, which probably wasn't the best thing for me to be doing.

I slowly made my way back to the one table I was dreading. The heartache was intensifying greatly and quickly with Eli being near. Still, I forced a smile on my face as I took their orders, body going tense when Gavin ordered a side of green beans with his food. Before I could rush off again after they finished, Sadie's voice rang through my ears and asked a question I wasn't sure how to answer, "how come I never see you anymore? I miss you Wren."

My heart broke even more as I thought about how to answer, she probably had no inkling of what happened. I didn't know if Eli had given his family specifics as to why we broke up, but I assumed he hadn't because they didn't look at me with disgust or hatred, just confusion. But Sadie... she probably just thought I had disappeared for no reason. And I knew how much that shit could hurt someone.

I missed her too; I loved having play dates with her and helping her with her homework. She was one of the most unique little girls I had ever met.

So I forced a smile on my face and fed her a lie, "I'm sorry, princess. I've just been a super busy bee recently." I knelt down to her level in her seat, "do you see all these people here?? It's a whole lot, right?!" She nodded as I tried to talk to her as animatedly as I could, "well, it's been like this all the time recently. They've kept me pretty busy here! I might be quick, but I can't keep up with them!" It sounded like a lame excuse even to me, but I was hoping it was good enough for her.

She just nodded, sighed and said, "I'll have to tell them to stop coming in so I get time to play with you."

I smiled at how precious she was, before I mentioned that I had to get back to working. I got up, not bothering to look at the rest of the family's reaction to our encounter.

I put their order in the system before going off to the quiet corner and checking to see if Max had responded yet. There were at least ten messages with encouraging phrases, lyrics, or just thoughts that he had sent me. I read through all of them carefully before thanking him and going back to check on my tables once again.

By the time Eli's family's food had been done and in the window, I was extremely tired, the feeling of nausea had gotten a lot worse, and I was feeling extremely irritable. Then I took a breath in through my nose as I grabbed the tray of food and almost dropped it from how sick it made me feel. I decided holding my breath until I got to the table was my best option, even though the smell of those green beans was still lingering.

I didn't think I'd ever handed out food, told anyone to enjoy, and walked off as fast as I did then. I practically ran my way into the bathroom and at that point in the day, I must have gotten rid of everything in my system because all I did was dry heave. Which was so much worse than throwing up since it lasted longer, at least for me.

After Eli and his family cashed out, I had grown even more irritable and exhausted. Grateful that things had slowed down since we were getting ready to close, I sat down to take a break. I chose a table in the back corner, as the section was now closed, and rested my head on my arms that were folded on the table.

I sat there for a few minutes almost drifting off to sleep when I heard someone calling my name. I mumbled a reply, even I didn't understand. They called my name a few more times and shook me softly. My energy had completely run out within these few minutes and I barely had enough to lift my head up and address whoever was calling me.

However, when I realized it was Colleen, my head shot up and a small, sleepy apology made its way from my mouth.

She smiled at me and said, "why don't you go home, dear?"

I sat up straight after she said that and tried my hardest to wipe the sleep from my eyes, "no, no. My shift is almost over. I only have to finish my side work and I'll be done. I just needed a few minutes to rest. I'm sorry!"

She smiled and began speaking again, "really, Wren. It's okay, Amelia is already doing it. Go home and rest."

I looked at her to see if there was any chance that I could convince her that I needed to finish my work. I didn't see any, so I nodded and gave her a small appreciative, yet guilty, smile then took my apron off and made my way home.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Can't even make it through a normal shift at work!

I didn't know how I made it home without passing out from how tired I was, but I did. I rushed my way upstairs before turning the TV on. I raised the volume all the way up so it would keep me awake then wrapped myself up in my favorite blanket and sat with my legs up to my chest and head resting on my knees.

I wasn't paying any attention to whatever show was on. The thoughts in my head took over once again and I couldn't help but feel like one of the worst people in the world. I absolutely hated what my life had become and all I wanted to do was escape from it.

💜❤️

Hey there!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It is 4,248 words.

I'm currently trying to decide if I'm going to continue uploading until the end of this story or, if after uploading this chapter, continuing writing because (SPOILER ALERT) there is a sequel. I have the overall plot for the next installment of Wren's journey, but have only a few thousand words of it written and it's just random parts, not like a solid chapter 😅

Anyways... leave a vote or comment (or both!) to let me know what you thought of this chapter! Believe it or not it really helps me out a lot. 😊

Until next time!

TM