Brothers I Never Knew ✔

Chapter One - The only child

Unedited

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Cameron Dyers wiped the sweat dripping down her forehead with a dirty grey rag, her pickle-coloured eyes never leaving the stove. Her onyx black hair, which usually fell in curls to her shoulder blades, was tied up in a messy bun. The purple apron she wore was covered in dark patches of unknown substances. Most likely coffee, but she doubted it.

The bacon sat in the pan sizzled, grease jumping along to the noise. Cameron grabbed the metal tongs, pinching the meat out of the pan and dropped all three pieces onto a nearby plate, which already held two fried eggs, half a tin of beans and a round of toast.

 She threw the tongs onto the kitchen worktop with a clank and carried the plate to the serving bench, gently placing it ready for one of the waiters or waitresses to serve it. She rang the bell, alerting whoever was close enough that a plate was ready to be served.

"Dyers, have you washed the dishes?" 

Cameron turned to her boss, Raymond Harris, otherwise known as Harry; a middle-aged man, with short dark hair that once had been long, and fell down to the man's shoulders. His dark skin held a few wrinkles around the eyes, crows feet, and along the forehead. He was only 5'4", shorter than her 5'6". He was a kind man, but he could get a little cranky at times.

"I was about to do that now." Cameron replied, heading in the direction of the sink where she could see plates balanced precariously on top of each other. 

"You better."

Cameron swore he was a kind man, even though she seemed to always be piled with work meant for others. She was the chef. The cook. The one who cooked the food. That is what she had signed up for. Not to clean every single dish, pot and utensil that was used inside Charlie's Corner Café. The place was named after Harry' late-wife Charlotte. A gorgeous lady, with wit for days.

"Oh, don't worry, I will." Cameron muttered, scrubbing the life out of one of the many dirty plates she had to clean.

She knew that she shouldn't take her annoyance out on the plates, they had done nothing wrong. However, she was fed up of always being the worker with the most work. The cleaners didn't even do as much cleaning as she did. 

She grumbled incoherently under her breath as dropped the plate into the washing up bowl, soapy water splashing up to soak her apron. She rolled her eyes and took the piece of clothing off, throwing it into the washing basket with all the other dirty rags and aprons, that she would have to put into the washing machine at some point today.

After glaring at the basket of dirty clothes for a good long minute, she went back to washing the dishes. If she didn't finish soon, the orders she had to cook would start building up, and then Harry would be on her back about being too slow.

The crashing of plates alerted Cameron to possible broken plates out the front of the café where the waiters and waitresses worked. She ignored the noise knowing someone else would have to clean it up.

She jumped when the kitchen doors were slammed open, by none other than her favourite waitress Ashley. Her curly chocolate hair, neatly put up into a high ponytail, complimented her smooth tan skin and baby blue eyes. She was taller than Cameron by a couple of inches, add in the inches she gained from the high heels she always wore, and she was a good few inches taller.

They were good friends in work, and that's it. Ashley was the fun, energetic type which balanced out Cameron's sarcastic and lonely persona. 

"We've got a problem," Ashley stated. Cameron scrutinized the frazzled form of her work friend with narrowed eyes.