"Don't go after him, Mel," Anton stopped his cousin. He had a rush of people at the perfect time. But it was only brief. Now that everyone was seated or had left with their drink, he was back to wiping up the counter. And, of course, making sure that Mel didn't try to maul the guy who left.
"Why?" The man was acting like an angry black cloud. It would have been funny in any other situation. Mel was very aloof most of the time, with an uncaring attitude. But once he was angry his stare alone would send people packing. That's probably why Mateo didn't give too much resistant when he was leaving.
"It's not worth it," Anton sighed.
"How is it not worth it?" Mel continued to argue. "He hurt you."
"Because I'm tired," Anton admitted. "I'm tired of getting hurt and wanting revenge. I'm tired of others fighting for me. We both decided to see each other, Mel."
"But you didn't know what his intentions were."
"It doesn't matter," he kept his head down towards the counter. "No love can blind me enough to sign my business away. This was going to happen eventually. You just helped it end sooner."
Of course, it hurt to hear about the true Mateo Thompson. He hadn't realized how much he enjoyed being with him. It was one of the few relationships that felt like he could enjoy just being around him. There was laughter and long talks about many things. It felt like they had a connection.
It just goes to show that even if it seems authentic, there's always a way to be fooled.
"I'm sorry, Anton," Melvin said, his voice low and quiet. "I wish I hadn't pushed you towards him."
Anton looked up to see his cousin with a guilty expression. When he first met Melvin, he didn't think the man was all that empathetic. He seemed like a loner that was forced to socialize. It wasn't until he really got to know him that he realized Melvin actually cared a lot. He was just picky about the people he gave his care to.
"It's not your fault, Mel," he told him. "Don't worry about it. I'll be alright."
He had stayed up all of the night before contemplating things. Anton went over every conversation and memory he had with Mateo. It shocked him, because everything about him seemed so real, even his flaws. A part of him didn't want to believe that was his true intentions.
Anton even wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt when he called him earlier that day. At first, he was going to tell him that they needed to talk. But then he had to hesitate. It was as if the universe was answering a question he hadn't even asked.
It didn't matter now, anyway. Anton was never lucky with love. Nothing was easy in life, especially not his. He was probably not meant for love. At least, not romantic. Maybe he was just meant to have his family and friends and leave it at that.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" Mel asked, slipping on his jacket.
"I'll be fine," he assured him. "Go take care of your club. I only have a half hour shift left anyway."
That was the plan at least. Anton was taking care of the afternoon shift because one of his workers had an emergency, and the other one had planned leave. It didn't bother him. It had been a slow shift, and he had worked with little to no sleep before. The physical work helped him sort out his thoughts.
"You seem like you've gotten your heart broken too much," a voice made him look up from his work. It was a regular of his, sitting at the counter where Mel was before.
"Hey, Will," Anton ignored the question. "How's the touring business?"
"It's going," he said, giving a small smile. "Unfortunately, I've hit a little slump."
"That's not good," he said. "I'm sure you'll be able to make things work, though. There's been a lot of new people coming to town because of you."
"I don't think that's the full reason," Will chuckled. His brown hair always looked so vibrant, especially under the yellow glow of the café. The sun was setting faster than he had thought. "Sometimes it feels like you've had too many successes that something bad is bound to happen."
Anton paused, letting his words sink in. He didn't know whether it was the drowsiness or all that had happened, but he never felt words to be so true in his life.
"You can say that again," he sighed.
"I saw that guy that walked out," Will thumbed towards the door. "Was he an ex of yours?"
"He is now," Anton said. "I'll add him to the list."
"I'm really sorry about that," Will looked sad now, like he was bothered by what he had seen. "You know, the heart is a strange thing. It's pretty strong, even the times when you feel like it's not."
"Thanks for that, but I really don't need any support," Anton stopped him. "I've been dumped and done the dumping plenty of times before. This isn't new for me. It's just what always seems to happen in my life."
"I see," he sipped his coffee. He always tried the newest drink that Anton had, especially if it was sugary. "Alright, I'll quit bugging you. But just know the funny thing about love is that sometimes it comes sporadically," he set down his cup, standing up. "And sometimes, it's been under your nose, ready to come when you least expect it."
"Thanks, but I never expect it," he told him.
"You have a great night then," he winked at him before getting up and walking out of the store.
That was always a strange man. He was friendly, and Anton loved all the times he would come in and order drinks. But whenever he had the chance to talk to him, he always said something weird.
And Anton could never remember his name when he left. No matter how many times he would try to repeat it while he was there. The more he tried, the bigger a headache he got from it.
"Hey boss," Jerry came in. He was scheduled to cover the night shift, along with another one of his workers. Anton had Yitzak on standby just incase Jerry didn't show up. He was one mistake away from Anton firing him, and he made sure that the man knew it. The call outs were bad enough.
"Hey," he replied. "Go and get cleaned up. I'm going to get some of the counters cleaned, then I want you to clean the machines tonight."
"What do you mean?" Jerry asked.
"The machines," Anton stopped what he was doing to see the kid staring at him blankly. "We have to wash them daily or else they'll make bad coffee."
"You never told me that I was going to have to clean the machines tonight!" Jerry frowned. "I thought I was doing you a favor."
"You're the one who wanted to pick up the shift," Anton folded his arms. "I didn't beg you for it. Now go and clean the machines."
He was probably going to have to stay there and watch him until it was completed. So much for getting home at a decent time. Anton downed another cup of coffee before going to clean the counters. He needed to get them done before he went to the machines. He was sure the boy could sweep and mop himself tonight.
Anton took the moment to call Yitzak too. He was one of his most reliable night shift workers, and always there when he needed him. Anton made sure to pay him triple pay if he wound up going over 40 hours a week. It was the least he could do for the kid.
Thankfully he was okay with coming in that night, it was just going to be a few hours since he was doing something with his family. Anton was perfectly fine with that. He could stay there for a little bit longer.
Right when he got off the phone, he heard a sound. It was one of those sounds that got his heart racing, because it was loud and definitely not the right sound for cleaning the machine.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" He ran over to see that one of his largest machines was now spraying liquid everywhere. Jerry didn't even take out the syrups or anything.
"I'm trying to clean it!" Jerry yelled. "It's not my fault your machine is shit!"
"You broke it!" Anton immediately grabbed a rag and used it to cover up the spraying syrup. "You didn't even think to wait for me? Or ask?!"
"You didn't train me on how to do this!"
"I train everyone on how to clean them!" He finally got the machine to stop after unplugging it. "Each shift has a rotation of which machines to clean. You're telling me you never did it?"
"Why would I?" He shrugged. "It's not like this job has helped me with anything. You barely pay me!"
"You never showed up enough for me to pay you," Anton said. "I'm not going to sign you a check when you didn't show up to any of your shifts."
"I had stuff I was doing!"
"Stuff that was more important than your job?" He had enough of this kid. The scheduling issue was tolerable, but Anton's breaking point was him breaking his machines. That's where he drew a line.
"Yeah! It's called my life!" He pointed at his own chest. "And all you've done is try to take that from me!"
"Jerry, all you've done is tell me that you were going to come or do something and then not show up," Anton said. "If you want to live your life, that's fine, but if you want to make money then you have a responsibility to this place. And that includes these machines."
"Fuck this place, and fuck these machines!" The kid yelled. Then he slammed his fist on another one, breaking the tab from it. Coffee started spraying everywhere all over again. "I quit!"
"Get out of my café before I call the cops on you!" Anton yelled the loudest he ever had. All that was on his mind were his machines. He had spent ages learning how to clean them and take care of them. He wasn't going to let some kid ruin them all. They costed a lot too.
He went quickly after that. Anton didn't have time to think about consequences for him. He could report him for damages, but that wasn't going to stop the mess that it was making right then. Anton was lucky that the lobby was empty right then, because it was quickly making a mess out of the counters that he just cleaned.
"Shit!" Speaking of which, the kid must have kicked over the mop bucket on his way out too, because now the floor was completely soaked.
Anton finally got the coffee to stop pouring out before he assessed the situation. The place was a mess, and way too wet for anyone to walk around in.
He fell to the ground, his emotions getting the best of him. He was too tired for this. He was running out of will for this. But he loved this store more than anything else. Anton wasn't going to let this night get the best of him.
No matter what, he wasn't going to give up his café.
The bell rang as someone tried to come in. Anton rushed to the door to shut it. He had to close the place until he could clean it up and call in a maintenance man to come fix it.
"Sorry, the café is clos-!"
He stopped right in his tracks as he saw someone else walking in. Lucas looked around before his brown eyes met his again.
"What happened here?"
Author's Note: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Anton just couldn't seem to catch a break. I'm not even sure how he's surviving off from no sleep lol. Hopefully his night will turn around for the better.
I somehow managed to get this chapter written with some sporadic inspiration. I'm hoping to keep it going but, as usual, I can't make any promises.
For now, thanks for all the votes and comments, and I'll see you all soon with another update!
-Saturn