"Goodnight Martha," your boss waved as you left the restaurant. Another shift under your belt, and you were five for five this week - you'd worked until close every night.
Your daily schedule was hectic. You gave lessons in French, English and Literature starting at 8 in the morning, had a short break for lunch and then went in to work from 1:00 to 9:00.
You checked your phone when you got in the car; there were some missed calls from your friends, and of course, your ex, who also left you some texts and voicemails. You opened the first voicemail.
"Hey baby, it's me. Just thinking about you... I might come see you at work today. I miss you. You never call me back or stay in touch with me anymore. You should really consider that second chance. I promise you I've changed. Call me back lovely."
You cringed at the voicemail and closed out of it. That was a nightly thing.
You decided to return your friends' calls.
"Martha! Are you off work?" Your friend, Hannah, yelled over the music in the background.
"Yes, I just got off," you laughed. "I'm guessing you guys are clubbing tonight?"
"Yes!" A chorus of your friends yelled.
"Come out with us!" Hannah offered.
"I can't, I have to give lessons in the morning," you whined. "Plus Spencer's expecting me. Raincheck."
"You always say that but you never take the raincheck." You could hear Hannah's pout.
"I'm sorry Han, I'm just really busy," you apologized.
"Yeah, whatever. You're too busy to have fun, but never too spend time with that drag you call a boyfriend, or cry to us when he upsets you. Call when you're ready to actually be friends."
The line went dead as you sat in shock. You let out a sigh - of course you felt bad for not hanging out with them, but you had to prioritize right now. Besides, you had all the fun you needed waiting for you at home.
"Spencer?" You called into the house when you got home.
"Upstairs!" He called back.
You hurried up the stairs, excited to come home and curl up next to your loving boyfriend.
"Hey, how was work?" Spencer asked, giving you a hug.
"Long, grueling as ever," you replied. "You?"
"Boring. Files all day."
"Gross," you joked.
"Right?" He laughed.
The next day, you woke up and wished Spencer a good day before heading off to the library to give lessons.
Once you were finished, you tried to find your phone to call Spencer over your lunch hour, but you had apparently left it at home in your rush to get out the door. Oh well.
You powered through the rest of your day, which consisted of rude customers and pushy coworkers. When you got home, you were exhausted - even more so than usual.
"Spencer?" You called into the house.
"In here," he said.
You walked into the kitchen and saw him holding your phone in your hand.
"Hi," you smiled, thinking nothing of the fact that your phone had your ex's name lit up across it.
"Who is this?" Spencer asked, handing you the phone.
"Oh, that's my ex," you sighed.
"And why is he calling you? Four times a day?"
"He's just -"
"Do you have something you want to tell me?" Spencer asked. He looked extremely upset, and just the look on his face put you over.
You weren't sure exactly what you were upset about - your job (which you hated), your coworkers (which you also hated, your friends, or your obsessive ex that wouldn't leave you alone. And now, your boyfriend was upset because of this lunatic that couldn't get the gist.
You stood, leaning against the counter, crying your eyes out for a good five minutes. Somewhere in there, Spencer sat you down and put an arm around you. He obviously figured out that this wasn't something that you were in control of.
"What's the matter?" He asked gently. "Hey, look at me. Tell me what's going on."
"He's crazy Spencer!" You cried. "He always calls and leaves messages. I haven't talked to him in over a month, but he just won't leave me alone, and my friends are mad at me because I don't go out and do stuff with them since I'm so busy, and I'm busy because of this job that I hate with these stupid coworkers! I'm so tired of it all."
"Want me to take care of him? Cause I'll take care of him," Spencer assured you.
"Thanks," you laughed, wiping your tears on the collar of your shirt.
"I'm sorry you're having a rough time, and I'm sorry that I freaked out," he apologized.
"No, it's okay. I should've told you, I just was hoping he'd leave me alone and I could just ignore it."
"Well, if he keeps it up he's getting a harassment charge," Spencer said.
"Restraining order?" You asked.
"Absolutely," he answered, kissing you on the cheek.
"I love you Spence," you sighed.
"I love you too."