Sadie arrived at the park they agreed to meet at, exactly at ten AM. She waited. Fifteen minutes passed by and she felt herself start to get more and more anxious. Why wasn't Jason there already? He was almost never late. Sadie started thinking the worst. She knew he was either stabbed again or maybe even shot. The worst part of all was that she had no way of contacting him. She only knew where he lived but he told her not to show up alone because it was dangerous. It didn't matter to her; if she had to show up she would, regardless of how dangerous it was.
Sadie paced around as she waited another twenty minutes hoping that he would show up even if he was extremely late. After about an hour she decided to drive to the apartment he lived at and find out if he was okay or not.
She walked across the grass over to where she had parked her car. As she reached the car she pulled out her keys from her pocket. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder and she quickly turned to see who it was. It was Jason, and thankfully he was okay.
"Hey."
"You asshole, I thought you were hurt!" Sadie said punching him in the chest.
"Ow. I'm hurt now," Jason said.
"Shut up," Sadie said crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm fine, I just overslept," Jason said.
"I'm glad you're okay, you scared me," Sadie said.
Jason smirked, "Ooo, Sadie was worried that I was hurt. How cute."
Sadie rolled her eyes, "I'm going home."
"You made me drive all the way over here for nothing?" Jason asked.
"No, let's walk around," Sadie gave in as she began walking over to the sidewalk. Jason followed her and caught up to her side. "How'd it go?"
"Pretty good," he said.
"Did you get a lot of money?" Sadie asked.
"Yes."
"Can I have some?"
"Sure," Jason said.
"Really?" Sadie asked, surprised by his answer.
"Yes," he replied, "are you really going to accept it?"
"No," Sadie giggled, "I just wanted to know what your answer would be."
"Why won't you take money from me? I don't use it," he asked her.
"Because I don't want the easy way out, I want to earn what I get by working," she replied.
"Oh I can give you a job or two," Jason winked as he nudged her arm.
"That's disgusting," Sadie whispered.
"Is it disgusting because I'm the one you're going to be working for or...?" he asked.
"Just shh," Sadie said shushing him as she shook her head in disapproval.
They continued walking and after a few minutes Sadie turned and stopped in front of Jason, "What are you doing tomorrow night?"
Jason smirked, "I'm free tomorrow night. Are you going to ask me what I think you're going to ask me?"
"No. But do you want to go to a drive in movie theater?" Sadie asked.
"What movie?"
"They're showing Nicholas Sparks movies so The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and-"
"Sappy romance movies?" he asked.
"Fine, I'll go by myself," she said continuing to walk.
Jason stayed behind waiting for her to realize she was walking alone. Sadie never looked back and continued on, even though she knew he was still standing in the same place. "Fine, I'll go with you," Jason said.
Sadie turned around and smiled, skipping over to him, "I knew you'd agree to go."
"Yeah," Jason mumbled under his breath.
"Who knew it would be that easy to convince you. I'm surprised you even gave in," Sadie admitted as she intertwined her arm with his.
"Shut up, don't get any ideas," he said.
"Mhmm... I won't," Sadie smirked as they continued to walk.
After walking for a bit, Sadie was dying to know what they would be doing today. She didn't want to admit it but she loved spending time with Jason. Out of all the things she could have been doing like watching TV, sleeping, or finishing an entire book, she preferred to be with Jason.
"So what are we going to do today?" Sadie asked.
"Did you eat breakfast yet?" Jason asked as he looked down at her.
"No but I'm not really hungry," Sadie replied.
"Well, we're getting breakfast," he said. Sadie sighed and as soon as she opened her mouth to protest, Jason cut her off, "You need to eat or else you'll end up at the hospital again."
Sadie was smiling on the inside. She had gotten the rude drug dealer to care about her and possibly even like her. Things were going great for her. Funny how out of nowhere, life can do a 180, Sadie thought.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Jason asked looking down at Sadie's lips. A small smirk was forming on Jason's lips, after all, Sadie's smile was contagious.
Sadie thought she was doing a good job at not showing her emotions but she was actually failing miserably, "Like what?"
"I don't know, you just have a big smile on your face," Jason pointed out.
"No reason," Sadie looked down and hoped that he wouldn't figure out that she serectly had feelings for him. She wasn't in love with him or anything but she definitely liked him and wanted him to like her back.
Jason chuckled, "I believe there is a reason and it has to do with you developing a little crush on me."
"Pfft no, me... a crush on you? Absolutely not," Sadie said desperately trying to hide her rosey pink cheeks.
"Hey look at me," Jason said resting his finger under her chin. Sadie let him raise her face up so he would take a look at her, "Sadie's blushing! I'm flattered."
Sadie rolled her eyes and looked away, "Nah, but I'll let you in on a little secret."
"Okay, what is it?"
Sadie looked around and then back at Jason, "You see that guy playing with his dog over there?" Jason looked in the direction that Sadie was referring to and nodded. "I think he's really cute," Sadie lied. She was great at coming up with lies on the spot, there was no way that Sadie could let Jason know she liked him. It would make things complicated and he probably didn't even want to date anyone.
"The guy in the blue shirt?" Jason asked looking in the same direction that Sadie was referring to.
"Yeah."
"Well let's get you his number, since you seem to be lovey mushy with your pink cheeks," Jason said.
"Wait what?"
"You heard me," Jason said, grabbing a hold of Sadie's arm and softly tugging on her as he began to walk in the guy in the blue shirt's direction.
"Wait, you're not serious are you?" Sadie asked trying to plant her feet in place so he'd stop pulling on her.
"Oh I'm dead serious. You like him, you need a boyfriend, so I'm going to help you get one," Jason smirked.
Jason had it all wrong. Sadie only needed help getting one specific guy and that was Jason. Her cheeks got more and more red as they got closer and closer.
"Jason, stop it," she whisper-yelled.
The guy's dog suddenly ran up to Jason and he let go of Sadie's arm to pet him, "What a good boy. So big and cuddly. Who's a good boy?"
"Jason," Sadie whispered.
"He likes you," the guy said to Jason, "He doesn't like a lot of people."
"Yeah? Well my friend here likes you... And she was wondering if she could have your number," Jason said looking over at me.
The guy looked over at a crimson red Sadie and smiled. Sadie was in shock with absolutely nothing to say.
"Of course, got a pen?" he asked her.
Sadie slowly shook her head.
"Phone maybe?"
She slowly took her phone out of her pocket, unlocked it and handed it to him. He typed his number in and saved himself as a new contact.
"I'm Brian by the way," he said holding his hand out
Sadie snapped out of it. If anything, Sadie would take advantage of the situation instead of acting like a nervous wreck. She would either try to make Jason jealous, or would get a good date out of this embarrassing situation. "I'm Sadie, nice to meet you. You have a very cute dog."
"Thanks his name is Nico, it's nice to meet you too," he said.
Nico walked over to Sadie and rubbed against her leg as she bent down to pet him.
"Come on Nico, we have to go. Don't hesitate to text me, maybe we can make dinner plans?" Brian said.
"Okay, I'll text you," Sadie said sending a smile his way as she stood up and waved.
Jason cleared his throat and Sadie looked over at him. "I believe a thank you would sound great right about now."
Sadie rolled her eyes, "No. I didn't ask you to get his number for me."
"Oh come on, I did you a favor. You were gonna be single forever if I didn't help you out."
"Maybe I want to be single forever, you don't know that," she replied.
"No one wants to be single forever."
"Oh but you do," she snapped.
"I don't have much of a choice, now do I?" Jason said as they began to walk.
"You do. Every step you take, every decision you make is a choice. You chose to do whatever it is that you do and as a result of that you're going to be single forever. I mean you're choosing to be single forever cause your lifestyle is dangerous or what not," Sadie replied.
"Well, what do we have here? Have I uncovered a philosophical side of Sadie?"
Sadie smiled, "No, sometimes I get carried away in my thoughts and happen to let them out."
"Anyways, where do you want to eat?"
"You're not going to fight me?"
"What you mean?" Jason asked.
"I don't know. You usually fight me on everything I say in regards to your job," she said.
"Ah, that's right, guess I've gotten used to hearing you disapprove of my 'lifestyle.' So, what do you feel like eating?"
"Not hungry, want to go to the market with me?"
"Not until you eat," he said.
"I did eat, a little, this morning," she replied.
"Liar, you just told me you haven't eaten today," Jason said.
"I forgot that I had some oatmeal earlier today," Sadie lied. She wasn't hungry at all, in fact, the thought of eating something was making her nauseous.
"Sadie..." Jason paused, "why don't you eat?"
"Because I'm not hungry," she replied, stating the obvious.
"We don't always eat because we're hungry. Sometimes we eat because we have to. It doesn't matter that you're not hungry, you have to get something in your stomach," Jason said.
"I'm fine Jason," Sadie giggled. She thought it was adorable to see him so worried about her. "It's cute how you worry about me eating."
"Well, I don't want you to end up in the hospital again," he said.
"I'll be fine," she smiled.
They continued walking, this time in silence. Sadie could tell that Jason was zoned off in his thoughts. He seemed to be staring off into space, looking at nothing. Sadie looked over at him and then back at the sidewalk. What could he possibly be thinking about.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, dying of curiosity.
Jason shook his head as he looked over at her. They got to the streetlight and waited for it to be okay to cross.
"Do you have an eating disorder?"
Sadie's eyes opened wide as she turned her head to look over at him. She burst into laughter and leaned against Jason before answering, "No, not at all."
"Well I hate to sound like an asshole that points things out but you don't eat, you're very thin, and you look sick most of the time," Jason said.
Sadie's laughter stopped and she quickly looked away. As soon as it was okay for them to cross she began walking.
"I'm sorry, did I say something that bothered you?"
"No," Sadie lied, "It just took me by surprise that that's what you noticed about me."
"I didn't mean to notice those things. That's not the only thing I noticed, I just associated those three things with an eating disorder," he said.
"What, do you think you're a doctor now? You've diagnosed me? That's great, you've figured me out!" Sadie said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry," Jason apologized.
Sadie sighed and looked over at him, "I'm not anorexic or bulimic or anything like that. I simply don't have a large appetite and I've always been thin."
"Okay, that's all you had to say, sorry for making assumptions."
"Sorry for snapping. I don't like my thinness being associated with an eating disorder," Sadie replied. Jason wasn't the first to point out her size and he probably wouldn't be the last. "But let's forget this happened. How about we go eat something?"
"Okay," Jason smiled.
They walked over to a diner and sat down at a booth. The waitress brought them menus and they looked through them in silence. Jason could tell Sadie was still bothered by what happened earlier but decided not to bring it up. Sadie looked through the menu and tried convincing herself that she was hungry and that she wanted to eat a large burger.
"Can I get you anything to drink?"
"I'll have a vanilla shake and a coke," Sadie said.
Jason stared at her for a few seconds before ordering a coke as well.
"Are you ready to order or should I give you a few minutes?"
Sadie looked over at Jason who said, "We'll need a few more minutes."
"Alright, I'll be back with your drinks."
The silence creeped up again as Sadie waited for Jason to figure out what he wanted to eat. After a few minutes the waitress came back with their drinks. Sadie was the first to order, "I'll have mozzarella sticks and the classic bacon burger with a side of half fries half onion rings please."
Jason stared at her as she took the straw from her shake into her mouth and took a long sip of it. "I'll have the chicken fingers with fries."
They handed the waitress their menus and she left.
"So I can't believe you helped me get that guy's number," Sadie said, "I was mortified."
"We could tell, but good thing you pulled it together towards the end," he chuckled.
"I know, I wanted to cry at first but then I was like hey, it's not every day you get a cute guy's number," Sadie smiled.
They continued to talking, leaving any part of the previous conversation behind. Neither one of them brought up what they had talked about regarding her health. This lasted a while, at least until her food came out. Once her food was placed in front of her, Sadie stared at it and gulped hard trying to figure out where to begin.
She grabbed the large greasy burger with both her hands and analyzed the thick beef patty covered in melted cheese followed by the bacon dripping in grease. Some lettuce hung out the side with the onions resting on top of the tomato and the pickles. She pulled the tomato out and looked up at Jason as she brought the burger in closer and opened her mouth to take a bite. She took a large bit of it and began chewing, taking the taste in. It had been so long since she'd tasted a burger. The flavors of the sour pickles blended in with the juiciness of the patty and the greasy but crunchiness of the bacon. It was amazing. So much flavor exploding her mouth. She smiled and stuffed a few fries in her mouth as she watched Jason begin to pick up some of his own fries.
"Taste good?" he asked.
"Tastes great!" Sadie said. Jason smiled. "Want some?" Sadie asked.
"I'm okay."
"Try it," she said, sitting closer at the edge of her seat as she reached over with the burger in her hand. She held it in front of his mouth and he took a bite of it, nodding in approval.
"It is great," he said once he had finished chewing.
Sadie squirted some ketchup onto it and bit into it again, "Told ya."
Jason smiled and continued eating. He was glad she was eating and even enjoying it. Once she was done Jason reached over and wiped the ketchup off her cheek with his thumb. "You're adorable when you eat," he said.
She blushed and smiled, "Thanks."
After they both finished their meals, they walked around for a bit before Jason said he had another business deal to tend to. He walked her to her car and she said what she usually said, "Be safe okay?"
"Always."
"I'll see you at the drive in theater tomorrow yeah?"
"Yeah," he replied, "bye Sadie."
"Bye," she smiled as she watched him walk off.
By then, Sadie had started to feel sick. He stomach was upset and her abdomen was beginning to bother her again. She drove home and sat on her couch for a while until the pain became unbearable. A few seconds later she was hovering over the toilet, puking up what she had just eaten. She remembered why she avoided eating so much. It was because when she did, she usually ended her nights this way, over a toilet with an empty stomach.
After a while, she sat up and brushed her teeth before walking over to her bed. She got undressed and laid in her covers. The pain slowly diminished and she was able to fall into deep sleep.
hey babes! i'm back, for now at least. i genuinely love this story, the characters, the plot, and where it's going so i decided to keep writing it. hope you enjoyed and will continue to enjoy it!
how are you guys doing? it's been so long since i've talked to you guys i miss you all so much. hope things are well for all of you ♡
let me know your thoughts in the comments :)