Zach
I was sitting on Chloe's couch when I received an unexpected call, bless May for giving me my charger back. The caller was the owner of Rosie's Diner. Since I needed to financially support myself, I messaged alot of shops and stores near our school if they needed an extra part time employee. Monet's told me they were overstaffed at the moment.
The owner of Rosie's Diner told me one of their employee got fired for going to work drunk and that they needed an extra pair of hand as soon as possible. The owner, which was an old woman, said that if I wanted the job I should start today since it was Valentines day and Rosie's Diner reservation was jam packed.
I told her I would gladly accept the job, without thinking twice. I needed the money, I no longer wanted to bother and take advantage of Chloe. I wanted to rent a small space, as long as I could pay for it and pay for my food aswell.
Alex and I had plans with our friends today. Jessica planned a group date at Clay's house, in which we all agreed to go to. Movie night with my friends and especially Alex was what I wanted right now, something to take my mind off of what was happening in my life. I wanted to forget about my mom kicking me out of the house, I needed to free my mind from her words. From her acceptance that she failed to give me.
But I needed this job. You need money to survive in life, that was the reality. My situation made me choose what I needed over what I wanted. I wanted to be with Alex but I needed this job.
I called Alex's number and he immediately answered. Would he understand? He had to.
"Zach," Alex answered. He sounded happy. "Good thing you called, can you pick me up later before going to Clay's?"
"About that," I scratched the back of my head, hoping Alex would understand. "Is it okay if I dont go later?"
"Why?" Alex asked. I could hear a faint tint of disappointment in his voice. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, Im good. Just had an unexpected plan with my family." I lied, I was biting the insides of my cheek.
I should stop lying to Alex, I could only allow this to go on for a few more days. I needed to tell him the truth. I had to tell him that my mom kicked me out because of my sexuality and my relationship with him, that I was couch surfing in Chloe's house for days now.
"Okay." He didnt say anything else. He was looking forward to this day, where we could finally be ourselves around our friends. I was too.
"I'm sorry," I apologized sincerely. "I promise I'll make it up to you."
"You don't have to," Alex sighed. He was silent for a few seconds. "Its fine, I was just looking forward to it."
"Me too," If only I could magically earn money without having to work. "I'm really sorry."
"Its fine, Zach." He assured me, he changed his tone to a more cheerful one. "I'm fine. Have fun with your family."
"Oh... Ofcourse." I stuttered, I almost slipped up. I almost forgot that I lied to him and told him I had a family plan instead of telling him the job I got accepted in.
The call ended and the feeling of guilt was crawling up in my throat. I should stop lying to Alex. He deserved to know the truth. He was one hundred and one percent honest with me, he told me what happened with him and Winston and I appreciated that.
Why couldnt I tell Alex? It was shame. That I was now basically homeless. That I no longer had a car. It was a combination of everything and nothing. I was afraid Alex would start looking at me differently.
Chloe let me borrow her car since it was sunday and she didnt have any Valentines plan. She was just in her room, binge watching this show called Rupaul's Drag Race on Netflix, she said it was the perfect way to spend your Valentines if you were single. I thanked her and made a mental note to give her a gift on my first work salary.
The ride on the way to the store from Chloe's place was short. I went in and there were already alot of customers inside. I walked towards an old woman, she was probably the owner, the one I talked to on the phone earlier.
"Hi." I said, she looked at me from head to toe and straight into my eyes.
"Are you some kind of a celebrity?" She scowled. "Im sorry we dont give free food, even if you're Leonardo Dicaprio."
"What?," I was confused. "No, no. Im Zach, we talked earlier on the phone. You offered me a job as a waiter, right?"
"Oh," She scanned me again this time, starting from my shoes and then to my hair. "I thought you're a celebrity for a second."
I could feel the tip of my ears heating up. I was not used to hearing those kind of compliments from random strangers.
"I hope you dont mind me asking," I was about to ask a question that was bugging me for years now. "But, are you Rosie?"
"Do I look like a Rosie to you?" The owner started laughing loudly. "No, Rosie is my great great grandmother. My name is Beth."
"You applied as a waiter, right?" She continued and I nodded. She called for the guy who was standing behind the cashier, she whispered something to him and then the guy groaned in annoyance. "You'll replace Luther here as our cashier. You're a very handsome man and the cashier is the first person our customers always see, you would attract more customers. Right, Luther?"
"Sure." Luther rolled his eyes. I felt bad for him, he just got demoted as a waiter because of me.
The job was not as stressful as it seemed. But the amount of customers today because of Valentines made this simple job, a little complicated. Couples after couples were passing by me to look for their tables and all I could think about was Alex. I was supposed to be with him and my friends tonight.
I looked at the time and it was already nine twenty in the evening. Rosie's Diner closes at nine thirty. Ten more minutes. I could still make it through Clay's house to surprise Alex. I kept looking at the clock but the room was still filled with customers and it looked like they were not even close to being done with their food. Beth, the owner was talking to one of the waiters, I called for her and asked her if what time does the store closes. She said that normally, closing time was nine thirty but since it was Valentines day they added another hour and thirty minutes.
It was already almost eleven when Beth decided to close the diner. When she told me that we could finally end our shift, I quickly ran to the car and drove all the way to Clay's house. I texted Chloe and told her I would get back home later than usual. I kept looking at the time on my phone, wishing that it would start ticking backwards.
The road was already dark and there were few people on the streets. Thankfully, I got to my destination safely. I parked Chloe's car in front of the Jensen's front porch next to Tony's car. There was an unfamiliar car parked near the entrance door. I assumed it was Clay's parent's car.
I went inside the house without knocking. Lanie, Clay's mom, was on the living room. She was on her laptop, wearing glasses. She smiled when she saw me, she said that everyone was inside Clay's room. I headed upstairs, I could hear faint noises from inside the room. The sound of a movie playing, people murmuring, laughing. I opened the door and I was greeted by the strong scent of cheese popcorn and pizza.
"Zach, you came." Clay cheered. Tyler stood up to give me a hug. Ani asked me to join them.
And then my eyes, went for Alex. He was holding a bowl of popcorn. But he wasnt alone. He was with someone else, he was with Winston. The guy was sitting beside him, they looked shock I was here.
"Zach," Alex spoke. He couldnt look me in the eyes. "I thought you couldnt go."
"Yeah," I exhaled. I was tired from work but seeing Alex with Winston made me feel worse. "I thought I couldnt too."
"Come sit, Zach." Tony offered, he was sitting beside Caleb, his boyfriend.
"Why did you bring him?" I looked directly at Alex's eyes. I could feel my anger rising from my veins.
"Zach." Jessica tried to intervene but I ignored her. Just like how I ignored Tony seconds ago.
"Why did you fucking bring him, Alex?" I felt betrayed, how could you bring the person who kissed you twice in an event you and our friends planned.
"Zach, we're not doing anything wrong." Alex answered. "You told me you couldnt come and I just wanted to hang out with a friend."
"A friend who kissed you twice?" I hissed at Alex.
"Im sorry about that, I already promised Alex I wouldnt do it again." Winston spoke. I didnt look at him, my eyes were only fixed on Alex.
"This is a bad idea," I could feel my body giving up. I could no longer deal with all of these bullshit. My mom? Alex? Winston? Dealing with my new job? "I shouldnt have come here."
"Hey buddy," Justin stood up, he tried reaching for my arm but I just shrugged it off. "You have to calm down."
"I just brought a friend, Zach." Alex defended himself but he still couldnt look directly in my eyes. "I dont see anything wrong with it. You ditched me for your family plan right?"
That was it. Maybe it was my fault for not telling Alex about my situation. Alex broke up with me, I came out to my mom, got kicked out, Alex told me Winston kissed him twice, I forgave him and then he brought that same guy who kissed him on our plan with our friends. My body was now numb, I could no longer take all of this. I just wanted to rest, I was tired from thinking about where would I get money from now on, tired from the work I came from, tired of lying to Alex.
"Im going home." I said softly, to no one specifically. I was not sure if they heard me, not sure if any of them gave a fuck. Im going home. I didnt have a home, Alex was no longer my home.
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Just what I promised. Another chapter for today. Next chapter would be on Alex's POV.
Btw, I kind of feeling better now so I'll continue writing again. Thank you for the 13k reads guys!
- G