by Katie Cole
“I just think that it might be a better idea for you to stay here a while.” Mom follows him to his room. Apparently, he’s not escaping this conversation.
“It’s really okay,” he says. “I really think it’s time for me to get my life together.”
She nods tersely. She clearly isn’t convinced, but she leaves him be.
He lies on his bed, and Ruby rushes in and leaps up to join him, resting her head on his chest. Either she found the cat and didn’t get a warm welcome, or Mom did the smart thing and locked George in her bedroom before before picking up Darren from the airport.
He scrolls through the contacts on his phone. These past summers, he hadn’t contacted the friends he’d known in high school. Now, though, he lives here, and he could use a friend.
His thumb freezes as the name Cassie Rogers shows up. After a brief hesitation, he clicks her name. Does she have the same number? He clicks the “Message” button and types out a text.
Hey, I’m back in town. Thought we might catch up over coffee.
After staring at it for a few minutes, he erases it and locks his phone. Maybe he’ll try someone else first. Someone easier. He can’t bring himself to try talking to Cassie, not after how they left things. Ruby whines, and Darren closes his eyes and does his breathing exercises so that she calms down. He’s fine. Moving back was the right decision.
He hopes.
CHAPTER TWO
Cassie
Six in the morning is far too early for Cassie to be working, but she needs the hours, and this is all she could get. She has to be back at the nursing home by noon. Thankfully, her boss puts her in the garden center, and nobody ever comes into the garden center at six in the morning on a Friday. She meanders through the aisles, watering the flowers and checking to make sure nothing is out of place. The night shift did a horrible job of stocking, so she has to completely reorganize a display of swimming pool supplies. How do people in this city even afford a pool with the price of water in the desert?
As the morning wears on, the temperature shoots up from a mere sixty degrees and into the eighties. It’s definitely going to be a hundred by the time she’s off. Sweat trickles down her spine beneath her bright orange work shirt.
“How’s it going, Cass?” her manager, Tim, says as he comes to check on her. She’s worked here since high school, and he’s like a third parent to her.
“Best day of my life,” she says, totally deadpan. Tim knows exactly how much she likes working here, which is not at all.
“Same,” he says. “On the bright side, the new night manager called in, so I only have twelve hours left today.”
Cassie checks the time on her phone. By nine in the morning, he’s already been here four hours, as he usually gets here an hour before her.
Three more hours. Then she can go to the nursing home and change in the staff restroom. Maybe even scrub herself down with a baby wipe. She glances at her little cashier shack, wondering if her dry shampoo will explode in her purse.
Probably not.
“Customer alert,” Tim says, spinning on his heel and walking away. If customers are an annoyance to Cassie, then they’re the bane of Tim’s existence. She puts on her biggest fake grin and turns around. A woman with a pixie cut and chunky blonde highlights is standing there, angrily clutching a shredded garden hose.
“I need a refund,” she demands before Cassie can even greet her. “I was told this hose was sturdy, but when I mowed over it, it was destroyed immediately.”
Cassie grits her teeth. “Of course. I’d be happy to help you with that.”
Three hours. Three hours.
Read the rest of Cassie and Darren’s story soon!
