Kaitlyn felt worse today than she did yesterday.
With a groan, she sat up in bed, feeling dizzy and covered in drops of sweat. Her clothes damp as they stuck to her legs.
Her lips grimaced, and she shuddered at the unpleasant feeling. Her nails picking at her clothes as she sighed in disgust.
She desperately needed a shower.
With her nose giving a sniffle, she jumped when she noticed Randy packing a suitcase in the corner of the room. Quiet, as if trying not to wake her.
Immediately, she frowned. Her fist coming up to her mouth as her throat gave into a cough.
"Where you going?"
Randy paused, looking up at her. "Oh hey, you're finally up, K."
That sunny smile was on his face again today.
She wondered when it stopped looking warm to her.
"I'm getting ready for a business trip. I didn't want to wake you. But wow, you look horrible. Are you sick?"&
“Ahhh.”Kaitlyn felt ridiculous as she sat there, leaning forward on her hands with her mouth open.As a few seconds passed, she was tempted to suck up her pride that had run away from her.But just when she was about to chirp out a quick ‘I was just kidding’, Jackson’s hand dropped down to the plate and stabbed into the fluffy mass of scrambled eggs. Her lashes fluttered once, then twice.“Here.” The tip of the silvery metal prongs touched her lips, and she immediately turned a brighter pink. Her eyes narrowed as he gave her a suspicious smile.“Oops, sorry, I missed.” She glared but then the food was placed into her mouth, and she quickly bit down on it.He pulled away and she watched him, hyper focused on his movements as she chewed slowly.The taste was fluffy and airy, lightly peppered and honestly, it was incredibly good. The fact he took the time to cook for her despite how
Two days had passed, her symptoms clearing up nicely as Kaitlyn stretched her arms high above her head."Finally, I can somewhat breathe!" The happiness in her voice must have been contagious, because Olivia laughed as she came to sit down across from her."Well someone's looking better! Has Jackson been taking good care of you?" The way she said it made her blush, frowning at the smug woman. She shook her head, releasing her red strands from the tight bun that was placed on top of her head. Relieved at the tight sensation that faded away, easing the pain she had endured for her five hour shift. Jackson and Olivia had both insisted that she still take it easy, so she figured a half shift would be enough to sate their worries."You're horrible sometimes, Oli." She chided, blowing her nose into a small tissue before she tossed it. With a delicate squeeze of hand sanitizer, she glanced at Olivia before rubbing her hands together.&nbs
With her arms crossed, Kaitlyn stared Jackson down as he raised his hands up in defense. Joshua only chuckled, cocking a brow. "Jackson didn't tell you, I take it? He came by the office awhile ago to see Randy. He more or less told me to come visit you. Said something about you missing me." He paused, kicking off his shoes at the door. "By the way, I'm sorry it took me so long to take his advice, work has been swamped. But I managed to get some time off to come see you." The way he said it, Kaitlyn recognized that he sounded almost guilty. His face looking a bit more weathered than the last time she saw him. Of course, he was still as handsome as ever though. No doubt, girls still peobably swarmed around him like they did when they were kids. She understood why, but she had never viewed him that way personally. He was the pretty boy brother she never had. So she didn't understand why he felt
Kaitlyn tried hard to hide the bile in her throat, her hands becoming finicky when the anxiety grabbed hold of her throat.She blinked away the irrational fear that caged her, looking down at her hands that had become fisted in her lap."I... see. I'm just surprised he didn't tell you, Randy tells you everything.""No, I know. That's why it's strange. I could tell you everything he's had for lunch for the past week, it's not like him to keep me in the dark."When she glanced up, Joshua had a scrunch to his brow, and a tension to his jaw. It reminded her a lot of when he used to scold them as teenagers, especially when they made plans to sneak out one night against his vocal protests.It meant something was bothering him, something he didn't like.It didn't help her worries at all.Because no matter how she tried to make sense of it, she failed. Something was strange, despite her hopes, her log
Chapter 23.The clock on the wall turned slowly.The ticking setting her nerves on fire as she huddled up on the couch, barely finding the energy to move.Her arms were wrapped securely around her legs, as if she was trying to hug the suspicions away from her figure.Her phone was eerily silent across from her. A small, miniature, crack being displayed in the corner.She had no doubt that Randy still had no idea that she called.But Kaitlyn couldn't work up the courage to call him again. That's woman's voice a haunting spell that already invaded her restless dreams.She couldn't bring herself to confront him over the phone.She had to see his face when she asked.Would he look guilty? Would he even care?Kaitlyn didn't know what to expect from Randy anymore.But that was exactly why she had decided to wait for him to come home before cornering him.
Chapter 24.The slam of the door shook her awake, a tension in her shoulders as she all but jumped from her crumpled spot at the end of the bed. An odd sense of dejavu coursed through her system and she looked around with a groan."Jackson?" she called weakly, trying and failing to adjust her blurry eyes to the darkness. "What time is it?"The overhead light flicked on, and to her surprise it was Randy standing there, not Jackson.The man in question was at her side in an instant, his brown eyes crinkled. "It's midnight, K. What on earth have you been doing?" he chuckled, and she wasn't sure why he was laughing at her until he began wiping the beads that had been stuck to her cheek. His warm and tanned hands brushing the crafting items off her face with a gentleness she craved.For a moment, she found herself leaning into him. The touch of his fingertips making her sigh in content.She could recall their first k
Chapter 25. Randy's posture dipped down, almost sluggish. He looked exasperated and his silence only shattered the bit of peace that Kaitlyn had left. To her, it may as well have been a confession. It was true. Randy was cheating on her and she had actually agreed to let him go with the woman he preferred over her. She had stupidly gave him permission to go off with the woman he was seeing behind her back! The bile was churning in her stomach, and she didn't know what to do. When he had said he'd wanted her to go with him, had that been a lie to? One of his psychology methods to get her to agree to his actual request? To go with Natalie? The thoughts broke her. "I don't know what to say, K." She hated how he spoke her name. She hated how he dared to even call her by that old nickname. It was something that the people who loved her were allowed to call her. Not him.
"We'd be more than happy to have you here. Welcome aboard Jackson! We're looking forward to working with you. When will you be available for training?" Jackson didn't hesitate, his smile tight as he answered, "immediately." As soon as the interview came to a close, his offer letter and hiring papers weighing heavy in his hands, Jackson crashed down into the seat of his car. The tangle of emotions inside him sporadic as he tried to focus on which one he could really process. On one hand, he was happy, fucking ecstatic even that he had finally landed a job. It meant he could finally move on with his damn life. On the other, the events from last night stained everything that happened on his entire day. Like a cut that wouldn't scab over, the angry wound kept bleeding. "God fucking dammit!" His fist slammed into his steering column, and he slumped forward into his seat, unsure on how to avo