CURT POV
"Crap," I yell as I search my disaster area of a room.
I need a shirt that can pass for clean after a run through the dryer. But running it through the dryer means going downstairs to the apartment complexes laundry mat, and somehow I slept through my alarm. I have ten minutes until I am late, and it takes fifteen minutes to even get to my parent's house.
Finally, I find a blue polo that smells okay. I dart to the stairs and head down while hoping there is at least one machine open. Luck would have it; there isn't. I slam my body down into one of the plastic waiting chairs. My head falls into my hands, and I groan.
Everything about my life is pure shit. I hate everything, and I can't even summon up the strength to fix anything. I am at the point where I don't care. I am probably the picture of disaster right now.
My pants are unbuttoned, my hair is uncombed, my face has three days
SHELBY POV Watching your high school crush spiral down into a black hole is rough. I would never have thought he would be back in town.Curt seemed to always scream success. I mean, he was top ten of our class. He had a supermodel-like girlfriend that was in love with him, and he was never not smiling. These days he smells, he drinks, and he rarely smiles. But he is still extremely polite.I can't believe what Leena did to him. Zane is the scum of this town. He has had multiple girls perform abortions. And I'm not even sure if Leena knows this or not, but her child is not his only living offspring. Working in a gas station provides more than just a paycheck; I get the juiciest gossip.****** The next five hours of my shift fly by. My thoughts about people and their drama always seem to keep me busy. Since I don't have any drama of my own, I guess I enjoy theirs more than I should. I unlock m
SHELBY POV I have been working both jobs for four weeks now, and the pay is excellent. All the tips I make go into my brand new savings account, and I already have $900. Nothing else has changed.Curt still comes in every night to buy beer. He does shoot me a smile every time now, but nothing else. He seems to be getting worse. He hasn't shaved in who knows how long, and he looks tired. So very tired. It breaks my heart to see a guy like him so broken.***** I wipe my forehead and grab my notepad before approaching yet another table. I have no idea how Trudy handled the morning shift before I started.Today is Friday, and it seems like everyone who works at the factory has decided to come in before work. But I shouldn't complain, I have already made $73, and the morning isn't over. The bell dings, and I look towards the door with a smile. "Morning, sit anywhere you like," I say to th
SHELBY POV I have no idea what happened in three minutes, but it had to have been bad. Hailey is sobbing hysterically into Dylan's shoulder, and Curt is long gone. I slowly make my way over to their table. I don't know what to do, but my guess is they no longer want to dine in. "Dylan, would you two like your food to go," I ask softly as soon as I reach their table. "Yes, thank you," Dylan says as he strokes Hailey's beautiful hair. I don't even think she can hear me; she is crying so hard. My heart clenches for her. In school, Hailey was known for having a heart of gold, and I would bet my paycheck she is concerned about her best friend. Hailey is the type to try to help, and from what I have seen, Curt needs help. I change their order from dining in to take out and print their check. I leave off Curt's kid plate; I will take care of it. I take Dylan their bill, a
CURT POV "I can't believe I am doing this," I mumble as I approach my grandparent's front door. The factory finally fired me. After Shelby refused to sell to me, I went to the market. The guy at the register hadn't even glanced at my ID. I had drank so much that night that I overslept the next day. I was a no-call, no-show. .......not even Mr. Evans could save my job after that. I had enough money for my rent due in three days, but my utilities wouldn't be paid if someone didn't lend me money. Granddad is going to be furious, but for some odd reason, I need the lecture. Granddad is the only one I think that can save me at this point. I knock and tuck my hands into my pockets. I can hear someone approach, so I take a deep breath. Grammy opens the door and smiles a small smile at me. "Hello Curt," she says, opening the door wide for me to come in. "Hi Grammy," I mumble in
CURT POV After asking a couple of questions, Trudy gave me the job. I start tomorrow. Since I needed a full-time schedule, I am both the busboy and part-time cook. Tomorrow the cook will be training me. On days that the cook has off, I will fill in. All other days, I bus. I get in my car and pull out my phone. I send a text to both dad and granddad informing them that I found a job. I'm still a depressed mess, but at least I will be earning my own paycheck. I put my old beat-up car in reverse. As I look behind me to see if it is safe to pull out, I see Shelby. Her hood is up, and she is sitting next to her car with her head in her hands. I immediately act on instinct. I park and jump out. "Shelby, hey, you okay," I ask after I jog across the little parking lot. She nods but doesn't lift her head. I crouch my body down next to her and place my hand on her trembling shoulder. She
CURT POV"Crap, I'm sorry, man," I say, throwing away another burnt burger."It's alright, man. It was your first day. It took a while for me to get the hang of it as well. Trudy just locked up the front, so it's time for the nighttime clean-up," Mark says while clasping my shoulder with one of his dinner plate-like hands. He moves to the end of the kitchen and opens what appears to be a supply closet. He pulls out a broom, a mop, and some spray bottles. He passes me the broom with a smirk. "I trust you know how to use this," Mark says with a chuckle. "Har har," I say, snatching the broom from his hand.I begin to sweep as his booming laugh fills the tiny space. I can't help the large smile that takes over my face. Today has been eventful, and if it weren't for Mark, I would have burned Trudy's Diner to the ground.I definitely have a lot to learn about operating a commercial ov
CURT POVI do prefer busing to cooking, definitely. Busing is easy. You are the invisible person in the diner. You pop in when needed, and then you pop out. The only negative about busing is I make less an hour than I do when I am cooking. But getting to stare at Shelby when I don't have any tables to clean makes up for the pay decrease.I do not know how I didn't notice her in school. Not only is she beautiful without even trying, but her sweetness also rivals Hailey's. While Leena was always a nice girl, she was also a little whiny. I had noticed it back then, but I overlooked it due to my feelings for her. But Shelby, there isn't a whiny bone in her body. The girl is a worker.She doesn't take breaks, and she makes each customer feel special. She goes above and beyond to provide a positive dining experience even when the customer is less than friendly. Several times I have had to bite my tongue and look away. Either it is a rude customer or a guy just b
CURT POV I don't even remember what I was going to say because walking in our direction is my living, breathing nightmare. Leena. Leena and her child. The child she became pregnant with while cheating on me. I can feel Shelby tense beside me, but I can't rip my eyes off of the harlot. Tuhe harlot that is smiling at me like I haven't spent the past year drunk over her adultery. "Curt, it's so good to see you. I have been hoping I would eventually run into you. What are you up to," Leena asks as she parks her buggy right next to Shelby's "Shopping," I answer while trying to act as if I am unaffected. She nods her head while smiling at me. A smile I used to find irresistible, but now I find it fake. It is nothing like Shelby's. Shelby's smiles hold happiness, Leena's smile screams fake. How did I never notice how she uses her smile to blind me? "I would love to catch up sometime. Maybe w