Days Are Numbered

Two: Jeremy

J e r e m y

Jeremy sat comfortably in her seat as she read Lang Leav's Love and Misadventure. She was the only one in the front desk since the librarian, Mrs. Kitz, already went home early. She was now obliged to lock up the library and see to it that everything is in its place before she leaves.

The library was back to being empty since the University's Midterms nearby was finally over. The people who were only here were the regulars who really found reading as a hobby and a part of their day to day cycle.

When 4 o'clock rolled around and all of the people in the library have left, it was already time for Jeremy to close the library and put back the recently returned books to their rightful place. She placed the book she was reading down and brought out her phone and earphones to listen to some music. This was one of the things she loved about working at the library; it gave her inner peace.

When she was about to put her earphones on, the library entrance doors swung open. She sighed. She already knew who it was. There by the entrance was her best friend Jack who was smiling up to his ears.

"I've got news!" He exclaimed quickly running towards where Jeremy was. She rolled her eyes at him and continued to put her earphones on.

She knew what type of news he was going to talk about. It was about some girl he claimed to be in love with. Again. She always supported Jack when it came to his love life but she was just so tired of hearing him go on and on about it. Especially since she knew that once he'll be rejected again, he'll start sulking and go through the move on process. That's how his love life cycle works. Fall in love, get rejected, get hurt, move on, and the cycle goes on.

"No, not again Jay, I'm not listening to this again," she said with a blank expression. Jack pouted at her but he was still so excited that he continued to tell her the news.

"I'm still telling you though whether you like it or not," he replied pinching her nose. She quickly swatted his hand away and glared at him.

"Well then." She continued to put her earphones on and Jack continued to tell his story. The only thing Jeremy could hear was Paper Hearts by Tori Kelly.

She carried on with her duty and pushed the cart full of books towards the aisles they were designated to be placed. Her best friend followed her along as she stacked the books coolly. Jack would occasionally pat her by the shoulder but she would just ignore him. It went on for a few minutes before Jack grabbed her by the shoulder to make her look at him face to face. She thought she would be faced with an angry expression on his face but instead she saw a smile on his face. It scared her for a bit because she rarely saw him that happy. Like sunshine and butterflies type of happy.

She decided to pull one earphone out of her ear.

"Malia and I decided to have our first date at a Circle Days concert and I want you to come with us, please? I want you to meet her plus she'll be bringing her friends too!" she paused the song playing, fixed her glasses that was about to fall off, and looked at him. She wasn't so sure but he looked so hopeful which made her sigh again. How could she say no to a face like his?

"I'll think about it," she replied. Jack was so happy that he bear hugged her. They both knew that whenever she said those words she was already hinting a yes instead of a no. Jeremy wasn't one for affection but she found herself patting him in the back a few times before he let go.

"Because of your wonderful answer, I'm going to return all of these books for you!" Jeremy was about to explain what he was supposed to do but he just rushed to the other aisles along with her cart. She shook her head in amusement. Her best friend was such a weirdo.

"Just make sure, you're putting them in the right place you ass," she quickly followed him to where he was and she was right, Jack had no clue where to put them properly. She flicked his forehead before getting back the book he placed in the wrong shelf.

Her phone suddenly vibrated so she gave the book to Jack and pointed at the aisle where the book's category was. She unlocked her phone and saw that she had received two text messages from her younger sister, Emily.

What do you want for dinner?

She remembered that she was going to sleep at her mom's place today. She had an apartment of her own but it was her mom's turn today. Even if she was already nineteen and her older brother went to college in a place elsewhere, she still kept the schedule intact with her younger sister, Emily. She would spend Fridays at her mom's and the next day Emily and her would go to their dad's.

It became a reason for her to defy love - failed marriages. She knew that her parents weren't really to blame because they were both young and 'in love' when they decided to hit it off and thus, his brother, Leo was born. They were just too eager to conclude that they're each other's soulmate forever. But soon after the youngest was born, a lot of things came crushing down. Her mom and dad would fight often. It wasn't even because of some third party. It was simply because they ended up not being compatible anymore.

With all her sad thoughts aside, she opened the other text message Emily sent.

Btw, why is Jack tagged on Asher's tweet?

Her heart skipped a beat as she read the name. Has it been so long since he's been mentioned around her? Or has it triggered something in her?

She got curious. She wanted to confront Jack and ask him if he was still buddies with Asher but she decided against it. Jack was 100% honest with her but her sister never lied to her when it comes to things that are serious. It was now up to her to see if the tweet really existed.

As Jack still continued to stack the other books in their rightful place, she opened the twitter app. She never thought he'd search his name again but her curiosity was eating her up.

"Hey, Jer, where am I going to put this book, the third shelf or the fourth?" She heard Jack say making her snap back to reality. She quickly looked at him.

"Just put it on the third, Jay." He smiled at her and continued the job she was supposed to do.

Grey_04. That was his username until now. She slightly smiled as a memory popped into her mind. It was when she was helping him pick a username. They never agreed on each other's suggestion until they ended up fighting. Soon enough, she gave up and locked herself in her room. After a few seconds, a piece of paper was being slid under her door. It was a list of his usernames, mostly the ones she suggested. Pick one and that's what I'm using, was written on the top of the list. She ended up choosing a simple underscore and a four at the end of his name. He used that and even after they broke up, he never changed it.

She shook her head. She needed to stop remembering and start searching instead. She looked at his icon and bio for a while but scrolled down his account after. The latest tweet made her heart clench.

@Grey_04: Can't wait to see Circle Days with @biancake5 and @maliababe @wackyjack tonight, it's gonna be an epic double date!

She pushed her eyeglasses back to the bridge of her nose. The kiss emoji was just the cherry on top.

She was so confused. Were they the friends that Jack's new girl was referring to? Was Jack never going to tell her? Were they planning on humiliating her? A lot of questions ran through her mind but she tried to stay calm.

There was one thing that was loud and clear in her mind;

She was so going to kill Jack.