Still The One

Ten

She wasn’t bitter. She was sad, though. But it was a hopeful kind of sad. The kind of sad that just takes time. – The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

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Ten
Five years ago – July 17, 2013

“Hello? Hey, kid? Ugh, what kind of service is this? Can I get someone else to help me?” the cranky, middle-aged woman yelled after waving her hand furiously in my face. I woke up from my daydreaming, naturally, to see her harsh scowl. It must have been at least a few minutes that I was lost in thought and she had been waiting for me to take her order.

Evan emerged from the back door and advanced in front of me, cordially apologizing to the rude customer. She shot me a brazen look of annoyance but ultimately carried out telling him what flavor she wanted.

I mumbled softly, “I’ll be taking my break now.”

Without checking to see if it was okay with him, I ambled away from behind the counter to perch at one of the empty tables. Usually during my breaks, I’d snack on some ice cream or call Harry for a quick chat. But this time, I just needed a moment to myself.

Seven months. Seven months I had to watch him with her, wishing that was me. To begin with, they would go out on their little dates every now and then; Harry would call to notify me of them afterwards. I was okay with that; it wasn’t as if he had replaced me.

But then they had made it official. Following their brilliant Valentine’s date, they had been together for five months. Vanessa asked Harry if he would be her boyfriend, right after being undeniably impressed with the romantic rooftop view and the rich, tasteful dinner he had cooked for them. He mentioned to me how he thought it was a bit strange that she’d be the one who was asking, but he gladly accepted.

It tore me apart to know that he had a girlfriend. It made me lonelier than ever. Although I was technically single, my heart was taken by someone I couldn’t call my own.

Several engrossed minutes passed and Evan showed up in front of me, settling down at my table. His expression was unreadable; his face was monotonous. He folded his arms over the surface and asked, “Would you like to tell me what that was about?”

I sighed dismally, scratching the black polish off of my fingernails. “Nothing, sorry. I was just overthinking. It won’t happen again.” If it was anyone but Evan, they would’ve fired me by now.

“It’s fine, Alice. But stop kidding yourself, you need to quit moping over Harry,” he said sternly.

My jaw dropped, leaving my mouth agape. I knew he was direct and a bit rough around the edges with sensitivity, but that kind of hurt.

He spoke up again, “I’m sorry if that was mean, but as your boss and only authority figure in your life, you need to hear this. I want you to suck it up, get some backbone, and tell that boy how you feel. I like Harry, I really do. But you’ve known the fool for a year and he still hasn’t admitted his feelings for you. So you need to take some initiative and tell him for Christ’s sake.”