"Jack!" She yells.
I groan and yell, "What?!"
"Butt, here! Now!" He says.
I groan again, but stand up nonetheless. I trudge into the small living room where Rachelle stands at the counter, cupboard hanging open beside her.
"What?" I ask, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I'm exhausted from my workout at the METF. I've been going there a lot lately since...well, anyways.
"You have absolutely nothing to eat." she says. I glare at her.
"You woke me up for this?" I say.
"Yes." She says, smiling. "'cuz we're going out to eat."
I shake my head, turning back around. she grabs my arm, pulling me back. I scowl as she kisses my cheek. She knows what she does to me, and she knows I can't resist it.
"Please?" she pleads, pouting. "I know you're hungry. You haven't eaten all day."
I shake my head. "I'm not hungry."
"If you say so." She shrugs. My stomach growls, as if saying "Screw that, I want food." Rachelle smiles and twines her fingers with mine.
"That's what I thought." She says, pulling me towards the door.
...
"Hey, Debbie." I say, pulling my hand away from Rachelle's. Debbie really doesn't like Rachelle. If she knew what we had going, she would flip.
"Hey, Jack." she replies, pulling me into a hug. She bustles back around the counter, ignoring Rachelle completely. We've gotten used to it though. It's obvious Debbie despises her. Rachelle doesn't feel much better about Debbie, either.
"Can I get two Deburgers to go?" I ask, making sure not to say "we."
"Yeah, of course Hun." she says, pulling a paper bag out from below the counter. "You sure you don't wanna stay and eat?" She asks. I can tell she's only asking to be nice because, for one, she doesn't want Rachelle in her shop for more than a few minutes, and two, she's already stuffing the burgers in the bag.
I shake my head. "No thanks." I say, grabbing the bag when she hands it to me. "I don't feel like being out right now."
She glances at me. "Then why'd you come out?" She asks. "Not to be mean, but I dot really recommend coming out when you don't wanna." Her tone suggests kindness, but her eyes suggest that she knows it was Rachelle's idea. I shake my head again.
"I had nothing to eat at the apartment." I say. Well, at least that's half the truth. She nods, but I can tell she's not convinced. She doesn't press the matter any further though.
I say a quick goodbye to Debbie and pull Rachelle out the door.
"We have food," I say, rounding a corner. "And now, you'll eat and then let me sleep." She nods, tearing her arm out of my hand and rubbing it.
"Ouch. You're grumpy when you're tired." She says. I purse my lips and choose not to reply.
We arrive back at Mercycross just in time to see Max coming out of the elevator. He flashes a smile at me, but I brush past him, barely acknowledging him. Following me into the elevator, Rachelle frowns at me. I pretend not to notice her as we pass the first few floors, but eventually I get annoyed with the hole she's burning into me with her eyes.
"What?" I spit, looking at her.
"You could give him a chance." She says. "He did apologize, after all."
"You don't understand." I say. "He got my Chloe killed. I lost her because of him."
She shakes her head. "He didn't mean to. Its not his fault she decided to put herself out there." she points out.
"So now you're taking his side?"
She shakes her head. "That's not what I--"
The door opens and I quickly rush out of the elevator, not caring if she follows me or not.
She does.
"I'm sorry, Jack." she says. "It's just that--"
"I don't wanna talk about it." I say pushing open my apartment door. She follows me in, closing the door behind her.
"You need to forgive him." she continues. "He's trying so hard and it'll only haunt you until you do."
I lean against the table, massaging my temples. I feel a headache coming on.
"I don't wanna talk about it." I say firmly.
You'd think she'd stop, but no.
"Jack, just consider--"
I stand up and walk over to her, crushing her against the wall. She lets out a scared squeak.
I stare at her for a moment, trying to direct my thoughts away from Max and more towards her beautiful...beautiful eyes.
I lean forward and press my lips to hers, forcing all of my anger into this kiss. She kisses back with just as much force, wrapping her arms around my neck.
We back away from the wall until I feel my legs bump into the couch and let myself fall backwards onto it. She wraps her legs around me as I place small kisses along her collar bone. She twines her fingers into my hair and lets out a small moan.
I pull away, breathing heavily. "You should go." I say. she sighs and stands up. I follow suit, walking over to the counter.
"Here." I say. I toss her her Deburger and she walks out the door.
I sigh and sit back down on the couch with my own burger, unwrapping it and shoving half of it in my mouth.
I need a life.
