Cardinal

Chapter 10 "I Love You~"

"Oh, you're the new employee!" Mary exclaimed happily, letting go of Harrison as she walked over to me. Although her and I were roughly the same height, I still felt as though she were looking down on me with judgment. As if she knew something that I somehow didn't know.

"Yeah, I'm Mallianna, or Mallie for short."

"That's a lovely name," she said with a smile. I smiled along with her before thanking her. I wasn't flattered by her compliment though, something about it felt forced. Harrison went ahead and clocked in through the small computer screen that was against the wall, and I soon followed, pushing past Mary. He silently went into the grill.

I followed the dark aura that he had; all the while Mary continued with talking to others.

It had been three hours since that had taken place, and I saw why it was Harrison was so strung up over her. The way they interacted with others and acted in their day-to-day life was fairly similar, and he seemed flattered by their similarities. She was able to talk and joke with others as though it were second nature and having them both on the same shift was a lively experience for the other employees. The only problem was that Harrison wasn't lively during the shifts that she was there. He was instead silent and listened to everyone without a word.

I did my best to keep up with all the morning grill items, but my mind often wandered to what he was thinking and feeling.

"Harry!" Mary would often call out, causing Harrison to look over towards her. "I need-" whatever food item it was she wanted, causing Harrison to make it. For some reason, whenever he made the food, it seemed as though he were more careful because she requested it. Mary and I were very different though. For starters, she was a lot more talkative than myself, something that many guys these days seemed to like.

She was also gorgeous. The type of girl that looked out of place among many others due to her sheer beauty alone. I wasn't that great looking though, at least not compared to her. She was also cute in everything she did, being a clumsy mess but in such a way that it wouldn't annoy anyone. It was obvious she knew a lot of guys fawned over her.

Harrison was the same as any other guy that fawned for her, but he claimed that something between them was different. She seemed interested in him and joined him to go on dates, but at the same time, she did technically lie to him about her intentions and emotions. Seeing him like this though was heartbreaking. Like watching a lost child cry desperately for one of their parents, he silently called out to her to have some sort of admiration towards him. I wanted his focus to change though.

I wanted him to notice that someone did admire him. I wanted him to see that someone wouldn't cause him such pain and agony like she did, and that they would keep him close so that he is comfortable with everything. I just wanted him to admire that person the same as they did towards him.

"Harrison," Mary said, walking down the hallway before stopping in the middle of it. She looked over the small table that held all the sauces and looked inside the grill. Harrison walked over towards her before asking her what she needed. "Oh, I don't need anything. I just wanted you to know that I'm going on break and if you wanted to join, I'm alright with it."

Harrison silently stood there for a second before Jake threw himself into the conversation.

"Harrison, if you want to hang out with her then I don't mind! You can go on break before me," he stated with a smile, clearly oblivious to his inner loss.

"Sure then," he stated with an uplifting tone. He turned back towards me, but the only thing I could do was stare at him. I didn't feel betrayal from his decision, but I knew he wasn't happy with his own choice, and I sympathized with him. I just wanted her to leave, but there was so much time left until the shift ended that it was near impossible. Quietly, he left the grill.