Through His Eyes

Through His Eyes [9]

{{Dedicated to @freakandtell for her kind comments}}

                        

CHAPTER NINE

           

When their laughter died down, Rhea once again became aware of her surroundings.  She was in a supermarket staff room at one in the morning.  It was one in the morning.  She'd sent Floyd home, which meant she'd have to walk home.  Luckily, it was a small town they lived in, so it was relatively less dangerous to be out at night, though you'd never know.  Also there was the 1.30 curfew she'd gotten from her parents.  Admittedly, they weren't the strictest parents in the world, but they still had certain rules and as they were pretty reasonable ones, they expected Rhea to obey them.  

"I should get my Hershey's and go," Rhea said, getting out of the staff room and moving towards the cash register once more.  "I don't want to push it with my parents."

Caleb followed her to the cash register and sat in his assigned seat behind it.

"How are you getting home?" he asked with a hint of concern in his voice. 

"I'll just walk," she answered nonchalantly; "It's just five minutes anyways."

"It's one in the morning," Caleb said disbelievingly.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, you shouldn't be walking alone in the middle of the night."

"I can take care of myself," she countered, jutting her chin out.  If there was one thing Rhea detested, it was being treated as though she was a fragile little thing that needed to be taken care of at all times.

"I don't doubt that," Caleb amended.  "Just give me a call or, I don't know, text me when you make it home."

"But I don't have your– Wait, are you asking for my number?"  She grinned at him.

"I was getting there," he said sheepishly.

"Caleb Archer," she said, putting emphasis on the words dramatically, "Do you have a thing for me?"

At that, he barked out a laugh.

"Get over yourself," he said when he'd finally calmed down.  "I was just trying to make sure you didn't end up in the morning news.  Besides, I have a girlfriend."

Rhea tried to think back to all the times she'd seen Caleb at school, yet try as she might, she couldn't recall a single time she'd seen a girl by his side.  To be fair, she didn't see him all that much and when she did, he was almost always alone.  Though now it made sense why; between work and that thing he "had to take care of" in the afternoons, he probably didn't have any time to socialize. 

"Who is she?" Rhea asked when she couldn't find a possible candidate for the role.

"You wouldn't know her," Caleb responded.

"Well, what's her name, then?" she asked.

"Yasmine," Caleb said with the faint hint of a smile on his face.

"Well, that's a pretty name," Rhea said, not being able to prevent a smile of her own from forming on her lips.  Then, she cleared her throat before saying, "I really should go.  Just give me your phone for one second."

He retrieved it from his pocket, and she typed in her number quickly.  This would be the second boy in a week she'd given her number to.  Something must be up with the way the planets are aligned, she thought to herself.

After handing him his phone back, she quickly paid for her chocolate and made to leave the supermarket.

Before she could go out the door, however, she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket.  She stopped in her tracks for a second, smiled to herself and then walked out the door.