Drown in You

35. What happened to you?

When I finally went back home that night, Cal was passed out drunk on the couch. I wasn't sure but I think there might've been a new dent in the wall that wasn't there before (there's no way we'd be getting our security deposit back).

I ignored him and tucked myself in to my side of the bed.

I woke up alone. Normally, Cal would wake me up and convince me to get out of bed before he left in the morning, but I guess he didn't want anything to do with me today. I rolled my eyes. Whatever– I didn't want to talk to him either.

The temptation to stay in bed all day was strong, but after a while of staring at the ceiling, I forced myself out of bed and into the living room to check the damage. Sure enough, bottles and cans were all over the floor. I sighed, staring at the mess. At least when I drank my feelings I had the decency to do it at the bar. I considered leaving the room as it was, but I knew Cal would just throw a fit instead of taking responsibility, so I just got to cleaning.

I couldn't believe this was my life.

After I cleaned everything up and took the trash out, I showered, made some toast, and then sat down at the computer. I pulled up the application page Noah had sent me and stared at it for a few moments before clicking it open.

Name, address, email, phone. I filled out that first section like a pro. But when it came to the next section, I got a little worried. Experience? I sighed. Technically I used to mop the floors in the group home, but I didn't think that counted. After a while a put "N/A" and left it at that.

When I finished filling out whatever I could of the rest, I scrolled through my application. It looked pretty awful– if I were in charge, I wouldn't hire myself. But I forced myself to hit submit nonetheless. I was determined to at least try my best to get this job.

•••

I stared at the man in front of me, struggling to keep my expression pleasant as I forced myself to maintain eye contact. My eyes were fucking burning. When I looked up interview tips online, eye contact seemed like one of the big ones. But none of the sites I looked at mentioned the burning part...

"So no experience in the field?" The man asked.

I shook my head. "I'm a quick learner though?"

He sighed and scribbled something in his notepad. "I guess that's something."

I was currently interviewing for a job on Noah's "team." Apparently aside from all the usual people that normally followed him around everywhere, actively shooting a movie involved extra jobs that required extra people.

The man sitting in front of me was Jerry Richards, Noah's manager. He was in charge of hiring all the people that worked for Noah, including Kate.

"Look, Will," He said, leaning back in his chair, "Thanks for applying but I just don't see you fitting in to our team. Maybe try a more entry level–"

He was cut off by the sound of his desk phone ringing. He glanced at me and held up a finger as he reached with his opposite hand to pick up the phone.

I sighed. I should've known. I stood up to leave when suddenly Jerry's conversation caught my ear.

"He what??"

After a moment, "You can't convince him to stay? Not even till we find a replacement?"

The muffled voice on the other end of the line spoke again.

Jerry sighed and put his head in his hand. But suddenly, he looked up at me. "You know what, I think I have a guy. I'll call you back."

I stood stick still as Jerry hung up the phone and turned to look at me. "So kid, you got your driving license?"

I nodded. "Yes sir!"

Thank god they'd made us all learn to drive at the group home as part of our "necessary life skills." Granted, I hadn't driven once since I got the certificate, but the important part was I had it.

"Lucky you," Jerry said. "Our last driver just quit and Noah has a meeting here in an hour. Can you start today?"

"Yes, of course," I said enthusiastically. "Thank you!"

Jerry shook his head. "None of that. You'll get your training later. For now, your only job is to get him here on time."

•••

We were so not going to make it on time.

When Noah got in the car he was so surprised to see me that he started talking my ear off. I was relieved he didn't seem to be holding a grudge about the way I talked to him during our last phone call. Thoroughly distracted, I made a wrong turn and by the time I got back en route the traffic had tripled. I sighed. I was going to get fired before I even officially started.

As we got closer to the management building, I noticed Noah's mood starting to drop.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at his melancholic expression through the rear view mirror.

"He knows he's going to get an earful," Kate, who was in the front seat, said, without looking up from her phone.

"Why would he get in trouble for my wrong turn? I'm lucky if I don't get fired."

"Noah has a bad record with punctuality."

"Kate..." Noah's voice drifted up from the back seat.

I raised my brows. "Organized, goody two shoes Noah lets himself show up late? What happened to you?"

Kate laughed dryly. "You know a different Noah Smith."

I smiled nervously, stealing another glance at Noah, hoping he would be laughing along. But his head was now leaned back against the seat, hand covering his eyes. My smile turned into a frown. Maybe I really didn't know Noah as well as I thought. It was easy to forget, but a lot could change in 5 years...

Just like that, we reached the building. I checked the time as I drove into the parking lot. "Hey, we're only 5 minutes late! Not bad at all," I said, trying to cheer Noah up.

"Let's get this over with," Noah said, stepping out of the car.

"See you later," Kate said, shutting the door behind him.

When they were gone, I sighed and leaned back in my seat. Why was I so uneasy?

•••

"You're late," Cal said as I stepped through the door. We were on speaking terms again. There was no apology –there never was– we just pretended it never happened until it felt like it didn't.

"Got held up," I replied absentmindedly. I was still feeling weird about my interactions with Noah today. After his meeting, his mood was the same if not worse. He tried to put on a smiling face for me, but I could see something was bothering him. He didn't want to tell me what the meeting was about, either. He called it pointless.

"So how did it go?" Cal asked.

"Huh?"

"Did you get a job?" Cal rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, I did."

"Congrats," Cal remarked, and I was about to comment on his oddly nice response when he added. "I guess they were really desperate."

"I guess they were," I replied, not in the mood to defend myself, my mind miles away.

A/N
So sorry about the delay on this chapter :( it has been a crazy few weeks lately.
But I hope you enjoy the chapter! If you did, please vote and comment so I can hear from you <3

Btw if anyone wants to hear a beautiful song, I recommend "From the orchard to the hill" by Oliver Schnee. I have been playing it non stop!