Lovers of Yesterday

Chapter 29 • Thoughts

I'm sure I looked horrified when I saw Lynch round the corner. He looked between the two of us as Vivian spun around to face him. Her mood changed when she saw him. His eyes were on me, silently asking what was going on.

"Lynch! It's so good to see you. We were just talking about you. You should come eat lunch with us." Vivian offered, reaching for his hand.

He kept his hand away by crossing his arms. "Alright, but only after you tell me what y'all were talking about."

She did waver and answered him. "Oh, we were only talking about how Ryder want to surprise her boyfriend. You know, if I remember correctly, their anniversary is coming up in a couple days. She'll be able to surprise him then."

He looked at me. "That what y'all were talking about?"

Unable to speak, I nodded. He seemed to accept it and dropped his arms. Vivian turned and gave me a sinister grin as she walked past. I turned and followed after her, assuming Lynch was following as well. When she rounded the corner and disappeared from my line of sight, he grabbed my arm and spun me around. I looked up at him.

"You're telling me what she threatened you with later. I caught that last part and I don't appreciate it." He released me and gently urged me forward.

Nodding more to myself than him, I headed to the back where Vivian was waiting. Her eyes followed me as I headed to my cubby and pulled my lunch out. When we were all ready, we walked back out to the café area and found an empty table to sit at.

Vivian took the chair next to Lynch so I sat in front of her and pulled my lunch and drink out. Vivian started chatting away about something and I somewhat listened while taking bites of my food. I opened my Dr. Pepper and took a sip, setting it down and leaving the cap off.

"Ry, do you remember when you first started working here? You were always so quiet. Sometimes I forgot you were there if you didn't say anything. You grew out of it as you got more comfortable with us." She looked down at my food. "Oh, that looks good! Can I try some?"

As she asked the question, she reached over for my food and knocked my drink in the process, spilling it in my direction. I didn't have time to move before it was spilling into my lap. I gasped and stood up, pushing my chair back in the process. My pants were drenched and my Dr. Pepper continued to spill onto the table and floor.

I reached for it and stood it up so it'd stop spilling. Vivian sat with her hand covering her mouth in shock. I wasn't sure what Lynch was doing but I grabbed a handful of napkins and made a wall to prevent the drink from spilling onto the floor more. Not worrying about my clothes, I headed to the supply closet and grabbed the bucket, mop, and cleaner to wipe up the mess.

My face burned with embarrassment because I could feel everyone staring at me. I ran back to the kitchen and set the bucket in the sink to fill it up with water, adding soap once it was full. I lugged it back out and set it down near the mess only for Lynch to take the mop from me and begin cleaning it.

"Lynch, it's my mess. I can clean it," I protested.

"Yeah, Lynch. Let her clean it." Vivian agreed with me and when I looked at her, she had a smirk on her face.

It disappeared when he looked at her then me. "You need to go get a change of clothes. I'll worry about this."

When I started to open my mouth again, he gestured for me to go change. Biting the inside of my cheek, I turned away and head to the back for the storage closet that held extra uniforms. I found a shirt and a pair of pants in my size and took them to the bathroom to change.

When I walked out, Lynch was putting the mop and bucket up. Vivian was back at the front, taking another customer's order with a deep frown on her face. I felt guilty but also a little pleased because she did that on purpose.

I took my soaked clothes back to my locker and stuffed them in before walking back out to the front. I took my place behind the counter and greeted the next customer that walked in, taking her order. She drifted off to look at the books while I prepared her coffee and bagged her pastries. I called her name as I placed the lid on her coffee and she walked up, thanking me as she took her order.

As I worked and took more customers, I heard Vivian grumbling something under her breath. I didn't pay any attention to her and continued to work through whatever comments she had about me. Lynch emerging from the back caught my attention and I watched as he carried a box over to the bookshelves.

As I took another customer, he began pulling books from the box and setting them up on the shelves. He worked diligently until I assumed the bow was empty because he picked it up. As he walked past the counter he caught my eye and smiled before disappearing again. Huh. I scrunched my eyes as I paused for a second. My heart fluttered at the small gesture.

Shaking my head to clear the thoughts that rushed through my mind, I focused on my customers. I can't be distracted at work, otherwise people will begin to think I'm lazy. I kept myself busy for the rest of my shift, forcing myself to not think of Lynch. It was extremely awkward to be working next to Vivian after what she did and with the way she kept shooting me dirty looks but I persevered and made it to the end of the day.

I was collecting my stuff from my locker when Lynch walked in to grab his stuff. When I shut my locker and turned, Lynch was leaning against the wall already waiting for me. I approached him, offering a smile before following him out. As always, he held the door for me and we walked down the sidewalk, side by side.

"What did she say to you?" He asked immediately.

I sucked in a breath, knowing this was coming. "She accused me of cheating on Liam with you and when I denied it, she said she was going to tell him. That's most likely why she made the comment about our anniversary."

"Son of a bitch," he grumbled. "Does she have any clue as to what he does to you?"

I shrugged. "There's the possibility but I honestly have no clue. She's probably doing it out of spite because she has an infatuation with you. She said she doesn't like us hanging it together."

He let out a deep chuckle and shook his head. "It's probably rude of me but too bad for her. She has no clue about why I'm with you so often and she has no right to be jealous when she barely even talks to me. Plus, I kinda have a thing against a lot of makeup."

"I can't blame you but I kinda feel bad. I know it's not on purpose but even if she had a chance with you, I'm taking you away from her."

"You're an empathic person, aren't you? I hope you know you shouldn't have to feel bad for her. You have your own issues to worry about and she needs to understand that she can't own me just 'cause she like me."

Some emotion flashed through his eyes when I looked up at him. I nodded in agreement and looked forward again.