The Other Side

Chapter 8

Sleep has eluded me.

Here I am lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering about what exactly happened a few hours ago when I was closing the bakery.

Did Daniel really stop by and apologize for his excuses?

Did he really cheat on me? Or did he control himself and broke up with me before proceeding with his soon-to-be wife?

God, this is so frustrating!!

Lying here in my bed, I am alone and my brain has free reign to play all possible scenarios. Just because it can't quit working.

Groaning in pain at the aspect of being tossed aside for another person, I roll over in the bed and pull a pillow on my head. I hope it stops my brain from overthinking.

Hours pass by and I fall into a restless sleep, waking in the middle of the night just to check the time.

It's 3.45 am. Still, a couple of hours before my day begins. Flopping back on the bed, I start counting sheep.

That helps tremendously because the next time I open my eyes, soft rays of sunlight are brightening my room.

Twisting those sheets aside, I stretch my arms. I've had a restless sleep because of which I have a mild headache.

But I can't even bear the thought of sleeping again. The process of not doing anything and waiting for sleep has become a stressful event for me. It is that time when I get millions of stupid thoughts that are enough to keep me awake throughout the night.

Shaking my head in the direction of my own stupid thoughts, I get out of bed and on the task of distracting myself from Daniel's unwanted confessions.

~~~

It's 7 am when I walk into the bakery only to stop in surprise at the scene in front of me.

Jeremy is waiting tables!

He's on time and he's waiting tables and he looks interested to do that job.

That's... good!

Before I can carry on, Jeremy spots me and walks over to me. "Hey. Good morning!!"

"Good Morning, indeed. How's the rush?" I ask, waving at the steady stream of customers that are entering and exiting the bakery.

"It's refreshing," he beams at me and I return his enthusiasm with a huge smile.

"Great. Let's get to work then," I whisper while rubbing my hands and walking inside, ready to help my staff and customers with whatever they need.

~~~

Days pass by in a blur and I forget about Daniel's confessions. Well, almost forget about his confessions.

Try as I might, I can't seem to get that thought out of my mind. He confessed that he was desperate hence, he came back to me for sex.

How cheap does it sound? And what does that make me? A fuckbuddy!

No way!

Instant rage burns through me at the thought of being used like that. I can't believe Daniel thought like that.

He's been my constant since my college days and looks how that turned out to be.

I am so engrossed in my thoughts that it takes a minute for me to realize that the table is now squeaky clean. All thanks to my aggressive cleaning.

The poor cloth looks abused!

"Hey, Erina?"

I turn around at the sound of Alice walking into the bakery. It's her day off. Then what's she doing here?