sweet tooth - karl jacobs

chapter 18- stay

mallory quickly runs up to me as soon as karl exits. her face is red and fuming.

uh oh. she must've seen me and karl's little... interaction, i guess you could say... just now.

"hey," i say casually, as if karl didn't nearly kiss me just now. "i tried putting in a good word for you, i don't know if he's really-"

"what the hell, haven?" the curly-haired girl asks angrily. i wince. figured that was coming.

okay, it's fine. just act clueless.

"what the hell what?"

not that clueless!

"i saw the whole thing! you didn't say anything about me, you just led him on to make him like you! i thought you said you guys were just friends and you didn't like him!"

"i did say stuff about you, but he doesn't seem to be interested. plus, we are just friends, and i don't like him. now, if you'll excuse me-"

i pick up the duster i had left on the shelves earlier. i turn back around to walk away, but mallory takes this opportunity to walk past me and aggressively hit my shoulder as she passed. i scowl, but i know i can't start a scene. my manager hates me enough already. i can't give her a reason to fire me.

i look up at the clock. fifteen more minutes until this nightmare is over.

once the fifteen minutes are up, i take off my apron and name tag immediately. i clock out and rush out the door, not even bothering to say goodbye to anyone.

i speed walk home, desperate to just lay down and scream. once i finally make it, i flop onto the couch and groan into the cushions.

what a day.

i end up taking a nap right there on the couch. and i sleep pretty peacefully until i hear loud knocks on my apartment door.

is it ava?

figuring it's my little sister, i get up, rub away at the smudged mascara under my eyes, and look through the peep hole.

but it's none other than karl jacobs standing at the door.

what in the world does he want?

despite my gut telling me not to, i open the door. in one of the brunette's hands is a bag from panda express, and in the other a backpack. i raise an eyebrow.

"what time is it?" i ask groggily.

"6:30," karl answers. "you weren't answering your texts, so i didn't even know if you were home or if you had your phone."

"sorry, i was knocked out on the couch. work was miserable today."

"wanna talk about it over orange chicken?" karl lifts up the bag and i smile while leaning against the doorframe.

"why not," i answer, ushering karl inside. "why'd you come over, though?"

"my so-called 'friends' totally destroyed my house for a youtube shorts prank. completely unannounced, might i add. my furniture is thrown around everywhere, there's dust everywhere, a bunch of shit is broken... it's a mess. they all offered me a place to stay at theirs for the night, but jimmy has a girlfriend, kris has a baby, chandler's house is just... no, and nolan doesn't even fucking live here. so i was hoping, if it's not too much to ask..." he trails off, looking at his feet.

i mean, considering you're already here...

"you can stay with me, yes." i nod my head and karl looks up, beaming.

"thank you! you're a lifesaver. i figured i'd bring dinner to compensate for me staying at your place..."

"karl, you're only staying for one night. you don't have to pay me back with anything."