Hard Knock Life

Charity

Billy had stayed a while yesterday hanging out. You had talked a little bit about your mom and he spoke a little about his dad. He left out a lot of details but basically he was a real dick. It was nice to have someone who understood having a shitty parent. You can't really understand it unless you've been there.

You weren't sure how you felt about Billy quite yet. Or if you should even feel anything. He was a bit arrogant and cocky at times but he also had something about him that made you feel like you could talk to him. He didn't always say much but he seemed to listen. He probably just wanted in your pants.

You had applied to a few places around town today before your shift at family video. Hopefully you would hear back from someone quickly. You walked into the store and saw Steve. "Hey, y/n!" he said smiling. "Hey, Steve. Where's Robin?" you asked. "In the back. I gotta run, got a hot date tonight. You guys good?" he said grabbing his keys.

"Yeah, we're good. Use protection!" you yelled after him as he ran towards the door. He turned giving you a laugh and a salute. Robin came out from the back. "Y/n! I'm so happy you're here. I missed you! Steve has been babbling all day about his date tonight." she groaned dramatically.

You laughed. "I missed you, too." you said giving her a hug. "So I talked to Steve and I think we can get you some extra shifts here until you find another job. It won't be the same amount you were working before but maybe it'll help a little." she said smiling at you. "That would be great Robin. Thank you." you said sweetly.

"So any update on Mr. Hargrove? Did he ever call?" Robin said raising an eyebrow. "He came over yesterday..." you started, your face immediately turning pink. "Oh my god. You slept with him!" she yelled loudly making a customer turn to look at you.

"Shut up! Come here." you pulled her towards the back. "Sorry" she said giggling. "So, how was it?" she said grabbing your hands. "It was... God, it was incredible Robin. And now I can't stop thinking about him." you said smiling.

"So does this mean you guys are a thing now?" she questioned. "Definitely not. He probably won't even call again. But it was fun." you sighed. "Anything from dickhead?" she said talking about Jacob.

"Lots of voicemails. But I'm not calling him." you said with certainty. "Atta girl." Robin said. "Now let's get out here and pretend we love our job." she said putting on an exaggerated smile. You laughed and walked back to the front.

You finished your shift and told Robin to call you later. You hurried home and got there just in time for the bus to pull up. Johnny jumped off the bus and ran towards you giving you a hug. You squeezed him tight and took his hand walking up to the porch.

There were some brown bags sitting by the door. "What's that?" Johnny said running to investigate. "I'm not sure, buddy. Let me see." you said walking up beside him. The bags were full of groceries. You saw a note on top taped to a pack of cigarettes.

'Don't let your little brother smoke all of these. I hear they're bad for you. Maybe you could make me that dinner soon? ~Billy'

You laughed and your eyes started to water. "You okay, sissy?" Johnny said grabbing your hand. Shit, pull it together. "Of course, just got something in my eye. Can you help me carry these inside? Let me see those muscles!" Johnny put his arms up and growled. "Okay, tough guy. Let's go." you laughed scooping up the bags.

You put the groceries away and made some dinner for Johnny. After he was done eating you went to run him a bath. While the tub was filling up you walked to the phone, dialing Billy's number.

"Hello?" a deep voice answered. It wasn't Billy. "Um hi, is Billy there?" you said shyly. "Billy! One of your whores are on the phone." the voice yelled out. Ouch. This must be Billy's dad. "Uh, hello?" you heard Billy's voice a minute later.

"Hey.. it's y/n. I just wanted to say thank you but you really didn't need to do that. I have everything under control." you said. You were incredibly appreciative but it was also slightly embarrassing and you were a bit stubborn. You didn't like help from other people.

"I know you do." he said gently. "I'm not a charity case, you know?" you said but your tone was soft. "You're a piece of work, you know that?" he chuckled. "How about this? If you do something for me in exchange for the groceries then it's not charity right?" he asked. "Right..." you answered. "So dinner. Tomorrow?" he said his voice deep.

"Dinner sounds great." you said smiling. "Not to brag but I'm quite the chef." "I'll believe it when I see it." he laughed. You heard his dad yelling something in the background. "Hey, I gotta go but I'll see you tomorrow?" he said sounding frustrated.

"Sure. Seven?" you said as you heard the yelling get louder. "Just give me a second." Billy yelled back at his dad. "Seven's perfect. See you then." "Wait, Billy? Thank you, again." you said quickly. "Sure thing, babe. Talk soon." He hung up.

Did this mean you guys were a thing? You weren't sure what was happening but you knew that you could easily fall for Billy. Hard. Apparently the guy did have a soft spot somewhere in there. You couldn't wait for tomorrow to get here.