His Barista - Soap MacTavish Coffee Shop AU

9

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  Chapter Nine
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Johnny waited until morning to attempt to call Elsie, but to no one's surprise she refused to take his calls, declining it each time his name flashed across her screen and made her phone vibrate urgently.

He sighed and leant his arms on his kitchen counter, disregarding his coffee that sat beside him on the surface, slowly losing it's heat the longer he stood motionless. He messed up and he knew it, his thoughts screaming at him to make it up to Elsie but he didn't know how to; he wouldn't of been surprised if she never even wanted him to make it up to her.

A knock on his door startled him from his trance, his eyes widening in hope as he moved from the kitchen to quickly open the door.

He was disappointed when he wasn't met with Elsie's beautiful face.

"Got you some breakfast," Ghost — a Lieutenant from Johnny's taskforce — greeted him, holding up a paper bag of McDonald's. "Figured you'd be too busy sulking to make anything."

Johnny sighed and stepped aside so the other man could enter his house, closing the door and joining him at the counter where he'd been only moments ago.

"Don't think I have any appetite today." He told his friend.

Ghost held out some food to him and he took it, knowing there wasn't much point in arguing with the masked man. Johnny outranked him, but Ghost was more stubborn than even him or anyone he'd ever met before.

"Ghost. What do I do — how can I make this right with Elsie? I don't want to lose her, she was just starting to open up to me." He began to vent while buttering his pancakes and pouring the packeted syrup onto them.

Ghost scoffed. "How would you feel if you caught someone you really liked, and thought liked you back, out with another guy who was being more than touchy?"

Johnny closed his eyes, defeated by his words and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew his comrade was right, and if it were possible for him to feel anymore guilty about the situation, he would.

"I hear ya, Ghost."

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Janet sat with her back on the headboard of her bed, tiredness evident in her baggy under eyes as she threaded her fingers continuously through Elsie's hair; a tactic she used to finally plunge the young woman into slumber after having not slept the entire night.

Elsie's head was laid gently in her lap and her face was stained with tears, a red glow engulfing her normally porcelain features as she snored louder than usual.

Janet had Elsie's phone on her thigh, watching as Johnny's name pinged onto the screen as he left some messages for her, multiple times in a row.
She rolled her eyes at his audacity and swiped the notifications away, not wanting his name to be the first thing Elsie sees when she checks her phone when she wakes.

Janet didn't even notice she was falling asleep until a sudden appearance of sunlight woke them both. Janet's mother had flung open the curtains and opened up the windows, letting a nice breeze into the room.

"Mornin' you two," She said cheerfully and approached the bed. "Breakfast is on the table, come down soon before it goes cold."

Janet nodded and Elsie yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she sat up.

The pair didn't say anything yet, too tired to exchange pleasantries before they found themselves downstairs and sitting at the table.

"How are you feeling, Elsie?" Mrs Camden asked her, fully aware of the incident that occurred the night before.

She had brought Elsie a cup of tea when she and Janet arrived home in a hurry, seeing her practically sobbing in her daughter's arms. At first she assumed it was something to do with her parents again, but later found out it wasn't.

"I'm okay.." Elsie spoke softly. "Bit hungry, I admit."

Mrs Camden chuckled and handed her a plate. Elsie thanked her and tucked in straight away, hoping this would somehow calm the tight feeling in her chest.

"Could you drive me home after this? I need to get ready for work." Elsie asked her friend, shoving another mouthful of her fry-up into her mouth.

"Of course I can. But are you sure you're ready to —"

"I've already missed too many days this week, Jan. I can't just skip out because some guy led me on."

Her stern quip was enough for Janet to understand that Elsie wasn't ready to talk about the incident yet, so she stopped and joined her in eating silently.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

The sickly sweet serenity of Elsie's childhood home was nothing but uncomfortable for her as soon as she opened the front door. A cool gust of wind from the open kitchen window blew against her small figure when she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

She had prepared herself in the car ride over for her mother's relentless abuse about being away for so long and missing days at the cafe, but she found the house in the same state as when she was last here getting clothes with Janet: quiet and empty.

It was strange not seeing anyone home, she even called out to see if they were somehow hiding somewhere in the house just to trick her, but no one called back.

Elsie walked aimlessly through the house, her body felt numb yet she could feel every emotion possible coursing through her veins until she found herself in the kitchen, a bottle of bourbon in her hands as she twisted the cap off and threw it to the floor with a small clatter.

She promised herself she'd never be like her mother — that she would never turn to alcohol as a way of coping, but there was no little voice in her head telling her to stop. Whatever inner conscience she had was currently blocked from giving any input on the situation.

So she took a sip.

Then a gulp.

And a chug.