Taken In

Chapter 15

Breo's POV

Still feeling terrible about asking J to get shampoo, we walk towards the end of the aisle, while my eyes scan across the shelves in search for the hair product I'm familiar with.

"You find what you're looking for?"

"No." I shake my head while continuing to search, but it's not here. I haven't been to a store in while and the pressure of having to find something else starts to make me feel nervous. Instinctively I reach for pooh bear in my pocket and continue to look, but the tears forming in my eyes have now made it harder to see.

I hate feeling like this, I feel like I'm going to be in trouble, like J is going to shout at me and kick me out of his house because I'm too stupid to do normal things. My breathing starts to pick up and I start to feel unwell. I continue to stroke pooh bear before I hear footsteps behind me.

"Hey I think this is the shampoo for curly hair like yours." J says while pointing to the bottle he's holding in his hand.

"Wait, you good?" He asks in a concerned manner, placing the shampoo bottle he was just holding on the shelf in front of us. He must've noticed how upset I look, which makes me even more frustrated with myself.

"I-I can't find it." I say in a slight whisper, unable to get the words out past the lump in my throat.

"Your shampoo?"

He doesn't sound like he's angry with me, but I'm not very good with knowing how people feel anyway, which makes me more nervous.

"Y-yes."

"That's okay."

His voice is surprisingly calm, which makes me feel a little at ease. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hands and look up at him, he didn't look angry in the slightest.

"What about this one?" He says, showing me another bottle, "It comes with a matching conditioner too."

I look at his hands and back up at him. I haven't used that brand before but I don't want to upset J so I will pick the one he picked.

"Okay." I respond after a brief pause, giving him a small smile before looking into the cart as he places both the shampoo and conditioner inside it.

"Am I in trouble?"

I blurt out the question before I can realise it was a stupid thing to ask.

"Hell no." J says while he turns to me, turning the cart towards another aisle before he continues to speak. "Look, you're never in trouble with me, ever. Alright?"

"Alright."

"Good." He says with a smile. "You good now?"

"Yes." I smile back at him genuinely after my response, I wouldn't have expected someone who seems so intimidating to be so patient, J has been so kind to me and I appreciate him so much. I hope I can repay him eventually.

We look at more toiletries and since I'm too shy to say I need anything, he walks up to different products and asks me if I need them, before putting them in the cart.

Now I have a hair mask, leave in conditioner, face wash and lotion. We picked out one that smells like strawberries which I'm excited to use.

I follow J towards the clothing section and notice how full the cart has gotten.

"He said it's not expensive." I say to myself quietly, trying not to feel bad for how much I'll be making him spend. A small frown forms on my face and I keep following him, assuming he wants to get some clothes for himself before we go.