Summers' Purpose

Chapter 45

A/n: The few chapters has been a little slow, I know... But the story will pick up its pace very, VERY soon, I promise! Until then, let's be patient while we peel Y/n's onion-like layers. Explaining what happens after the Snap briefly feels like a necessity, seeing what Y/n did, amirite? Okay, now hold my hand. Let's go~ 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️💨 (also if you can, do play the song before the last major scene of this chapter. The feels I got when I wrote it, damn 😢)

Y/n watched as a small white truck rolled in, reversing its way toward the loading bay of the building. Jerome guided it slowly, greeting the driver as he jumped out of the cab. Y/n stood around awkwardly and waited for them, looking up when she heard the man call out to her.

"Hey! I'm Alex. You are?" He greeted her warmly, offering his hand. Y/n looked awkwardly at his hand, quickly shaking it when she realized she left him waiting for a little too long.

"Sorry, I'm Y/n." She smiled at Alex as they shook hands. She realized that he was holding on a little too long, only releasing her hands when Jeremy coughed behind him. Alex grinned awkwardly, apologizing.

"My bad, I just... I've never really seen you around here before." Alex's eyes were glued on Y/n as he asked Jeremy. "Dude, you never told me Y/n worked here. I would've dropped by more often to help." He gave Y/n a small smile, his dark blue eyes mischievous but sincere as they held her gaze. Jeremy groaned and then grumbled loudly from a distance, followed quickly by a woman's laughter.

"You ass, quit flirting and help with the shipment. We have to be back in 4 hours, and we still have another shelter to go to!" A woman came up next to Alex, patting his shoulder a little too hard and making him grimace a little. "Though I do agree, she is kinda cute," the woman continued, smiling at Y/n now. "I'm Meredith. Alex is our neighborhood playboy. Or at least that's what he likes to think of himself. Don't believe a word he says," she laughs. Y/n chuckled, noticing Jeremy look at the two with annoyance.

"Hey, I saw her first. Dibs," Alex quickly retorted.

"I'm right here, guys. No need to haggle over me like I'm an object," Y/n bantered, her eyebrows raised in challenge.

"You heard the woman, get moving! Is this why deliveries take so long with you two?!" Jeremy shook his head as the other two laughed, opening the truck doors as Jeremy waited with a clipboard in hand. The men continued talking as Meredith went to get a trolley and stood next to Y/n.

"Been here a while?" She asked, fingers tapping on the trolley handle.

Y/n removed her hoodie and placed it on a rail nearby as Meredith watched. "Sorry, it was getting warm. No, I don't live here actually. I just come and help once and a while."

"Really? That's nice. Why though? I mean, if you don't mind me asking." Meredith looked at Y/n with a new curiosity. "Most people would rather self-prioritize in these situations. So why do it?"

"Why do you do it?" Y/n asked her in return, watching the blonde-haired woman consider her answer.

"Because I get paid to." Meredith laughed quietly, shaking her head soon after. "Honestly, it's because I wanted to. I lived in a rough part of town before this. Student loans and all that, you know. So, when shit hit the fan, it all became worse. What hurt me the most was seeing the lady who always gave me extra servings at her shop lose her house and family. There's this one old guy who would hook me up with a few bucks once in a while when he'd catch me eating a sad sandwich at his deli. Poor man lost his shop. It got broken into and was absolutely destroyed," Meredith sighed to herself, recalling what happened.

Y/n kept quiet, waiting for her to continue. Meredith took a deep breath, a smaller smile etched on her lips this time. "That's why. I wanted to help. They helped me when I was down, and now that I can do something about it and return some kind of favor... Why not, right? Add a little bit of community service here and there. It's fulfilling, a good way to move forward and survive in these times."