Someone to stay || JJ Maybank

11

"Redfield"

It wasn't exactly a busy morning in the shop, so I didn't quite understand why mom needed me for the morning shift. She just came to my room a little past 7 am and told me to get up and get to work. Now I've been sitting here behind the counter for over two hours and not a single customer has stepped in. I guess this is some kind of a punishment from her. I just don't know for what. I was in time yesterday.

A little bell rings at the door, letting me know someone came in, and the sound makes me look up interested. Finally something to do.

The shop is full of shelves, so I don't see the door from here, but soon enough I see a familiar blonde coming towards me through the aishles.

"Kate!" Lilian smiles as she finally comes to my view.

"Hi Lilian", I smile back. I get the same feeling as I did back at the kegger few nights back, like I can't stop smiling as I look at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you said to come here if I needed to contact you", she explains as she looks around. "This place hasn't changed a bit", she smiles turning back to me.

"Anyway, I tried to come here yesterday but you weren't here. Your mom was though, and she promised me to let you know I visited."

Surprisingly, mom forgot to mention that. But that also explains how mom knew everything that happened at the kegger.

"She also told me to come again tomorrow, so I did", she pauses, waiting for me to say something but I don't know what I should say. She didn't exactly answer my question yet so I don't know.

"I'm so happy to see you here", I end up saying as the silence gets uncomfortably long.

"Yeah", she smiles. "But what I was doing here. Do you have any free days soon? We could do something."

Honestly, every day of the summer was free for me, if mom didn't give me these extempore shifts. "I shouldn't have anything tomorrow", I say after thinking for a while. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, tomorrow sounds good", she rests her hands to the counter between us. After a while she continues. "So, you have a boy in mind?"

First of all, the question is so random, and second of all, why would she think that? The questioning look on my face doesn't seem to answer the question and she yet continues. "Since you said no to Liam."

Ohhhh. "Oh, no", I laugh to sound more convincing, to cover the surprise. "I just felt like he deserved someone who really saw him more than as friends."

"Right", she smiles back, but doesn't seem too conviced on my answer. "You could tell me though, if there was someone." I hurry to deny it but she cuts me off. "But I understand your reason, if that was the reason."

"Mhm."

"But", she pats her hands to the counter few times and stands up. "I gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right, uhh", I expect her to continue but ask her eventually because she doesn't. "When..?"

"I'll come pick you up around.. three? And we can get something to eat and do some catching up. I feel like we didn't get to talk as much as I could've at the beach."

JJ and John B desided to start the fight right when we were talking with Lilian. And I just left her there alone and didn't care to explain myself after. That was an awful thing to do.

"Right, um, I'm sorry I left you like that there. My friends had some kind of a situation going on", I apologize.

"No it's fine. I understand that they're your friends and you have to be there for them", her warm smile tells me she really doesn't hold a grudge from that. "Just like when you were a kid. You would hang out with us the whole day, but in the end you would always worry for them."