Rise To Stardom

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Aubrey ended up spending the night last night. To say I felt awful for not having spent as much time with her as I'd like was putting it lightly. I felt horrible. I made it my mission to soak up every last minute we had together until I had to leave early for my shift at the restaurant.

We made popcorn, watched Pitch Perfect Two and talked all night about Liam, memories we shared with my dad and, of course, my lack of a love life.

I was in my early twenties and I never had a boyfriend — not even in high school where the building was flooded with handsome, single guys. I had never been kissed or had never been on a date in my lifetime. It was like I repelled boys.

No matter how hard I tried by wearing cute summer outfits I managed to put together, boys didn't do so much as acknowledge me.

Unfortunately, my time with my best friend came at a price. It was safe to say that I didn't catch a wink of sleep all night. I was dragging my feet all day.

Literally.

I was so lethargic, my feet carried me slowly from one spot to another. When I finally got the chance to open my phone's camera, I noticed that my face was drained with color, highlighting the dark hue around my eyes.

My greasy hair was unbrushed and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I had to order an Uber to the restaurant and to the clothing store because I could not be trusted behind a wheel. I tuned out the small talk the second Uber driver was trying to make.

I was too busy daydreaming about my bed. The lavender quilt that was neatly covering my freshly-washed sheets, the soft material between my fingers as I pulled it away. The warmth that would envelope me instantly and settling in with the sheets and quilt covering my shoulders. My eyes finally having a second to close after being awake for too many hours to count.

"Emory?"

My eyes snapped open and there was a kink in my neck, implying that I fell asleep standing up.

I was doing it again, was I?

I was relieved to see that it wasn't my boss, but my co-worker, Lily Parker. We were in front of the jeans display, the pile in front of hers neatly folded and stacked. The pile in front of me wasn't organized; jeans were scattered everywhere and they weren't even on the table. A mess of light-washed, skinny jeans and shorts pooled at my feet.

This was our job when it was completely dead. The Sahara Desert had seen more action than this store had the first hour after opening. I was pretty sure I saw a tumbleweed tumble across the floor. At least this meant that no customer noticed my lack of enthusiasm. That would be 'so impolite' as my boss would say.

"Someone didn't sleep well last night."

Or at all.

Was that Justin Bieber rummaging through the jackets? Nope. Just a look alike. My exhaustion was worse than I thought. I scoffed. "Yeah, go ahead and state the obvious," I mumbled to myself. Bending down to retrieve the pile, I glanced at the hurt swirling in her eyes. "Sorry, it's just... you're right. I didn't sleep at all, and I'm just... tired is all." We continued to work silently beside each other. I was finishing stacking everything up when she spoke.

"I heard about your father. I'm really sorry."

Of course she heard. Gossiping about the workers' personal lives being completely and utterly unnecessary didn't matter to the manager. As long as it gave her material to discuss during conversations with them. People saying 'sorry' when they hear about my situation with dad got annoying at times after his first diagnosis.