addicted. (a tayvis short story)

c h a p t e r . f i v e

Travis opened his car door and got into the driver's seat. He sunk into the curves of the fabric and took a deep breath. He placed his phone into the cup holder before laying his head back on the headrest and sat for a moment. After fumbling around with his keys, he managed to get the key into the ignition without looking. He sat up and turned the key, starting the car. "Come on, Travis. Wake up," he coached himself to get going. He put the car in drive and headed for the car wash. A buzzing sound filled his ears, causing him to shake his head. When the sound continued, he glanced at the cup holder and saw his phone dancing around in it. He placed his eyes back on the road as he picked up his phone, "Hello," he answered groggily.

"Hey, why haven't you replied to any of my messages?" Taylor's voice came through the receiver. Travis could hear the mix of emotions in her voice. She was upset, worried, glad, and disappointed all at the same time. From the sound of his voice, it probably brought her back to a place she didn't want to remember. 

"Sorry, I took a shift for a coworker. I didn't know it was eight hours and would have me out over night," Travis explained.

"You've been working all of this time?" She asked, remembering he went to work sometime yesterday afternoon.  "Travis, it's eight in the morning!"

"I know. My shift ended at around 11:30 last night. Lucky for me, his started at one." He really should have asked more questions before he told people yes. He needed the extra money to make sure he was never short of anything, but working for 16 hours straight wasn't good on him.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to come to Ian's doctor's appointment with me, then grab some lunch?" She said, a little sadness filled her voice. "But, I think it's best if you go home and get some rest instead."

"Doctor's appointment? Why? Is he okay?" Travis questioned, sounding more alive than before. He hadn't known this child existed a week ago, but now, he was protective of him. He always wanted to make sure he was good, healthy, and safe. 

"He's fine. It's just his eighteen-month check-up," Taylor assured. "Go get some rest, Trav."

"That would be nice, but I'm headed to the car wash. I have a four-hour shift there to get through," he told her, knowing she was about to fuss at him for overworking himself. 

"Travis, you need sleep and food. You are overworking yourself. That's not healthy. I'm sure your cousin would understand that..."

"Tay, I'm fine. Two people already called off, so he's kind of depending on me. I'll be fine. It's just four short hours." He tried to explain to her. He heard her let out a sigh and a dull 'okay' before they said their goodbyes and hung up.

***

Travis was dragging his feet, trying to wash the cars with his team. The others were giving him grief about how he was slacking. He wanted to tell them how tired he was. How he had been working for the pass twenty hours, but that was the old Travis. The Travis who made excuses. Instead, he tried his best to pick up the pace. He made his way into the staff room, where they relaxed between cars.

"Way to have the rest of us doing your work, Travis," one of the other workers said, causing others to agree. Travis ignored them and took a drink of his water. He closed his eyes briefly, hoping that his body would consider it a nap and give him an extra boost of energy.

"Guys," Travis's cousin called for their attention as he entered the room. "There's a young lady outside who wants her car washed and detailed, but she has a kid who wants to help. So she only wants one person instead of a whole team."