FAST: ROUGH: MESSY

SEVEN

Thirty minutes after Chimon arrived and abruptly left, the business began to slow down for the day. Just before Perth began to replaced a car battery he checked his phone. The screen lit up with the blueish glow as he read his latest notifications.

"Everything good, boss?" another mechanic said as he approached. He was wearing a similar work shirt, but with blue jeans and a random grey hat.

Perth looked up, "Yeah. It's good. How about you?" Then he looked back to his phone, trying a reply to a message.

"Yea yea. I was just wondering if something was still wrong with that Mercedes from the other day?"

"No. Of course not. Why?"

The other mechanic talked in a confused voice, "Ohh that's weird because that customer came by earlier. I was busy so I couldn't greet him, but I saw that guy walking towards the garage, but before he came to the entrance then he turned around and left in a hurry."

Perth quickly looked up to the man again. "He was here?"

"Sure, about half an hour ago, I think."

Perth was completely shocked to his core. "Where the hell was I at? What was I doing that I didn't notice him at all?" He asked, gripping onto his phone tightly. A weird feeling sneaking up in him.

"Well you were right here. Talking to...I forgot, that guy. Was his name Gemini, Perhaps?" The man said as he scratched his eyebrow.

"Oh. Let me know if he comes back," Perth said as he looked back to his phone. He realized how tightly he was holding the screen. He went back to typing, but his thumbs were shaking. Instead he put it back in his pocket and got to work.

He replaced the car battery. He went ahead with the routine maintenance, but he kept forgetting what to do next. This was something he's done hundreds of times, but this time he wasn't able to concentrate.

"Hey kid!" A loud voice rang through at the garage. Then, Perth looked up from the inside of a car.

"Some of the guys told me that you're out of it today. I'm not paying you to do a shitty job!" The owner yelled to him as he neared the car.

Perth just rolled his eyes and went back to what he was doing, ignoring the man. He was fixing some wires under the steering wheel, trying to do his job.

The owner, James, leaned on the door of the white car. "So what's the deal? Do I need to send you out of here today?" He said in a raspy voice.

(A/n: James is an original character)

"Calm down Uncle. So what if I make a small mistake every now and then" Perth barked back at him. Still looking down at the blue and black wires as he clamped them together.

"Well I don't want to be loosing revenue over your ditzy mistakes."

As he got up from the seat, Perth said "Whatever. I'm still the best one here. You couldn't afford to let me have the day off anyway. You're too cheep for that, Uncle."

James laughed, "You spoiled kid...you better be glad you're family." Then he turned to walk away. "Take a break and get yourself together at the very least. Then get back to work."

Perth just stood by the car watching the taller older man walk back up stairs. Then he looked down to the concrete floor. "That shitty man, what does he know," Perth whispered to himself.

Despite taking a break Perth felt restless the rest of the day at work. He couldn't shake the thought of Chimon. It had been two days since their crazy encounter, so he should have forgotten about it by now. He should have forgotten about him.

Before he knew it, it was already 19:00 (7 pm). "Damn, this last one took far too long," he said in a tired yawning tone. He stretched his arms and then took off his mechanic work shirt. He threw it on his desk chair.

He turned, rubbing his hands down his white top, and then put his car keys in his pants pocket.

Soon he was back home to his large house. He lived alone, which he loved since he liked the privacy. However, the silence was too daunting tonight.

His thoughts were racing the whole time he was at work and they didn't stop when he came home. The thought of Chimon coming back to the garage lingered in his mind. Perth had so many unanswered questions.

Unable to distract himself, Perth got in his hot tub to ease his mind. He sat against the tiled wall of the tub, hundreds of warm bubbles rising to the surface, relaxing his head. He looked from the water to the sky.

"Why?" He whispered to himself as he watched the flashing lights of an airplane fly across the dark sky.

______
A/n: Does it matter if I use 24hr or 12hr am/pm times in my stories? I typically write both, but I'm not sure if my readers would have a preference. I appreciate feedback ❤️

Anyway, the next chapter will be up within the next 14 days <3