Mismatched

Ch. 21

The rest of the day I felt like an addict, itching for a fix. I couldn't keep my thoughts straight or my legs still. All I could think about was Riley.

I wondered if when Riley got the notification that he was matched with Jack if he'd remember him from the corner store. If he'd recognize Jack's face in the pictures. Would he start to put it all together then? Or would he think it was merely a strange coincidence that I knew Jack?

"Nate, I have to say I'm surprised," Judy said, breaking me out of my head, which was quickly becoming my own personal hell.

I blinked, trying to bring myself back to reality and focus on Judy's words. She was staring back at me, her head slightly tilted, surveying me.

"About what?" I asked.

That you managed to fuck everything up this badly, my brain filled in for me.

"The place is still standing, everything seems to be running smoothly. I'm impressed," Judy commented, her tone sounding happy yet confused.

I took a breath, trying to keep present. I forced a smile. "I told you everything would be fine," I brushed her off.

Lesley stood behind Judy, her tense shoulders seeming to loosen at Judy's words.

"I couldn't have done it without Lesley, though," I said, nodding towards her. Lesley's eyes widened and her mouth fell into a scowl, which she quickly masked with a fake smile as Judy turned towards her.

"I really didn't do anything," Lesley immediately tried to backpedal. Judy looked between me and Lesley, a bright smile painted across her face.

"Lesley, always so modest," Judy commented as Lesley violently shook her head, not wanting to be associated with any of the mess I had caused. "Nate, you could learn from her," Judy joked, and I forced out a laugh.

"Nate, maybe you'd want to keep helping me out on a part-time basis," Judy suggested, and I'd barely even opened my mouth to answer before Lesley interjected.

"Aunt Judy! That's so kind. Nate would love to," Lesley gushed. I shot her a dirty look and she shot me one back.

"Perfect, we can work out the details later," Judy replied, clasping her hands together.

Well, that was my worst nightmare. I wanted to be somewhere far, far away by the time Judy pieced it all together. But maybe Lesley had the right idea. If I continued hanging around the store, it would give me more control over the situation. I could handle all the collateral and Judy would never have to find out.

As Judy rattled on about the details of her trip, my thoughts wandered back to Riley. My phone felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket. I had wanted to call him back on my lunch, but the sooner we spoke, the sooner it all became reality. These were my last few hours to live in this alternate universe where Riley was my boyfriend and he wasn't meant to be with Jack McKee.

***

What I couldn't figure out was why Riley did not call the store. While my phone had about six missed calls, and a text that just read "please call me" from Riley, the phone at Judy's matchmaking business hadn't rang once all day.

The car horn from behind me jolted me back to reality. Before I could process that the light had changed green, the green Volkswagen pulled out dramatically from behind me, cutting me off just in front of the light.

I just got honked at and passed by an 80 year old woman. And she gave me the finger.

I needed to pull myself together; I couldn't face Riley like this.