The Bad Idea

Chapter One

Aubrey

"I'm not the one emptying the coffee grounds again," Patrick insisted, insinuating passive aggressively that I was trying to pass off my turn.

I sighed.

"I'm going to do it, dude... Just give me a fucking second."

I was at work in the coffee shop, 4 AM start, and I was sleep deprived beyond repair. It was lunchtime and my shift was almost over. I was really thankful to be working with Patrick today, because he actually fucking hustled. At least I didn't have to pick up anyone's slack... I didn't have it in me today.

I ended up barely sleeping last night, thanks to Eli's rude, unexpected, late-night visit to vent and watch a movie.

I gathered the trash and the coffee grounds. The cafe was busy on a weekday afternoon, as it usually was around lunch time. And of fucking course... I should have known something was wrong when I saw Patrick with eyes like saucers, standing there at the barista counter overfilling a coffee cup without alarm as the coffee spilled onto the drip tray.

"Oh my God," Marissa remarked. "Major hottie at five o'clock," she whispered in my ear. "Don't stare or fight over who gets to help him please," she directed towards both Patrick and me. "Act like grown men..."

Patrick scoffed, like the request was too much.

I somehow knew what I was going to see when I turned around with all the trash in my arms, but I was still pissed off to see him anyway.

"...Goddammit," I muttered under my breath. I was right.

It was Eli.

It was like he haunted me these days, I tried to ghost him and now he was everywhere.

He was walking in here on what I assumed was his lunch break from the car repair shop, because he was still wearing his shop coverall with his name stitched on the left side of his chest. He looked sweaty and disheveled and had grease stains just about everywhere except his face... His tattooed arms and neck were still very apparent under the uniform, and his hair was somehow still styled perfectly without a hair out of place.

I was sweaty, smelled like coffee, and probably looked like a tired fucking wreck compared to Eli.

He knew I worked here, so I could only assume he showed up to bug the shit out of me. Because apparently showing up at my apartment at almost midnight when I was trying to ghost him, banging on the door until my neighbor woke up, arguing with me for an hour and a half, and then keeping me up all night to watch a movie so I didn't get sleep before work wasn't enough for him.

Dude was a psycho.

Maybe I was too, for allowing him to treat me this way. This wasn't a friendship, but I didn't know what it was. A frienemy-ship. Was that a thing? I fucking hated him, and if he hadn't come over last night it wouldn't have ruined my sleep.

"Hey Aubrey, make me a coffee," he demanded of me casually, leaning over the counter and rubbing a palm over his face in exhaustion.

"...Fuck off."

I reclaimed a good grip on all the trash and walked off to the back alley, leaving him there while Marissa and Patrick looked at me like I was crazy.

I heard Patrick stammer, trying to offer making a cup for Eli, and Eli saying he'd wait for me to come back.

I purposefully took a while outside by the dumpster before going back in. I don't know what was wrong with Eli, but I felt like ever since I ghosted him because of the group text thing... I broke him, or something.