Scared to love

Chloë's POV

I lean against my bedroom door and hear their conversation. I bet they would laugh at me if they discover how little money I had before the gift. I sigh and walk to my bed and lay down on it. I get ready for bed a while later but when I try to sleep, I can't. I eventually fall in a weird slumber and I'm having a nightmare. I see my parents and family, Alice and her father and the guys, but it's like they can't see or hear me. They're talking trash about me together and when I scream that I can hear them it's like they don't notice. I wake up, sweat dripping off of me and I can't do anything but cry. I cry for a while before falling asleep again, the nightmare still in the back of my mind. A knock on the door wakes me up from my sleep. My head hurts from crying and when I look up I notice Jake. "You snoozed both your alarms and it's almost time to grab lunch yet you're still in your bed. Is everything alright?", he asks. "Yeah I'm fine, I'll be there in a minute", I reply.

The guys give me a concerned look when I finally join them for lunch. "Did something happen during the night?", Matthew asks. "No", I lie. They look at each other and it's clear that they don't believe me but they don't go on about it. Lunch is really awkward since none of us talk. Halfway the afternoon, I notice that my phone rings. "Hey Chloë, are you free this evening?", one of my colleagues asks when I pick up. "Yeah why?" "My mom got in an accident and all of my other family is in another country so I want to be there for her but I have to work. Would you be able to cover my shift?", she asks. "Yeah don't stress it, I'll be there. Do you have to close tonight?", I say. "Yeah it's my turn to close, I'm so sorry for asking. I'll owe you one", she replies. "No, no it's fine. Good luck with your mom", I answer her. "Thank you so much, I'll do whatever you want from me", she says. We bid our goodbyes and end the call. I look at the time and notice that it might be better to start getting ready. I get out of the room and notice the boys staring at me. "I'm covering a shift for someone, I'll be home late since I'll have to close", I say before leaving the apartment.

I get at the bar and my other colleagues give me a confused look, so I explain the situation. "Ah Chloë you're here", my boss says when she sees me. She asks if I can join her in her office. On her table is an envelope with my name written on it. "The owner told me to give this to you about half a week ago now so when I got a call about the change of plans I made sure that I wouldn't forget to give it to you", she explains to me when she notices me staring at it. "I- I uhm I don't think I should accept it', I say. "Why not? You don't even know what it is", she remarks confused. "Because I know the owner and he gave me a lot not too long ago so whatever it is, it's going to be too much", I answer politely before leaving the office without the envelope. I go to the bar and start preparing for the evening. It starts of pretty slow but after a while, people are starting to come in. Before I know it, I get pulled away by one of the other workers. "You need to take a break, you've been working non-stop", they warn me. "Yeah I know, I'll take one know I guess", I respond. They nod and let me go, so I go to the back and sit down on a chair with my head in my hands.

I go back after about 10 minutes and don't stop working until the last person left the bar. All of the other workers left already so I'm alone to clean the last things up. It's almost 6 in the morning when I get home so I directly go to bed. When I wake up the next day, Matthew, Jake and Dakota look mad at me. "When did you get here?", I ask Dakota. "Last night, I slept on the couch", he says. "Why?", I ask. "Because he got a call", Jake replies in a stern voice. "Why are you guys looking so mad at me?", I ask confused. "Well first of all, you went to work around 5 p.m. and only came back around 6 a.m.", Matthew starts. "And second of all because we heard you didn't accept the second gift." I feel my face turn pale at their words.