Lavender love | BxB Romance

ꜰᴏᴜʀ - ᴍʏ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ

Amber Hill was a town where good jobs were as scarce as diamonds. Even adults, educated people, did not always succeed. There is nothing to talk about teenagers who have not even finished school yet. The aging behemoths of industry, the fish factory, and the sawmill, were on their last gasp. Their workforce was a skeletal crew of the most hardened veterans. The rest of the workers were laid off, and the teenagers didn't even dare to dream of working there. However, weren't many teenagers who wanted to. Even at young age, somewhere around middle school, cruel reality cut off the wings of dreamers, and everyone somehow got used to not trying too hard.

Why, if there are no opportunities and never will be?

The Hybrid Hub car workshop was one of the few places in town that was pleasant to work at. A young, pleasant boss, decent pay for a teenager, an easy job - simply heavenly conditions for Amber Hill. Before Raine offered him a part-time job, Evan had been to various not-so-pleasant places: a cold fish factory, where an old fracture hurt endlessly, and a sawmill, where the conditions were hellish. Due to his work schedule and the difficulties of the job, he was not hired for the construction site. Bars and pubs demanded an adult age, and fast food offered meager wages for a mountain of work.

Noticing how the guy was suffering, Raine took him to work part-time. It was not profitable to hire a second mechanic or assistant among the conservative adult population. Those, who knew how to do something, demanded exorbitantly high salaries. Those, who were ready to work for any money, knew nothing. Raine has known Evan since childhood. For him, Holden stood out from the crowd of his peers with his hard work and discipline. Therefore, he calmly delegated simple duties to Evan for twenty dollars an hour.

Ten minutes late, Evan rushed into the open garage. Raine was already lying under a white pickup truck, its body slightly eaten away by rust. Hearing Evan, the guy greeted him from under the car.

"Hi, Evan."

"Hi. Sorry, I lost track of time today," Evan replied.

"Don't worry about it. Sit down, have some coffee after school. Were you held up in class?"

"No, I just... lingered over lunch."

"Okay. Then everything is as usual on the table. I'll be a while here, I think. We'll talk when I get out."

Raine was always a sociable and talkative guy, but he didn't like chatting while working, as it was a big distraction. Evan had learned this well, so he put on a podcast or just music in one ear and went about his business. Changing into his uniform, the guy also got to work.

Evan worked at the garage three days a week: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, leaving Mondays and Fridays for rest before and after his shift at the coffee shop on Saturdays and Sundays. Raine had insisted on not completely filling Evan's schedule. As a workaholic who had started working at 14 years, he knew firsthand how important it was for a teenager to rest. They agreed that Raine would take on the more complex orders mid-week, and in Holden's absence, the simpler ones, so that he could handle everything on his own.

In the four hours they had agreed upon with Raine, Evan fully fulfilled his duties. Handing something here, bringing something there. Painting a door or hood, performing minor repairs under Raine's supervision. Washing the car if needed. If there were no customers, Evan did paperwork, filling out documents as Raine's sister, Nova, had taught him. His duties also included monitoring the availability of all materials, the serviceability of tools, and timely ordering of new ones. Separately, Raine paid extra for maintaining their garage's website. Evan took beautiful photos, designed posts, and maintained the business's online activity. Sometimes Nova did this when she wasn't too busy with her main job.