Romance in the Carter Hallways

One

To everyone, it was probably just another Saturday to cruise the city and have fun but to Lexi, it was another afternoon to deal with life.

Sitting by her mother who lay in the hospital bed connected to several machines and an oxygen mask keeping her alive, she sighed yet again.

It has been three years but that night was still so vivid like it was yesterday. The night she lost everything and it was all her fault.

Patting her mother's hand she said "I won't give up on you".

Just before she was able to see her mother that afternoon, she was called in by the doctor to take her mother off the machines as there was no hope of her waking up but she insisted that she wouldn't. If she had to continue working shifts like she has for the past three years to keep her mom alive, she would.

Giving her mom a last look, she picked her bag and left the room wiping tears off her eyes.

You don't deserve to cry Alexis, it was all your fault.

She reminded herself of the bitter truth once again. If she went through this forever, she deserved every bit of it.

With so much in her head, she walked slowly towards the bus stop. Checking the time on her wrist watch, she gasped surprised and began running, barely catching up with the bus.

"Thank goodness I made it". She told herself as she found herself an empty seat on the bus.

She finally arrived at the cafe for her shift, an already angry Finn had a frown on his face as she walked in.

"You're late Lexi". He said angrily, she gave him an apologetic smile knowing she was at fault.

"I'm sorry Finn". She apologized. He shook his head at her taking off his apron in a hurry.

"If my girlfriend gets mad at me for being late to our date, I'd hold you accountable". He threatened her playfully making Lexi smile.

"You know she loves you". She teased him, putting on her apron to resume her shift.

"She sure does". Finn replied, clocking out for the day.

Once Finn was gone, she was back to the usual, making coffee for a bunch of grumpy customers with a smile plastered on her face. Her mother used to tell her that a smile was the remedy to every problem she was going through, although she hasn't seen it solve any of her problems but she still smiles.

After hours of making coffee, it was finally almost the end of her shift and she couldn't wait to get off work. A man walked into the cafe, his face buried in his phone as he made his order.

"One Americano please". He said.
"Iced or Hot?" Lexi asked and he replied "Hot" without looking up.

She rolled her eyes wishing he paid a little more attention to his order but she let it and got his coffee ready.

"Here is your hot Americano sir". She told him, giving him his coffee. He finally looked up, looking a little confused.

"Hot Americano?" He asked her, anger flashing on his face. "I specifically ordered an iced Americano".

Lexi scoffed, she sucked on her teeth with her eyes closed trying to hokd back. Customers they say are always right!

Try sort it out calmly. Her subconscious told her, to which she nodded.

"I'm sorry sir but you did order a hot Americano". She calmly told him even though she was boiling on the inside.

"I demand you give me the right order right now!" He yelled at her attracting attention from others in the cafe.

Aiden and Asher for some weird reasons were in the cafe together, the scene annoyed Aiden as he watched it unfold. He has had his eyes on Lexi since the moment he walked into the cafe, so watching her get mistreated angered him.

"Stay out of it". His brother warned him, noticing his anger. He glared at Asher wondering why he thought he could tell him what to do. Asher sighed knowing his brother well, he never listens. "Mom says to stay off..."
Asher's words were cut off by Aiden who suddenly gets out of his seat with his hands clenched.

Asher looked towards Lexi, wondering what got his brother so furious. His mouth hung wide open as he saw Lexi get covered in the hot coffee. Before he could stop Aiden, he was already in the picture.

"Great! So much for staying off trouble". Asher muttered to himself.

Aiden stood by the rude customer, glaring at him like he could kill him at any moment. The man noticing the presence beside him looked up to Aiden who hovered above him, seeming a little intimidating.

The man laughed looking between Aiden and Lexi, a look of mockery on his face. "Got your little boyfriend to fight for you?"

Lexi was confused wondering who he was.

"Pay for the coffee, her clothes, and apologize right now!" Aiden demanded. The man laughed yet again mocking the two kids.

She couldn't help but immediately admire him. He was just her picture perfect boy, standing 6'4 with a face that puts beauty to shame. He had a flawless skin with his blue eyes so mesmerizing. His brown hair fell to his in a not so neat manner but still can't be called messy.

As much as she liked him, he had the looks that screamed trouble.

"Why should I?" He asked rather rudely. Some elders are just so annoying, they think they have rights just because they are older.

Aiden huffed at him, his audacity! He pulled out his phone playing a voice message he had recorded some minutes ago.

Don't forget to get the condoms!

Aiden's voice sounded so clearly from his phone. He glanced at Lexi feeling a little embarrassed at the content of his voice message but he had more important things to attend to.

"So? What if you're getting condoms?" The man rudely asked.

"Listen to your voice!" Aiden told him, playing the audio again. There was his voice sounding faintly in the background as he replied Lexi with "hot".

He was immediately embarrassed, he quickly paid for the coffee and turned to leave.

"Hold on old man". Aiden called him back. "You still have to pay for the clothes... Oh, you poured on her hot coffee, don't you think you owe her some money for treatment and a proper apology?"

The man looked at Lexi who smiled triumphantly at him. It wasn't everyday you get to watch a rude customer put to shame.

"Or would you prefer a law suit?" Aiden threaded further. "We have enough evidence". He added, referring to the amount of people recording the whole scene.

Probably taking a second to count his losses, he immediately pulled out more money, giving it to Lexi and apologized. "Forgive me for being so rude and pouring coffee on you. It's all my fault".

Lexi just quietly nodded and let him go. Although glad that he didn't just get to walk away, she still felt like a complete mess.

"You shouldn't let people walk all over you...Alexi" Aiden told her, reading her name of her name tag.

"Thank you". She told him. He just smiled and left.

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Third person narrative isn't exactly my style but to cover the full perspective of every character, I had to use it.
Hopefully, I get better with it.

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