Crossed [COMPLETED]

Forty-one.

EDITED.

"Alex!"

"Huh?" My eyes fluttered open to see Nathan staring right into my eyes, his face only a few inches away from mine, his dark hair still messy. 

"It's 8.30am Alex."

"Shit!" I cursed softly under my breath as I glanced at the alarm clock. "Why didn't it ring?" I asked as I practically hopped off my bed. 

"Well, I took it to my room cause mine wasn't working," Nathan said as he gave me a sheepish smile.

"Damn it, Nate! Now I'm gonna be late for work and it is going to be your fault!" I glared at him which only made his smile grew wider.

"It's not like it's the first time," I heard Nathan mumbled, making me stop and looked back.

"What was that Nate?" I asked as I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Nothing," he mumbled quickly as he raised his hands up in mock surrender.

"Yeah, I thought so," I said as I stifled a laugh and sprang into the bathroom. I took a cold shower and once I'm done freshening up, I put on a simple black shirt and shorts. I grabbed an energy bar from the cabinet and chugged some water down my throat before I got everything I need and left the house.

As I walked to 'Food Paradise', I swiftly put the mess that was my hair into a high pony. "Hey Chels, sorry I'm late," I said quickly as soon as I entered the shop. "I kind of overslept," I informed with a lopsided grin, batting my eyelashes at her furiously. 

"Oh, stop it," she laughed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "It's fine. Besides, it's not the first time anyway," she pointed out to which I responded with a loud scoff.

"I'm pretty sure I'm always on time."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that Al."

"Chelsea!" I protested.

"Come on, let's just do our thing," she said as she gave me a playful smile and walked off to prepare the ingredients in the kitchen as I grabbed the table cloth from the rack and headed outside to do the usual routine that included cleaning the tables and mopping the floor.

Once I'm done, I looked around the place, satisfied with my work. I glanced at the clock to see that it's 9.30am, I quickly went to the door and flipped the sign over to say 'Open'.

"Al!" I heard Chelsea shouted from the back.

"Yeah?" 

"Could you come to the kitchen for a minute? I need some help!"

"Yeah, sure." I quickly made my way to the kitchen. I pushed open the door to see Chelsea's flustered face. "What is it?" I asked as I looked at her, waiting for a reply watching in amusement, the frantic look on her face as she stared at the carton of milk.

"The milk is expired Al, do you think you could cover for me while I make a trip to the grocery store and get some milk?"

"Yeah, of course," I said with a smile.

"Alright, I will be back as soon as possible," she said as I flashed her a thumbs up. "You are the best!" She cheered, flashing me a wink as I let out a laugh. It was not long before Chelsea walked through that door, her hands filled with milk cartons. 

I was standing right behind the counter, watching in awe as she swayed from side to side, balancing all the cartons in her embrace, her eyebrows furrowed together in concentration. It looked as though they were going to topple over any second from now. "Need help?" I teased.

"Yes actually," she breathed out, panting softly. "I only-"

I quickly took a few cartons from her. "I know, saving the Earth right? You should be an environmentalist, you know."

"Oh, stop mocking me, Al."

 I laughed, the corners of my eyes crinkled together, my lips curled upwards into a smile. "I'm serious. Now let me bring this to the back." I carefully carried the milk cartons to the back of the kitchen, placing them neatly inside the small refrigerator as Chelsea took care of the cashier.  

"One seafood pasta without prawns!" Her high pitched voice rang beside my ears and I quickly shut the door of the refrigerator, watching the light inside go out. 

"Chef, you heard her." I winked, the fact that this is Tyler's go-to order actually slipped out of my mind for once, heading outside to join Chelsea once again. 

"I don't understand why would anyone have pasta at this hour," she whispered to me, pointing at the back of a blonde hair lady as we laughed among ourselves secretly. 

"Well, some people are just weird," I said as I stifled a laugh. "If you need me, I will be hiding in the kitchen, texting."

"Unbelievable," she muttered, shaking her head in mock disapproval.

"We take turns."

"Deal."

So there we were, one standing by the counter, the other hiding in the kitchen. I stood behind the table separating me from the stove, watching intently as Chef Eric whipped up a delicious plate of seafood pasta. "Without prawns!" I reminded as he chuckled. 

"There you go. Table 8." He carefully plated the pasta and honestly, I don't understand why he even tries, this is just a 3.5 stars restaurant, no one cares enough. The hot piping plate of pasta sat on the table and it was good to go. "Seafood pasta," he paused, looking up at me with a smirk. "Without prawns, I know." Then again, I admire his passion.

I smiled as I grabbed the plate of pasta and quickly headed outside, making my way towards the lady in a white pent suit and her long blonde hair pulled back into a sleek bun. "Your seafood pasta, without prawns," I served with a small smile on my face. But as soon as she looked up, I found myself looking into a pair of familiar light brown eyes and my smile dropped instantly.

"Karen?"

A/N:
Woahhh so why is Karen here? Hmmm.. haha anyways, I'm rlly sorry that I forgot to update on sunday >< I promised I'm gonna update 3 times a wk so here it is :)
p.s. I'm on vacation so I forgot ><
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Don't forget to vote, comment and fan!♥
Much love,
Rachel xx