Keeping Us Apart

Poison Pen Letters (7)

*Hudson's POV*

I spend the weekend avoiding both everyone in the house and brushing myself up on all things OLA, wanting to be prepared for Monday. I know from what Joel told me that this is Ahren's baby and I don't want to make any mistakes on my first day of work, especially since my brother was the one who got me the position in the first place. I already feel as if I've betrayed Joel to begin with by sleeping with Ahren and there's no way I'm going to further jeopardize our relationship. 

When Monday morning comes bright and already warm I get up extra early and find Joel in the kitchen making breakfast, the smell of bacon thick in the air.

"G'mornin' sis. Sleep well?" Joel asks with a smile as he sets a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me.

I nod, carefully transferring a forkful to my mouth. "Mhhhmm."

"Ahren said to tell you that he'll take you to work," adds Joel as he turns back to the stove.

"Why?"

"Well, it is a waste of gas when you both are going to the same place, don't you think?"

I shrug. "Guess so." Joel gives me a weird look but doesn't say anything more on the matter.

By the time I walk back out, fully ready, into the living room Ahren is standing there. 

"Ready?" He asks as he puts an OLA hat on his head.

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The space that Ahren uses for OLA base is only about ten blocks away and made from shiny black wood and crystal clear glass. The modern triangle shape of the building makes it look futuristic almost, shining bright in the morning sun. 

The interior is covered in both modern and classical art. Some pieces are hand drawn and unframed and tacked haphazardly onto the walls. Others look worth more than my entire wardrobe, framed in gold and hung up in spots that are meticulously chosen to be sure to catch your eye. To be honest I'm a little surprised. Ahren doesn't look like the fine arts guy. But I guess I really shouldn't be so quick to pass judgement. Brilliantly colored graffiti pokes out from underneath the wall decorations. 

Ahren leads me further inside, a leather couch sitting in one corner across from a flat screen TV and a Playstation. We stop at a glass IKEA desk and Ahren boots up a MAC computer.

"Sorry about the mess, nobody but me and the guys come here," Ahren says as he begins scooping up stacks of designs, trying to clean up the desk space.

"Your job for right now is just to help me sort through all of the orders. I've been really backed up since the recording of LTOTM started, we've been working extra hard on this album."

"Okay, I think I can do that," I say with a nod.

"Just start with charting how many of each size and color we need, and then check to see if we need to order more. Can you do that?"

I shrug. "I never did stocking, I just was cashier." I expect Ahren to be angry, but he just chuckles.

"Okay, I can teach you in no time. Maybe we will even get to make some of the shirts today. That's the best part," he says with a smile.

 So far this is way less awkward than I expected it to be. We end up working on the orders all the way through lunch, but I'm learning quickly, and the job isn't as boring as I'd originally thought it would be, but by five my stomach is growling so loudly Ahren looks up.

"Hungry?" He asks.

"Duh." I see his gaze flicker from my face to the clock in the corner of the computer screen. 

"Fuck, five already?" He practically leaps to his feet, knocking over the chair in the process. "I've gotta go, I'm sorry, I'm really late. But you're welcome to stay and continue or just go home."

As he speaks he is a blur of motion and I barely catch the lanyard he tosses my way, but before I can even look up the front door slams shut and he's gone. Woah. What the? I'm alone surrounded by all things Ahren. I have half a mind to just lock up and leave behind him, but the remaining orders on the screen tell me to stay and finish them. 

First though, I decide to grab something to eat, and so I stand up and grab my phone from the desk before walking out into the warm sunshine. Everything looks vaguely familiar from this morning, washed in a warm orange glow from the evening sun. It takes me no time to find a burger joint and even less time to scarf down a double cheeseburger and chili fries. 

Full and happy, I push open the door and stroll back into the heat. Through one of the windows I see Ahren sitting at a table across from a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, her fair self almost my exact opposite. She's smiling at him in a way I recognize. It closes a fist around my heart and I quickly force myself to keep walking, reminding myself that what happened between us doesn't mean we're together now. But it still hurts.. My heart whispers. But you don't know what the situation is, my brain replies. Yes you do, nags my conscience. 

The sound of traffic fills my ears and eventually drowns out my thoughts, and once I'm back in the air-conditioned building I plop back down in the desk chair and begin working again, hoping to distract myself. It only takes me another hour to finish up the rest of the orders and as soon as I lock the shop door behind me my phone goes off, scaring me and making me drop my bag and Ahren's lanyard. I manage to scoop up the keys and answer my ringing phone simultaneously.

"Hello?" I say.

"Sis, where are you?" Joel's voice is comforting at this moment, even though he can never know why I'm upset.

"I stayed late to catch up on orders for Ahren."

"Where is he?"

"He's not with you?"

"Um, no, I thought he was with you at work," says Joel slowly.

"He left like an hour and a half ago, said he was late for something and practically sprinted out of the door, then when I went to get food I accidentally saw him through the window of a restaurant with some girl." The words come out before I can stop them and I internally groan.

"Oh, well, yeah, that's probably Maura."

I try my hardest not to ask who, but I can't help myself.

"It's this girl Ahren's been seeing for a while."

"Like seriously?" The fist around my heart returns.

"No, not officially, but they've been out a few times. Why? You don't like him do you?"

I nearly drop my phone.

"No, no, he just never talks about her is all," I manage to respond.

"Yeah," Joel sighs, "he's a private guy. But anyways, do you need a ride home?"

Thinking about it, I really don't want to walk the ten blocks back home. "Please."

"Be there soon." The line goes dead.

  It only takes Joel about five minutes to arrive, Cherry coasting smoothly up to the curb. Once I'm safely inside the car pulls back onto the road. Joel doesn't say anything more on the subject but I'm pretty sure that whenever Joel shows up Ahren's going to get an earful.