the other side of us | ✓

1.4 | they say I did something bad

The Stop and Go was about as busy as it always was on a Saturday, and Mason slipped quickly into the stock room to put on his apron and clock in.

Marlee caught him on his way to the floor.

"Mason? Could I see you for a second?" She asked, her face pinched.

He knew what was coming before he stepped foot into her office.

"Am I fired?" He asked, sitting down in the chair across from her.

Marlee closed her eyes and nodded sadly, leaning forward to rest her arms on the desk in front of her.

"I'm sorry Mason, after your arrest... you know I don't have much of a choice. Phil's friends with the chief, and we had a long talk last night-"

"It's fine, Marlee." Mason interrupted. "I get it."

She smiled at him, pulling out an envelope and handing it to him.

"Your last paycheck." She explained and Mason took it gratefully. "There's an extra two weeks salary in there."

"That wasn't necessary." Mason protested.

"Mason," Marlee said firmly. "You've been with us for two years, it's the least I could do."

He smiled at her bitterly. "Thanks, Mar."

***

When Charlotte came downstairs the next morning to make breakfast, she was surprised to find her father already at the table with a cup of coffee in his hand. He looked exhausted, and Charlotte wondered if he'd gotten any sleep at all.

"Morning, Dad," Charlotte greeted, testing the mood. Her father nodded in acknowledgement, taking a long sip of coffee.

"Everything okay?"

"Fine, fine."

"Long night?" While her father took a sip of coffee, Charlotte busied herself making her own.

"Yeah. Just got home, actually. Brought in a kid for grand larceny."

"Grand larceny?"

Her father nodded. "Stole thousands of dollars from a family."

"Wow."

This wasn't the first time that Chief Evans had briefed his daughter over breakfast. And after years of listening to him, Charlotte was well-versed in how these situations usually went.

"Kid kept insisting he didn't do it."

"Is he being charged?"

"No."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "They dropped the charges?"

"They did," her father confirmed, taking a sip of his coffee and folding his paper in half. "Cooper gave him a ride to his car this morning, and the kid should be home right now."

"Interesting. Think there was a bribe?"

"No, I think that the guy that was robbed wanted to cover everything up. Typical rich kid."

Her father yawned.

"Dad, go to bed. I need to open the shop anyways."

"That's a good idea. I'll see you in a few hours, kiddo."

*

Saturdays at Poppy's were always the busiest. Devin usually opened with Charlotte, and Ash ended up coming later in the day, after her weekend class ended.

While the coffee machines started up, Charlotte made quick work of gathering orders. The shop's weekend menu didn't differ much from the regular week's menu, which meant that most customers already knew what they wanted to order.