Gwen still had barely started her shift, and now she didn't know how she was going to finish it. She was so upset; the deception ate at her. She felt like she was on a rollercoaster, being whipped one way and then another. She couldn't stay; she was too humiliated and completely heart broken.
She took a deep breath and went to the office, where she found Elizabeth back behind her desk shoving papers around in no apparent order. Her eyes were red and slightly puffy. She put her glasses back on and narrowed her eyes as she saw Gwen approach.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't take them. The store doesn't seem to be very busy, do you mind if I go home?" Gwen held her breath and waited for the barrage of insults about how she should be more responsible and professional. How this was a job, not a therapy office, and she needed to pull herself together.
"I get it. Go," said Elizabeth simply. Her eyes dropped down.
Gwen took a step back and bumped into the filing cabinet, the corner digging into her back. She reached back and massaged the area."Really?" it seemed too easy, suspicious, like some other trap I was going to fall into and didn't see coming. "You're just going to let me go?"
"Listen, I know Tanner, and I know that he just made an idiot out of you."
"Gee, thanks!"
"And Josh, well Josh is a decent guy, even if he's a tad angry. Did he tell you that his band got a record deal last week? They said that it was too late for him to come back, even though he started the band. They're moving onto bigger and better things, and well, he is here."
"How do you know all this?"
"Training at head office. Josh was there and we've been chatting. Josh is being pushed to live life according to his father's rules, and he uses Josh's mother's handicap at leverage over him. Anyways, I've had enough too, but I can't go anywhere. You can. Now run before I change my mind."
"Elizabeth, I just wanted to say, that your personal life is well, your business, not mine. No one will hear about it from me, okay."
"Thank you."
Gwen punched out of work and left. She sat in the bus shelter waiting for it to come and take her home, checking through her emails. Most of the messages were advertisements for things that she couldn't afford. There was one from the school that caught her eye.
Dear Student,
I would like to thank everyone for participating in the internship challenge. There were many wonderful entries, and it was extremely difficult to choose a winner. Unfortunately, at this time we cannot offer you a space in our internship program. We wish you all the best in all your future endeavors.
Yours,
Jane Witmore
PSN Design Firm
Great! The cherry on the stinkin' pie. That's it. I will be stuck working with Tanner and Josh for the rest of my life! she thought.
Gwen went home and tried to drown her sorrows in ice cream. She turned the ringer on her phone off, not wanting to be bothered by the outside world. She wanted to hide like when she was a little girl in her closet with the door shut, feeling comfort and safeness in the close space with her clothes hugging her. It wasn't until hours later that she even picked up her phone and was hit with a barrage of texts all from Josh.
11:22 am Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!
11:38 am Please listen to me. I was a jerk. I didn't mean to take my anger about my crappy situation out on you.
11:52 am There are no excuses. I should have told you everything from the start, I was just so wrapped up in my own misery.
12:01 pm Please answer me.
12:14 pm You are beautiful.
1:09 pm There is something about you; I can't get you off my mind. I won't be able to stand it if you won't talk to me.
Gwen didn't even know what to make of them. Why didn't Josh behave like a decent human being in the first place? They could have avoided all of this. The texts kept going.
2:16 pm You light up the room when you walk in, you know. I was so stupid?
2:19 pm Thoughts of you keep me going. I know it's only been a short while, but you're the first good thing that has happened to me in forever
3:08 pm It can't be just me who felt the chemistry between us last night. I know you felt it too.
The last text was simple:
4:31 pm I'm sorry. Please forgive me.
She turned her phone off completely.
YOU ARE READING
Unlikely Knight
Short Story***as published on Amazon*** What happens when the bad boy turns out to be your knight in shining armor? Gwen wasn't expecting to fall for anyone. She had focused every ounce of her attention on getting through college and making it through her m...
