Frozen in Ice

Chapter 16

Luke's POV

"Luke?" Justin asked.

I gave him half a smile and noticed that he must have been with his family.

"I didn't know that you worked," he said.

I just shrugged, put a smile on my face and asked them about their orders. I didn't really talk to Justin was I worked but he came over once they finished.

"I didn't know that you worked," he said again.

"It's not something that I like to share with you guys," I said softly.

Matt was calling me over and it meant that I had to stop my conversation with Justin.

"I'll talk to after your shift," he said.

"I work until one and there is no point in you staying that late," I told him.

He looked a little shocked but did head out with his family. Matt and Lisa didn't talk about and I was glad. I think that they realised that I didn't want to talk about it. I liked Justin but I wouldn't go as far as saying that I trust him. I wasn't sure if I could trust him with this after what other teammates had done.

I was slightly distracted for the rest of my shift and I was still thinking about it as I walked home. I was tense and I could feel the tension in my shoulders and neck. I unlocked the apartment and found that Mom was here and asleep.

I was surprised that she was home since she hadn't been home at this time in weeks. I think that she must been sleeping at the office. I made sure to be extra quiet so that I didn't wake Mom. I also headed straight to bed but I tossed and turned all night.

I couldn't get Justin off my mind and it kept me awake for most of the night. Eventually around six I gave up and decided to do something different and go for a run. I kept in good shape with hockey and would go for runs a bit but not usually early morning ones.

I preferred to run after school and some days I would go in work out in the gym but I never seemed to have much time at the moment with hockey, Peewees and my job. I changed into shorts and loose shirt before heading out.

I didn't know the area that well yet so I ran past school the rink and the restaurant before heading home and it was already 7:30. I changed for school, grabbed breakfast and headed out. Mom was still in bed and I didn't have the heart to wake her.

Justin was waiting for me outside my locker and I wasn't that surprised.

"How come you never said anything?" he asked.

"There were some guys at my old school. I told them and they would always come in and be terrible customers but I couldn't say anything because I would lose my job," I explained.

"And you didn't want to tell any of us in case it happened again?"

I nodded and he thought about it for a minute.

"You said that you didn't get off work until one. Is that why you are sometimes tired?"

I nodded again and the bell rang before we could talk anymore.

"I hope that you can trust me," he said as we headed to class.

We didn't talk about it anymore and I did feel like I could trust Justin. He had been nice to me since I arrived and he didn't join in the teasing the rest of the team did. Brynn and I still weren't talking much but she still thought that she could give m her opinion.

If there was another seat in the classroom I would have taken in but there wasn't. I had to sit next to her and try and ignore it which seemed to be a big theme in my life at the moment. I tried to keep myself busy all day so I didn't get caught in my thoughts.

We didn't have training afterschool and I was surprised to see Justin waiting for me outside school.

"Do you have work now?" he asked.

"Not for two hours so I'm going to go home and get some homework done. You can come if you want," I suggested.

He nodded and he followed me home. Not surprisingly Mom wasn't home so it was just us in the apartment. Justin took a seat at the table and pulled out his own homework. We sat there and talked a little bit as we worked.

Neither of us had much work to do so we finished before I had to leave for work. I continued to sit at the table and we talked more before Justin decided that he wanted to see my room. I warned him that it was pretty plain but I think that he was still surprised when he walked in.

"You room is extremely boring," he complained and flopped on the bed.

"I've moved so many times that I can't be bothered putting things up in my room to take them down," I explained.

He nodded in understanding and I grabbed my work clothes and quickly changed before heading out. Justin decided that he would come as well as he joined me as I started to walk. I didn't even think about asking him not to come.

Jessie was already there and I knew that Olivia was going to be working as well. Jessie tossed me my apron and noticed that I had a friend with me.

"Who is this?" she asked looking at Justin.

"This is my friend Justin. He is going to sit around today," I explained.

She nodded and Justin took a seat at the bench. Jessie gave him a glass of water and we stood around talk as Olivia joined us. It wasn't very busy yet and it meant that we could talk. The two girls liked Justin and he seemed to get along with them well.

He didn't hang around until the end of the shift since I was working until one again. He ordered dinner around nine and left not long after that. I took a ten minute break so that I could talk to Justin a little bit more.

"Your colleagues seem really nice," he said.

"They are, I really like working here," I explained.

He nodded and turned to walk home.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

"Thanks for keeping me secret."

"I'm your friend, of course I will," he said.

I nodded and stood there for another minute before heading back inside. It was nice to have someone to trust.

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The Wise One