Hard To Balance: Trials & Tribulations #1 | An MM Paranormal Romance

( 5 ) CHAPTER FIVE | OWEN SYKES

The bell above the door rings as I walk into the convenience store. I pull out my phone and open the notes app where I listed the stuff I need to buy.

When I see Atticus later, I'm going to fucking deck him so hard in the groin. It's supposed to be his turn to do the shopping but he ran off with his friends instead.

Mom will be mad if we don't get the groceries, and besides there's nothing left to eat thanks to mister fat-ass that still manages to weigh like, a hundred pounds, but heaven forbid I eat something and I gain weight like a motherfucker. I still have homework to do, but I don't want to make trouble for Mom either, so here I am... in a grocery store... playing housewife because my nit-wit of a brother can't be bothered.

I grab a basket by the door and walk around the store, cursing Atticus in my head. He added his own snacks on the list, and I make a point to ignore them, getting only the necessities, since we have to always budget everything.

Right, I have to remind Mom. The bills should be coming up soon.

Because she's always busy with work and exhausted when she has time to be home, Mom can be quite forgetful. I can't help out financially, but I always keep an eye on the bills for her. Unlike my other sibling that should've been swallowed. How is it that I'm not the eldest I will never know. I think sometimes the asshole might've yanked my umbilical cord back in and his fat-ass pushed himself out first just to piss me off.

My eyes fall on the giant clock and I notice it's soon getting late, though the sun hasn't set yet. Mom had already left for her shift when I got home from school, and she wouldn't be back until the early hours of the morning. I need to buy the groceries then get back home and make dinner. Atticus might come back, or he might decide to stay with friends or something. Since he is an adult already, legally at least, Mom doesn't worry too much about him not being home. If he doesn't show, then I'll remain unbothered.

As long as I hurry back, I can actually finish dinner on-time and leave some for mom, then do my homework, then go to bed all at a reasonable time. After all, unlike my stupid brother, I still have school tomorrow.

I glance around the store, my eyes racking up and down the aisles as I hold onto my phone with the list pulled up, seeing if there's anything that I need to grab.

Even though it's an early evening on a weekday, there aren't that many people inside. There's a supermarket about twenty minutes away, but the convenience store is still pretty big so it usually has a lot of customers. The town is thankfully fairly safe. Maybe because it's such a closed off community, even though the town itself is fairly big, I rarely ever hear of anything bad happening in town.

Nothing will happen, right? Maybe my constant nightmares are making me paranoid, but I suddenly feel chilled. I have to finish up and leave immediately.

Why is my heart beating so fast?

I glance around the store again, but nothing seems strange. The lights are all on and there are maybe three other people inside as far as I could see, but it still doesn't reassure me at all.

It's all in my head, I tell myself, trying to shake off the sudden bad feeling that clenches around my heart. There's nothing there...

But why now? I'd been fine a moment ago until I thought about my nightmares. It's  been days since the last one, too. I'd been blessed with several nights of dreamless sleep. Maybe just thinking about it brought the fear and helplessness back?

It takes me a moment to realize I'd stopped moving. The basket hangs on one hand, my other hand clenching my shirt right above my heart. It's beating too fast, and my breathing had sped up. For a second, I can't seem to focus.