Nothing's Fine

Chapter 7

I shook out of my jeans, allowing them to fall to the floor. I allowed myself to look at the damage that had been done to my legs. Compared to my face, they appeared heavenly, which I was thankful for. I slid on the black slacks. They weren’t flattering. I wasn’t expecting them to be, but, I’m a girl. I would’ve hoped they would’ve at least shown of my butt a little. I slowly slid of my T-shirt, keeping in mind the intense pain my right side was feeling.

Once the shirt was fully off, I looked down to examine my mother’s handy work. My ribs were covered with black and blue spots. It some areas, you could see the swollenness. It hurt looking at it, just the emotional pain. At this point, my body was numb. I worked all day without letting my body to have time to adjust to the pain; therefore, it numbed my body. Tomorrow was going to be a different story. I would soon pass out, leaving my body no choice but to rest. That’s when I always got into trouble.

I slid the black shirt on, careful to not touch the bruises. I sighed before wrapping the white apron around my waist. I tied the black shoes before opening the door to join the crowd again, only when I returned, they were silent.

All eyes were on me as I walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Shay was giving directions. She cleared her throat before going back to giving out instructions. I scampered over to where Carter was intently listening. I figured he could fill me in afterwards. Finally, Mrs. Shay ended her session.

“What did I miss?”

“Oh, you know the basics.” I could hear the joke in his voice.

“Oh, really? Psh, I totally know how to do those things…” I said, making sure he heard the sarcasm.

“Fine. I’ll play nice. The person you’re assigned to is the person who you will take care of. If he asks for water, you get him water. However, if he asks for anything else, you let the waiters know.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

“What?”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Oh, did I mention I got you assigned to Liam? I figured you two_” I punched him in the arm.

“You did what?” I hissed.

“What? I thought you two were buddies.”

“Why, of all people, did you have to pick me to annoy?”

“Cause you’re pretty….”

“Oh my God.”

I covered my face with my hands as I walked out to the dining room. I stood along the edge with all the other, trying so hard not to blush. Carter was making that difficult. How in the world, did one person who has known me, not even a day, know exactly how to get under my skin? Am I really that readable?

Ms. Payne walked through first. She took her seat on the end. She glanced over at us giving us a slight smile out of gratitude. Her eyes rested on me. I looked down so I wouldn’t see the pity in her eyes. I didn’t like pity. I’ve been dealing with this for almost my entire life. You never cared before. I guess this just proves the point that you have to see it to believe it.

I looked up as the boys came yelping through the room. They made no attempt to keep quiet like Ms. Payne. I smiled as the boys sat down and searched for food. That at least helped my confidence that this extreme eating schedule was new to them also.

“Where’s the food? I thought dinner was ready?” Niall whined.

“We have meals in courses.” Ms. Payne laughed.

“Courses, as in, we have to eat a certain food at a certain time? This is bull_”

“Niall.” She warned.

He sat back in the chair and pouted. All the other boys soon followed suit. I was trying so hard to contain my laughter. On the other side of the room, Louis noticed. He smiled before bursting out laughing.

“See! She even agrees this is stupid!”

I dropped my jaw as everybody looked at me. My eyes dropped to my feet before wandering around the room. They landed on Liam. He was smirking at me. I really wanted to just get this day over with. Knowing that the day was almost over with stressed me out even more. I wanted to know what Liam was gunna say, but at the same time, I didn’t want to hear it. He lived by the motto ‘Out of sight, Out of mind.’ And he showed it when he left me. Mrs. Shay saved me from my own thoughts by calling meal to order.

I walked over to Liam, trying my best to stay professional.

“What would you like to Drink Mr. Payne?”

“What do you think I should have?”

“Whatever you think it is good…” I said annoyed.

“What will you bring me?” I sighed.

“I can only bring you water, but water is kind of gross with meals so_”

“I’ll have water.”

I sighed, annoyed with his persistence. Why doesn’t he understand I only want to work here? I swear if my life wasn’t on the line, I would quit.

I walked towards the kitchen to fetch his water. Carter walked beside me. He had Niall.

“What did he want? I bet it was something profound, like_” I cut him off.

“Water. He just wanted water.”

“Oh…So he wanted you?”

“No! He wanted water! You know, to drink?” I spat. I wasn’t playing this game.

“Fine. He just wanted water. I don’t get why you’re so against him anyway.”

I pushed through the door without answering him. He stayed on my tail though. I grabbed the pitcher of water before turning around and practically running into Carter.

“Like, I get it. You were best friends, but if you were best friends, wouldn’t you want to pick up where you left off?”

I set the pitcher down and ran my fingers through my hair.

“Yes! I would absolutely love to freaking pick up where we left off. We left off were he yelled at me for not being supportive when I yelled at him for leaving me! He stopped texting and stopped calling, so I took the intuitive to find out what was going on! He found a freaking girlfriend and completely forgot about me! He told me it was best to forget our freaking friendship! That it would be easier when they started traveling! Well guess what? I am leaving where we left off! I’m forgetting our friendship!” My voice hitched.

His eyes were wide and staring at something behind me. He looked sorry, but at the same time, he looked confused. I should’ve known who was standing there before I even turned around.