My Brother's Best Friend 2 | ✓

11. "she found someone else"

The thing we crave most in this world is connection. Finding people you have that special bond with. Who you can relate to on a much deeper level. It's what keeps us sane, what gives us purpose and without it, we're lost.

I haven't been getting enough sleep these days and I have Sawyer to blame for it because of our late night phone calls. He calls me around 12 am every night and we stay up for hours talking. Not that I'm complaining though, these talks are what get me through most days.

I was zoned out thinking about a really deep conversation we had a few days ago. About our place in this world. We began talking about classes then one thing led to another. I remembered it while wiping down the white round tables in the diner. I've gotten so accustomed to working here already, and it's not bad at all if I do say so myself.

The manager is reasonable, he doesn't really check up on us too much. He really leaves the diner in the trustworthy hands of Dana because she's responsible plus she's worked here the longest.

I'm really tired and frustrated considering I'm left to tend to the mess some of these kids leave behind. Were they raised in a barn?

I'm washing up a bit and carrying a tray over to table five when I hear the door chime, signaling someone new has entered the restaurant.

The noise consumes me. I carry orders back and forth, from the kitchen, juggling multiple plates at a time. I rub my drowsy eyes, and notice as Dana extends her hand out towards me, with a tall white coffee cup in her hand. "Here, you need this." She takes a sip from her own cup, which has 'PSL' written on the side of it in black marker. "I stopped by on my break."

"You're a saint." I take a deep breath before guzzling down the hot liquid.

We were standing around for a bit, while I regained my strength when suddenly the manager, Rudy, stormed in. "Holly?" His eyes desperately search for mine. "I need to have a word with you."

"Yes?" I stand up straight, placing the cup on the table behind me. I realize how bad this looks. I appear lazy, lounging around in the back of the kitchen right as the manager walks in.

"I have just received some complaints from the customers," his voice is low and stern.

"About me?" I am shocked when I know damn well I have been on my best behavior. Minus a few instances when I may have spilled a bit of the content from the sodas I was carrying, on the table, but I apologized immediately and cleaned it up. "Yes, I got word that you were being awfully rude and insulting," he tries to remember exactly what the customer said.

"She mentioned that you spit on her?" He asks almost in disbelief. I can't tell if he's being serious at this point but he remains hard-nosed. "Wait, Rudy. I've been watching her all day and she's been nothing but a bundle of joy to those customers out there." Dana steps in.

"I don't know what to believe, but what I heard, is completely unacceptable." He massages the temples of his forehead. "Whether it's true or not, I'm leaving you with a final warning. There will be no more complaints like that, got it?"

"Of course." I gulp.

He walks away after inspecting the kitchen thoroughly to make sure everything else was in shape and I just go back out into the restaurant, trying to recover from what just happened.

As I step out, my eyes randomly catch a familiar face with red lipgloss, aiming a smug look at me from across the room. It must have been her. The girl who hates me. Who else could have done that?

At this point, all logic and rational thinking are thrown out the window when I decide to approach her. Intimidating me is one thing. But messing with my job is another.

"Hey what's your problem?" I pull her back by her shoulder. I quickly realize I am in the middle of a very crowded restaurant and causing a scene is exactly the opposite of what I need to be doing right now so I step back timidly and cross my arms, but the look on my face is nothing but serious. I expect a straightforward reply, but that's not what I get. "Stay away from him." She spits coldly.

That's all she says before her and her posse strut out those doors, leaving me in complete and udder confusion.

~

Back in my dorm, I kick off my white keds and slouch onto my bed. Camille left a note on our mini bulletin board saying she will be out again so it was just me. Suddenly my phone started ringing and I picked it up without hesitation, thinking it was Sawyer. Oh how badly I wanted to hear his voice right about now. "Hello?"

Instead, I hear an older voice, lower than Sawyer's for sure. "Dad?" I realize quickly that it's him and I grin from ear to ear. I haven't heard from him in weeks and when I did it was just a quick check up call, nothing too crazy. He tells me all about how he misses me and wants me to visit for the holiday break. He's so sweet, I'm starting to feel homesick, and excited to spend some time with the family. "How's mom?" I ask.

He coughs and I hear static over the phone for a few seconds, increasing my suspicion. "Dad?" I ask again.

"Sweetie-- your mom and I," he pauses and I already begin to figure out what he's going to say next. I feel this hollow pit form in my stomach as this cold empty feeling overcomes me. Those words. Those exact words.

I still remember him sitting Ryan and me down on the couch and breaking the news to us. I was wearing my little high school musical tee shirt and I recall being very confused. Ryan didn't take the news well at all. He and dad were pretty close, and after our parents got divorced, they lost touch. It's what breaks my heart the most, and I know he'll never admit how much he misses him.

"She found someone else." He murmurs. My heart just sinks at this point and everything goes blurry as salty tears begin to fill my eyes. "She what?" I sniffle. Suddenly I feel a ball of rage inside of me. It's so powerful that I could literally punch through a wall. "I--didn't know how to tell you this,"

What hurts the most is that I'm only hearing about this now, and over the damn phone.

"But you deserve to know. I'm sorry this happened again"

He talks but the tears just stream down my face.

"I'm sorry I need some time off sweetie, please understand." His voice cracks. I can't believe this is happening. I really believed it would work out, that things were good. Here I was thinking I was coming home to a happy family over the holidays. I would get to see my mom and dad sitting in the same room together. Actually laughing and talking without sly sarcastic comments and backhanded insults.

Then she went and cheated on him. How could she do that to us, more importantly, him? I don't even know what to do anymore.

But what I do know is that I don't want to come home, not after hearing that.

Next update: July 31
<3

So sorry this chapter is really bad, the whole book still needs to be edited and revised. It's all a work in progress so I hope you understand!