My Kmart Love (Based On True Events)

Ch.12 Tree

The following day, I walked into the store, mouth agape as a loud yawn racked my body. "Morning!" Lewis chimed as he clocked in next to me. "Ugh, it's too early for this shit..." I muttered as I made my way towards the back of the store. I hadn't gotten much sleep because someone kept calling me from an unknown number. "Rough night?" He asked as he walked beside me. I nodded, my heart racing.

"I wonder if I dreamt up the conversation we had yesterday?" I thought fretfully to myself as we walked towards the back of the store. When we reached the electronics' section, he turned to the left. "See you later, bishi-boru..." he said with a wink as he draped the lanyard around his neck and made his way towards layaway. "Nope, definitely not a dream..."

The rest of the day progressed slowly. Lewis had a shorter shift due to shorter layaway hours. I was on register one cleaning my workspace, when a familiar voice made me jump. "Hey Hannah" he greeted as he leaned over the back-side of the register. "L-Lewis! What's up?" I asked nervously as I played with my lanyard.

"So, this morning I tried to turn on my laptop but it didn't boot. I thought it was low battery, but after plugging it in I realized it was fried. I won't be able to get on later..." he trailed off. "Oh..." I muttered sadly as I glanced down at my feet. "So..." his voice made me look up. "I was wondering if I could...text you instead?" I glanced back down, my face crimson. "S-sure yeah, t-texting is good, texting is great he-he!" I said just as another customer walked into my lane. "Cool, I'll leave you to it then!" he waved as he walked out of the store. "Talk to you later..."

That night when I got home, I had to put away the Christmas tree. Lewis and I had been texting since I got out of work. Every time my phone buzzed, I'd jump. It turned out that we had a lot of stuff in common. "Okay, it's time to wrap you up and shove you back in that box!" I pumped myself up as I tackled the fake pine. I wrapped one arm around it and held the shrink wrap in the other. I was nearly done tying it up, when the door to my house swung open.

"Hey babe!" My ex Joshua exclaimed, making me jump. "How'd you get in here!?" I shouted as I took a step back. He held up a copy of my house keys. "You know you're supposed to leave those behind when you dump someone right?" I growled in a disapproving tone as I lifted up the 6-foot tree and struggled to get it back in the box. Joshua stepped in and helped guide it. After I was done putting it away, I brushed my hair away from my face.

"Thanks for the help..." I muttered as I glanced down at my phone. I had another message from Lewis. "Call of Duty tonight?" He asked with a happy face. "Yeah, right after I'm done cleaning I'll hop on!" I texted as I put my phone down. I turned to make my way back towards the tree but Joshua stood in my way. I took a step back as he walked towards me. "What do you want?" I asked bitterly, my back against the tree box. "You know what I want..." he whispered as he leaned in to kiss me. I turned my face away angrily. "Go home..." I muttered as I pushed past him and started hauling the tree box towards the stairs.

"Why so brave all of a sudden? You never turn me away" he said just as my phone buzzed again. I went to pick it up, but he beat me to it. "Lewis huh?" He asked as he turned to me. "Is he the reason you're rejecting me? I bet he doesn't even like you..." he sneered as I yanked my phone away from him. "Yea, as a matter of fact he is. I don't care what you think anymore and even if he doesn't like me that way, I don't want to risk messing it up. Now go, I'm busy!" I snapped as I turned around and shoved the tree box down the stairs.