Revenant j. hale

Chapter 3

Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe ou-

Theresa tapped on the door to the storage room gently, "Listen babe, I know this is hard for you. But you gotta come out. There's only a few people here and you've got a cute boy at the counter asking for you."

Confused and a little wobbly, I make my way out to the front. Looking around the front counter I was lost. No boy even close to my age was here. Sighing and attempting to push my thick hair up into a bun, there was a loud BOO in my ear. Almost jumping straight out of my skin, I take a large step forward, spinning around with a hand on my chest as I realized who it was.

"Paul Lahote I can't believe you! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Doubled over in laughter he could barely even get words out. "Your face was p-priceless aha."

Huffing in slight annoyance I turned around, beginning to wipe down the counter with a wet rag. I had to admit, it was a little funny. Not that I'd let him know that, he would never let it down. "Come on Cay, you know it was hilarious. You're always so quiet and shy, I had to help get you to loosen up at least a little."

Paying him no attention, I start brewing more coffee. Out of the corner of my eye I see a hand moving towards my shoulder and immediately flinch, pushing myself as far into the opposite counter as I can.

"Shit, Caylee. I'm sorry. I forgot. The no touching allowed thing. Ya know it's a little weird though right? I mean, most friends have at least had a hand shake. What's gonna happen, your skin gonna fall off?" He tried to joke. I wish, I thought to myself. Although it was true. He had been my friend for about a year and a half and we never so much as brushed hands. Turning around to meet his soft gaze I let out a small gasp. Right away he knew what it was for and looked down at the counter top.

"Paul I-"

"It's not as bad as it looks Cay, I promise. Really. It's no biggie."

On the left side of his face he was sporting a yellowing bruise on his cheekbone. It had to have been new because I hadn't seen it the week prior. I could feel my eyes welling up a little and I cursed myself for being overly sensitive.

"Paul, you promised. You said if he did it again you'd call. Or that you would leave if he came home like that." I wanted to touch his face so bad. Smooth over it and hug him until he was okay. But I knew I couldn't. He was my best friend, I couldn't let myself. His face softened as his eyes trailed over my own face, knowing I was just as hurt as he was.

"I couldn't call. It was two in the morning and I didn't want to wake you or Gran. Then the neighbors called and said he was trying to get in their house again thinking it was ours and I had to go get him." He responded, desperately trying to make sure I wasn't going to cry or anything.

"You can always call. I'll pick up, I promise. Just please please don't go back there tonight. You can stay at my house. Gran pretty much loves you more than me anyway," I somewhat joke. The plea still prominent. "We haven't had a sleepover in weeks. I'm sure we can find one movie she hasn't taped over yet." Paul sighed as he looked at me before plopping down in the stool. I grinned as I ran to the back to get him some ice for his face that I was sure he was gonna attempt to refuse at first.