Beyond the Ordinary

Chapter 57

KATE 

"Hey, can you work tonight? Penny wanted me to ask you. She might need you for the rest of the week too, business has been insane," Axel said, pulling into my school parking lot around lunchtime.

"I'm sure I can," I replied, taking out my phone. "Let me just ask my dad."

Axel smiled. "Thanks for helping me out. It's been exhausting handling everything by myself."

I smiled, before leaning in to give him a peck on his cheek. "It's no problem. So, I guess I'll see you after school?"

Axel nodded. "Yeah, I guess you will. See you around, Katie."

"See you around."

I headed back into school, hearing the chatter of lunchtime all the way from the entrance. With a sigh, I strolled in the direction of the cafeteria, Corey catching sight of me before I had.

"Kate! There you are! Why'd you ditch?" Corey asked, patting the seat next to her.

I sat down beside her, grateful to have a chance to eat. "A friend needed me," I replied, taking a bite of my turkey sandwich.

"Yeah, and so did I! I had to work on the problem myself," Kyle announced, sounding frustrated.

"Babe, chill," Amy stated quietly, taking Kyle's hand.

He shook her hand away. "You couldn't have ditched after pre-calc?" he mumbled, but it was still loud enough for me to hear.

"No, they needed me after second period. But look, I'm here now," I said, smiling at him from across the table.

"Yeah, with two hours left of school," he replied, annoyed.

"Hey, how about we go out for ice cream after our next tutoring session? You know, as an apology?" I offered.

Corey and Amy both looked at me in surprise.

"What do you mean "tutoring session"?" Amy asked, using air quotes around the words "tutoring session".

Kyle glared at me when neither of them were looking and mouthed 'nice one.'

I sighed, knowing that I'd fucked up.

✡ ✡ ✡

I finished my last two classes, wondering why I'd even bothered coming back to school. As the final bell rang, I followed behind my classmates, eager to get back outside. I sent a text to my father that I'd agreed to take a shift tonight and that Axel could drive me home after. After I'd hit send, I began walking to work, not even bothering to turn on my GPS.

I silently thanked myself for always carrying my work uniform just in case as I stepped through the doors, the usual scent of coffee and baked goods wafting through the air.

"Katie! You made it!" Axel said, looking both excited and grateful that I was there.

"Thomas just got off and I could really use the help," he declared, wiping down the counters.

"I'll be right there," I responded, "just let me change really quickly."

I walked to the back, opening the door to the employee restroom, breathing in its scent of hand soap and fresh paint.

After putting on my uniform and tucking my hair up into a high ponytail, I dropped my bag into the back room and hurried out to catch up with Axel.

With no customers in sight, I grabbed his hand, stopping him from his incessant scrubbing.

"I think that table's pretty clean, Axel," I stated, chuckling.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just a little out of it," he replied, dropping the towel and wiping his brow with the back of his free hand.

"Are you okay?" I questioned softly so that Penny couldn't hear me from her office.

Axel nodded but I could tell that he wasn't.

I pulled him into a hug, feeling his warm body press against mine. "I'm here if you need me," I whispered into his ear.

He only nodded against my shoulder, his ribs expanding and collapsing with every breath that he took. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his breath feeling hot against my exposed neck.

"About what, baby? There's nothing to feel sorry for," I replied, rubbing his back in a way that I'd hoped was comforting.

He sighed and pulled away. "Yeah, but I pulled you out of school. You could've gotten into serious trouble," he admitted, sounding frustrated.

I cupped his face in my hands, watching his expression slowly soften. I pressed my forehead against his, feeling his shallow breaths against my face. "You didn't do anything I didn't want you to do."

Suddenly, a customer walked in, interrupting our moment, but Axel stayed where he was, a relieved smile on his face. He pressed a soft kiss against my forehead before turning away to help the customer.