Contrary || l.p.

16. Thought Wrong

Jessie's P.O.V

"Are you sure you're able to work today?" Ava asked me as her car pulled up to Barnes & Noble.

I sighed. "Ava, I assure you that I am well enough to scan a couple books, and help people find stuff." I smiled to brighten her worried mood. "I've been through worse heartbreak. I think I'll be able to survive this one," I lied as I squeezed her hand.

She bought my lie with a squeeze back, and she motioned for me to follow her towards our work place.

To be completely honest, today was a living hell. For some odd reason, I felt a lot worse than when I was cheated on by Isaiah. I thought that the entire time, I would be checking over my shoulder for Isaiah, but I ended up checking over my shoulder for Liam. I did not want to be anywhere near him after what he just said. Then again, it was my fault that I told him that he was the world's biggest fuck up. I don't know what came over me. I knew for sure that I did not mean it.

But for him, he meant every word he said.

I looked up and Vic came towards me with a grin on his face, like always.

"Hey, kid!" he waved. "I got your text yesterday. So your friend, Liam, wants to work here?"

I cringed at the mention of his name. "Oh, right... about that..." I mumbled. "He and I are not on speaking terms right now. So, I honestly don't know if he still wants the job or not." I mentally scolded myself for talking to Vic about the job when Liam specifically told me not to.

His grin faded into concern. "Oh... I'm sorry, Jess. Are you okay?"

I fought the urge to break down in front of him, and sucked in a sharp breath. "I will be. Don't worry about it. Thank you, though." I went to move past him, but he stopped me with his hand.

"Jessie..." he said with authority, "if something is bothering you to the point where you don't want to work, I can always send you home," he told me and I looked away. "Kid, I may be your boss, but you're like my little sister. I wouldn't want you to feel like you can't move forward with your day if it stresses you out."

I gave a fake smile. "Thanks, Vic. But I'll stay because this place happens to be a safe haven." Safe Haven. A book by Nicholas Sparks. Maybe those weren't the right words to bring up right now.

He smiled sympathetically. "Alright. Just let me know if today is too much, and I'll allow you to head on home."

I nodded once, and he went on his way to check on everything else.

I set my bag down at the Customer Service table while I smiled at Ava from across the room at the cash register. Just as I sat down, I noticed that business was really slow, and there hardly was anyone at the store.

I sighed and began pulling out my homework, piling each book on top of another, resulting in a neat pile on top of the desk. I reached into my bag and my fingers wrapped around the spine of another book. Confused, I pulled it out, only to have my heart broken by the name of the author.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

I remembered the familiar feeling of the book, just as I had touched Liam's copy at his house. He had so many things highlighted, just as I had, and that was the first time when I realized that I had feelings for him.

Unwillingly, I opened the book and flipped through my many markings and highlights. The flipping stopped at one page, showing a small part of what I marked.

"you have to love something before you can hate it," The text read.

I swallowed and shook away my feelings, as I flipped to another random page.