flashback

fourteen

Lucas comes out of the bathroom fully clothed and sits down on my bed. I watch him as he moves to the end of the bed, leans against the wall and grabs a slice of pizza ever so casually.

He eats one slice and reaches for another.

"Do you have any dipping sauce because-" he starts but I cut him off.

"Lucas what the hell happened to you? And who did this? " I shout.

"Geez. Let a guy eat before you interrogate him Jo." He says with a shocked expression.

"I only asked two questions, you ate one slice and to me, that's enough so tell me what happened right now."

"Alright fine." He says.

"A couple of weeks ago, I was out of money and I really needed some because my brother was sick."
"So I met up with an old friend that I knew from highschool and he said he could help me get some money if I bought and sold a bunch of drugs for him."

He pauses for a second and my face falls.

"But I couldn't do it Jo. I stole the money and paid for my brother to go to the hospital and I broke contact with the dude. But he found me tonight and he almost killed me but some stranger chased him off and I'm scared he might find my dorm and that's why I came here." He tells me

"I'm sorry." He says.

"It's okay Lucas."
"How much did you take?" I ask him.

"A couple thousand dollars." He looks down.

"I can try help you pay it back if you'd like."
"Then you could pay me back later." I suggest.

"Come on Jo, you don't have that kind of money and we both know it."

"I have enough. I've been saving since I was like thirteen." I tell him.

"Even before that if I got pocket money from foster parents I'd keep it."

"Well how much do you have?" He asks.

"Enough to keep you alive for a little while. And you can pay me back in your own time."

"I'm not gonna let you do that. I'll find a way to get it back." He says.

"Maybe this time it shouldn't be drugs." I say and he laughs.

...

We spent the rest of the night talking and went to bed around one in the morning. I slept on Adelaides bed ofcourse.

...

Yet again, I wake up to the sound of my phone alarm ringing and notice that Lucas is still asleep. I get ready in the bathroom and send him a text that he'll see when he's up.

I tell him that when he's ready, he can leave and drop my keys off at the café for me.

I decided to curl my hair today because I was tired of pulling the same straight hair into the same low ponytail but I didn't like how it looked untied so I pulled it back into a low ponytail but then decide to change it to a slightly messy bun and pull two strands of hair out from the front.
I say slightly because it has to be neat because of work and school but it's not pulled back so tight that it makes the veins in my forehead pop out.

I'm wearing black jeans and a grey long sleeved top with black sneakers today. It's a simple outfit and it looks quite alright with the simple bun.

...

Today has been a really slow day. Classes seemed to have gone on forever and so did work this morning. I was kinda glad that Mason wasn't there although he might be there in a few minutes when I start my late shift.

I walk into the café and put my stuff in the break room. Only three of the tables are occupied right now.
Mason isn't here.

One of my co-workers is leaving now so I say goodbye to him, check up on the people at the three tables and go back behind the counter.

...

Thirty minutes pass and the bell at the door rings so I look up to find the dean walking in with a man behind him. The man asks a question and I hear the dean tell him that this is the best café on campus.

He gets to the counter and greets me.

"Good afternoon miss." He says with a smile.

"Good afternoon sir, is there anything I could get you?" I ask politely.

"Oh no I'm just showing our new professor around the campus. He starts here next week." the dean says, sounding ever so enthusiastic.
He steps to the side and the man behind him steps forward. It's Christopher. Christopher is going to be a professor here? Why didn't he tell me?

"Well hello Josette." He says and looks up at me with a smile.

"H-hi Christopher." I say.
"I mean-"
"Sir?" I ask him and he laughs.

"No just call me Chris." He tells me.

"You didn't text me?" Chris asks.

"I meant to." I tell him.

The dean looks very lost but he stays quiet.

And ofcourse, Mason suddenly appears behind me. It's like he's either always there at the right time or always there at the wrong time.

He looks at Christopher then at me, looks down and let's out a small laugh under his breath.

"You changed your hair today." Mason notices and I nod.

"Right. The boyfriend." Christoph- I mean Chris whispers to himself. I'm sure he thought no one heard him but I did.

It started to get a little awkward so I excuse myself and go to the break room but not even two minutes later, Mason walks in and throws me my keys.

"Oh thank you." I say.

"No problem." Mason says, not looking like he means it and he turns around and leaves.

"Oh and Lucas said to thank you for last night." He says.

I wonder if he's ever going to get over this. It's not any of his business though. He needs to grow up and learn how to deal with things like an adult. He needs to learn how to communicate.

...

I haven't had a flashback today and I'm glad. I didn't need one today. It was a slow day but the flashback would have ruined it.

I hate my flashbacks.