Overdose (BXB) Completed/Editing

Chapter 7 - Artificial

Overdose - Chapter 7

-Alex-

It's been two days since my dad kicked me out. I've been sleeping at Chester's place. The first night, I felt awkward about sleeping only a few feet away from him but once he fell asleep, he pretty much knocked out until I left for work.

Speaking of work, Taylor is a cool boss, minus the way she stares at me sometimes. It feels like she's trying to figure me out, which I'm confident she won't anytime soon.

I miss my dad a lot. I miss his cooking and his hugs. I know I should go home and apologize but pride doesn't work that way. I wonder if he misses me too or if Laura has him preoccupied. I can't stay with Chester forever and this job is not going to be enough to pay for an apartment. Even though Chester said I could stay as long as I want, I'm pretty sure at some point, he'll get tired of me invading his space. He offered one of the rooms upstairs so that I'm not sleeping on the couch in his room, so I guess tonight, I'll be sleeping up there. For some reason, that makes me more nervous than sleeping across the room from him.

I've noticed that he stays home all day but later at night, he goes out for about an hour before returning home. When he does, he brings in black trash bags that he quickly throws into one of the rooms with a keypad on the doors. When his phone rings, he doesn't stay in the room. He gets up and walks out. I figure that he doesn't want me to listen in on his conversations. There's nothing wrong with that but I already know what kind of business he's in.

"Alex, what are you doing tonight?" Taylor walks up to the cash register. I look down at her with a raised brow before shrugging. "My partner and I are throwing a little get-together for their birthday, you're invited," She smiles warmly. "Your partner's pronouns are They/them?" I noticed that she said 'Their.'

She nods, "Yeah, Tatum is non-binary. Their birthday is tonight and as I said, you're invited!"

"Why am I invited?" I blurt out unthinkingly. Good one, Alex. "I invited all the other associates too so you can meet them. Don't be so stuck up," she says jokingly before walking around to where I'm standing. The store has been slow today which I'm not mad at. Fewer people to interact with.

"It's at this address and it starts at ten," She quickly writes the address on a sticky note and holds it out towards me. I grab it from her and nod, "If I don't come, is my job on the line?" I ask curiously. Pretty sure it doesn't work that way. She stares at me with a 'are you serious' look before chuckling, "No your job wouldn't be on the line, Alex. Just come to the party, it'll be fun, you can meet people." Doesn't sound like fun at all. I contemplate for a moment before deciding that it's not going to be the end of the world if I go. If anything, I'll leave before having to interact with anyone other than Taylor and her partner.

"Okay, I'll stop by," I nod before turning to the door. A tall guy with blond hair walks in with one of our bags in hand. He reminds me of my old PE coach; very tall and muscular.

"Hi, welcome," I force a smile. He places the bag on the counter and pulls out his wallet, "Return," He mumbles dryly. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed? I grab the bag and pull out a leather jacket. I check the tags and if it's been damaged, "Receipt?" I ask, mirroring his dry tone.

"I don't have it," He explains. Then why are you here? "Do you have the card you paid with?" I ask looking over at Taylor who's busy hanging up some new inventory. "I paid in cash, I bought it a few days ago from the girl with the short brown hair," He urges with an arrogant huff. Do I look like a girl with short brown hair? "Sorry, I can't process-"

"Why not?" He snaps. I glare at him for a moment before taking a deep breath, "Because you don't have a receipt and you paid in cash. Before you interrupted me, I was going to say I can't process a cash refund, but I can put it on a store card..." I say with more attitude than intended. I never understood why people feel the need to be rude to workers. What satisfaction do they get from being assholes to the people who are there to assist them?