now or never - charlie gillespie

chapter one

"No way!" I said as I began to make the bed of the hotel room.

"But why not?" Ava asked, going through the guests makeup bag. I looked over my shoulder and saw what she was doing, rolling my eyes at her. She picked up a lipstick, smearing it all over her lips. "I love this shade! But seriously Lake, what's to lose?"

I couldn't speak because she was right. Why shouldn't I just grow a pair of balls for once in my life? I shook my head at the absurd voice in my head. "No way," I repeated. "What if he actually saw it? I'd be mortified. There's no way he would actually reply back. And if he did, it would only be out of pity. That's the last thing I need," I said fluffing the pillows. I turned around and faced Ava, placing my hands on my hips. I watched her as she was sitting down on the chair in the corner of the room, chewing her gum, harmlessly searching through the guests belongings. I always wished I could be a little bit like her: carefree, take a stand for myself every now and then. But that just wasn't how I liked to do things.

I had a plan and I had to stick to it whether I liked it or not. I nodded to myself, mentally checking off my check list for the third time today as I went around the room and grabbed miscellaneous items of dirty clothes.

1. Get a job.

Check. Ava and I have been working at the hotel just outside of town all summer. A long drive, but a great pay. Well at least better than our only other option: waiting tables and the Burger Shack.

2. Save up money.

Halfway check. I haven't spent a dime of my earnings yet. But it still isn't enough. Ava has been pitching in every now and then since her parents are loaded, she doesn't really need this job. She's just doing it to pass time. It can get pretty boring in our town. That's exactly why I'm saving up.

3. Get a college degree.

Also halfway check. I'm currently taking a few courses at the community college. Avas mom is a professor there, and she hooks me up by giving me classes whenever I'm off shift. Only a year and a half to go.

4. Get out of this town.

No where near check. I know this may sound drastic, but believe me. I have my reasons. Let's just say my situation at home isn't the best one. I wont go as far as to say that it's horrible living at home, because honestly it's not that bad, as long as my dad isn't home. My dad just so happens to be our towns preacher. Saying he goes by every single rule in the book is a huge understatement.

"I just don't see why you don't just send him a message," she said blowing her pink gum into a big bubble. "It will give us all something to look forward to until you save up enough cash for your dream trip."

I thought about it for a good minute. Weighing the pros and cons. But for some reason looking like a complete idiot was not settling right in my stomach, so I opted to just ignore her and get the hell out of the room.

It was our last room for the day and we promised our friend Sawyer that we would spend the rest of our day with her at her apartment. We turned in our master cards, changed out of our unflattering blue and white uniforms and drove over to Sawyers.

Sawyers car wasn't there which meant she must still be studying at the library. She was the only one in our school who got a full ride to Study architecture. We let ourselves into her apartment and went straight for the fridge. There was no time for lunch breaks at work. I needed every second of work I could get.

Ava went to switch on the television as I scrolled through Netflix to pick something to watch. We both collapsed onto the couch shoving handfuls off chips and bite fulls of sandwiches into our mouths. The show was just starting when Sawyer came home.