Page 41 of Fall of Us
On autopilot, I excused myself from the front counter, another tech stepping in to take my place. I walked to the back of the pharmacy, where Todd stood with his arms over his chest.
“Yes?” I questioned, nerves skyrocketing to a new level. My rent was going up. I couldn’t afford to lose the job I had. No matter how sucky it was.
“Is everything all right?”
My shoulder’s relaxed, my urge to fight deflating. Todd didn’t seem mad. He was more concerned than anything. It was completely out of character for me to snap at anyone.
“It’s just a stressful day.”
Todd nodded, lifting a hand and patting me on the shoulder. “I get it, kid. Maybe take the rest of the evening off. Come back clear-headed tomorrow.”
While I was grateful, I couldn’t take the loss in hours, either. “It’s fine. I can finish out my shift. I won’t snap at anyone else.”
Todd’s eyebrows raised as he shook his head. “Sorry, kid. Give it a rest.”
He might not have been my boss, but as a pharmacist, he had the power to dismiss me. I wouldn’t fight him on it. It wasn’t worth losing my job.
My eyes burned as I clocked out and hung up my smock. Leaving the pharmacy felt final. Like I’d screwed up my one chance at work. I’d struggled to get a job and was lucky enough to land this. If it didn’t work out, I didn’t know what I’d do.
The bus ride to Brandon’s apartment was quiet. I clutched my phone in my hand the entire time, debating whether I should give him a heads-up on my sour mood. He didn’t need to deal with my bad attitude, though he’d stated that he wanted to take care of me as well.
My body was numb as I climbed the stairs to his apartment. I could have easily taken the elevator, but I needed to gather my thoughts and put off the inevitable shit show I was about to unleash on him with my feelings about the day. How did a day that started off so amazing go so horribly wrong?
Chapter 26
Brandon
Ibarely heard the knock on my door.
Who the hell was here? I wasn’t expecting anyone. When I looked through the peephole, I couldn’t see clearly who was on the other side. They were much too close to the door, but I’d recognize that dark mop of hair anywhere.
Andrew.
Why was he knocking? He never did, since he had a key.
When I opened the door, I got my answer. I’d never seen him so upset. His shoulders hunched forward, and his eyes were red, as if he had been crying or holding back tears.
“What’s wrong?”
Andrew fell into me, his arms wrapped around me as he instantly started to shake and sob. This wasn’t like him at all. Andrew was one of the strongest and most steady people I knew, so to see him fall apart in such a way was startling. He hadn’t even been this shaken when his dad left. If he was, he hadn’t shown it.
I helped him to the couch in the living room, leaving him only long enough to close and lock my front door. He didn’t look anybetter when I got back to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around his middle, tears streaming freely down his cheeks.
“Does this call for the tequila?”
That got a small smile out of him.
“I don’t think this is something the tequila will fix this time.”
Oh, something was very wrong if our go-to fix-all wouldn’t help. Still, I retrieved the fancy bottle he’d brought over last night and two glasses. I set them on the coffee table before kneeling in front of him.
“Want to tell me what happened? Things were so good when you left this morning.”
Andrew sniffled, wiping his nose with the back of his sleeve. “I know. That’s why it all sucks so bad.”
Getting him to talk to me wasn’t going so smoothly. I sat on the couch next to him, uncorked the bottle of the amber liquid, and poured us each a shot, shoving the shot glass into his hand. Andrew stared at it for a moment before taking a tentative sip. It wasn’t like him to sip at it.
“Why did today suck? Tell me about it. I want to be here for you.”
