“I think you’d both benefit from having each other. Whatever happened to you, I think it’d be nice to have someone in your corner who understood. Talk to him, Tobias. He may be just as hurt as you.”
“Easier said than done, Chef.”
“Maybe one day, you could tell him. Take some time to warm up to it.”
“Maybe.”
Tobias shut down, his shoulders rising to his ears in defense. Knowing the conversation was over, I cleared my throat. “We’re going to work on things. I’ll spend some extra time with you, showing you different things to help you improve. You have skill, kid. Keep doing what I show you, and everything will turn out all right.”
He nodded silently.
And we worked in that same silence, pulling more things out to prep for the day ahead.
Just before the first cook walked in to start their shift, I turned to Tobias with a question. “Why did you start calling me Chef?”
A soft smile spread across his face. “’Cus that’s how they did it on the TV Mama watched.”
He said it as if it was so simple. So easy. He said it without question and with such conviction that I had to laugh at the absurdity of it.
When my eyes began to water, and I was able to pull in a deep breath, Tobias was looking at me.
“Please don’t tell Crew. Maybe one day, I’ll have the guts to talk to him.”
My office was a mess.It was a testament to how fucked in the head I’d been all day. I’d been at work for far longer than normal, thanks to Brandt’s inability to be a kind human being. The day had gone by in a haze, orders pouring in one after the other as we sat at max capacity for most of the day.
Under normal circumstances, my role would be with the staff. I wouldn’t be stuck doing paperwork or approving timecards for payroll or moving shit around so everyone could get their requested vacations.
The Arch had never been under such circumstances. I was alone in my depressingly cluttered office as I desperately tried to find my sanity.
My talk with Tobias had thrown me further off balance than I was already. I kept thinking back on it, on how painful our conversation had been for him.
There was a dark, long history to Crew that he wouldn’t divulge. When I thought back on our encounters and the cage in his eyes, it made sense. The essence of his past followed him everywhere he went, much like my own. To say I was curious would be an understatement.
I needed to know more. I wanted to be his comfort from the demons he was chasing—the same ones Tobias seemed to carry with him. I wondered how awful Crew’s past had to be to forget Tobias.
Just as I put my head into my hands in defeat, my computer screen mocking my lack of work done, Crew busted into my office.
“Jesus,” he muttered, plopping himself on the chair in front of my desk.
I turned to him in question, automatically reaching out for the papers he held in his hand. “What’s got you using the Lord’s name in vain the moment you step foot into my presence?”
Crew shuddered. “That Tobias kid is fuckin’ weird. He hasn’t spoken one word to me, but he looks at me like he’s either terrified of me or wants to ravage me. I can’t tell which one it is.”
The papers got shoved to the side as I looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “That’s… quite the observation.”
“Tell me about it. I can’t figure him out. I’m rarely even around him, but today, he seems to be everywhere. He used to look at me like he knew me or like he was about to vomit because of my mere existence.” Crew rubbed a hand over his face, a long sigh falling from his mouth. “Today, it’s like something changed.”
I nodded slowly, running through Tobias’s last words to me this morning. Telling Crew about what Tobias told me had the potential to blow up in all our faces. Not only had Tobias said he would talk to Crew eventually, but if Crew had blocked Tobias from his memory due to trauma, bringing it up could have some serious consequences.
Taking in a calculated breath, I pretended to peruse the papers in front of me once more. “Don’t take it personally.”Though, it was completely personal.“That’s sort of just how Tobias is.”Not fully a lie.“He’s a good kid. A bit weird but good. I’ve been here since before the sun came up because Brandt decided to rage on Tobias and roped me into it.”
“Really? Guess that explains why you look like shit.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m tired, Crew. Old and tired.”
He snickered at that. “Yeah, you old soul. Acting beyond your years and shit. Why was Brandt all over y’all this morning?”
“A cook slipped and fell on some oil and food trimmings Tobias dropped near his station.” I shrugged. “Brandt took that and ran with it. Yes, it’s a serious matter, but the cook is fine, and the way he handled it was atrocious. I’ve been tasked with riding Tobias’s ass until The Rant sees fit.”
