Gabe shrugs. “You’re my friend.”
Huh. I never really considered that. I guess he’s forming into my friend, alright. “Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.”
His eyes move past my shoulder, looking at the door. “Actually, you kind of remind me of Wyatt.”
My jaw drops as I think of that big, borderline scary individual. “Thatguy? How do I possibly remind you of him?”
He throws his head back laughing, almost dropping the bottle in his hand. “Oh, you’d be surprised.”
A thought quickly enters my brain.
“Shit,” I say out loud, looking away.
“What? Am I wrong?” Gabe laughs awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
“Huh?” I look at him. “Uh…no. I just remembered I just signed onto a Saturday shift but I was supposed to be with Elijah.” I grunt, taking out my phone from my back pocket.
I quickly make my way to the office as my phone rings through.
“Heyyy, Angel.” Elijah’s beautiful face fills the screen. His smooth voice comes through the phone, calming me down instantly. I didn’t even realize how much tension I was holding.
“Hey E.” I lean back in my chair, feeling at ease as I take in his beautiful smile.
“Just get into work?” He asks, looking behind me at his fathers office.
“Yeah, just stepped in. Chaos already.” I laugh, lightly threading my fingers through my hair.
“Oh yeah?” Elijah lies back on his dorm room bed, holding his hand behind his head. He looks so unbothered and relaxed. Sometimes I wish we could trade places.
But that would mean he’d have to deal with all of my shit, which I’d never want for him.
“Yeah…” I look down. “Stacy says she can’t work Saturdays anymore and no one will cover her shift. Which means…I have to work that night.”
“Oh…right,” he says sadly, looking away. I can tell he’s disappointed by the news but…there’s something else there.
“I’m sorry babe—”
“Honestly, it’s okay. I was going to tell you tomorrow morning but I got some news today.”
My brows knit. “Oh yeah?”
“It’sreallygood news, actually.” Elijah sits up. “Uh…Professor Flux wants me to be her teacher’s assistant for the semester.” He smiles.
A huge smile spreads across my face. “Holy shit, E, thatishuge!” I beam. “Of course she would. Only a couple weeks and you’re already making such huge waves… I’m so damn proud of you.” I shake my head, full of nothing but pride filling my heart.
Everything Elijah’s always worked so hard for. Everything he’s wanted. It’s all coming true.
He nods his head, but I catch the way he looks away, swallowing deeply. My smile begins to fall as a dark feeling twists my gut.
“What is it?”
“She asked me to work over the weekends. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to come home.”
My world stops as the darkness begins to spread.
A lump quickly rises in my throat, making it hard to speak. “Oh.” I mutter.
Elijah looks down and I can see now that he feels bad for getting this position.
