After school on Monday I start my shift at the Bakery again, after two weeks of freedom. It's not difficult to get back into the swing of things. I walk in through the back door and hang my bag up. Then I put on my apron, yell hello to my Dad, who's usually in the office, and check the orders. Usually, I'm in charge of baking the cakes and cookies, Leo is in charge of pastries and we both help out Dad with anything else.
There are three orders for birthday cakes, but all three aren't needed 'till the weekend and don't need to be baked until Friday night, and apart from that I have no orders to fill. I check that the displays are full, and restock the ones that aren't before retreating into the back room. The ovens keep the kitchen constantly hot so even in the winter you work up a sweat. I take off my large shirt so I'm only in my camisole and take out the dough that's risen over night.
"Honey, I'm home!" a voice sings out. I roll my eyes and he bursts into the kitchen. "In your hot blood, Rye?" he asks. I flip him off and Leo laughs, throwing his arm around me. "Oh, I'll never get tired of that greeting."
"Gross, get off me. You're all sweaty," I groan, shrugging off his arm.
"Speak for yourself," he mutters, throwing on his apron. "I just got back from Football try outs and didn't have time to shower."
"How'd it go?" I ask.
"Well," he replies. "I have a great shot of getting on the team because I'm a senior but I'm really hoping for quarterback this year."
"I bet you'll get it. But even if you don't you're a great wide receiver. You didn't drop the ball once last year," I say, leaning down to check on the cookies.
"You'll come to the game right?" Leo asks with a hopeful smile.
"Of course I will," I laugh, ruffling his hair. "I always do." We continue to work, Leo humming along to the cheesy pop song on the radio. Someday I'll get my Ipod and blast real music through the Bakery, scaring off any unwanted hipster teens that walk through the door asking for a 'low fat frappuccino'. If I'm honest, I'm a little bored of redirecting them to Cray's.
After I tell him to shut up, we work in silence. He scoots past me to put his pie in the oven and I start to choke.
"Fucking hell, dude! You stink!"
"Really? Do I smell better now?!" He then attacks me in a bear hug, smothering me in his smell. I scream and laugh, trying to pry his arms from around my head, his underarm stench intoxicating me.
"Rye, can you deal with the customer please?" Dad calls out. Leo and I had been laughing so loudly that I didn't even hear the bell ring.
"Sure, Dad," I yell back. I grab a kitchen cloth to wipe my hands with and bump the door open with my ass. "Welcome to Mellark's, how can I-"
"Finally, some service!" she says sarcastically. "I was beginning to think this place was going out of business."
I ignore her comment and keep my face neutral. I clench my fists by my sides to stop them from shaking and say, "What can I get you, Marina?"
"Nothing, god do you think I'd order something from here?" she sneers. My chest starts to tighten. It seems all the ovens have been turned up to high. "I'm here to talk about Finn."
"What about him?" I ask shakily.
"Oh it's nothing bad," she says sweetly, leaning on the counter. "I just wondered what he thought of me, is all."
I stare at her. Why is she asking me? I think, but then it all makes sense. She's using this to torture me. It seems everyone at school apart from Finn has noticed my crush on him. "He likes you."
She flips her hair and bats her eyelashes, "Really? You really think so?" She sticks out her chest even further and her smile turns into a snarl. "Good, you'd be no good for him anyway. You only bring him down."
I hear Leo call my name from the back, asking what's taking so long and that he needs help so Marina stands up straight and says, "I left something in the suggestion box; you might want to read it." She winks at me, fixes her sunglasses and then struts out, ass swinging and boobs bouncing.
As soon as the door closes I let out my breath. I'm dizzy, really dizzy. I put my hands on the counter to try and steady myself, clenching and unclenching my fists. Then, I reached over to the suggestion box, flipped the lid and pulled out the slip that was on top.
I dropped it on the counter as soon as my eyes saw the words. I cover my mouth and slide to the floor against the back wall. No. This can't be happening again. Please not again. Please not-
"Rye?"
I didn't even hear him come in but I look up and Leo is kneeling next to me. He puts his hands on my cheeks and wipes away tears.
"Rye, talk to me, what happened?" I don't say anything. My eyes flit to the counter. He stands up and picks up that piece of paper, reading it. He slams it down on the counter and turns back to me. "Who wrote this? Rye, tell me. I'm going to beat the shit out of them!"
"I-I-" I stammer, trying to get the words out. "I don't know who wrote it. I just checked the box," I lie. I feel awful for lying to him but I don't want Leo to get in trouble for doing anything stupid for me. He grabs my hands and pulls me up, swallowing me in his arms.
"I thought this was over. I thought this was all sorted out."
"So did I," I whisper. I then begin to openly sob into his shirt. He rubs my back until the tears stop. Then he pulls away and looks into my eyes, smiling slightly.
"You're okay, Rye. I'm here." I nod slightly. "I have an idea." He picks up the slip, grabs a box of matches from the drawer and leads me out back. We sit on the back step and he tells me to light a match, so I do. I then hold the match under the paper and watch the words burn away.
Orion Mellark should do everyone a favour and kill herself.
To
Orion Mellark should do every-
To
Orion Mell-
To nothing.
"See," Leo says. "They're gone. Burnt to ash. In the dust. Meaningless." I nod and he wraps his arms around me.
"I love you, bro," I mumble quietly.
"I love you too, sis." The bell rings and he presses a quick kiss to my forehead before going to deal with the customer.
After work, Leo and I walk to my house and sit in the garden. We decided not to tell my Dad, after much begging from me, under the fact that I didn't want my parents to worry. But Leo made me promise that the next time it happens, I tell them right away or he'll tell them.
"You know Brianne Willson?" He asks. I nod. Brianne Willson is a beautiful redheaded girl in my year who hangs around with all the cheerleaders. I've spoken to her many times; when she comes into the Bakery she always orders an oatmeal cookie and a blueberry muffin. She's an amazing person, always doing charity events and fundraising. She's planning on becoming a lawyer. "I think I'm in love with her."
A smile spreads across my face. "How do you know?"
He fights his own smile and runs his fingers through his messy black hair. "She asked me for Chemistry tutoring… oh there was Chemistry alright," he laughs with a wink. I shove his shoulder and laugh with him. We lie back and stare at the clouds. "She won't go out with me though," he sighs.
"How come?" I ask, confused. Brianne and Leo seem like the perfect couple.
"I keep hinting that I like her but she's not taking the bait. She probably likes someone else."
"Ha ha, been there," I reply sarcastically.
He looks at me questioningly but I just shake my head like it's no big deal.
"So, how's having Finn back?" he asks, changing the subject.
"It's great. It's really, really… great," I answer, unsure of what his smile suggests. "It's nice to have someone to walk to school with."
"Do you not walk with Mad anymore?" he asks.
"Nah, she gets a lift with Jack Andrews," I smirk.
"Andrews? He's an amazing ball player; we were on the baseball team together last year. Good guy. If he messes with her though…" Leo pounds his fist into his hand jokily and I laugh. I always laugh around Leo. He makes me feel safe. Like, if he's around no one can hurt me. Like a big protective shield from the world of bad things. Leo.
My big brother, Leo.
Ok so another filler chapter but it's all relevant to the next chapter which helps set the plot for the rest of the story. Get it? No? Never mind...
BUT HEY I MADE IT THROUGH MY PHYSICS EXAM AND I DIDN'T DIE! And if I died you guys would get any more update and how sad would you be then, eh? Not much? Oh... okay...
Review and tell me what you think:) ((ps. don't start shipping them! This is strictly a platonic relationship and important in the rest of the story!))