Carrie's little incident cost us, not only cleaning that mess up, but also bathroom duty after our shifts were over. "This blows." She complained as she mopped the floor.
"Quit complaining." I retorted from one of the ladies' stalls. "At least you are not scrubbing the toilets." I grumbled.
Carrie seemed to perk up at that. "True. It was totally worth it though." She chuckled darkly. "Did you see his face? Priceless!" I tried to push down the feeling of pride, knowing I had the last laugh today, but I just could not. "I know you're smirking in there!" She chirped.
"Okay, okay. It was worth it." I agreed as I finished up in the last stall. "You almost done?" I asked stepping out and pulling off my gloves.
She held up a finger, telling me she would be done in a minute. "There!" Carrie grinned throwing the mop in its bucket. "Let's get out of here before we get stuck cleaning the kitchen too."
I held the door open for her. "After you my lady." I gave a mock bow which rewarded me with a light slap across the head. "That's the last time I try to be a gentleman towards you." I huffed following her to retrieve our things.
"Whatever." Carrie grabbed her purse off one of the stools. "Could you get my phone while you're in the office?" She asked, digging for her car keys.
I grabbed my jacket and her phone from beside the computer. Curiosity got the better of me and I checked her unread messages. Before I get the 'that's so wrong' speech from anyone, this is the chick that would happily post random shit on your Facebook if you give her the chance. The first message that came up was from her boyfriend. 'Hey Care-Bear. Text me when U get off work.' I burst out laughing.
"What!?" Carrie yelled. "What happened?!"
I strolled out of the office, smile on my face, and handed her the phone. "Oh nothing." I said making my way to the back door. "I'll see you tomorrow...Care-Bear!" I yelled before dashing to my van.
"Fuck you, Merridew!" She screamed after me.
I might have felt bad for calling her that, but I knew that I was going to get an ear full from her tomorrow anyways. I was going to make it count.
Upon reaching home, I was crushed in an iron grip of Maurice. "Jack! Thank God you're okay!" I would have yelled at him to let me go, if I had not spotted Roger on the couch...eating MY chips! "Where have you been for the past two hours?! I tried your phone, but there was no answer!"
When his grip gave some slack, I gently pushed him away. "I was at work." I stated not taking my eyes off the dark-haired boy in our living-room. "Why the Hell are you eating my chips?" I asked shooting daggers at Roger.
He glanced over and gave a slight shrug. "'Cause I feel like it." He said nonchalantly. "Maurice has been worried sick about you and your first reaction when you get home is to bitch at me about so bloody chips?" Roger asked rolling his eyes. "Wow, you got some pretty fucked up priorities." He took another bite as if to egg me on.
Feeling the tension, Maurice tried to soften the atmosphere. "It's all fine now. No need to me at each other's throats." He stood in front of me, blocking my view of Roger. "Roger came to see you..." Maurice seemed to be a bit disappointed by this, but kept a smile on his face. "And he brought Simon too."
Hearing his name, Simon peeked his head out from the kitchen. "Hi, Jack." He said before disappearing again.
I cocked an eyebrow and leaned to the side so I coud address Roger again. "What's up?" I took off my jacket before going to sit in one of the open seats. "Why'd you bring Simon?"
Roger held the bag out to me and I reached in grabbing a handful of the fried flakes of potatoes. "He wanted to make sure you weren't trying to kill yourself, or something like that." He muttered the last part under his breath. "Plus, I think he could be useful in future plans."
That statement sparked my interest. "What do you mean by plans? What are you up to now?" I asked skeptically.
Roger put on a mock shocked face. "Are you insinuating that I'm always up to something, Mr. Merridew?" He put his right hand over his heart. "'Cause if you are, I just want you to know that, that hurts me right here."
Maurice was trying to hold back from bursting out laughing at our antics.
"Where? You mean that black hole you have instead of a heart? Besides, I wasn't insinuating it, I'm flat-out saying it. You're always planning something, and most of the time it's no good." I said looking him right in the eyes, challenging him to prove me wrong.
He did not take me on. "You're right, but this time I'm helping you. Remember?" Roger set the bag down and looked to Maurice. "And you sit down, for Christ sake. You're bugging me with your standing over us." Maurice quickly sat down next to Roger, a bit closer even for Maurice standards. I did not say anything. "I need to know how it's going between you and Ralph before I can decided to go with my plan or not."
Simon emerged from the kitchen again, drying his hand on a towel as he sat on the floor across for Roger. He was dying to know as well.
I shifted in my chair and cleared my throat. "Well..." Everyone's attention was focused only on me. "I invited him to join me on my family's holiday trip. I asked my mom and she said it was okay and we'll be going to our vacation house on an island." I looked at their faces to judge their reactions. Roger just raised an eyebrow, while Maurice's grin grew three times its usual size. Simon was smiling now as well.
Maurice spoke first. "That's great!" He grabbed Roger's leg, but did not look at him. Roger slowly pushed his hand away though. Maurice's eyes showed a bit of hurt in them, but other than that he still had the grin on his face.
Simon, either ignoring what was going on with them or just not caring, spoke next. "Is he able to go, what with the recent accident and all?"
I shrugged. "I'm not sure yet, but his aunt wants to have me over for dinner tomorrow to talk about something. My guess it's about the trip." I looked to Roger. "Well?" He gave me a questioning look. "What was your plan?" I asked, rolling my eyes. I swear, sometimes he can be as dense as a rock.
"It doesn't matter now." Roger stated grabbing the chips again. I gave him a look that, if looks could kill, he would be dead ten times over. "Fine! I was going to suggest tieing him up and keeping him in your closet til he remembered you." When he finished that sentence, everyone was staring at him like he had grown another head. "What?!" Roger shouted, feeling the tension on his shoulders. "Can we just watch a video or play games, or sometime?" He suggested leaning back in his seat.
After another minute of stillness, I decided to get up and pick a game for us to play. I still do not know if he was serious or not.
A/N: Not much really happened in this chapter. :/ Oh well, it's kind of a transition one.
LustForTheLetters: Here you are. Hope you enjoyed it. :)
Katherine-E-Kora: I finally did it! :D I got to reviewing the latest Hale story! Yay! :D
Carrie: Thank you. It was ingenious on my part! X)
Me: *Rolls eyes* Sorry that you'll have to wait for the next chapter to see what happens with Brianna and Jack. XD
