Chasing The Bad Girl

Chapter 4- Beka

“And done!” Rapha exclaimed, lowering the phone.

I sighed and dropped the spoon that seemed to have tasted every single thing on the menu of Ally’s cafe.

Their food was elite and they seemed to have a lot of French dishes on the menu.

I figured out that the chef was French and it all began to make sense in my head.

Rapha and Reiner had come in with me early in the morning to help me shoot an interesting ad that displayed everything beautiful about the cafe.

Mr Sawyer and I had a conversation earlier about the shooting and it was decided the chef would come early to prepare the meals.

He seemed to be angry about it but when I spoke to him in fluent French he became understandable.

They might have a few staff and seemed to be a small cafe but I felt like they were one sweet hardworking family.

From the security down to the waiters everyone was extremely friendly and sweet with each other.

Except fox eyes and I of course.

Apparently our feud was so awful that I still did not know her name.

The truth was I did not want to fight anymore but I was too proud to even approach her.

You don’t chase, you attract.

I inwardly rolled my eyes at Reiner’s stupid advice.

But in this case it would probably help. I was not going to talk to her if she did not talk to me.

I simply did not want any trouble.

“Thank you for helping out” Mr Sawyer smiled warmly at my friends.

“Anything for our pretty boy” Reiner wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“Just look how cute he is. Please I want your dimples-“

“Rapha” I glared at him, standing up.

These Boys were too damn playful. I was the youngest but I was basically their dad.

“That’s enough. Behave yourself”

He was already rushing out of my way and picking up a burger I had used previously for the ad.

His eyebrows furrowed and he nodded his head approvingly.

“This should definitely be our new food spot. Should be a 30 minutes drive from school to here. What do you think?” Rapha glanced at Reiner, hoping for approval.

“Yeah. I like this place a lot.”

I smiled at them with immense gratitude. I was always trying to be there for Reiner and Rapha but look how They seemed to always come through for me too.

It was like we had each other’s backs.

No one could do too much or too less.

If they were around here a lot then it would definitely not look like I was being paid to advertise and be around the cafe.

Besides, everyone would support a small business.

I could not wait to see things work out.

“Jordyn,” Mr Sawyer started.

“When will the video be up?” He asked.

“Latest this night. We still have to edit” I explained to him.

He smiled and nodded before leaving us to ourselves.

“Thanks guys” I told them, pushing my hair backwards.

I would have to get a haircut soon only because school was in Two weeks.

“No I’m doing this for me. I get to eat croissants and all those French snacks from someone who knows the right recipe” Rapha said.

I rolled my eyes.

“Like you’re not always in my house eating my mum’s food.” I snorted.

Rapha was a pig when it came to food.

His mum did not cook and well my mum was insanely good at cooking so he was around often.

I thought Maman would easily grow annoyed but now my parents love Rapha.

Whenever she cooks she always leaves extra for Rapha and asks me to either invite him over or take it to him.

Rapha calls Maman his wife and has had the audacity to ask my dad to leave Maman.

Dad and Rapha would then proceed to play silly games as bet but Dad always won.

Rapha was basically family and sometimes slept over.

But because of my punishment, I was not allowed to let my friends visit anymore which really sucked.

The point was, Rapha was a sucker for French food and because Mum had me grounded, he could not eat anymore of her cooking.

Seeing that the chef was French and prepared our snacks perfectly Rapha was definitely going to be around much.

“Oh please, she broke my heart when she decided to ground you. I thought she loved me” Rapha put a dramatic hand on his chest.

Reiner’s phone began to ring and he checked the caller before picking up.

“Hey mum?”

His brows seemed to furrow and a slight frown marred his features as his mother talked.

“I’ll be home in a few. See you then” he said and cut the call.

“What’s wrong?” I asked curiously.

He forced a smile that did not reach his hazel eyes and shook his head, dark brown curls following with his movement.

“It’s nothing. My mum just needs me to do something” he said.

He was lying.

“I should come since we’re done shooting” I offered willingly.

“No,” he said immediately, startling Rapha.

“Sorry,” he let out a breath.

“I’ll see you guys later, I promise”

And with that he was rushing out of the glass doors, the bell sounding after his exit.

“The stupid fucker,” Rapha swore, gray eyes narrowed.

“He’s hiding something from us” he continued.

“I can see that,” I agreed, rotating on my chair.

“We will confront him before s**t blows out of proportion and he will feel we cannot deal with it anymore. Just not today, I think he needs his time”

“You’re right. I don’t know what it’s like for him” Rapha exhaled.

“Me neither”

But just because we had not experienced it did not mean we could not be there for him.

“I’ve got to go,” Rapha checked the time on his wristwatch.

“My shoot is by 12:00 and it’s past 10. Don’t want my manager going berserk on me”

I nodded and he zoomed off, not before carrying a box of cheesecake.

I had nothing to do at the cafe either.

Fox eyes and Eric’s shift was going to be starting in a few and I didn’t want to be there when she came in.

I could go home and continue personal practice for swimming then edit the video clips.

I picked up my phone and walked to the door while clearing my notifications.

I should mute them, I realized.

My phone was always binging with notifications.

When I put my phone in my pocket, I glanced up and was suddenly slammed into.

Fox eyes.

Boxes, a pen and so many other things fell to the floor and I cursed before dropping to pick them up.

“You should leave it,”

Her voice was shaky and weak and I looked up at her but she was dropping to the floor to help pick her things up.

I had never seen her like this before.

Her nose was red and so were the bags that laid underneath her eyes.

She looked- broken and as though she was in a deep state of despair.

When everything was arranged, she attempted to pick them up again but I was swooping it from her.

“You should-“

“It’s heavy,” I argued before she could speak.

They weren’t of course, they seemed to be empty.

“Leave it”

She slowly nodded and let me take the boxes to the employee room.

All through the short trip to the lockers I wondered what had made her shown up to work with puffy eyes.

She was supposed to be hard and mean, I wondered why she looked nothing like the fierce fox I had seen on the first day.

Maybe it was all a front.

Reiner did it all the time in front of Rapha and I.

Maybe she was suffering in silence and putting on an attitude around all of us to hide it.

“Thank you,” she said, the normal fire in her voice returning slightly.

I should have probably minded my business but I just wanted to know if I could help.

“Are you okay?” I asked, hearing the concern in my voice.

“Yeah,” she attempted to force a smile but it could not even turn her lips upwards.

Whatever happened must have been terrible.

“I’m just- I caught a cold. It weighs me down a lot. I guess my immune system can’t handle the virus” she shrugged.

She was lying.

All through her sentence she never tried to even glance at me once or make eye contact.

I should find out her name, I realized.

It was probably the best time to ask.

“What is your name?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment.

“Beka” she replied lowly, shifting on her feet.

Beka......

“I guess I don’t know your name either,” she said, her eyes still downcast.

“Jordyn,” I replied.

Beka was extremely thin, I realized.

From her white shirt I could make out the shape of her collar bone standing out.

Her arms were thin and her waist was extremely slim, disappearing under her baggy mom jeans.

She seemed to like baggy clothes a lot and I seemed to almost understand why.

I hated to put it like that but she was underweight.

I felt worried about her.

“Okay, Jordyn” she tested the name slowly.

Her eyebrows knit but she immediately shook her head and coughed.

Oh, she might have actually had the cold she claimed to have.

“I have to change now,” she said awkwardly, looking up at me for the first time.

Her icy eyes were distant and not very focused and that made me realize I was pushing into her personal space.

“Sorry, I should leave” I said, retreating and taking the other side of the bench in between us.

She immediately turned and began to fumble through a bunch of keys.

I left her alone before I would do anything that could offend her.

Beka........

Was it short for Rebecca?

I should have heard the name before but it was probably just someone from school or at some event.

******************

When I walked into the kitchen, I spotted my parents kissing by the island.

“This should be illegal” I glared in annoyance.

Maman jumped away from dad but he backed away calmly without a single regret in the world.

This was so annoying.

This kept happening, they always got caught by me.

They’ve been together almost all their lives.

Aren’t they tired of themselves? Weren’t they tired of always going at it?

“Hello to you too,” dad smirked at me before wiping the red lipstick from his lips.

From the way his eyes twinkled mischievously, I knew he felt no remorse.

He was so unapologetic it even amazed me.

Maman on the other hand was a blushing tomato and would have to muster courage before she glanced towards my direction.

“Ugh” I groaned and rolled my eyes.

“Where were you son?” Dad asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

Shoot, I was supposed to be back earlier but I wasted so much time because I was playing with the boys.

“At the cafe” I answered honestly.

I hated lying to any of them.

“But you don’t have your shift till evening” Maman rose a brow at me.

Scolding me had to be the only way Maman regained her courage.

“Yes,” I nodded still.

“Care to explain?” She asked.

“The cafe needs money Maman,” I explained.

“So I spoke to the manager of the cafe and asked if I could make a free ad for the place so he could get more customers. If they don’t see a rise in sales and customers they might have to shut down. I spoke to Reiner and Rapha about it and we just shot the ad today. I still have to edit so it isn’t ready yet” I explained.

Other parents would have asked for proof but my parents would not.

I could never lie about something as important as this and they trusted me with everything- well except my numerous trysts with the opposite gender.

“Jordyn,” Maman started, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“That is so sweet of you. How did you even think of that?” She smiled broadly.

“I just wanted to make a difference in the cafe. Besides, it could give me a raise” I shrugged with a smile.

Dad made his way towards me and patted my shoulder, pride shining through his eyes.

“You’re a sweet kid.”

“Too sweet actually,” Maman sighed, tears shining through her eyes.

She was always so emotional when it came to me.

“You could get taken advantage of. You should know that the world is a cruel place.”

“I know Maman,” I sighed.

“I know that you do. But you will never realize the weight of it until you are knees deep in trouble. You should be careful”

“Don’t worry Angel. He knows what is good and bad. He will know who really needs help and who just wants to use him” Dad sided with me.

“You’re right,” she sniffed and nodded.

“I just don’t want history repeating itself again.”

We all went silent, the weight of Maman’s words dropping on us.

“Never again,” my jaw worked as I remembered how cruel Spring was to me.

The past was not so distant, in no way was I going to forget hearing Maman cry herself to sleep for fear of what was going to happen if we did not handle the situation better.

“Tres Bien” she nodded at me.

I decided to change the topic swiftly.

“You seem to like me today Maman, will I stop being grounded?”

“Go to your room and eat rocks for lunch”

************

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