Why I Love Him

Chapter Three

"Johnathan," I heard the voice of one of my coworkers call out. I tried to ignore her, scrolling through my phone instead. It was Tuesday in the afternoon and I was at the tech store I worked at that was located in the heart of the mall.

"Johnathan! Come on, help me. If something breaks, I'll tell the boss you didn't help me and that's why." I sighed, getting up from my seat behind the reception desk before heading over to her. Lucy was a small woman with curly hair and big eyes, and it was somewhat hilarious to watch her struggle with the cardboard box in her hands that was filled with new phone batteries.

"I'll take that," I said, taking the box from her before I put it away on the shelf she'd been trying to reach.

I turned back to her afterward, shaking my head a bit. "Stop trying to do work you can't do. I don't know, maybe untangle USB cords instead of trying to lift packs of batteries?" I suggested, making her frown at me before she scoffed and walked away.

I rolled my eyes at her before heading to sit back down on the seat at the reception counter. Since it was afternoon on a weekday the mall wasn't that busy. Most of the weekday shoppers came in later in the evening, so tech store remained mostly quiet, although someone did walk in with a question from time to time.

An hour or so later I went out for lunch with Lucy, leaving our other coworker — Lucas, to attend to the place. When we got back to the store I could feel a knot form in m throat when I spotted a familiar figure standing at the counter.

"Johnathan," Wayne said when he turned towards the store's entrance and saw me. I blinked, realizing Lucy had walked into the store without me leaving me by the door by myself. I apologized under my breath, running a hand through my hair before walking in. I hadn't realized I had been frozen in place.

What is he doing here? I thought, frowning a bit at Wayne who was just standing by the counter in a tan suit and a smile on his face. Lucas looked from me to Lucy, and then at Wayne.

"What are you...? I trailed, not even sure where I was going with the question I left hanging in the air.

"Can I talk to you?" he said as he made his way over to me. I looked over his shoulder at Lucy and Lucas, begging them with my eyes to cover for me.

"Fine," Lucy said with a grunt, making me smile.

"Come on, let's go," I told Wayne, turning before opening the door behind me and walking out. The mall wasn't busy, so it was easy to walk about without losing each other. Wayne had soon made it to my side, and we were walking side by side until I took a seat on one of the sofas at the central point. The central point also had the info desk and the mall directory,

"So," I asked, turning to look at him. "What did you want to talk about?"

Sure, we'd started to talk through the phone from time to time, but I hadn't expected him to show up where I worked, and especially not during the middle of a shift.

Wayne shrugged, smiling a bit before running a hand through his head of honey-colored hair. "I just really wanted to see you. I've been working all through the morning, so when I got a break I just drove over," he said, before looking towards the automatic doors.

I sighed, covering my face with my hand. Wayne was still as impulsive as ever it seems. "I was at work. You know my shift. You should have just called me instead."

"I haven't seen you in a while. Plus, I was around the area, so I just drove over." I frowned at his words, sighing again as I took my hand away from my face. I did remember his company was opening some stores around.

We both kept silent for a bit, listening to the sound of people walking by. I turned, looking at Wayne. His eyes looked tired, like he was stressed. The area under his eyes were also a little dark. He blinked, turning to me when he noticed I'd been staring.

He must be overworking himself. I thought, adjusting the way I was sitting on the sofa.

"Do you live on your own now? Like, do you live in an apartment complex or a single building?" I asked, making Wayne c**k his head to the side.

"Of course," he said, humming a bit before continuing, "I live in a flat a couple of blocks from the apartment complex you live in," he said, making me nod before looking away from him. Hmm, I didn't think he'd live so close by.

"How has moving been for you? Are you completely settled in now?" I asked, wondering if he was tired from work — especially since he just moved here a few weeks ago. I watched as he shrugged before smiling a bit.

"I'm settled in, I think," he said before leaning towards me a bit. "Do you have some time to grab something to eat with me?" he asked, making me blink as I shuffled away a bit. Too fast. I thought, trying to play it off by checking my watch. I'd already been gone for over twenty minutes.

"No, sorry," I said, watching as Wayne cursed under his breath in disappointment.

"Okay, but can we go out for lunch together sometime this week? You can pick the date," he told me, making me smile a bit before I nodded.

"Sure," I answered as I got up from the green sofa. "I'm leaving now," I said, watching as he waved. I waved back before turning and walking away.

When I got back to the store, Lucas and Lucy both looked up from their phones at the sound of the door's bell. I gave them both awkward smiles before I made my way back to the counter. We were quiet for a while, not saying anything to each other. As they returned to scrolling through their phones, I pretended to be doing something important on the desktop computer.

"How do you know him?" Lucy asked, breaking the silence. I looked up from the PC on the desk in front of me, sighing before looking back at it.

"You're not going to answer me?" she asked, making me look up again to find her c*****g her head to the side. She was sitting on a stool she'd laced by a power box so that she could charge her phone as she used it.

"That's Wayne Austin. He has a successful chain of stores. Heck, he's opening some around here. How come you know him?" she asked, ignoring the fact that I didn't answer her before.

"Don't you think you're being too nosy?" Lucas asked Lucy from the other end of the store, making her turn her gaze towards him. Lucas shrugged when Lucy gave him a glare before he adjusted the collar of the store's blue work shirt.

"He was a classmate of mine," I said, answering Lucy's question anyway.

"Oh..." she trailed, clicking her fingers. "I always keep forgetting that you actually went to university."

Don't remind me. I groaned in my mind but forced myself to give my bubbly coworker a smile. I' had been depressed after graduating and running around to apply for better jobs or take internships for experience wasn't what my mind could handle then — what it could handle now.

I looked away from her, and then I noticed Lucas was giving me a look of pity as if apologizing on her behalf. Lucy eventually shut up when a customer walked through the door asking if she could buy a battery at the store.

The rest of the day dragged on slowly, and I was relieved when my shift ended. On my way home, my mind was filled with thoughts — the brief happiness and enthusiasm I had felt for the past week and a half all gone, leaving behind a tired residue. I suddenly just wanted to sleep and not wake up for a month.

Fuck. I thought, shutting my eyes as the trail continued to make its way to the next station. Why can't I just be happy?

I was tired of my mood swings, and the memories from the past that didn't want to remain where they belonged — the past. If I could forget about the past and exist in the future, I could be happy.