ఌ𝙰𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚢𝚊𝚑ఌ
I shift uncomfortably on the couch, pulling my knees to my chest. Alex looks over at me, mildly concerned.
I wasn't watching my calendar. I've always been told I don't pay attention much, but this is a new low.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Alex whispers.
"I want to go home." I whisper back. I've wanted to go home since I climbed into his car, but more so right now.
Alex nods. "Let's go then." He gets up off the couch. I blink, not really expecting him to agree so easily. I know he doesn't know my parents very well, but I'm pretty sure he was just in the middle of a conversation.
I stand up. "Hey..we're going to head home." I announce. Alex throws in a quiet fake yawn for good measure which is a little cute.
"All right, hun. Be safe." Mom gets up to hug me, I hug her back.
"Fuck you." Noah scowls at Alex. I was hoping Noah might like Alex a little bit, but the moment they made eye contact I knew that wasn't happening.
Alex doesn't look affected. "Yeah, yeah." He dismisses. "Old man." He quietly teases. He seems to be amused by teasing Noah which really only makes Noah more frustrated.
Noah gasps, pressing his hand to his chest. "I'm not old!" He insists. We all know he's lying to himself.
"Well," Dad murmurs. Noah's mouth falls open. "I love you, Aaliyah. See you soon, sweetheart." He smiles at me, moving on quickly. I smile back at him and nod, grabbing Alex's wrist.
"Bye," I call as I tug Alex towards the door. He lets me, just following along.
"So, what's up?" Alex questions me as soon as we step outside. "Are you in pain?" He goes on as he unlocks the car.
I climb in, looking over at him when he gets in the drivers seat. "Kind of. I'm on my period." I decide to answer honestly. He's a big boy, he knows what this is. Maybe it's a little inappropriate to tell my boss that, but it's a natural human thing and I talk too much for my own good.
"Oh," Is all Alex says. "So, you are in pain?" He asks again as he starts the car. I shrug and nod. "Need anything?"
I laugh. "Chocolate would be nice, but no." I shake my head. "Thank you." I quickly add, a little warmed he'd ask. Alex sighs, seemingly a little unsatisfied with my answer.
I stare out the window as we drive. At first, I recognize where we're going. My place. But then, Alex makes a turn and I start to recognize less and less.
I wait a moment before saying something. Maybe he made a wrong turn. "Hey, where are we going?" I eventually ask when he doesn't fix his mistake.
Alex doesn't answer me for a second. He only answers when we pull into a store parking lot. "Store." He states the obvious as he parks and unbuckles. "You can wait here if you want." He tells me as he gets out of the car.
Heck, you don't have to tell me twice.
I've never liked going into the stores with people. It's never as fun as it sounds. I end up just awkwardly following them around the store, looking at things I can't get.
Well, I can get it. If I absolutely really really wanted to, my wallet would just hate my guts.
I kind of wish Alex took care of his business before hand. Not business business, but the business he has at the store. Maybe he forgot though.
I look out the windshield, watching a couple cross the street all cutely. Holding hands and everything.
Okay, frick you guys.
Actually, I take it back. They look like a cute couple and possibly sweet people.
But gosh. PDA much? I mean, they're practically reproducing right there in the middle of the road.
Or maybe they're just casually holding hands, I'm not sure. I've been single for a little while now. Maybe a little too long.
But, how am I supposed to find someone? I don't have many friends. Like..at all. And I'm twenty-five. I've never liked the idea of online dating.
I mean, I guess it can be safe and all, but I'm not really into the idea of getting kidnapped then brutally killed. Or robbed.
Maybe Mom knows someone..
I guess I shouldn't ask her now though since I'm supposedly dating Alex. She'd probably be like 'Hey, maybe it's not a good idea to cheat on your boyfriend'.
I jump when the car door opens on the drivers side, scoffing when I realize it's Alex. "Way to scare a girl." I scowl at him. He left two seconds ago, didn't he? Was he that fast or did I zone out?
Alex blinks as he slowly starts the car. "Sorry?" He says it like it's a question. "I'll..make myself known next time?" He mutters.
"Good idea." I sarcastically smile.
Alex seems to shrug that off. "Here." He hands me a couple of plastic bags, setting one down on the floorboard on my side.
I stare at it. "Plastic? Are you trying to kill our ocean?" I glare at him as I slowly take it.
"I—what? No. It's a bag." Alex mutters as he pulls out of the parking lot.
"Murderer." I grumble as I look inside the bags, wondering what he got. I'm kind of nosy.
"That's for you." Alex informs once he realizes I'm snooping. I frown at the fact that I'm not exactly snooping if it's for me anyway.
I immediately feel bad for calling him a murderer as soon as I look inside.
Ice cream, chocolate, cookies, small heating pad, gummy bears, chocolate covered almonds, granola bars, and so much more candy.
"Are you crying?" Alex questions, we swerve a little when he tries looking over at me.
"No!" I sniffle, quickly wiping my eyes. "I have allergies." I mumble, glancing into the bag. "Oh my god, peanut butter!" I yell.
He got the creamy and chunky kind!
I look over at him, frowning. "Well, now I feel bad for calling you a murderer.." I mumble.
Alex shakes his head, keeping his eyes on the road. "It's fine. I don't really care." He mumbles.
"I glared at you.."
"It's okay. I scared you."
"But you got me peanut butter!" I whine. "Both kinds!" I swear I'm not crying. It was just a really sweet gesture and I didn't realize Alex could be sweet.
Alex huffs. "Why are you crying? Is that not what you wanted? What did you want?" He harshly questions. He grows frustrated with me and I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm whining like a baby.
My frown only deepens at that. It's not a sad frown, just a really really happy frown. The frown you do when you see a cute puppy or another really cute thing.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know what to get. The lady in the aisle said that's what she usually gets." Alex frantically explains, glancing over at me more often. He tries to look at me but inevitably has to look at the road. "I'll go back." He offers. He keeps his eyes on the road more when someone behind us honks.
Oh my god, he got help for it too! And he's offering to go back!
Ohhh, the bar just got raised.
"Aaliyah," Alex sighs, his voice get a bit quieter and less rough. "Do you want me to go back or not?" He asks me, keeping his eyes on the road.
"No, no, I don't want you to go back." I sniffle. I'm a little too emotional for this. "This is perfect." I decide. A little too perfect. Maybe he's kidnapping me.
"Then why the hell are you crying?" Alex groans.
"Happy! Happy!" I yell, wiping my eyes. "Oh my god, cherry and chocolate chunks." I mumble as I look at one of the ice creams.
"You kept bringing those to work for a while there." Alex quietly points out. I laugh a little, realizing he's right. The only reason I stopped was because I couldn't just keep buying them over and over.
I'm kind of surprised he remembered that. I used to bring them into his office to eat them because Maya would hound me for a bite all the time so it's not entirely surprising he remembers, just a little surprising that he was paying attention to what I was eating.
I watch him pull up on the curb. He gets out with me, walking me to my door and helping me carry the bags. He carries all of them though so he isn't really helping, mostly just doing it for me. He doesn't complain though so I don't worry about it.
Alex follows me to the kitchen, setting the bags down on the counter. "Thank you." I smile at him.
Alex nods. "You're fine then?" He looks a little worried which makes me want to cry and smile at the same time.
"Now I am." I laugh quietly. "Thank you. I really appreciate all of that, the food and the effort." I look at the multiple bags on my counter. Some things are the same food just a different brand. He wanted to get the right one.
How do I thank him for something like this? How would you thank someone? Just plain saying 'Thank you' doesn't feel right.
"I'm sorry I called you a murderer.." I mumble. That's not a thank you, but I do still need to apologize.
Alex smiles just a little. "It's okay, Aaliyah." His voice is an octave deeper as he assures me. It's a small chuckle.
"I made you smile again." I quickly point out. I'm pretty friggen proud of myself right now.
"Again?" He repeats.
I nod. "Yeah. Remember, at the wedding I made you smile."
Alex wrinkles at the nose bridge, confused. "You did?" He quietly asks.
I nod with a little laugh. "I did." I inform. "And I just did it a third time." I add. Alex looks off to the side. He looks a little disappointed, sad even.
Maybe he had his own mission to not smile at my jokes.
"But it was tiny." I quickly add. "Not entirely a smile." I clarify. I try not to ruin his own mission but I might have already ruined it.
Alex clears his throat. "Anyway," He moves on quickly which makes me frown a little. "How are you feeling?" He asks.
"Great now that I have candy." I laugh. I open one of the bags and take out the tubs of ice cream to put them in the freezer.
Alex nods. "But you went home early yesterday." He points out, clarifying his question.
Ohhh..I did. I forgot for a second there.
"You're not red and you're looking at me now. You're fine then, right?" He questions. He bends at the waist slightly to be eye level with me for a moment, inspecting me.
I glance at the ground. "Yep.." I quietly say.
Alex looks mildly amused. "Why couldn't you look at me?" He asks, stuffing his hands in pockets. He leans against the counter across from me and tilts his head slightly.
"Anyway," I decide to move on instead of attempting to answer his question.
Also because I'm a little distracted by the way he's looking at me.
"I'm in pain." I announce. "So.." I trial off as an awkward gesture for him to get the heck out of my house.
Alex shakes his head, amusement sparks in his eyes. "Right," He hums as he heads for the door. "Feel better then." He says as he opens it. I follow him to the door, giving a little smile as I close it.
He got me peanut butter.
__________
I sit in bed with my more than half eaten chunky peanut butter in my lap. Jerry sleeps at the foot of the bed, laying on some blanket.
I'm still really sad about his name..
I'm sad about a lot of things though. I finished the cherry and chocolate chunk ice cream, I finished the creamy peanut butter, and I'm pretty sure Alex is going to leave soon.
I looked it up, apparently it's about a two hour drive to Philadelphia from New York.
Why did I look that up? No idea. It's not like I'll just be able to go visit him. There will be no reason for me to do that since I wouldn't be his assistant anymore.
I'd like to think we're friends, but we might just be friends just because we work together. He never did like me like a friend, I've just been a good assistant to him.
I frown. "I'm nothing but a pretty face, Jerry." I complain. "If that." I sigh. Maybe if I had a bit more of a pretty face he'd like me. Not that I want him to like me.
Well—I want him to like me, but maybe not like like me. But that wouldn't be terrible if he did end up like liking me. Not that I like like him, I don't. It would just be nice to have someone who like likes me.
What the heck am I even thinking about?
"I'm going crazy, Jerry." I breathe. "Maybe you should just get a sibling.." I quietly suggest. "A fish." I decide. Jerry stares at me.
He'd definitely eat that fish.
__________
I don't think Maya likes me much. That's okay though, I guess I'm not a huge fan of her either. We're both just using each other to pass the time and I think that's okay.
Maya smiles at me. "Go on. Ask him." She urges.
I frown. "I don't want to."
"Just go." She giggles.
He is probably leaving soon. That's what Maya says at least. Apparently—according to Maya—Mr. Liam has pulled his name from the applicant list or something. So, the job in Philadelphia will more than likely go to Alex.
If he wants it.
Maya wants me to ask him if he's going. I don't want to ask. Mainly because that might mean I'm losing Alex. Literally the only one in the office I like at the moment.
"Go." Maya demands.
I take a deep breath as I slowly push away from my desk and stand up. I don't know why I'm listening to her, maybe because I'm a little curious myself.
Alex glances at me when I walk in. "A little busy, Aaliyah." He warns me.
I nod. "I know, sorry. Just...question." I mutter as I walk over to sit on my usual chair.
Alex turns his attention to me, his eyebrows furrowing. "Are you okay?" He asks. He's been a little nicer to me lately which is off putting but also refreshing.
I give a smile and a nod. "Perfectly fine." I lie straight to his face. I really hate lying.
Alex doesn't look convinced. "What's wrong?" He pushes. He knows something is wrong and I hope it's not because of my awkward face.
I shake my head. "Nothing, nothing." I dismiss. "Hey, so how're you doing with that job? Word in the office is you're more than likely getting it." I smile at him.
Alex looks less interested in the conversation. "Yeah." Is all he says.
I bite the inside of my cheek. "So..you gonna take it?" I ask.
Alex hesitates. "What do you think?" He asks. "Think I should take it?" He looks thoughtful as his eyes trace over my face. It's a question I wasn't expecting and one I don't really want to answer. My answer is no and I feel like that's not a good one.
I stare at him for a moment before giving a little bit of a nervous smile. "I think you should do what you want and would be best for you." I answer him. It's not my personal answer, but I can't give him that. It's not fair.
Just because I don't want him to leave, doesn't mean I am against him doing what's best for him.
"That job is pretty good from what I hear. I think you could succeed with that." I go on. "It would be a good idea."
Alex glances behind me for a split second. "So, you think I should take it?" His voice is quiet and unsure.
I lift a shoulder. "Maybe, yeah." I mumble. Maybe he wants to go but just isn't sure. He might just need that extra little push.
It's not like I really want him to go. I don't. At all. But maybe it would be good for him. He seems to like what he does and he seems to really want to be successful. There is no doubt in my mind he'd be able to do that.
I take a deep breath, smiling at him still. His face doesn't have any emotion, but it never does. "I'll leave you be. You're busy." I laugh as I get up. "Have fun with that!" I sing as I leave the room. I feel my smile drop almost instantly as soon as I shut that door.
Maya smiles when I sit down across from her. "So?" She murmurs.
"Mind your business, Maya." I sigh as I look at my computer screen.
Maya blinks. "What?" She quietly asks.
"Mind your business." I repeat. "It's none of your business—or mine—if he takes that job or not. It's his business." I huff.
Maya stares at me. She huffs out an amused breath after a moment. "Whatever." She dismisses.
She kind of reminds me of one of the girls from high school. I was not friends with that girl.
__________
2495 words :)
*Not Edited*