Chapter Twenty-Two
Avery
“Hey, I was just coming to check on my application,” I said to the guy at the grocery store. Pretty sure he was the manager, but I could’ve been wrong. “I submitted it like two weeks ago.”
I’d been trying to get a job ever since I moved to Port Haven. The hunt hadn’t been fruitful yet, but someone— somewhere— was bound to hire me eventually, right?
“Name?” he asked with a bored tone. His nametag read Joe.
I told him and then waited as he went to the back room, out of sight. I tapped my fingers on the countertop as anxiety plagued me. This wasn’t even a huge job. It just involved bagging groceries for people and stocking shelves.
But I needed it.
Joe appeared way too soon, which told me he probably just went into the office and screwed around with something before coming back out, not even bothering to check my application.
“Sorry. Spot’s been filled,” he said with a less than sincere expression. “But we’ll call if another opens up.”
“Might be hard since I don’t have a phone,” I snapped, tired of his crap. He would’ve known that if he’d even read the freaking thing. “Thanks, anyway.”
I stormed out of the store, cursing my bad luck. That was the third place in one day that had rejected me. I’d already visited a gas station and a different grocery store. I wasn’t going to give up, though. Port Haven was huge, and there was a mall, smaller shopping centers, other gas stations, cafes, and numerous other places I could try.
Back outside, I stood on the sidewalk as I debated on where to go next. A breeze ruffled my hair, and that crap was cold. I shivered and hugged my arms closer to my body.
Since when did October feel like November? I was wearing a Disturbed hoodie—one my mom had bought from Hot Topic, which was still amazing to me because I’d never owned anything new from there—and it helped block most of the cold. I hadn’t worn my new leather coat yet, because I was saving it for when it got colder.
Deciding to try Main Street, I started walking that way.
I’d been out there for hours. After school that Thursday, I’d gone home with Declan and grabbed something quick to eat before taking off to job hunt. My feet hurt a little from all the walking I’d done, but I didn’t have any change for the bus, so it was either walk or not go anywhere at all.
My upper thighs hurt, too, but that was my fault.
Main Street was a little over fifteen minutes away on foot from where I was, and the scenery along the way wasn’t bad at all. I loved looking at the historic downtown area of Port Haven, where the older Victorian homes and buildings sat. I’d love to design them one day. Use influences from that era and modernize it just a tad, but not too much, because I wouldn’t want it to lose its character.
I examined a chapel as I passed it, admiring the intricate craftsmanship of the large, wooden door and the bell tower at the top. Stunning didn’t even come close to describing it. As the bells began to chime, I slowed my pace on the sidewalk.
The sound was beautiful, and I watched what I could see of the bells as they sang their song. The six tolls let me know the time at least, since I didn’t have a watch.
A woman stood outside the chapel and stared at me. And her expression said I wasn’t welcome any closer to the building.
Trying not to let it bother me, I picked up my pace and moved on.
I remembered what Maverick said about feeling like he was living in a box: labeled before people even took the chance to get to know him. I felt like that too.
The seaside stores on Main Street were always bustling with activity. With such a gorgeous setting, how could they not be? Well, unless you were like me and hated the sea, but whatever.
The cafes on the strip had some of the best food in Port Haven, authentic seafood that literally just came out of the water sometimes. A candy shop was around there somewhere that was like freaking Willy Wonka’s place. I’d never gone inside, but I’d looked through the window before, and it was pretty magical.
There was a bar farther down that came alive at night—that I recalled seeing when I’d played pool with Mav and Ben—and in between the food places, dessert shops, pool hall, and drunkards-R-Us, there was an abundance of stores.
And a coffee place… which I proceeded to go toward… because Maverick was working that evening. Which also explained why I’d walked all the way there from the other side of town. There wasn’t a snowballs chance in hell of me getting a job in any of those seaside shops.
So yeah, I’d gone there for Mav. Secret was out. Done and done.
I entered Brew Emporium and tried to be inconspicuous about it.
Coffee wafted to my nose, as did pastries, and for a second, I regretted going inside. I’d eaten dinner, but after walking around for a few hours, I was hungry again. With no money. In a place that sold blueberry scones, which Ben had bought me the day we’d studied together, and it’d been, like, my favorite thing ever.
A dude with a lip piercing and shaggy, blond hair was wiping down the front counter, and he turned when the bell above the door dinged.
“Be right with you,” he said before finishing up what he was doing and walking off to the back. He said something else, but I doubted it was directed at me.
Moments later, Maverick appeared, and my stomach dipped.
“Avery?” he asked before his face lit up like the freaking sun.
I couldn’t even respond with a sarcastic remark about it of course being me—no one else pulled emo off so awesome—because he was too endearing.
“Yep. The one and only,” I said, approaching him. Once I was at the counter, I placed my hands on top, and he didn’t hesitate before grabbing one. A lot of guys I’d seen weren’t so affectionate, but Maverick always seemed to reach for me when I was around him. I liked it. “How’s work?”
“Work,” he answered. “But it’s going great. Better now that you’re here.”
Seeing his warm smile—one meant for me—was almost too much to comprehend. How had I snagged someone like him?
“Yeah, I was just going around to places I’ve applied to and checking on my applications,” I said, trying to act like it was no big deal.
I focused on his hand and traced one of his knuckles. His hands were strong, but held mine so gently, as if he were afraid of breaking me. I held his tighter, needing the intimacy for some reason.
“Any luck?” he asked, drawing my attention back up to his face.
“Not yet, but I’m sure something will come eventually.” I checked to make sure no one was behind me, because I didn’t want to hold up the line. “Since that part of town hadn’t worked out, I thought I’d try this one. I’ve been walking for a while, so I came in here to rest.”
“And to see me?” He smirked, and I knew he could see right through my bullcrap.
“Maybe,” I answered, fighting a smile and failing. “It’s not because I like you or anything.”
“Why would you?” Maverick played along, giving me a bewildered look. “I mean, I’m just your boyfriend. No one important.”
It sounded weird hearing that, even though it was true. I’d barely even been anyone’s friend before moving to Port Haven, and now I was someone’s boyfriend.
No, not just someone: Mav. He was unlike anyone else.
“Are you sure you’re cool with the boyfriend thing?” he asked as his face fell. He must’ve taken my silence the wrong way. “Because we can just casually date with no pressure and no commitment for a while, if that’s what you want.”
“It’s not,” I reassured him, squeezing his hand. The idea of someone else being with him made my stomach twist. Pissed me off a little too, which was a sign that we were on the right track. I hadn’t experienced jealousy until I’d found out he’d been dating that Chris guy when we met. I hadn’t experienced true sexual attraction until Mav either. “I want this. You.”
Maverick had been a lot of firsts for me. And I hoped he’d be even more.
“Awesome.” A smile appeared in his eyes in the way only he could do. “I want you too. But you know that already.”
What’s crazy was I did.
As much as logic told me he couldn’t possibly feel that way, his actions—and continued pursuit of me over the past two months—proved otherwise. The way I saw myself wasn’t how he saw me.
When Mav looked at me, especially in that moment, I felt wanted. Desired. And the internal voices that told me I was worthless quieted.
Even though I told him I wasn’t hungry, Maverick wasn’t convinced and insisted on giving me a latte and a blueberry scone. Since he worked there, he got the coffee for free, which helped me not feel so bad.
“Thanks,” I told him after he’d placed the coffee and scone on the serving counter.
“Anytime,” he replied. “Now go sit and enjoy.”
I sat at a corner table to eat and watched as more people shuffled in from the chilly October day. The latte was amazing and had some fancy name like a Caramel Brulée, and I sipped it slowly, wanting to make it last.
One woman and three teens came into the store, and I recognized one of the girls from drama class. That Jennifer girl who’d taken my picture. She looked at me and smiled, and I returned the smile. Her usual thin brown hair had streaks of blonde now, and it was a pretty powerful moment for me. She’d taken charge of her own life in a small, but not so trivial, way.
And I guess I helped her.
I scooted closer to the wall after that, so I wouldn’t be as noticeable as I people watched.
Maverick stayed busy, but he’d glance my way every so often, and every time our eyes met, a fluttering would happen in my chest, as would an ache. Seeing him greet everyone with such kindness was great too. He was genuinely a good guy. No fronts. I’d known that already, but it was still awesome to have the reminder.
The other guy he worked with seemed nice, and they made a good team as one took the order, wrote on the cups, and then the other made the drinks.
Once I finished my coffee, I stood and discarded the cup in the trash before walking around the store. I left the sitting area and went to the bookshelves on the other side of the room.
Just like last time, the shelves were overflowing, and I made my way down one aisle, running my fingertips along the spines of the books.
Since I discovered my love for reading—all thanks to Ben—a weird excitement went through me at seeing the huge selection. I’d never known how incredible of an escape reading could be until recently. It helped get my mind off my own problems and let me have another reality to live in for a while.
And sometimes I really needed that.
The shelves were labeled according to genre, so I passed Classic Literature, History, and Non-fiction before finally getting to the Young Adult Fiction section. I still needed the fourth book in the House of Night series, so I scanned the books, hoping I’d find it. With it being a used bookstore, I highly doubted it, but I still looked just in case.
No luck. Book one was there, but none of the others were.
Not like I could afford it anyway, I thought in an attempt to make myself feel better. It worked. A little.
After looking at a few other books and flipping through some of them, I gave up and decided to go back to the front to see if Mav was still busy. As I left the aisle and rounded the corner, my foot caught on a bag on the floor, and I stumbled into someone sitting at a small table.
“Shit! Sorry!” I exclaimed, regaining my balance. My hands had gone right into the guy’s shoulder blades, so I hoped I didn’t hurt him.
The guy flipped around and looked at me with wide, brown eyes. He was wearing black-rimmed glasses, and he was cute in a nerdy way. Two textbooks were splayed on the table, as was a notebook and a venti latte.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and his tone sounded a bit off. That’s when I noticed the hearing aids, and I instantly felt awful.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I spoke in a louder voice, which was probably dumb because if he was deaf, he wouldn’t be able to hear me anyway. Could he read lips?
Another guy then walked up, and I froze when I saw him. He had spiked aqua-blue hair, an eyebrow piercing, and he was wearing a Black Veil Brides T-shirt—which of course made him freaking awesome right away.
He looked at the guy I’d bumped into and he began signing to him. Blue-hair guy’s face was filled with nothing but concern as the other guy signed something back to him. Then, Blue-hair looked at me.
“You cool?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I wasn’t really watching where I was going. Is he okay?” I didn’t like talking about him when he was sitting right in front of me, but if he couldn’t understand me, I guess we needed a middle man.
Blue signed to his friend before looking at me. “He’s fine. I’m Noah, by the way. And this is Bastian.”
Bastian smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
Something about their names rang a bell, but I couldn’t place it.
“Cool,” I said, making sure to face Bastian as I spoke. He seemed to read Noah’s lips earlier. “I’m Avery.”
“Wait,” Noah said as he scrutinized me. “Maverick’s Avery?”
“Yep. That’s me.” It was odd to be referred to like that. Odd… but also kind of amazing. “How do you know Mav?” Right after I asked the question, it sort of came back to me.
Maverick and Sarah had talked about a guy named Noah before.
“We went to school with him,” Noah answered, placing his hand on Bastian’s shoulder.
Bastian leaned in and pressed his cheek to Noah’s forearm before pulling back. So subtle of a movement. But sweet.
“I remember him mentioning you guys before,” I said, putting my hands in my hoodie pocket. Conversations with people I didn’t know always triggered my awkwardness. “Aren’t you in college?”
“Yeah,” Noah answered. “We both had free time this afternoon, so we came to see family. And Bas wanted to study like the nerd he is, so then we came here.”
Bastian grinned before signing and speaking simultaneously, “My nerdy way is what helped you get into college, so have some respect, Blue.”
“Whatever,” Noah responded. He couldn’t hide his smile, though.
Maverick walked over. “Hey, you,” he said as he faced me, slipping his arms around my waist. The closeness only made me uncomfortable for a split second, but he must’ve still seen it, because he backed off a little. “Sorry if you’re bored.”
“I’m not,” I said before nodding to Noah and Bastian. “I just met your friends. My meeting with Bastian was very reminiscent of yours and mine.”
Mav chuckled. “So you smacked into him?” When I nodded, his grin widened. “Ah, I think it’s all just part of your charm, shorty.”
The three of them talked some after that, and I stayed at Mav’s side, trying to follow their conversation. Only a little bit was said about school before they moved on to another topic. Noah’s birthday was on Halloween, and he was having a huge party the weekend before it that would be a celebration for both.
“It won’t be like last year,” Noah said, sitting beside Bas at the table. “Dad and Pops are going away that weekend because of some book convention thing for Dad, so they aren’t having my party like usual. Jace knows a guy whose family owns a lot of land, and there’s an old barn like way out in the middle of freakin’ nowhere, and he wants to have it there. A buddy of his is gonna rent some kegs.” On the last part, he wiggled his eyebrows. “Do y’all wanna come?”
“Maybe,” Maverick answered, placing his hand at my lower back and looking at me. As his sapphire eyes met mine, I had to remind myself to breathe. “We’ll talk about it.”
I liked the ‘we’ part of that way more than I probably should have. That’s what we were, though—we. Night and day might’ve been complete opposites, but they complemented each other.
Just like we did.
***
Mav had to work until eleven that night and I stayed with him until about nine-thirty before leaving. He hated the idea of me walking home, but I reassured him that I was used to it and would be fine.
As I left Brew Emporium and got on the sidewalk, I was still smiling from my time with him.
Even though he’d been working and had to step away when a customer approached, we’d gotten to talk a lot that evening. More than we got to at school. I had laughed so much that my stomach hurt.
Noah and Bas had stayed a while, and it was awesome getting to know them. Noah was a bit crazy, but a good kind of crazy. He talked about zombies and he even mentioned that Dead Smash game Ben had let me play before. When they left, it’d just been me, Mav, and his co-worker Garrett—who turned out to be super funny and flirty.
I had stood at the counter and talked to them. Garrett had flirted with me some, but I’d known it was in good fun because Mav only got a little jealous.
At the memory, I smiled and almost bumped into a pole. I shook my head at myself and kept walking.
During the times when Mav came from behind the counter to wipe off tables and clean the area, I had walked beside him. He told me more about him growing up—how he and his dad used to be close, but things got complicated between them when Mav came out.
That topic had then shifted to him asking me to go to dinner at his house so I could meet his parents. Of course, I said yes, even if the thought made me feel like I was going to puke.
Something I liked was no matter who was around, Maverick was the same person. If he was holding my hand when someone looked at us, he didn’t let go. Even if that someone snarled their lip a bit at the sight. If another friend from school stopped by, he hadn’t blown me off or pretended I wasn’t there. Instead, he’d introduced me and made me part of the conversation.
It had been one of the best days I’d had in a while. Unexpected too.
I was in such a good mood that I didn’t even let the cold air bring me down. Shoving both hands in the front pocket of my hoodie, I walked as fast as I could.
The nicer part of Port Haven disappeared behind me, and it was like walking into a different world. Before my neighborhood, there was a span of countryside—well, more like just a lot of trees and some fields. But it was country to me. The lights from town faded, and before too long, I was in almost complete darkness, with the exception of the moonlight. I wasn’t afraid of the dark, so it didn’t bother me.
When I got home, it was after ten. Declan was asleep on the couch, and the TV was on some stupid sitcom. I went over and gently shook him awake.
“Hey, D. Go get in bed.”
His dark eyes focused on me before closing again. Soft snores sounded seconds later. I tried waking him, but it was pointless. Once he was out, he was out.
With a sigh, I put an arm behind him and lifted him off the couch. I’d had to carry him to bed countless times, but it’d gotten harder over the years. And the fact he towered over me now didn’t help. But still, I carried him to our room and laid him in bed. After tucking him in, I went back into the living room.
There was one channel we got that played awesome black and white shows late at night, and I loved it. I grabbed the remote and changed it over, smiling when I recognized the creepy intro to The Twilight Zone.
I didn’t cut that night. My memories of Maverick, and the amazing way he made me feel, kept the dark at bay. I ended up falling asleep on the couch, and when I dreamed, it wasn’t of the nightmares that always plagued me. Not of my dad when he was drunk or the times he’d hit me.
It was of Mav. Of us sitting on that rock by the water, holding hands and talking about infinities.