You Promised

Ok, so Megan and I are seriously not going to become best friends forever anytime soon. I feel kind of bad for saying this, but she's annoying me. I know, I know. I was so excited to call her and tell her that she was hired. There was also the whole I-need-a-new-girlfriend thing. But she's REALLY annoying me. I'm not sure if it's the billions of questions that she felt the need to ask me or I don't know, the reassurance that she needs every five seconds to make sure that she's doing everything right.

"Am I folding these jeans right, Courtney?" She perfectly shows me the technique that I taught her a minute ago for folding jeans.

"The hangers go in this box, right?" She points to box filled with hangers. I felt that it was obvious that the hangers were supposed to go into the box that was clearly marked "hangers", but that's just me.

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today. I think I might be taking everything the wrong way, but I was too annoyed to not get annoyed by her.

Of course, it didn't help that Cody wasn't doing anything to help me out with Megan. I think that he sensed my annoyance of her and is just waiting for me to explode. He's even playing dumb when Megan started to ask him questions by directing her to me.

"Hey, Cody, how do you do a return?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"I'm not sure, I haven't had to do a lot of those, you should ask Courtney," he said to her.

I mentally groaned in frustration. Cody has been here longer than I have and has done plenty of returns. I wanted to punch him in the face.

"Thanks a lot, Cody," I said, sarcastically when Megan went on her first break. "You're very helpful."

"No problem, Courtney," he said with a devilish smile. "You know.. Megan is kind of cute."

"Ok, whatever," I said dismissively. I went back to restocking.

Megan came back from her break and began showering me with questions again. I mentally sighed. This girl has 4 years of retail experience. What the heck? I tried to answer all of her questions without sounding like a witch.

I went into the storeroom and pulled out a new shipment of skirts, noticing that Megan wasn't nipping at my heels anymore. She was talking to one of the customers. I smiled at the fact that she was no longer bugging me.

I brought the skirts to an empty rack and started sizing them. I noticed that Megan was still talking to the same customer. Actually, it looked like she was flirting with him by her body language. She was giggling and twirling her hair. I couldn't see what he looked like, but judging from her reaction to him, he must have been cute.

The customer turned around and to my shock, it was Taylor. I weakly and awkwardly waved at him. He motioned that I come over. I tried to walk as slowly as possible, dreading this conversation.

"Hey, Courtney, how are you?" Taylor asked me, giving me a one-armed hug. Megan looked at me with her eyes wide open.

"You know him, Courtney?" she asked me, a little shocked.

"We used to date," Taylor explained to her.

I saw the blood draining out of her face. She turned a ghostly white and looked at me nervously as if studying my reaction.

"W-w-well, I'm going to get back to work," Megan said, nervously. "Nice meeting you, Taylor."

As much as I'm excited that things between Megan and I are going to be awkward for some time, I was not excited to be standing here with Taylor in the store. I did not want to talk to him after what happened at the wedding.

Ok, I might have promised him a cup of coffee, but I was hoping that he was too drunk to remember that part of the conversation.

"So, are you free for that cup of coffee you promised?" Taylor asked me.

He didn't forget.

Whirlwind

I didn't know if I really wanted to know what Farrah wanted. I don't even know why I even asked him. I guess my curiosity got the best of me. I mentally braced myself for the answer, even though I had a theory what it was. Although, thinking it was one thing, I don't think I want to hear it out loud.

"I'm not sure if you'd really want to know," Taylor said. He sighed. "She wants me to be with her and never see you ever again."

"I see," I said, softly. It was all I could muster up. What can I say? Farrah had some mental problems, I mean, if she forces a guy to be with her, then he's going to end up resenting her. But then again, this situation was extremely farfetched that I didn't know whether or not to believe that he did help Ricky accidentally burn down the McNeely house or if he was just making one big, elaborate excuse to be with Farrah. "What are you going to do?"

Taylor couldn't look at me. He stared off into the distance. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. I had a feeling that I knew what he was going to say.

"I don't know, Court," he said, sadly. "I really do love you. I think I have to do what she says because it's not just me in this situation, it's Ricky too. I can't let her turn him in. If it was only me, then it would be a different story."

Now, I'm convinced that this was just one big elaborate excuse to be with Farrah. I just wish he'd stop telling me that he loved me. If he really did love me, he would have been up front about the McNeely fire. Frankly, if he was telling the truth, I didn't need to be put in the middle of this situation. Farrah wins, she gets what she wants. Oddly, I'm actually ok with it.

"You do what you have to do, Taylor," I told him. I hugged him. "I'm going to go home now. I'm sorry this didn't work out. I hope you and Farrah can find some happiness together."

Henry opened the passenger's seat for me. As I got into his car, I saw Farrah walk outside and wrap her arms around Taylor. She smirked at me and mouthed "I win". Taylor looked devastated, like he wanted to push her away and come after me. Maybe one day, Taylor and I will find each other again.

"Are you going to be ok?" Henry asked me, when we pulled out of the parking lot.

"I think so," I told him.

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

It was May 1st, two weeks passed since Taylor and I broke up. I kept myself busy with work and school so I wouldn't think about it. Today was no exception. After I clocked in, I immediately attacked the large pile of clothes from the fitting room, ignoring Cody who was on the register.

"Hey, Courtney, I'm going to to my lunch," he told me. I gave him a slight nod. I tried not to talk to him if I could, due to my loyalty to Zoey.

Zoey started her shift an hour after I came in. She was practically glowing, sporting a gigantic grin that could have made Reese Witherspoon jealous. The girl's day out we had last week turned out to be amazing and we became closer friends, making plans to get dinner after work tonight.

"Hey, hun, what's going on with you? You're glowing!" I asked, smiling. It was nice to see her so happy after Cody was such a jerk to her.

"Omg! I had such an amazing date with Adam!" she gushed. She paused. "Wait, is it weird to talk to you about it?"

It was a little bit weird, but I figured that I could handle it. As long as I didn't get any in depth details, that is.

"No, it's fine," I assured her. "Why would it be weird?"

"Well, you just got out of a relationship and Adam's your friend," she explained. I shook my head and motioned for her to continue on with her story. She grinned. "Yeah, so.." She talked about how Adam was such a gentleman to her and how he took her to the new Chinese restaurant that opened last week. My mind wandered off while she was talking.

"So, do you think you can talk to him?" she asked, poking me in the ribs returning me to reality.

"Talk to him about what?" I asked.

"About what he thought about our date, silly!" she said. I didn't have the heart to tell her no. It was really obvious that she liked him.

"Sure, I'll talk to him for you, Zoe," I told her.

Let's just hope it's not as awkward as I think it will be.

Make You Feel Better

My jaw dropped. I was in denial. I couldn't believe it. Zoey and Cody? No way. I just couldn't picture them together. I mean, she's gorgeous and could have any guy she wanted, but.. he's just so sketchy. He was totally inappropriate for canoodling with Haylie in the stockroom where Zoey could see or hear them. Not knowing how to respond, I stayed silent. Zoey looked at me oddly.

"Sorry, I'm still in shock," I told her, apologetically. "It's just weird that you were with someone like him."

"He didn't use to be like that," Zoey said sadly. "I mean, we were together for over 3 years. We were high school sweethearts and I don't know what happened. I thought everything was going well and that everything was fine. He showered me with attention and was just incredibly sweet. I mean, he came here to work with me in November so we could spend a little bit more time together. I honestly thought that we would get married one day."

"What happened?" I asked her. A tear rolled down her cheek and I handed her a tissue. She smiled and took it.

"I don't know," she told me. "I think it was the day of your orientation when he texted me to tell me that he wanted to see other people. I still don't know why he decided to break it off. I know I've been busy with school and with work and everything, but I tried to put an equal amount of effort into our relationship." She sniffled.

"Oh, hun," I told her, sympathetically. "It'll be ok. Totally overused, but, there are plenty of fish in the sea. You're going to find someone better than Cody. He doesn't deserve you."

"It just hurts right now," she admitted. "I can't believe that he had sex in the stockroom of where we both worked with a girl he barely met. Did he even consider how I would feel? How I would react? Obviously not. I'm glad I yelled at him. He needed to know what he did was not ok. I think that he realized that we're both 19 years old and in college. He's a guy and he's in a fraternity. I wouldn't be surprised if the reason why he broke up with me is because he saw all the freedom his brothers have because they aren't in a relationship. He just wants to screw random chicks at parties, in my opinion."

"Well, do you want to report him to Jasmine?" I asked her. "He would get fired for sure. You won't have to see him around every time you come into work and you won't have to feel awkward here at work."

"I can't do that," Zoey said, her voice sad again. "Even though he broke my heart, I still love him."

"I understand," I told her. And I really did, I felt the exact same way about Taylor when he had broken up with me. It took me a very long time to get over the betrayal and learn to trust a guy again. Then came Logan, which wasn't really a big improvement, but I had trusted him and he had broken my trust. Now, I trust Taylor, but I'm still keeping an eye on him.

"We learn from our mistakes and experiences," I told her. "This is just a bump in the road, everything will be ok."

"I know, but I still want to be friends with him even though he broke my heart and I think I need to be the bigger person and reach out to him," she said. sighing. "I'm going to go to the restroom and freshen up. Thanks, Court, for trying to make me feel better." Zoey left me alone at the front of the store.

I thought about what she said and I took out my phone.

Adam, we need to talk.

And I pressed send.

Dignity

I stared at Haylie in disbelief. I didn't know how she could say that about the father of her child. I didn't know how she could screw an coworker in the stockroom either, especially when she was pregnant. I doubt that Cody even knew she was. There were a lot of things I didn't understand about Haylie. Honestly, I missed my friend.

I miss the old Haylie who used to stay up all night gossiping to me about boys. I missed going to the mall with her, I missed the innocent Haylie. In a way, I blamed Steve for starting all of this. I blamed him for going after Haylie and being her first serious boyfriend. I blamed him for taking her virginity. I blamed him for creating the monster I saw before me.

I looked at the back of the store where Zoey and Cody were. She was really chewing him out. I wondered why she was so angry with Cody. I pushed that thought out of my mind to concentrate on Haylie.

"What were you thinking?" I asked her. "This is a completely inappropriate place to do something like that! You could get fired! Cody could get fired!"

"Oh, please, Court," Haylie scoffed. "You're just jealous that I got to him first." I burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked her, laughing hysterically. "You think I'm jealous that you got Cody? I couldn't care less."

"You're just jealous that I have all the things that you want," she laughed, her laugh filled with spite and venom. "I have Logan and I have Cody."

"Whatever, Haylie," I said, rolling my eyes. "Take care of that baby in there!" I couldn't help but say that last part loudly. I saw Zoey's mouth drop and Cody's eyes widen. Cody looked completely nauseous and ran into the men's restroom. The store was completely silent except for the sounds of Cody vomiting in the men's room.

"You're a jerk," she mumbled with tears streaming down her face. She ran into the women's restroom.

My jaw dropped. One second she was spiteful and semi-angry and the next she's crying.

"What just happened?" Zoey asked me.

"I don't know," I told her. I honestly didn't know.

Disturbia

I tried not to think about my dream. Thinking about it, obsessing over it, worrying over it, would just stress me out. It didn't really work out the way I planned. My mind kept wandering back to why I had dreamt that I wanted to sleep with Adam. My mind also wandered to what I said to Taylor. I told him that I loved him in my dream. I felt more confused with each growing second. Do I have feelings for Adam? Do I love Taylor?

Needless to say, I wasn't concentrating at work. I was glad to have the task of recovery. I couldn't mess up while folding clothes mindlessly. Haylie was no where to be seen, thank goodness. The store was completely empty, with only Me, Zoey, Cody, and Haylie here. Zoey was sitting at the register texting, knowing that Jasmine was out for dinner. Haylie and Cody were no where to be seen, I assumed that they were in the stockroom doing inventory.

I was thankful that Haylie was not following me, telling me about her random cravings. Surprisingly, she is about 10 or 11 weeks along and you can't tell that she's pregnant. You could look at her stomach and chalk it up to being a little extra fat. I wondered how big she would end up getting. I really hoped that it was a little girl so I can buy her little outfits. Man, I'm going soft.

I decided to take my 15 minute break and, after informing Zoey who waved me off, went to the employee area to take my cell phone and wallet out of my locker. I went to the smoothie store next-door and bought a strawberry smoothie. Knowing that I've been a tiny bit evasive, I called Taylor. He picked up on the first ring.

"Hey!" Taylor said, cheerfully. You could hear the happiness in his voice. I couldn't help but smile. "I thought you were at work today."

"I am," I told him. "I'm on my break and decided to call you."

"I'm glad you did," he said. "It's nice to hear your voice."

"I know I've been busy lately with school and work," I told him. "But, I asked for this weekend off so I could spend time with you."

"You don't have to, Court," he said. "I understand that you have things to do." I looked at my watch and saw that I had to go back.

"I have to go back to work, babe," I told him. "I'll talk to you later." We said our goodbyes and I hurried back to the store.

After putting away my items, I brought my attention back to the jeans I was folding. I had decided to completely organize the wall of jeans by sizes. They have been a complete mess since I had got here. It took me over an hour and a half to finish folding the wall of jeans. I noticed that I had opened up an extra row for more jeans. I figured that I could bring out more jeans from the stockroom.

I opened the door and to my surprise, I found Haylie topless and up against the wall with her legs wrapped around Cody.

"OMG! I'm so sorry!" I said, completely embarrassed that I had walked in on them. I immediately ran out of the stockroom. Zoey was intrigued as to why I had ran out of the stockroom.

"Did you see a mouse or something?" she asked me. Before I could stop her, she peeked her head into the stockroom. "OH!" She pulled her head out and she was blushing. I didn't think that Zoey would blush at something like that.

Haylie walked out first, fixing her skirt and her hair and trying to regain some composure. She looked completely embarrassed. I pulled her aside to the corner of the store.

"What about Logan?" I asked her.

"What about him?" she asked me, smiling innocently.

Break the Ice

Today, work went much better than last time. Zoey wasn't here, thank goodness. I was surprised to see a guy working the register today. He was extremely cute with his blond hair and blue eyes. He had a body of a surfer and he wasn't afraid to show off in his muscular arms in his T-shirt. I was curious as to why he would work at a women's clothing store. I went up to him, ignoring the butterflies I had in my stomach, and introduced myself.

"Hi, I'm Courtney," I said, smiling.

"Hey, I'm Cody," he said, showing off his perfect smile. I almost swooned. Stop it, Court. You have a boyfriend. A very sweet, adorable, caring, hot boyfriend. Stop drooling over Cody.

"Hey Courtney!" I heard this super perky voice said. Oh no, why do we always get scheduled together? I see Haylie walking up to us. "Oh, hey, Cody." She flashed Cody the world's biggest smile. You can tell she's smitten with him too. I'm glad that we both had boyfriends or else we'd be fighting over him.

"Yeah, hey, Haylie," I said, bringing my attention back to Cody. "So, Cody, how long have you worked here?"

"Since November," he said. "I was originally hired as a seasonal employee."

"Oh Cody, tell Court what you told me about your recent trip to Las Vegas," Haylie said, almost gushing. I think she was trying to make me jealous that she had already talked to Cody before me. I started folding some clothes that were left on the counter so I could turn away from Haylie and roll my eyes.

"I was in Las Vegas over the intersession at Beachside University and I tried out to go on this new game show," he told me. I nodded to let him know I was listening. "I got on and won 200 bucks."

"That's pretty cool," I said, while stacking up some jeans. "I'm going to go put some things away."

I left Haylie alone to talk to Cody. I know that there's no competition for him, but I felt like she was making it a competition. I don't want anything to do with her pettiness.

I was busily trying to figure out where the jeans went when I heard the door jingle, signalling that we had a customer. I looked up and saw Adam walk into the store. Needless to say that I was a little bit shocked. I walked up to him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. He, too, looked a little shocked to see me here.

"I'm here to pick up Haylie," Adam said, a little confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here," I said, pointing to my name tag. I mentally sighed.

All I wanted to do was tell him how much I missed him. I missed how he was there for me no matter what. I missed all the time we spent together hanging out after school. I missed goofing around with him. I missed my best friend. But, I couldn't get the words out. I missed my Adam.

"Ok, I'm ready, Adam," Haylie said. I jumped 3 feet in the air. She had snuck up behind us.

"I'm parked right outside," he told her. She waved bye to Cody and I before leaving the store.

I knew that it would be awhile before I could muster up the courage to tell him how I really felt. Before I could weigh the pros and cons, my mouth did the talking for me.

"I miss you, Adam," I blurted out.

I was scared of his reaction. All I wanted was for us to be friends again- for all the awkwardness to disappear. I just wanted everything to go back to the way things were. I just wanted him to tell me that everything was ok between us.

"I miss you too, Court," he said.

And he walked out.