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Chapter 17

                            ELLIE JONES

Alfie tells me he has to go to the states to visit his parents and won't be here for a week. He is now my only friend, so I don't know what I would do without him around. Well, I do know, but it doesn't make it easier to be alone. It makes me wonder how I even managed to spend almost every day alone for the past few years.

"Here, this is my number. You can call me if you need anything," he takes my phone from my hands and enters his number. I smile, grateful that I have some form of escape if I ever need one. Which in truth, now that my mum is back, is inevitable.

We walk back to the store together, since I did have to meet the new part timer. "Here we are," he says. He leans over to give me a hug, which is definitely comforting. I don't think I've ever had such a warm hug before.

"Don't forget to read the book. I've added special details in. I'm sure it'll answer your many questions," he tells me. We say our final goodbyes before I enter the store. I am on my way over to the counter when I hear a sudden loud voice from the back of the store.

"You sure took your time" the voice says, causing me to jump. I slowly tiptoe over to see the one and only Isaiah Philips sitting on one of the sofas with his legs crossed. I put the pieces together and come to the conclusion that he is the new part timer I would have to work with.

"You have got to be freaking kidding me!" I shout. "Do you not read signs Isaiah? It clearly read closed! Which for your information, since you clearly do not know how to read signs of any kind, means it's not opened! And if you could read any facial or emotional signs you would have picked up that I didn't want to see you ever again!" I carry on. I don't know if I am genuinely just annoyed that he scared me, or if I am frustrated that I would have to spend more time with him. Either way, I am not happy. He looks slightly taken aback, but then says, " I thought it wouldn't be a problem now that I work here."

"What are you even doing taking up a second job?" I ask, throwing my bag over the counter.
"I know you work here and I really just wanted to spend more time with you,". Is he being serious right now? He clearly toyed with my feelings and now he's acting all nice? It's like he really thinks I'm just a gullible, naïve girl, not woman, who will believe anything that comes out of his mouth. This may have been true a week ago, but I know better now.

"No you don't Isaiah. You made your feelings about me crystal clear the other day." I say. I don't know where I got this overwhelming amount of confidence from, but I'm not prepared to be the girl that he can do whatever he wants with.

"I just want to talk. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it"

"No no no no. You don't get to just apologize and expect me to forgive you." After breaking my heart, he decides to use the most cliché sentence in the history of love, "I didn't mean it". Surely I deserve more than that.

"Just... can we be friends?" He asks. There's someone inside me who is currently jumping up and down, excited that for once it's not me who makes the first move. I stop her from getting too excited because I'm not even sure any kind of a relationship with him at all, even if it's just a friendship, is good. It's not that I didn't want to, because I know myself better than that. I just don't trust myself enough to be in a situation where there is a chance for me to gain feelings for him again. A situation where I would be emotionally vulnerable. I am also still pretty angry at him, which is not good for his plea.

"We're going to be working together a lot more, so we should at least be friends?" He's right. Unfortunately or fortunately, I will be seeing him a lot more. Fortunate for the girl inside who still believes that we have a chance at going from friends to lovers. Unfortunate for the girl who knows that they have no chance together.

"Fine. But friends only. Strictly Friends" I say.

I hope I haven't made a huge mistake, because I don't think I'll be able to handle the consequences.