The Delinquent's Scarred Artist

Chapter 3: Delia

"Thank you so much, have a wonderful day!" I tell the hundredth customer of the day as I hand them their latte. The lady smiles faintly at me before taking her leave out the main door. The second I hear the chime from the bell that hangs above the door, I let out a long breath of relief and lean against the counter. I look around the empty lobby and then over to the large clock on the wall, grimacing when I see there's still fifteen minutes until we close.

The last two weeks have been frustrating to say the least. Mary having gone on medical leave has made Archer need more help around the cafe and I'm one of the only employees that know how to run the place, so instead of working my normal sixteen hours per week, I have now been working almost thirty two. Normally I wouldn't mind, but I've had to balance studying for three exams in between work and I'm thoroughly exhausted. I also had to cancel my therapy session this week due to being too busy, which is something I've never done. And then Archer being well... Archer hasn't made things any easier too. His constant flirty comments have made me lose focus on the things around me and I hate to admit that he's been very distracting.

Within the midst of my thoughts, I don't hear the man himself come up behind me until he speaks. "Are you cold?"

Twisting my body so I can face him, I roll my eyes and lean against the counter. "What?" 

His answering chuckle nearly makes me shiver in a completely different way but I ignore it. "You heard me. The last couple of weeks I've noticed you shake like a chihuahua in the rain whenever you're helping a customer. So I'm going to ask again, are you cold?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm not cold, I just get a little anxious around people sometimes."

"Anxiety?" He asks.

"Something like that." I reply simply.

"Hmm." he murmurs, looking at the main door over my head. "Why don't you close up for the day. It doesn't look like anyone is coming in-" He stops mid sentence as the chime echoes through the cafe.

I mentally groan before forcing a smile on my face, ready to do my job but thankfully I don't have to keep up the sweet as skittles act when I notice it's not just anybody that walked in, but Nina. My fake smile is quickly replaced with a genuine one and I waste no time in rounding to the other side of the counter to give her a hug. "What are you doing here?" I giggle softly.

"I had to drop something off for Sean earlier and I thought I would come by and see you before I had to head back."

My mood dampens slightly when I learn she won't be staying but I don't miss the part where she mentions her ex boyfriend. "You and Sean are talking again?"

"Not even." she snorts. "I only came to drop off some of his dress clothes he needs for some job interview."

"Well that's good that he's trying, right?"

"I really couldn't care less, Delia. I'm happy he's working on himself but I can't go through the whole relapse fiasco again. I gave him a chance and he blew it."

I nod in response but stay silent, not knowing what to say to her to make her feel better. I'm torn in two directions because on the one hand, I know exactly how she's feeling but I also know how drugs can become a crutch of some sort for a lot of people, especially those who don't feel like they have control of their own lives. I may have never watched a partner relapse, but I did however watch my brother go through his own struggle when it came to drugs for the majority of my childhood. "Well, you know I'm here for you." I tell her in a whispered tone so Archer can't hear. "Maybe he can talk to my brother? He might have some resources that could help Sean."

She lets out a loud sarcastic laugh. "Oh yeah, there's an idea"

My jaw clenches in annoyance but I take a deep breath in before responding. "I'm serious, Nina."