Pack Secrets || WLW

Change Your Mind

 I'm still sitting in my car sulking when the driver's side door is ripped open.

June's cheeks are flushed, her eyes wide as they dart from my eyes to the rest of my body.

"Jesus, Sawyer. I thought you were hurt." She closes the door with a flick of her wrist. In seconds, she's sliding into the passenger seat. "What's going on? You were supposed to meet me for dinner."

"I got fired," I tell her.

She goes quiet for a moment. "What happened?" Her voice is softer now as she twists in her seat so she's facing me.

I wipe the leftover tears from my cheeks with the sleeve of my jacket. "My dad showed up and then Ricky showed up and called me a slut and"—I shake my head—"my dad punched him in the face." I wave the explanation off. "It doesn't really matter. I don't care that she fired me." My throat goes tight now and I bite my cheek to keep the emotion at bay. I can't cry again. My throat is already raw, my head pounding. "Without that paycheck, I don't have money for the hotel room and—" My voice goes airy, tears threatening to take over.

June envelopes my hand with hers and rubs soothing circles on it with her thumb. "Angela," she finishes my thought. "You don't want to leave before we've found Angela."

"She's out there, June. She has to be."

June nods but I can tell she's thinking about something else. "Let's go grab some dinner and figure this out." When I don't move, she flicks her chin toward the door. "Come on. Switch with me."

So, I do. I switch seats with June and let her drive us to the local diner where the waitress knows her by name. June asks her something in a low tone and the waitress nods and takes us to a table in an empty portion of the restaurant. Away from the families with crying babies and the teenagers who are throwing fries at each other.

"Get whatever you want," June says once we're sitting in the retro booth. "It's on me."

A partial smile tugs at my lips. "Taking pity on the unemployed girl now?"

She chuckles and then blushes like she's embarrassed before she speaks. "I kind of eat a lot," she admits. "And I would feel bad sticking you with the bill after."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "Should we make it a competition?"

June's smile grows, any sign of her previous embarrassment gone. "You don't want to take this bet, Harrison."

She's right. I know she's right after she finishes her double cheeseburger and starts on her fries with just as much steam as when we started eating. Glancing at my plate, she smirks and dips another fry in ketchup. But instead of teasing me for leaving one-third of my burger behind, she says, "You know you can stay with me."

A sigh has been forming in my chest since I got fired and it leaks through my lips now. "That's a terrible idea... You know it."

She shrugs, but she won't look at me. She busies herself with eating her fries instead, her head angled down like she's protecting herself from rejection. "Why would it be a terrible idea?"

"I have feelings for you, June." The admission takes even me by surprise.

June looks up from her plate, a french fry still gripped between her thumb and pointer finger. She swallows hard. "You do?"

I run a hand through my hair and try to regulate my heartbeat but it's pounding against my chest. I've never done something like this before. "Yeah." The word is quiet but certain because I am. I'm certain I have feelings for June and I thought forcing them down would help, but I was wrong. "And I don't think moving in with you for the rest of winter break is going to help."