What Happened to Wyatt

05 ｐｒｏｐｏｓｉｔｉｏｎ

It turns out Brian has the whole staff talking about the way I "assaulted" him the day before, which only deepens my aversion towards the guy. I try to ignore the hushed whisper and stares around me as I make my way to the back of the store to retrieve my vest. Suddenly a meaty hand clamps down on my shoulder. I turn around to face Harold, an expression that is far from amused on his face.

"My office. Now." He demands. Once we've both entered his office, Harold shuts the door behind him before going to take a seat behind his desk. He gestures for me to take a seat in one of the two chairs positioned in front of it. Harold clasps his hands together, leaning his chin on top of them. His dark eyes search mine. After a moment he unclasps his hands, setting them on his desk. "I do not condone fighting Reynolds. I should kick you out of this office and send you packing."

"Sir, if I may-" I start.

"But I won't. I know you're going through a rough time right now, we're all grieving for Isaiah-"

"Isaac," I interject.

"Right, Isaac. We're all grieving for Isaac. But that doesn't give us the right to go around punching out other employees. If this happens again I'll have no choice but to fire you on the spot, do you understand me?" Harold warns.

"Yes sir, it won't happen again," I mumble.

"It better not...Alright, you're free to go. Close the door behind you." Harold says, gesturing to the door. I'm thrilled to finally escape Harold's stuffy office and penetrating gaze. Once I'm out of his office and I've donned my vest, I make my way over towards the checkout counter I'm to man today. I begin assisting customers, ignoring the giant hole Brian is boring into my head. He has a miserable expression on his bandaged face, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a kicked puppy. After a while, I can't stand his eyes on me. I have to confront him. The moment Harold announces that it's time to take our break, I make my way over towards Brian. Brian shoves his hands in his jean pockets, his gaze trained on the floor.

"We need to talk," I state. He merely shrugs, proceeding to scuff his sneakers against the floor. I take a breath before I break the silence that had fallen over us for a spell. "Look, I'm sorry about yesterday, I don't know what came over me. I should never have reacted the way I did, but that's all I'm going to apologize for. I'm going to be straight with you, Brian. I don't like you, but that was no reason for me to behave the way I did yesterday. We don't need to be friends, but if we're going to be working together I'd like to be able to move past this." Brian is silent for a moment, still scuffing his shoes on the shiny linoleum.

"Whatever, man. We're cool I guess." Brian mutters, still refusing to look me in the eye. I can't help but find it funny that he's spent the better half of the day giving me the death stare but now that we're face to face he can't meet my eyes. I give him a nod before heading outside to take my break. The rest of the day seems to drag on. Brian is still brooding but his constant glaring has ceased. Finally, my shift comes to an end and I'm free to return home to spend the weekend with Olive. The moment I arrive back at the apartment I haven't even stepped inside and Olive is already thrusting herself into my arms. The hug only lasts a moment before Olivia drags me inside. I can't help but grin at her buoyant demeanor as we take a seat on the couch.

"Finally! I've been bored out of my mind waiting for you to come home." Olive proclaims.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, but I'm here now. What do you want to do?" I ask.

"Why don't you go make us some food and I'll pop in a movie. We can eat, enjoy some Netflix, and you can tell me about your day." Olive offers.

"Sounds great, O," I say, getting up from my couch and shedding my jacket. Olive topples back onto the couch, grabbing the remote to the PlayStation. She turns on Netflix. I can't afford cable but Netflix is the next best thing when it comes to TV. I head into the kitchen, setting my keys on the counter before I begin rummaging around in the cupboards. After some foraging, I emerge with a bag of microwavable popcorn and a box of cookie mix. I start making the cookies, slowly getting used to doing things one-handedly. After I've baked the cookies and have retrieved them from the oven, I leave them to cool and start microwaving the popcorn. Olivia has finally decided on a movie and has come through to help. She eases the cookies off the cookie sheet atop the oven and begins placing each of them on a plate.