ghost of you // interracial

003. revelations

Stepping into Fresh Way, Camron was hit with that familiar disdain he'd developed after working in the grocery store for the past five years. It was like he had just remembered how much he hated working there with the bad fluorescent lights and that strange odor that most grocery stores have.

The only thing that made working in the tiny supermarket was the fact that he was with Becca. The two of them spent countless days and night goofing around, making messes and then cleaning them up. All the times they would sneak off into the breakroom; he was pretty sure that's where Adeline was conceived.

Taking a deep breath, Camron pushed forward into the air-conditioned store.

"And the prodigal son returns," he heard someone Caml out. Turning, he came face to face with Tony Jaramillo.

"Fuckin' asshole," Camron chuckled before stepping forward and embracing the much smaller man.

Tony fuckin' Jaramillo. He was the manager of Fresh Way and the one who gave Camron a chance when no one else would. The man was like a father to Camron, he'd never felt such unconditional love from anyone before.

"You filled out, ain't ya? They had y'all out there working the prison yard," the graying man joked, his cheeky smile deepening the wrinkles on his brown face.

Camron laughed; a fake laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

Tony had always been the one to crack jokes with Camron. The two of them together were the budget rip-offs of Martin and Lewis. Still, Tony was the star between the two of them; he was the one to bring light to a dull situation, but even this was hard to laugh at.

Glancing around the nearly-empty grocery store, Camron was desperate to see if Becca was there or not. She hadn't been answering his phone calls and she wasn't replying to his texts; if she wanted to be upset, that was fine, but keeping him from his daughter was crossing the line.

"She's in the back," Tony spoke, the edge of humor now gone from his voice. It was as if he was reading Camron's mind. "It's her lunch break."

For a moment, Camron wasn't sure what to do; whether he should wait outside for her shift to be over or if it'd be better to barge into the employee breakroom to give her a piece of his mind.

"Cam," Tony started. His expression screamed authority figure as he stared up at Camron. Crossing his arms over his chest, he shook his head. "It might be best for you to catch her when she's not working."

"But she's not working right now; she's on her lunch break."

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It was hot outside. It was humid and hot and Camron knew that he should've bought a bottle of water before being escorted out of the grocery store by Tony.

He'd spent the last three hours sitting on an uncomfortable metal bench outside next to the store's automatic-sliding doors; waiting and waiting and waiting. Three more minutes and Becca's shift would be over.

Those three minutes felt like an eternity. Every thirty-seconds, Camron was glancing at his phone's lock screen just to see if time had moved any faster.

It never did.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

The irritation was evident which caused Camron's hands to sweat. The last thing he needed was to be bitched out by his baby mama in the parking lot of a low budget grocery store about his stint in prison. That was just too much of a Jerry Springer cliché for him.

Turning around, he was met with Becca's hostility. Arms crossed, face scrunched up, and her foot rapidly tapped the ground; she was about to let him have it.