Beauty & Her Bruises

Chapter Seven

"One moment," I said as I turned around and grabbed two mugs for the previous customer. I poured the drink and added a dollop of whip cream with a swirl of chocolate syrup. Placing them in the carrier, I ran to the donuts and grabbed a bag. Grabbing two éclairs, I ran them in the bag and smiled when I gave the customer their order. "Be careful, it's hot."

With a nod of the head, the customer went to the back table and I sighed a bit. Thankfully I loved my job and everybody was really nice about anything. If I messed up their order, they would get a little antsy but I would apologize and throw in a free doughnut—like I was taught to do.

When the door chimed again, I looked up with a bright smile on my face. It instantly faded once I realized who was in front of me.

"Hey, Zara, can we talk?" he asked. Knowing that this was at least semiserious, I looked over the counter to see if any other customers were going to order something. When it seemed as if the coast was clear, I nodded my head and followed him to the farthest table away from everyone else.

Once we sat down, I arched my eyebrow in curiosity but didn't say anything in case he felt like he was being rushed. I knew that when I was rushed, I always too my time even slower so they knew how I felt about the subject.

"What did you want to talk about?" I questioned once he started tapping his knuckles against the tabletop.

"Liam."

"He's not talking to me at the moment," I said as I started drawing circles on the table. I felt him nodding his head as I said this and I sighed. He knew all along that Liam wasn't talking to me.

"I know and I'm sorry about that," he said as he placed his hands on top of mine. I looked up at him and slid my hands out from under his and placed them in my lap. "But Liam is being kicked out of his parent's house." I nodded my head since I already knew this bit of information. "And I just..." He nodded his head in frustration and placed his hands on his face. When he lifted his head to face me, his face was slightly red and he seemed to ponder what he was going to say. "I don't blame you, Zara."

"You don't?" I questioned slightly aspirated.

"No, I don't." He shrugged his shoulders a bit as he smirked a bit. "Liam shouldn't either."

"But I—"

"Just wanted him to tell his parents?" he questioned. I nodded my head slightly and he smiled at me. "I did too. If it wasn't you who pushed him into telling, then I would've."

"Why did you wait so long to push him though?" I wondered. "I remember Liam telling me you were getting a bit frustrated that he wouldn't tell. Why all of a sudden did you want his parents to know?"

"Because my parents knew." He shrugged his shoulders a bit and bit his cheek. "We've been dating for three years now."

I nodded my head since I knew this bit of information. Liam told me when he knew he could trust me with the topic. It wasn't much of a secret though since every time some cute guy walked near I always caught him staring.

When he first introduced me to his boyfriend, I just thought they were friends. I spent months around them before they were introduced as dating. The only thing that surprised me was that I never picked it up for myself. I've never seen them act like a couple around me and they were pretty good at hiding it.

Malcolm was Liam's boyfriend. He is always happy and I've never caught him in a bad mood—he doesn't seem to have one. He's the major difference between him and Liam though. Liam is an athletic teddy bear, Malcolm is the string bean who talks smack even though he couldn't hurt a fly.

Malcolm wasn't bad-looking though. His hair is better than mine and he has incredible eyes. They're a light blue that I can hardly describe. He goes to our school but he and Liam stay apart from each other as much as they could. They don't want anyone finding out before Liam's ready to tell the world.

The first time I met Malcolm, I hated him so much. I make terrible first impressions though so I'm glad that Liam pushed me to hang out with him more. He's so funny and nice with a sarcastic attitude that somewhat gets annoying. Whenever he purposely tries to be funny, it doesn't make anyone laugh until he finally cracks up himself. His laugh is the funniest thing in the world.

"We're moving in together," he finally spoke as we sat in silence. I broke from my daydream and looked at him with so many questions processing through my head. "We're buying a house together and moving in."

"Why?"

"My family accepts me but they don't want him to stay over our house. They said it's time to grow up and get an apartment for us anyway. Next year we're on our own. Senior year."

"Where are you going? Because Liam doesn't work and I'm pretty sure you don't either." Malcolm shrugged his shoulders and smiled mischievously at me.

"Can I work here?" he asked.

"We're not hiring but I could probably get you a job." He nodded his head as I went to the front to get him an application form. As the bell chimed on the door, I rushed back towards Malcolm and threw the pen and paper at him.

"How can I help you?" I wondered.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that I was supposed to help you with your math homework," Dustin said as I looked up. I rolled my eyes and let him set the calculus book on the counter with a pen and paper. "But what do you recommend?"

"Mint cake," I whispered under my breath. Dustin just nodded his head and I grabbed it for him. When he took a bite of it, my smile maximized to the fullest because he moaned from the pleasure of the taste. "But I'm kind of busy at the moment."

"Well, when you're not busy. I could help you here and at the library."

"How'd you even know I worked here?" I wondered. Dustin shrugged his shoulders and licked the crumbs off of his lips. "Well, start tutoring. There doesn't seem to be any customers yet."

"If I get you fired, I'm sorry." I shrugged my shoulders and knew my boss probably wouldn't care. She was an easygoing person and since there wasn't any big complaints about me, she didn't mind that I made some people mad. "Where's your bathroom at?" he quickly asked.

I pointed and watched as he left.

I sighed a bit and grabbed a donut for myself. I began munching on it and when Malcolm placed the application letter in front of me, he scared me. I jumped and bit my tongue as the donut flew back onto the counter where I had just cleaned.

"Scare you?" he asked playfully. I nodded a bit and he smiled at me. "So who was that?"

"Just a friend."

"Sure," Malcolm said sarcastically. I looked at him and he sighed. "Well, keep him under your toes," he warned. "Someone might just swoop out and steal him away." He coughed a bit and I looked back at him. "Like me."

"I don't think he runs that way, Malcolm."

"Not yet."