Classified ☑

[ chapter 13 ]

The rolling chair creaked underneath my weight as I plopped into it, putting my feet up on the clear, glass desk. I placed my hands behind my head as I leaned back into the chair, sighing.

Gracie and Thomas rounded the corner of the gym, both looking ready for a fancy dinner. Gracie had a long sleeve sweater dress on while my Uncle had a tux on. They were going out on another date tonight, leaving me in charge of the gym for the evening.

Thomas glared at me when he saw my shoes on the desk. "Off. Now," he said sternly, giving me a look that said if I didn't listen I'd be in trouble.

"You're lame," I said, sighing dramatically and taking my shoes off the desk.

"And you're an annoying teenager," Thomas added, still glaring at me.

I rolled my eyes but caught Gracie's small laugh, causing a smile to form on my lips. At least someone thought my dramatic antics was funny.

Thomas walked up to me and placed a small piece of paper down. It had Gracie's number on it along with Joseph's number. My uncle tapped the paper, causing a reverberating sound to vibrate off the glass. "If anything happens and you can't reach me, here's Gracie's and Joseph's numbers. The alarm is set at the house and I'll be able to see if anyone tries to get in."

I nodded my head, already knowing all about the alarm system. Turns out, on Monday when he left before me, he was going to get an alarm system to install because of the break in. I'd set it off when I went on my run this morning and yesterday morning, so I really did know all about it.

"Joseph's here as well if you need any help running the desk or if you have any questions about anything," my uncle continued, panic growing in his voice.

Gracie touched his arm, laughing again. "Thomas, I'm sure she'll do just fine. And I know she'll call us if she needs anything." Gracie's eyes found mine and she winked. "Won't you Nina?"

I nodded my head enthusiastically for my uncle's sake. "Of course I will. Now go," I said, waving my hand at them to leave. "You don't want to be late for your reservation."

As Thomas and Gracie started to walk away, my uncle turned around again. "If the roads are too icy when you leave, have Joseph give you a ride. I know he won't mind."

"Uncle Thomas!" I laughed at his sincerity, but it was also starting to be a little too much.

"Come on, Thomas, Nina has a point. We need to get going." Gracie gently tugged at his arm to leave the gym.

Reluctantly, Thomas turned around and opened the door for Gracie. He gave me one last look and I waved at him, letting him know everything was going to be okay.

A few seconds after they left, Joseph was by my side. "Where are those two going?"

"On another date," I answered, looking up at him from my spot in the chair. "By the way, they left me in charge."

A smirk spread across Joseph's lips as he shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm sure they did," he said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes at him but grinned to show him I was being sarcastic as well.

He chuckled before walking off, running a hand through his dark hair. "Just yell if you need anything," he called as he walked to a weight rack.

*****

About an hour or two later, I was swiveling in the desk, bored out of my mind. It had been a slow Wednesday evening because of the weather. The lady who spoke on the radio on Monday wasn't kidding. The weather hadn't let up this week and the roads were going to ice pretty soon.