CHAD’S EYES WERE HEAVY and the lack of sleep he had been running on for the last few days was finally catching up with him. Devyn’s body snuggled into his side wasn’t helping the matter either. The movie had already grown stale and it wasn’t helping his overly exhausted mind. Devyn had started fidgeting too, and if she wasn’t ready for the movie to end, she was getting there.
Chad had barely found out anything about her since she started working at Maxi’s. She had laid low and, outside of her experience and the hard work she put in everyday at the office, he was clueless about her. Honestly, he was lucky she had even told him about her sister.
“Are you ready to tell me about yourself?” The words rolled off his tongue.
“What’s there to tell?” Devyn stiffened, shrugging her shoulders. Her face was hidden in the dim room.
“Don’t do that to me,” he said pulling back so he could see her face.
The timid expression used that morning was back, reminding him of how desperate she had been to play nice with him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about Chad,” she said, turning back toward the movie on the screen. “I’m trying to watch the movie.”
Chad scoffed, muffling the laugh that almost came out. Her eyes darted toward his. Her cheeks burned bright red and he could see the gears turning in her head. She was thinking of some way to piss him off.
“Devyn you’ve been on the verge of snoring for about 30 minutes.” He smiled at her, squeezing her shoulders. “Come on. I want to know about you.”
“Why should I tell you about me when I don't know anything about you?”
Dammit, the girl was good. She pressed her lips together, crossing her arms over her chest. She had backed him into a corner here.
“I have a sister,” Chad said, clearing his throat before taking another long drink from his Coke. “She is kind of a bitch.”
Devyn let out a laugh that sounded like she was choking on her tongue before she clamped her mouth shut. Her eyes grew three times the size they were before. Chad couldn’t tell if she was waiting for him to yell or if she was hoping he wouldn’t say anything. Chad let the corner of his lips tug upward, giving her a small smile to let her know it was fine. She hadn’t crossed a line she couldn’t come back from. Slowly, her lips loosened and she parted them, and furrowing her brow trying to come up with the right words to respond.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh like that, but the way you said it just kind of triggered something. You were just so blunt about it.” Devyn crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m blunt about everything,” Chad said matter of factly.
Devyn forced herself to sit still and fought an eye roll. She looked at the blanket between them and swallowed, “What makes her such a bitch?”
“I think it would be easier to tell you what wouldn’t make her a bitch.” Chad sighed, letting his hand fall between them. He fought the urge to curl his fingers around hers. “When we were kids, our dad left us. My sister blamed me because I always took up for our mom. Our mom was always a lot to handle, and sometimes I wonder how our dad made it as long as he did. Our mom had these panic attacks that would send her to the hospital. Mom refused to go on medicine. She said she didn’t want drugs inside her body when she could handle it herself. Which she couldn’t, by the way.”
Devyn stiffened waiting on him to finish.
“I always took care of her. I didn’t push her for medicine or leave her when things got hard. I made sure she was okay, and my sister hated it. She hated our mom for what she ‘did to us’ even though it was our dad that fucked up. My sister doesn’t know it, but I overheard him before he walked out. He didn’t leave just because of our mom. He also left because he didn't want to come home to ‘two brats after a hard days work’ so he bailed.” Chad’s grip on the couch tighten. He urged himself to loosen his fingers and let go of the arm of the couch before he accidentally ripped it off.
“Mom couldn’t hold down a job, so I ended up going to work pretty early and my sister’s just like our dad. If she could get out of here she would, but she’s stuck. She doesn’t have a job or any money. She kind of jumps around from guy to guy, sucking them dry until she is right back where she started.”
Devyn’s lips were pressed thin as she soaked in the information. He finally let his hand tangle in hers, lacing his fingers through hers like she could keep him from floating away. He felt like he just might after the weight he had gotten off his chest. Had he ever talked about what happened between his family? He didn’t think he had, but for some reason he decided to tell her. Tell Devyn Kennedy. His boss. The woman he was falling for way too quickly. Chad knew something else was going to come out. He felt it climbing out of his chest before he could process the words spilling from his lips.
“Truth be told, I didn’t want the job you have,” he said, the words slipping by without a second thought. His brain couldn’t catch up with the secrets he was letting her know. “I just wanted the experience. I want to open my own store and I thought running someone else’s store would help me out. Help get me there, ya know? I know it sounds stupid, but it’s always been my dream to have a place
