Page 23 of We Are the Stars

4

Elliott

“Everything good out here?” Bryan asks from the doorway of his office.

“Yep. We have everything done.”

“Good. Maybe we’ll be able to get out of here at a decent time tonight.” He disappears back into his cave, cranking his radio so loud I can hear the 80s blaring through the closed door.

I hop up onto the counter, mirroring my co-worker’s form. I know he’s staring at me; I can feel it. He’s been doing it all day, and he thinks I don’t notice, but I do. There have been a few times where I’ve caught him and he’s turned away, embarrassed. It’s confusing…but I like it.

I think.

“So, Bryan is your uncle?”

“He’s one of my dad’s best friends.” I shrug. “I’ve always known him as Uncle Bryan.”

His lips twist like he’s absorbing that information with interest. “Why’d your application sit here for months then?”

“Uh, because all of the positions were filled?” It comes out a question; I’m unsure what he’s getting at.

“Yeah, but you’re family. Why not simply hire you?”

“Why should he? Just because I know him doesn’t mean I get the job no matter what. Is that how it works in your world?”

His turn to shrug. “Something like that.”

“Well mine doesn’t work that way, Wheatley. I earned this position fair and square, interviewed for it alongside other applicants and everything.”

He stares down at the floor, silent. Then he murmurs, “Good. That’s good.”

I watch him, confused by not only his question but his reaction to my answer. He seems…pleased, which is something he hasn’t been since the moment I met him.

Pushing it aside—because if I’m being honest, I’ve spent too many hours today attempting to figure Carsen out and it’s draining me—I return to staring at the clock, trying to wish away the next fifty-five minutes we’re open.

“Hey, you hear me?”

“Huh?”

“That’s a no,” he retorts, annoyed.

“I’m listening.”

“Now. You’re listeningnow.”

I roll my eyes. “Repeat your question.”

“I don’t want to if you’re not going to listen. You do that a lot, you know. You sort of drift off and live in your own land.”

“Can you say ‘often’ when you’ve only known me since yesterday?”

“To be more precise, I’ve known you since this morning. Yesterday you were a random petulant brat. I didn’t like you then.”

A grin overtakes my lips. I wonder if he realizes what he’s said, or how genuine it sounded. “You like me?”

He groans. “I didn’t say that.”

“You saidthen, which implies thatnowyoulikeme. So, you like me, huh?”

---