Page 12 of Fox
“Fox, I’m so sorry.” Her voice is shaky as she looks up at me with watery eyes.Oh god, is she about to cry?“I–I stumbled and hit your tray, and the ink went everywhere.”
“It really was an accident, Fox,” Atlas says quietly while helping the ink-covered girl clean the floor.
I inhale slowly. “Okay, it’s alright. At, can you get this? Janie, come with me.” I usher Janie to the break room, and once inside, I close the door and turn to speak, but she instantly starts frantically talking.
“F–Fox! I s-swear! It w-was… please I—” I place my hands on her shaking shoulders and lower my head to look her in the eyes.
I need her to calm down before she ends up passing out. I take a breath, and in the calmest, softest voice I can muster, I ask, “Are you alright?” Her full bottom lip quivers as she looks at me with round, watery eyes.Ouch.That is an uncomfortable feeling in my chest.
“Yeah. I just—I don’t do so well with yelling.” I grab her shaking hands, and as soon as we touch, she gasps and rips them from my grasp as if I burned her. I give her a quizzical look and go to speak, but she beats me to the punch.
“Sorry,” she gives me an uncomfortable laugh before sitting on the couch. “I don’t like people touching my hands.”
Raising a brow, I grab some wipes from the utility closet and hand them to her as I sit on the coffee table. She won’t stop shaking. “Did that fucker really make you this upset?” I hiss while grinding my teeth. I know I need to be professional and not lose my shit, but I can’t let someone upset her this much. Not because I hate her any less. No, of course not. It’s just… She’s a female, and… men are supposed to… what the fuck ever. I don’t need to explain myself.
Crimson surges up her neck and rushes to her cheeks, transforming her porcelain, freckled skin into a canvas of raw emotion. Her sad smile is so fragile and raw that it pierces my heart.
“Fox,” she utters my name. It trembles on the edge of her tongue as if it’s a fragile plea. There’s a certain timidity in the way she unveils it, as though sharing it with the world carries an inherent discomfort. “I have—” Her gaze locks onto mine, intense and unwavering, almost overwhelming. I can read her emotions like an open book in her deep blue eyes. There’s evidence of anxiety, a hint of grief, and perhaps even a little loneliness. But that last part puzzles me. How could someone with a massive following and seemingly glamorous life possibly feel lonely? She breaks eye contact with me, letting out an uneasy breath while running her tongue over her lips in agitation.
Nope. Put that image in a box and set that fucking thing on fire. I will notreplay that image.
At least, that’s what I will continue to tell myself.
“Goddamn it,” she groans. “I’m going to tell you, and you’ll make fun of me.” Her gaze lifts to the ceiling as she shakes her head. What kind of asshole does she think I am? Sure, we hate each other and are constantly bickering, but I’m not a monster.
“Listen, Torch, let’s set the war aside temporarily. If there’s something you need to tell me, I’ll give you this one. Though,honestly, I’m insulted that you would think I would make fun of you over something causing youthismuch stress.” I gesture to her shaking body as she nods slowly, her reluctant gaze locking back with mine.
“Fine,” she lets out a deep breath. “I have a disorder called Essential Tremors. So, I can’t control this.” She gestures to her trembling body. “It’s why I wear layers and stay back so no one can tell. It only gets bad like this if I’m upset or have too much caffeine. No, stop, don’t!” She smacks my forearm hard, and I wince and glare at her.
“What the hell, Janie?” I rub my arm to try to relieve the sting. For someone so tiny, she sure knows how to cause pain.
“I didn’t tell you this so you would look at me like that! I don’t want your pity!” I blink, staring at her in confusion.
“I’m not giving you pity. Jesus! It’s called being nice.” Staring at me, she’s silent, as if trying to catch my bluff.
“No one knows,” she states softly, and I nod, understanding her unspoken words.
“It’s nobody’s business.” Fuck, what is that look? Shimmering pools of blue pull me into a trance I both want to run from and dive into. I blink and shake my head. Why does she look so happy?
“Thank you, Fox.” She smiles softly. A genuine smile, and I have to swallow a lump in my throat. This is getting uncomfortable, and I feel the sudden urge to put us back on opposing sides.
“Nope, you are not thanking me. You are my nemesis, and you spilled all my good ink.” It’s getting too hot in here, and I’m starting to have difficulty getting comfortable.Sixty-seven degrees, my ass. I go to the door before the room steals all the oxygen.
“Yo, Red!” Atlas’ booming voice makes me cringe. Why can’t that fucker just walk back here instead of screaming? “There’s a Brody here!”
“Brody?” I give her a questioning stare as she gasps.
“Shit, my boyfriend!”Boyfriend?I don’t know why her having a boyfriend makes me feel… whatever this is. But I don’t like it. I feel constipated and irritable as Janie shoves me out of the break room so she can calm down and change before coming out to see her boyfriend.
“Am I missing something?”I ask as Atlas and I stare in bewilderment at Janie and her purple-haired boyfriend,Brody. Snickering, Atlas shrugs before going back to work on his client.
Brody has been here maybe twenty minutes. It took Janie over ten minutes to calm down enough to change her ink-covered clothes and come out. Apparently, when she said nobody knew about her condition, she meantnobody. I wonder how close they can be if he doesn’t notice her tremors. I also wonder why I care about how close they get.
Rolling my eyes, I watch the idiot make Janie take several photos of him standing next to different flash art frames and paintings that the guys, Tony, and I had done.
“What is that on your shirt?” Brody sneers, catching my attention. People often ask about the shirts. They have the shop’s namesake in them, the Norse goddess Hel. But the tone he uses, like Janie has on a trash bag, irritates me, especially since Tony did that design.
“It’s our logo. You know, the goddess Hel?” I watch as her long shiny curls fall to one side as she cocks her head. How does she manage that mane? Well, she doesn’t, by the looks of it. Her hair is as wild and stubborn as she is. Brody presses his purple eyebrows together in confusion.
