Free Aftermath by Jenna-Lynne Duncan Page A

again,
absent. Then I worried that Hayden wouldn’t be able to get a ride
home from him. I would either be late to work if I had to drop Hayden
off at home or Hayden would be driving me. I texted him to meet me at
my locker, hoping he would have an explanation about why Luke was
gone.
    “Hi,” he kissed my
cheek. “I thought you were going straight to work from gym. Can’t
stay away can you?” he teased.
    I gave him a
patronizing smile. “Ha-ha. No, I was going to leave but—”
    “You ready to go?”
Luke interrupted us, his backpack slung over his shoulder like he was
here the whole day.
    “Yeah, one second.
Did you change your mind about me driving you?” Hayden didn’t
turn his attention from me.
    “No, it’s ok. I
just wanted to say goodbye.”
    “Bye,” Luke
clipped. Ugh, what was his problem today?
    “Not goodbye,” he
cupped my face, “see you later.” He rubbed my lower lip with the
pad of his thumb, leaving me breathless. He winked as he walked away
with Luke. Stupid work. Stupid dream. There were many things I could
curse. And I did just that on my short drive to work.
    Before I even walked
into the shop, Zack came out of the office. “Suit up; you’re
going to actually work today.”
    “Hello to you, too.”
I tilted my chin up.
    Seeing Christian at his
desk, I ignored Zack’s order and walked into the office.
    “Hi, Mr. Christian.”
    “Hey baby girl.”
His sweet southern drawl was a contrast to the bitterness of Zack’s.
    “Busy today?” I
asked, wondering why Zack wanted me to get suited up right away.
    “Yeah. ‘fraid so.”
    “More than usual?”
    “We’ve got boat
inspections all week, on top of the salvaging. I had to send half my
boys off shore on those Gulf jobs. They won’t be back for another
week.”
    “I see.” And I
officially felt guilty for having the weekend off.
    “Dad, I need that
compressor,” Zack was behind me, speaking in a slightly more polite
tone to his father.
    “Well, come get it.”
He tilted his head to the right of him.
    Zack drew his lips in
and raised his eyebrows as he went to take an air tank. He hesitated,
fiddling with the valve.
    “Don’t worry about
it though, Adriana. I got your dad coming in and we got Zack here.”
    “Oh and Dad,” Zack
jumped at the opportunity, “since we have an extra body, I was
hoping to get Friday off.”
    “Friday off?”
Christian spoke the words as if they were inconceivable.
    I slowly started to
back out of the office.
    “For what?”
Christian added.
    “There’s just
something important I want to do. Friends, ya know?”
    “Not this week, Zack.
Ana's dad isn’t coming in to replace anyone, we need him and we
need you.”
    Zack exhaled, clearly
unhappy about not getting Friday off but not saying so. “You don’t
understand…”
    “I can work for you!”
I blurted out before I could think it through.
    Christian’s head shot
up. “Adriana, no.”
    “No, it’s fine
really. I don’t mind.” That wasn’t entirely true, but I
considered it my peace offering to Zack. I hoped he would go a little
easier on me if I did this. That wasn’t the only reason, though.
There was something about what he said that reminded me of myself. I
didn’t work twice as often as he did and it still was enough. He
was a teenager. He wanted to go out and live his life. He wanted to
be normal and he was right, his dad didn’t get that. How many
teenagers worked full time? How many were scuba divers with more
responsibility than most adults?
    “No!” Zack’s
bellow broke through my thoughts.
    “Zachary…”
Christian scolded him.
    Zack ignored his father
and turned towards me. “No. I don’t need you to work for me and I
don’t need your help.”
    “I’m sorry, I
just…” I tried justifying my offer but Zack had already left. What is with everyone today?
    “Sorry about that,
Adriana. I’ll have to have a good talking to with that boy later,”
his voice carried the threat.
    “No, please