Page 94 of Whatever It Takes

I don’t know how…I can only feel fear.

Currently…

What are you eating:vanilla birthday cake that I made for my sister. I snuck downstairs for a slice & brought it back up

What the fuck. Why is she sneaking downstairs in her own house? Did they lock her up there? You know what, I don’t like her family. It’s a declaration I make in my head with limited facts from a Tumblr questionnaire. I get that. But I don’t give two shits. I’m sticking by it.

What are you drinking:a flat can of Fizz Life

What are you waiting for:this birthday party to end

Seriously. What happened?

Do you want kids:idk I don’t think about that

Marriage:I don’t mind either way

Career:too soon to tell

What do you like…

Hugs or kisses:hugs for now

Has a guy ever even hugged her? It’s my only thought. One that I’m sure will be plaguing me all night.

Shorter or taller:taller than me. Even if it’s only a little taller. That works too.

Older or younger:older but not too old—I couldn’t do what Daisy Calloway does with her boyfriend, who’s like seven or eight years older (I can’t remember).

And that concludes the questionnaire. She meant it when she said it was personal. I pull my knees up and rest my elbows on them, staring off at the ground.

Shit.

I thought the point of reading that was to get answers, but now I have a thousand more questions. My heart pounds harder, my pulse fast. My body has responded like I chugged a Lightning Bolt!

The door to the break room opens, and I immediately freeze, only now realizing that my legs have been jostling.

“Garrison? Are you in here?”

Lily Calloway.

Great. I’m about to get fired. I rub my temple and run my hands up to my hair, aggressively pulling at it for a second before taking a breath. And then, I slowly stand.

“Yeah?”

She keeps the door propped open, not edging further towards me. “TheAvengers vs. X-Menissues need restocking, and they need more hands behind the counter.”

She’s not firing me?

I stare at her blankly for a second before nodding. “Yeah, fine.”

She squints a little. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” I motion towards the door. “You going?”

She opens her mouth like she might say something, but then someone calls her from the break room. She turns back to me quickly. “Forget about the comics. Just go help up front.” Her words drift as she rushes out to take care of something else.

I let out a breath of relief.