Page 32 of Old Habits
Chapter 9
Jovie
We’re through. That much is obvious now.
Will and I couldn’t make it one conversation without it becoming a shouting match. He’s not over the fact that I left but it’s not all his fault. Thoughts and feelings I once believed long dead were lying dormant inside of me just waiting for the moment when I finally saw his face again.
At least, now I know. Now I can stop playing what-if with myself and move on.
The entry bell rings across the toy store. I don’t look up from the inventory list, though. If I don’t get this finished by the end of my shift today, Mr. Trin will have my ass.
“Hello!” I greet, turning the page over to the backside.
Whoever it is doesn’t answer but I hear the loud clack of high heels bounding toward the counter. I look up as they stop and instantly wish I hadn’t.
Sara stands in front of me, staring hard at me through her swept, brown bangs. Will’s big sister. Still just as tall and intimidating as she always was.
I really don’t need this today.
“Hello, Jovie,” she says.
“Hey, Sara,” I say, throwing on a forced pleasant face. “How may I help you?”
Her eyes drift down my red smock as her pointed nose sticks a little higher up into the air. “You can start by explaining what you’re doing here.”
“Earning minimum wage.”
“Not here,” she says. “In Clover.”
I let out a thick sigh. “That’s not really any of your business.”
“You have a lot of nerve coming back, Jovie.”
“To my home town?”
“To Will’s life.”
I shake my head and glance down at my list again. “Wow… so this is still your thing, huh?”
“What is?”
“Sticking your big nose where it doesn’t belong.”
She snatches the list from my hand. I feel a rage spike in my chest but I hold it back. “Will is my brother,” she argues.
“And he’s a big boy,” I say.
“Stay away from him.”
“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told you like… six years ago.” I lean forward and steal the list right back. “Piss off. Will’s an adult. He can take care of himself. He doesn’t need you to hold his hand when he crosses the street anymore.”
She stands a little taller. “You know what this sounds like to me?”
“Like you need a hobby?” I quip.
“Like you need a gentle reminder of our arrangement.”
“Look, Sara.” I step back. “I didn’t come back here to reunite with Will. We even talked last night and agreed that seeing each other while I’m here — in any capacity — wasn’t going to happen. So, retract your claws, okay?”