Until Trevor (Until, #2)(20)

“I'm fine, Mom. I made an appointment this morning with a specialist to get tested.” I hear laughing and turn around to see Britney and Lisa standing near the rack of scarfs. I'm sure that there will be rumors of me having some crazy disease running rampant around town by tomorrow. I look at my mom to see her watching the girls through narrow eyes. I'm not even bothered by them anymore; they’re bullies and have nothing better to do with their time. I start walking to the back of the store, when the bell over the door rings. I turn to see Trevor, Cash, and Nico walk in.

“Hey, baby,” Trevor says.

“Yo,” Cash says, giving me his carefree smile.

Nico walks in, giving me a chin lift.

Cash and Nico walk over towards Britney and Lisa; Trevor comes right to me, his hand to my waist, pulling me a step closer. He bends, touching his mouth to mine. I automatically kiss him back, and when my eyes open, he’s smiling down at me like always. “What are you doing here?”

“We wanted to get something for Ma for her birthday, so we came here to see if you could help us out.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure, just give me a minute. I need to put my stuff down,” I tell him, trying to pull away. But his fingers have hooked on the inside of my jeans, holding me in place.

“How are you feeling?” he asks, and my heart melts into a giant puddle right there in the middle of Temptations.

“Perfect.” I say quietly, watching his face go soft. I love that he cares enough to worry about me. I turn my head; my mom is watching us, smiling like the cat that got the cream. I roll my eyes at her.

“So, Trevor,” my mom says, pushing her way between us. “I know its short notice for booking a flight, but if you can get time off, would you want to go to Jamaica for my wedding? I'm sure you could room with Liz.” She smiles, looking between us like she just solved world hunger with her suggestion.

“Mom, I'm sure he has better things to do.” I'm still trying to get used to the knowledge that he’s my boyfriend. Going to a foreign country with the guy you’re dating is right up there with picking out a puppy; you should be together a while for both. Although, the thought of watching Trevor on a beach in nothing but a pair of board shorts over a long weekend sounds like a good idea.

“Sure, I can make it,” he says. I look at my mom; she’s looking at Trevor. I blink a few times, trying to clear my head.

“You don’t have to come. I'm sure that you have a lot going on with the contract you just got,” I tell him.

“I have three brothers. It’s only three days; they can handle it.”

“Oh,” I say, wondering how the hell this is my life, and when I got sucked into Trevor’s universe.

“Tonight, after we pick our puppy, we can try to get me on the same flight as you. If they don’t have any seats left, you can change your flight to whatever one I’m on.”

“You’re getting a puppy?” my mom cries, clapping her hands.

“Someone kill me,” I mumble, looking at the ceiling.

“What honey?”

“Nothing…I'm going to put my stuff down, then help the guys pick out something for Mrs. Mayson.”

“I’ll help them while you get settled,” my mom says, putting her fingers around Trevor’s bicep. I watch her give it a squeeze, then she looks up at him smiling. “Oh my, so strong. Do you work out?” Oh my God, someone? Anyone? Save me! Trevor smiles down at my mom, answering her in the affirmative. I walk into the back room and put my stuff away. I take a minute to bang my head against the wall a few times before I walk back out into the insanity that has become my life. It’s after the guys left the store, and after my mom came back from her Trevor high, that I get a text from my brother.

Tim: Call me at this number 521-649-4579

I look to make sure my mom is still at the front of the store. “Mom, I'm going to be in the back.”

“Sure, honey.” She motions me away with a wave of her hand. I walk to the back of the store, sit down on a large box, and take a deep breath before dialing the number that he texted me.

“Liz, I need your help,” I hear Tim say through the fuzzy connection.

“You want my help, after you stole from me and Mom? Are you high?” I ask, my voice becoming louder. I stand and peek out the door to make sure my mom didn’t hear anything. Thankfully, she’s still standing behind the cash register.

“I didn’t want to do it.”

“Where is the money, Tim?”

“Listen to me,” he yells. I have never heard my brother yell before; my mouth snaps shut and my eyes close, knowing that whatever is going on is bad. Really bad.

“I know I f*cked up, sis.” He doesn’t say anything else, so I take the phone away from my ear to make sure the call didn’t drop.

“Tim?”

After a few more seconds, he finally speaks, sounding completely defeated. “I have a problem, and I thought that if I could just pay off the people I owed, that I could make a clean start.”

“No,” I whisper, my head falling forward.

“I never wanted this to happen, sis. You have to believe me. I was so depressed, and it was the only thing that could make me forget. Every time I made a bet, I thought, ‘This is it. This is the last time…’”