Chapter 1 Aspiring Waitress

• ELOISE
• “Please,” I said, trying to sound like I wasn’t begging, but I totally was. “I make a really good waitress.”
• The woman behind the counter gave me a once-over, her nose wrinkling like I reeked of poverty. “And yet you still aren’t a high school graduate,” she sneered, pearls the size of jawbreakers strung around her neck like they gave her the right to judge me. “We don’t accept the likes of you in here.”
• I pressed my lips together and crushed the resume in my hand. “And that’s why your business is failing,” I muttered, just loud enough for the customers to her.
• Her face turned the color of a tomato. “What did you just say?!”
• I didn’t stick around. I booked it out of there before she could cause a scene, or worse, before I lost all of my hair from violence.
• “Come back here, you little shit!” she shouted after me, but I was already out the door.
• I let out a breath and kicked a pebble down the sidewalk. It bounced off a curb and rolled away—lucky. I wasn’t.
• “What a shitty life,” I muttered, digging into my pocket. I pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and scratched off the last place on my list.
• “There goes my last chance,” I sighed, shaking my head.
• I hadn’t known needing a high school diploma was some golden ticket to waitressing. All I had to do was serve plates with fake smiles!
• I was already holding down two jobs as a convenience store clerk at dawn and assistant florist in the mornings. This evening gig was supposed to help with my brother’s medical bills, but the universe had other plans.
• A ping lit up my phone. I looked down and smiled faintly. My lock screen showed Cameron grinning like the little rascal he is. My heart squeezed.
• He was the reason I was running myself to the ground. He was diagnosed with leukemia a month ago, and treatment wasn’t something you could just wish for. It needed money. And a lot of it.
• “I can do this,” I muttered to myself, trying to smile. Giving up wasn’t an option.
• I kept walking, scanning windows for any kind of “HIRING” sign. After what felt like hours, I finally spotted one.
• “Yes!” I breathed, practically speed-walking toward it. However, before I could even open the door, my phone rang.
• I frowned and picked up. “Mom?”
• “Eloise.” Her voice was shaky.
• “What’s wrong?” I asked, already feeling my stomach twist.
• “I don’t know what to do—he just collapsed—”
• “Calm down,” I said quickly, even though my legs were already starting to move on their own. “Tell me what happened.”
• “It’s Cameron,” she whispered. “He’s in the hospital now.”
• My chest went tight. “Shit. I’m on my way.”
• And with that, I hailed a taxi cab even though it was out of my budget.
• ***
• “I’m here,” I said, pushing aside the curtain and stepping into my brother’s corner of the shared hospital room. It wasn’t private as we couldn’t afford that luxury, but at least there was a curtain that divided us from the other patients.
• He looked up from the bed, cheeks pale but smiling anyway. “Sis.”
• “Don’t ‘sis’ me.” I walked in and stood by the bed. “What happened to you?”
• “Better than ever,” he said with a grin.
• I smacked the side of his head gently. “Better than ever, my ass. Mom said you collapsed.”
• He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I was showering and then I got dizzy. Maybe it’s because of the cold water.
• I blinked. “Why didn’t you turn on the heater?”
• “It ran out. You know the landlady. She probably turned it off again.”
• I groaned, rubbing my temples. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow. We pay on time. She can’t just—ugh.”
• A groan came from behind the curtain next to us.
• “Can you not shout like you’re in a fish market?” a man grumbled.
• I blinked. There was someone right next to us?
• I peeked through the curtain and came face to face with a guy. Messy hair, bandaged forehead, and with a scowl that seemed permanent on his face. However, even then, I couldn’t deny that he looked handsome.
• “Sorry?”
• “You're loud,” he said, rubbing his temple like we were the ones who caused it.
• I raised a brow. “This is a public hospital room, not a five-star suite.”
• “Doesn’t mean you have to broadcast your life story,” he muttered, eyes still shut.
• I almost snapped back but looked at Cam instead, who was trying not to laugh.
• “Relax, grumpy. We’ll keep it down,” I said, rolling my eyes and pulling the curtain back.
• “Unbelievable,” he muttered under his breath.
• I scoffed quietly. “Maybe if he didn’t party so hard, he wouldn’t be here with a hangover.”
• But for some reason, my eyes kept drifting toward the curtain.
• Who even was that guy?