Forever Enigmatic

Chapter 26

IT HAD BEEN A couple of days after falling asleep under the stars with Kyle, and the high that came with it had gone down. Now Sierra was back to reality. Her schedule was jam-packed, her stress came back, and she was trying so hard to find a way to save up money. In an attempt to save up a little more for food, she took up a few more double-shifts.

That was why she was stuck at The Cream Accent until close even though she had work to do for a class.

"Sie, can you get the customer?" Nick asked her as she finished up organizing the last bit of product. Her boss, Bethany, had ordered in bulk again. It was as if she disregarded the fact that they didn't have the space for that amount of product. Yet when she saw the mess, she had a fit about having unfit employees for her café.

Sierra wished she was in charge of ordering, so she could do it right.

"I'll be right out," she told Nick.

She walked through the doors that separated the storage and the counter and seating area. She smiled instinctively when she saw it was Kyle waiting by the cash register.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hi." His eyes held such amusement that her stomach started flipping inside. "I want a black coffee, please."

"What size?"

"Medium."

She punched in his order as he slid her a ten dollar bill. She stretched her fingers for the money, but doubled over at the intense pain that exploded on her chest. She pressed her hands where the pain was and gasped.

"Sierra, what's going on?" Kyle asked.

The pain burned inside. She whimpered and crumbled on the floor at the unexpectedness of it all. Her fingers shook as she touched her skin.

"Sierra!"

Nick and Isabela burst through the doors after hearing the commotion. They ran to her side and kneeled beside her.

"Girl, what's going on? Are you okay?" Isabela asked.

Sierra shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but the ache made it harder for her to do anything. She let out another whimper.

"Sierra, what are you feeling?" Kyle asked. He leaned forward on the counter, a little more and he would fall over to the other side.

"It hurts," she whispered and pointed to her chest weakly.

"Is she having a heart attack?" Nick asked. "Do we need to call an ambulance?"

Sierra protested. "I'm fine. It's leaving. It aches, but it's leaving."

The three of them looked unconvinced, but she didn't care. She started standing up, but Isabela stopped her.

"Why don't you take the rest of the shift off?" She suggested.

Sierra scoffed at the thought. She needed the money to have a roof over her head. She couldn't just leave in the middle of her shift and expect her expenses to be taken care of.

"You know I can't afford that, Isa." She stood up, ignoring the dull ache in her chest that didn't seem to want to leave.

"Then take an hour break," Nick jumped in. "I'm sure Big Muscles here can keep you entertained."

She rolled her eyes, but liked the idea of getting out of there with Kyle, even if just for a little while.

"I can take you out any day," Kyle said.

"And now you don't have an excuse." Isabela smirked. "Take good care of her if you know what's good for you." She looked at Kyle up and down. He raised a brow, but nodded at the slight threat.