43| Big Problems, Small Problems

Travis didn't see Zoey in the school the whole day. It was better in a way because he didn't know how to react after what happened last night, how he kissed her and then left without saying anything. But in a way, he was worried about her. She had hurt her ankle last night and if she skipped school, that means she was still in pain.

His stress relieved a little when he entered the store after school and found Zoey already there. She was organising the grocery aisle, looking every bit engrossed in her work. Her hair was pulled on top of her head, with few loose waves resting on her long neck.

As his eyes moved lower, he noticed the bandage around her ankle. "So you finally decided to see the doctor?" He asked her as he entered inside.

"Yeah." she answered without looking at him.

"Is it better yet?" He reached her and helped her by handing her the items one by one.

"Yeah." She replied, still not looking at him.

He couldn't figure out if she was angry at him or not and the more she stayed aloof, the more his curiosity piqued. He would have asked her if it was not for Cody who entered through the back door.

"Here's your salary for this month, kids." He handed a small parcel to both of them.

Travis counted all the money in his parcel and decided to treat himself with a coffee and cupcake later. He then angled his neck to look at Zoey who was staring at her salary with a stressed look on her face.

"What happened?" He asked.

"It just... I own shoes more expensive than this." She said. "It's strange, how someone works a whole month for this much money."

"Still think your Dad has never done anything for you?" Travis asked her.

She let out a loud sigh, putting the money in the pocket of her jeans. "I still think he is a dick."

Travis chuckled at this. "Only you can call your father a dick." He said and cleared out the bottom shelf of the aisle by kneeling in front of it.

Once he stood up again, Zoey had made her way to the counter where she was calculating the bill of a customer. He contemplated whether to address what happened last night or not. At the end, he braced himself and made his way to her.

"So about last night," he said once the customer left. "I am sorry."

"For what?" She asked with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"About um..." He gulped. "For leaving so suddenly."

"It's fine." She shrugged and then continued doing her work. His eyebrows furrowed at this. He expected her to react worse but here she was, acting like the kiss didn't even matter to her.

"Are you angry at me?" Travis whispered.

"Of course not." She replied callously.

"So about the kiss---"

"Don't worry, Travis. Forget about that stupid kiss. I mean it isn't like that was my first kiss and I wanted to cuddle the whole night with you." She said, with a corner of her lip lifted.

Travis felt both embarrassed and sad at this. It was clear from her words that for her, any moment that had happened between them wasn't special. Of course. This was Zoey Crawford we are talking about. The girl who changes boys like heels and being the stupid naive person he was, he thought there was something special between them.

"Okay." He finally managed to say, despite the lump in his throat and made his way to the other side of store.

••••••••••

Call her selfish but seeing the sullen look on Travis' face made her happy. Last night when he left, she felt alone and dejected. It wasn't like Zoey to cry over a boy but last night was definitely the closest she has come to doing that.

But now, she was tired of his hot and cold attitude. One minute, he wants her. Next minute, he is running away from her. If he thought just because she was physically attracted to him so he can do whatever he wants, he couldn't be more wrong. That's why she decided to give him a dose of his own medicine and the resultant look on his face made her satisfied with her decision.

"Look who is here, the runner up Miss. Majesty High." She went forwards to give Maya a hug when she found her entering through the door.

"Hey, Travis told me about your ankle." Maya broke the hug and stared at her feet in worried manner.

"Don't worry about it. It was just a sprain." Zoey shrugged. "Tell me about the pageant? How was it?"

"Fun. I couldn't believe I survived it without making a fool of myself." Maya replied.

"Told you." Zoey said.

"Sorry your preparation went to waste." Maya said.

"Doesn't matter. Dressing up is half the fun." Zoey said and then went back to the counter when she watched a small line of customers gathering there.

After her shift was over, her driver dropped her to the mansion and she made her way to the living room. Her father was already sitting there, talking to someone on the phone.

Exhaling loudly, Zoey pulled out the money from her pocket and put it on the table in front of him.

Richard Crawford's eyes went from Zoey's face to the dollar bills and then back to Zoey's face. "I'll call you later, Mr. Addison." He said and cut the call.

"What is it?" He asked her.

"My salary. You said I won't survive on a job for even a day. Guess what Dad, I did." Zoey smirked. "So next time you decide to call me a brat, think again."

"Just because you earned few hundred dollars, you think you are suddenly independent. Even your skincare products cost more than this." He responded and Zoey's smirk faltered.

"What kind of father are you? Instead of motivating me, you are once again looking for a reason to criticize me." Zoey grunted.

"Are you done? I have work to do. Besides, go celebrate. You just proved your point to me and now you no longer have to go to a job daily." Richard said.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble Mr. Crawford but the world doesn't revolve around you. I am not leaving my job because people there actually acknowledge my hard-work, unlike a certain someone." Zoey said and stormed out of the living room angrily.

"Zoey, don't leave the house at this time." He shouted behind her.

"I won't, sir." She said and walked out of the huge wooden door, making her way to the lawn surrounding the mansion. Here, she sat down on the wooden chair and hid her face in between her palms.

••••••••••

Travis stopped his car in the parking lot of Crawford mansion and waited for his mother to come out. He leaned in his seat and looked around, his eyes stopped when they landed on a certain figure sitting in the lawn. It was Zoey, sitting there with a blank look on her face. Her face was flushed and she was staring at the ground blankly.

He would have gone towards her if it was not for the sight of her mother walking towards the car. Once she sat down on the passenger seat, Travis revved the engine and cast one last look at Zoey who looked like she was going to cry any minute now.

"What happened to Zoey?" He asked his mother.

"Another fight with Richard sir." She replied.

"Oh." He said. "What did she do this time?"

"Nothing. She was just excited about her first salary and Richard sir ruined it. Poor girl, sometimes I feel so bad for her." She said.

"Her problems aren't exactly the worst in the world." Travis said under her breath, still hurt over what she said in the store.

"Problems are problems, Travis. There isn't any scale to measure their severity." Rose said.

Travis nodded absentmindedly and continued driving until they reached their home. Travis followed his mother inside the house and made his way straight to the kitchen to drink a glass of water.

But before he could reach the refrigerator, his mom's scream reached his ears and he ran immediately to the source of the voice. "Call 911." She shouted and that's when his gaze froze on his father lying on the floor, with a small pool of blood gathered near his head, some of it smeared on the sharp edge of centre table.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••