SEVEN

| chapter song: try me - jason derulo ft j.lo |

| dedication: toreachthesky - for the cover, to die for xoxo |

SEVEN

I went to the only place I knew I was safe enough to be myself.

Palmer was inside the store room when I entered her bakery and the smell that hit my nose managed to work its own magic on me instantly. I grabbed the back of my palm and wiped away the wetness under my eye and slapped my cheeks to restore some colour back into them.

"I won't be a second!" Palmer's voice came from the midst of the store room. I gulped brokenly down my parched throat before inhaling deeply. The walk from College to Palmer's was a solid thirty minute walk and it was playing its toll on me right then.

I looked around the freshly displayed cakes, my stomach churning already at the sight of the delicious sweetness. I mentally picked out the ones I was going to try before Palmer came out from the store room. She had cake batter all over her and I frowned at her slightly surprised face - flour coated face that was.

"What are you doing here at this time Ori?" Palmer questioned, wiping her hands with the cloth that was sticking out her apron pocket.

"I'm not having a great day." I said slowly, my voice breaking over each word that I managed to say. I dropped my head and lifted one finger to wipe away another tear.

I heard Palmer gasp before she quickly came to the front and engulfed me in one of her massive hugs. She was shorter than me but I still felt completely veiled by her arms that clutched around my neck.

I breathed out and everything came out shakily and shattered. I didn't know what to do, whether to go home and confront my lying, pathetic excuse of a Mother. Or whether I should tell my Father of all her satanic doing. I didn't know whether I was to go to Brandon and demand all the answers for questions every victim of a cheater had. How many girls did he sleep with, for instance?

"Oh Ori, what even happened. Talk to me." Palmer's soft voice spoke in my ear.

"Everything is going horribly wrong." I told her.

"Talk to me, Honey."

"It's that Mother of mine. And that ex-boyfriend of mine."

Palmer pulled back, her expression telling me everything she was thinking. She looked up at me with wide, disbelief-filled eyes. "No." She whispered incredulously, shaking her head at me in disbelief.

I nodded at her, lifting my hand once again to wipe away the tears. I had to stop crying over worthless, lying humans.

"Your Mother was something else entirety but this is even disgustingly disgusting from her. Ori, you must feel all sorts of devastation and repulsion."

"I feel sick, so sick."

"I don't blame you, child." Palmer wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me close to her chest again. I clawed at her warmth like a selfish person and clung to her like a lost child. My Mother never showed me any compassion and love and my Father was always away to even form a bond with me. But with Palmer, I couldn't help but feel like an innocent, growing child around her and she was showing me all the ins and outs of this world with baby steps.

She pulled back softly and guided me to one of the chairs that were pulled up at the counter. She went back around the back, and disappeared back into the store room. I waited patiently, not controlling the drift of my mind to Brandon's face. I closed my eyes at the blurry image my mind was trying to form to torment me further.

"Ori, no more thinking about what happened." Palmer's voice snapped me back out of it. "It happened and you can't let it eat you up." She told me, coming to stand opposite me. I saw that she had cleaned all the cake batter and the flour that was on her and she had a red stripped towel draped over her shoulder. Her grey eyes were tinkling under the light and a small smile formed on her face.

"I called my nephew and he's great at making people feel better. He should be here in a few minutes."

"Palmer!" I gasped at her. "Why did you do that?"

Palmer's smile widened and completely ignoring my outburst, she placed one slice of a carrot cake in front of me. She threw me a wink, "eat up, it should start making you feel better."

"You didn't have to call your nephew. Trust me when I say your cakes can make me feel better all on their lonesome." I told her, reaching over the counter for the fork. I pointed the end of it towards Palmer who was pulling out plastic plates from the cabinet over her head. "Tell your nephew to make a u-turn and not come." I added, before jabbing the cake with my fork and lifting it up to my mouth.

Palmer looked at me over her shoulder. "He was coming later in the day to help me anyways. Just told him to come two hours earlier." She placed two slices of cake on each plate delicately and added decorative icing around the cake, adding that extra beauty to it.

The door behind me opened and Palmer snapped her head towards it. Her face beamed instantly and I couldn't help hide my own smile at seeing Palmer all beaming and happy. She was truly a magnificent woman who I adored more than my own Mother.

"Hey there! Are you here for Mr Yuing order?" Palmer asked, wiping her hands on the towel she had on her shoulder. She walked around the counter and stood behind me, greeting her customer.

A male's voice replied to Palmer carefully. "Yes-"

"Great! Great. Could you give me a couple of minutes to add the finishing touches and then put it in a package for you?"

"Sure."

I turned my head over my shoulder slightly, trying to catch how he looked like just to satisfy my curiosity. As soon as Palmer scattered to the back room, to add the finishing touches to his order, the man came in my view.

He was looking in the direction of the back room, his hands shoved inside his pockets. He had fair skin, wore glasses and had dark hair that was so long, that flowed past his shoulders. The brown taupe long sleeved shirt he had on hugged his muscles and the jeans he wore fitted snug on him. I lifted my gaze back up to his face after I gawked him in and saw he had his dark eyes trained on me.

"You work here?" he asked me, lifting one dark eyebrow at me.

I dropped the fork I had in my hand on my plate. I watched him shuffle closer until he seated himself besides me on the stool. He then grabbed my fork and took a piece of my cake, stuffing it in his mouth.

"That's good," he commented after he swallowed it down. He went for another bite and my inner food freak snapped. I snatched the plate from in front of him and narrowed my eyes at him.

"I know it is, and I'd like to eat it." I told him, snatching the fork he had mid-air from him. His eyebrows furred and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. And then a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Like that," he voiced. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Nolan."

I lifted my hand slowly and placed it in his. "Orianna, but everyone calls me Ori, for short." I shrugged. His hands felt warm and hard in mine and I nearly lost my cool, because you'd be blind to not notice his attractiveness.

After a few seconds, we dropped our hands and Nolan pointed at the cake in front of me. "Care to share now that we're on first name bases?" he joked, but I could see the look in his eyes. I chuckled and slowly pushed the plate between us. I reached over to grab another fork and passed it to him.

We started eating the cake together, not speaking but just laughing at each other stupidly.

"Is this how you usually make friends?" I asked Nolan after my last bite. I put the fork down and turned my body towards him.

He was still eating but paused to shot me crooked smirk. "Who said I'm making friends right now?" he shot back.

I raised one eyebrow at him, pushing my tongue inside my cheek as I gave him a small nod. "Smooth." I was impressed with everything that was Nolan, what with how he looked all the way to how he talked. He seemed easy-going, easy to talk to and it didn't pass me how he made me forget how much of a shitty day I was having. And we just laughed and ate cake.

"What are the cakes for?" I asked him, tilting my head towards the back direction.

Nolan looked over my shoulder before he answered. "My uncle is having a bash at his house." He told me.

"So you work here or?" he asked me again since I didn't answer him before.

I shook my head. "I'm friends with Palmer. You can find me here most days."

"The free cakes?" Nolan guessed.

I let out a laugh. "Her company beats the cakes," I told him wholeheartedly.

It was then Palmer appeared from the back, holding a massive cake box in her hands. She was breathing heavily whilst trying to laugh. Nolan didn't wait a second as he jumped off his seat and rushed to Palmer's side. He grabbed the box from her and held it with one hand.

Palmer shot him a grateful smile and she dashed back into the room and came back out with two other boxes. "Any more?" Nolan asked, grabbing the two cake boxes and holding it in his hands along with the bigger one. He made it seem effortless, but then again, how heavy could they be?

"There are two more, think you could carry them?" Palmer asked, not waiting for an answer as she dashed back in the room.

She back again with the last two boxes and put it on the counter next to Nolan. She went over to the back of the counter and started fiddling with some papers.

"I've got my car, I'll bring it closer and just-"

I shot up in my chair, "I'll take it with you," I offered, grabbing the two small cake boxes. I knew I seemed eager in front of him but he shot me small smile.

"Thanks," he muttered. Palmer handed him the receipt and ran to the door, holding it wide open for both of us.

We walked out, Nolan letting me step out first and trying to take a bow with the boxes still in his arms. I laughed at his silly attempt and stood to the side, waiting for him to come and lead the way towards his car.

"Thanks for the help Ori," Nolan thanked me as we walked along the pavement.

"No big deal," I smiled at him.

Nolan turned his head slightly to me. "Just want to say, I don't usually take someone's fork and take a bite of their cake. That was so out of the ordinary- for me at least."

"I get it," I assured him. "You weren't trying to make a friend so obviously you didn't give a toss about your actions." I teased him.

I saw his mouth drop open slightly, before he shot me feigned glare. "That's hardly the case! You're making it sound like-"

I interjected him quickly, "I was joking Nolan."

Nolan huffed out. "Gotcha girl."

He stopped in front of a car that was parked around the corner. It was a simple black ford and it shined under the sunlight. He fished for his keys in his back pockets, whilst still holding the two cake boxes with one hand. I wanted to tell him to pass me the boxes so he wouldn't risk dropping it but just then, he pulled out his keys and dangled it in front of me.

"No need for that worry, I knew I had it."

I narrowed my eyes at him as he unlocked his car. "How did you know I was worried?"

Nolan put the boxes on the top of the car and went to the back to open the boot of the car. He glanced at me from atop of his car and shot me a knowing smile. "Written on your face."

I went over to the back and carefully placed the cake boxes inside, making sure they were placed in a way they wouldn't move out of their place or plaster against each other. Nolan was busy putting the big cake box in its place next to me, muttering small words under his breath.

"What are you saying?" I asked him, when I stepped back and straightened my back to look at him.

He closed the booth and turned his body towards me, his side leaning on his car. "I was appreciating life for a moment."

I gave him a weird look, "really?" It was such an odd thing to say.

Nolan threw his head back and let out a laugh. His hair was swept to the side and I noted how he really pulled the long hair thing. I also noted that, under direct light, the ends of his hair were a golden colour that glistered and caught the light at certain angles.

"So, you going to head back or?"

I stepped back on the pavement, feeling stupid for just standing there, waiting for Nolan to carry on the conversation. He was merely a stranger anyhow but I found it that, with just the few moments we were talking, he managed to totally zap me out of my mood and just make me forget.

"I'll be heading back," I told him, taking another step back.

Nolan dipped his head at me. "It was nice to meet you Ori."

I smiled at him. "You too." And it really was a joy to meet someone new. A breath of fresh air. Someone that didn't know a dime about me. I lifted my hand in an awkward wave before turning on my heel and scattering back to Palmer's.

When I walked inside the door, Palmer was busy again with the carrot cake slices she was working on before Nolan came.

"He was a nice young man, don't you think?"

I hoisted myself up the stool. "He sure was," I agreed with her. I pointed at the cake whilst shooting Palmer an innocent smile.

"He ate the cake with me. Could I have another slice?"

Palmer rolled her eyes at me but it was all in a teasing manner as she reached for another plate and cut me a slice. She was working on a whole other cake and I knew, by the end of the day, all the cake would be gone.

"His uncle warned me about him, told he was a sucker for cakes."

I swallowed the cake I had in my mouth. "I'm not surprised, what with how he literally swallowed my whole slice." I jokily said.

We had a few moments to ourselves, laughing and joking and just with Palmer's presence, I started to feel better. Until we both heard the door open.

"Darling you came!" Palmer dropped the work she was doing with her Carrot Cake and came closer to the counter. I didn't turn around and instead, acted well too engrossed in my own cake. This nephew of hers was supposedly here, two hours early, to cheer me up. I wasn't so sure if that plan sat well with me considering that I had to tell a stranger snippets of my life story for him to be able to help cheer me up. Or maybe I could just tell him that I was having a crappy ol' day.

"Link! Come meet my friend Orianna."

My back straightened up in a tight, stoic posture and I almost fainted at the mere sound of his name. There must have been a mistake. Surely, Link couldn't come from the same family as Palmer. They were complete opposites.

Palmer was a God's sent.

Link was basically the devil itself.

I turned my head slowly and mustered my best poker face. I met his dark eyes instantly and I was taken aback at the surprise look all over his own face. He sure wasn't expecting me either.

Why couldn't Palmer's nephew be someone like Nolan?

"Nice to meet you, Link." I said in a strained voice, sticking my hand out for him to shake. I couldn't say I wasn't getting a jab out of the, still, surprised expression on Link's face. His face was oddly pale and Palmer had to nudge him for him to raise his hand and shake mine.

I smiled at him, sickeningly sweet with a hint of utter repulsion. "So you must be Palmer's nephew who is here to cheer me up. Shall we get straight into it considering I'm feeling seriously down right now?"

Link stared at me, not uttering one single word.

Palmer glanced at him quickly before she clasped both her hands together loudly. "Right!" She said cheerfully. "I'll leave you guys to it since I have to finish two cakes by five." Palmer dragged the chair that Nolan was seated on before and placed it near me for Link to sit on. She pushed him down onto the chair and pattered the top of his head softly.

Palmer disappeared into the back shortly after that, leaving us to it.

"So I'm just going to dive straight in and I'm sorry in advance if it sounds truly fucked up. Because it is." I started to say.

Link still didn't say anything but his face was telling me everything I needed to know. He was put in a predicament that was really unexpected and he was still shocked.

Then, I started to pour out my life story. Even though he knew all the shit himself.

"So my Mother is a real bitch and she's been treating me as trash ever since I could walk. My Father treated me equally as shit but annoyingly his treatment hurt the most. I never had the father protection from him so I always feel like I'm losing all precious time with him. Last night, I got told that my only ever boyfriend was cheating on me and I was put in a position where I was watching him in the act. I didn't sleep a wink last night and I was sick to my stomach since last night something horrible was dug up from my past as well. And the fact that my boyfriend was cheating on me. Today, I caught my Mother sleeping with boyfriend who I was really devoted to and who I was willingly opening up to. And then I go back to college and find that the ruthless, satanic bastard of a person who caused every jeopardy so far managed to get all of my boyfriend's cheating pictures and videos on display for everyone to see. My best friend was crying and I hate seeing her cry and I always feel like I have to protect her. Seeing her cry over something to do with me killed me more than anything and now I can't confront anybody because there's that overshadowing shame of my boyfriend cheating on me. With my mother no less. So to wrap it all up, I'm sure you can see what a fucking shit day I've been having and you're supposedly here to cheer me up."

I took in a deep breath.

"So tell me, how exactly can you cheer me up after that?"

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