The Creep

Jayce

I woke up the next morning, and it took me a moment to realize I wasn’t in my own bed. I was in Tuli’s apartment, in her bed, with her curled up next to me. She was hugging my arm, and I couldn’t help but smile. I reached over her to grab my phone from the nightstand and check the time.

“Shit! I’m late!” I exclaimed, practically jumping out of bed. I landed with a loud thud on the floor. I muttered a string of curses under my breath, hoping I hadn’t woken Tuli.

She stirred slightly, murmuring, “Adam, be quiet,” but she didn’t wake up. She just clutched her bear tighter to her chest.

My heart pounded in my chest as I quickly found my clothes and got dressed. I was about to leave when I turned back to look at her one last time.

In that moment, all I could think about was how much I ~loved~ her.

And how I had almost confessed my feelings to her the night before.

The thought scared the shit out of me.

I had cared about her for a long time, but I had never allowed myself to fall in love with her. Now that I had, I felt like a complete idiot.

Tuli could easily break my heart, just like the others had. I couldn’t handle another heartbreak.

Besides, I had messed around too much to settle down and be a boyfriend, let alone a husband.

And it would be stupid to start a relationship with one of my students.

It just wasn’t meant to be between us.

This was the last time I would allow myself to be this close to her. I leaned down and kissed her forehead.

“Sleep well, Tuli. I love you.”

She continued to sleep, but her lips curled into a smile as if she had heard me. I smiled back at her and then left.

Tuli

I hadn’t seen Jayce for almost a week since the night he stayed over.

Part of the reason was because I had been sick with the flu. I was so ill that I couldn’t even get out of bed, so I missed a whole week of school. I didn’t mind too much.

It was like a mini-vacation from school. But I did have to call in sick to work. Thankfully, the Joneses were very understanding.

“Make sure you’re drinking plenty of tea, water, and chicken broth!” Mrs. Jones had scolded me, sounding just like a mother.

I was disappointed when I woke up the morning after Jayce stayed and found that he was gone. But I figured he hadn’t left long before I woke up because his side of the bed was still warm.

It was a harsh reminder that Jayce and I were supposed to maintain a professional relationship.

As for my brother, he hadn’t spoken to me for a week, even after he said we weren’t done talking.

He hadn’t even called Megan, which was making her angry. She had left him a voicemail every night for the past three nights, each one angrier than the last.

But this morning was different. It was Saturday, and I was getting ready for work.

I walked out of my bedroom to find Megan cheerfully humming as she cooked breakfast.

“Let me guess,” I said, a bit annoyed, “Daniel talked to you last night?”

She frowned at me. “He did. I told him you two need to talk. He said he’s calmed down.”

“So why hasn’t he called ~me~?” I asked, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl.

“He feels bad about what happened. He’ll call soon enough.”

I just nodded and took a bite of my apple.

“What time do you have to leave?” Megan asked.

“Now.”

“Running a little late?” She handed me my keys.

“Just a little bit.” I laughed, took the keys from her, said goodbye to Mr. Biggles, and left.

When I arrived at the bookstore, Mrs. Jones gave me a big hug. “So glad you’re feeling better, dear!”

“Thanks, Liza. I’m glad you and your husband didn’t get sick.”

“Oh yes,” she replied, “we got a reminder from the doctor's office. We did get our shots. Although I have a feeling we’re supposed to die of old age.”

“That’s bullshit,” her husband Bill chimed in as he came over to greet me. “Liza locked us both up in the house ever since you called. We could have had someone come in to cover for you, but no, the woman freaked out, told everyone not to come in, and shut down the store for the week.”

Liza smacked him upside the head. “It was necessary. I don’t want any of our employees coming in sick. We don’t need to get our customers sick.”

I giggled as Mr. Jones rubbed his head and smiled sheepishly at his wife. For a couple in their mid-forties, they still acted like a couple of twenty-year-olds.

Mrs. Jones rolled her eyes as her husband planted a kiss on her cheek before heading back to the register. She smiled at me. “All ready to open up?”

“On it,” I replied with a grin.

Before opening, I had to go through and make sure all books, newspapers, and magazines were organized, then check the stock to make sure nothing was missing.

It took me about an hour, which was why I was glad Liza would schedule me to work an hour before the store opens.

Despite the small store, there were still quite a lot of books, newspapers, and magazines to go through. Liza was even kind enough to make me a cup of tea before opening.

Then I helped Liza open up the bookstore. My coworker Bradley came in soon after, receiving a scolding from Liza.

“When I say be here by nine,” she snapped, “I mean nine. Not a minute later!”

“Yes, Mrs. Jones,” he replied, “I’ll be in on time. I promise.”

Bradley’s tone was far from genuine, but she let it slide. As much as she couldn’t stand Bradley, she couldn’t afford to let him go.

Their little bookstore was always bustling, but they struggled to find people who wanted to work there.

And as much as Bradley got under my skin, I kept it to myself, not wanting to burden Liza with it. I just did my best to tune him out.

Mrs. Jones wandered off, likely to assist Mr. Jones in the backroom with a fresh delivery of books. I returned to my task of sticking new price tags on the latest arrivals. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Bradley’s voice boomed in my ear.

“Hey there, tulip!”

God, I despised when he called me that. That nickname was reserved for close friends and family.

“Bradley,” I responded, my voice icy, “I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t call me that. We may work together, but that doesn’t give you the right to use whatever pet names you please.”

“Aw, don’t be so touchy,” he teased, messing up my hair.

I swatted his hand away. He shrugged it off with a smirk and said, “You can call me Brad. Have you thought about my proposition?”

I shot him a glare. The previous Friday, before I fell ill, he’d suggested we sneak off for a quickie in the janitor’s closet during our break. I’d already shot him down, of course.

“Yeah,” I replied, forcing a smile, “I have. My answer hasn’t changed. Unlike you, I value my job and don’t want to do anything inappropriate in a place I care about. And I’m not interested in sleeping with you. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to work.”

I brushed past him and headed to the back room for more tags, passing a scowling Liza. At least she wasn’t a fan of him either. I found the tags, loaded them into the label-maker, and returned to the front to continue tagging books.

Thankfully, we had another delivery that day, and Mr. Jones sent Bradley to help the delivery guys unload the truck. I was grateful for the reprieve.

As long as I was the only one he bothered, I told them not to worry about it.

He was annoying but seemed harmless enough. I could handle him without worrying about it blowing up in my face. At least, I kept telling myself it wouldn’t blow up.

But so far, he hadn’t crossed any lines, so I felt mostly at ease.

During my lunch break, I made significant headway on ~Bloodline~ by Kate Cary. When I checked the time, it was already 12:57 p.m. I decided to make a quick trip to the restroom.

The bookstore had two single bathrooms, one for men and one for women. After taking care of business, I was washing my hands when the bathroom door creaked open.

I let out a small yelp, “Occupied! Sorry, I thought I...”

My words trailed off as I saw Bradley in the doorway, twirling the bathroom keys on his index finger.