EVERYONE HURTS

ETHAN

Chuckling lightly as she glared at me, I could tell she was cursing me in her mind. After the other day at the market, her hatred for me has grown really tall, and I find that amusing. I like the way she reacts whenever I get on her nerves, and it makes me want to do more.

Mathew rushed out of his office and started telling all the customers to leave. Claire and I both stared at him curiously. What's going on? Two big vehicles with dark-tinted glasses parked in front of the restaurant. One of the vehicles looks like that of an escort, and at that point, I realized what was going on.

My insides started churning with anger. Mathew successfully drove the customers away, and THAT MAN walked in, smiling at everybody until his gaze got to me, and he frowned.

"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly.

"Greetings first, young man! Don't be rude," he responds sternly.

Mathew took Claire by the hand, and they both hurried away.

He sat down and pointed to the chair in front of him. "Sit down," he said, and I ignored.

"Sit down, young man," he said again, his tone more stern this time.

"I don't want to..."

"Sit down!" He yelled, cutting me off.

I scoffed gently, but I sat down.

"What are you doing here?" I asked again.

"I'm here to see my son," he answered, and I scoffed gently.

"Son? Do you think you have the right to call me that?" I asked.

"Of course I do... I feed you, clothe you, and make sure you're comfortable," he responded scornfully.

I scoffed gently. "Right... That's the typical response Mr. Mayor will give," I responded.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, and I could feel his ego bruising.

"Just leave," I said, standing up.

"I see you haven't come to your senses," he responded.

CLAIRE

"Isn't that the Mayor?" I asked my boss, who looked frightened and worried at the same time.

"Yes," he responded, looking out the window.

"Why is he here? And what's going on between him and that crazy jerk?" I asked, regretting my words immediately they came out.

He chuckled lightly. "That crazy jerk is his son," he responded.

What? He's the mayor's son?

"But we only know and see..."

"The mayor, his wife, and David, his supposed only son on TV, right?" he asked, completing my statement.

I nodded slowly.

"Yeah... Ethan is considered a troublemaker, so the mayor deliberately doesn't show him off."

"But..."

"Enough with the curiosity, Claire. Let's get ready to return back to work once they are done talking."

I swallowed hard, thousands of questions going through my mind. The whole tensed atmosphere became subtle the moment the mayor left.

I hurried to the bathroom to ease myself when I heard someone sobbing.

I turned to see him on his knees, crying like a child, and for a moment, I forgot how much I hate him as the desire to just console him swept over me.

I walked gently to where he is and pointed a handkerchief at him. His head is buried in his knees, so he raised up his head and glared at me coldly.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" He yelled at me, and I flinched. He rose to his feet and pushed me out of the way, causing me to fall sharply on the cold floor.