"Harry," I muttered, rolling my eyes as we stood in front of the self-check out machine. "Chill the fuck out."
He paled slightly, my finger inching towards the screen.
"WELCOME TO TESCO." The machine blurted.
"Holy fuck I cant do this-" Harry swore, his eyes watering. I stood frozen, my eyes widening as I absorbed what was happening.
"PLEASE PLACE YOU ITEMS IN THE BAGGING AREA." The computer chirped mechanically.
Harry dashed his hand into his pocket, throwing me his wallet before quickly running off, muttering something about waiting in the car.
Did someone say meltdown?
I stood frozen, glancing around the supermarket to find about ten people staring at me. We were all wondering the same thing- Why was a 6 foot, burly looking tough guy doing crying in the middle of Tesco's at a self serve checkout?
Slowly, mechanically, I beeped the items through the scanner one by one, watching the price grow and grow.
One hundred pounds: it's okay, he had no food in the house.
The price went up.
Two hundred pounds: This should do.
Three hundred pounds: Maybe I over bought.
The price went up again.
Four hundred pounds: Okay so I definitely bought a few extras.
On and on, the price kept soaring- five hundred pounds, six hundred pounds, seven hundred pounds, eight hundred pounds.
"PLEASE SWIPE YOUR CARD OR INSERT CASH." The machine yelled.
Holy fuck.
A grand total of eight hundred and sixty seven pounds.
Opening his wallet, my hand shaking, I checked to see what he had inside- praying that he had enough.
All I saw were one hundred pound bills.
I counted the bills slowly, until I got the right amount- inserting the nine bills one by one. As I waited for the change, I counted the bills still left in the wallet.
I counted sixteen extra bills and I wasn't even half way through; that's a whole fucking shitload of cash. And the way he threw me his wallet- that just seemed like loose change.
Maybe I should just run?
I paused, my hands on the trolley.
Is it worth it? Maybe I should just wait for a better chance.
Looking to my left, I saw a bottle shop- its bright neon walls attracting my attention. Biting my lip, I slowly edged towards the shop, my heart thundering.
He could come in and find me at any moment.
God knows what he'd do.
I placed the cart to the left and sprinted into the shop, grabbing a small pursed sized bottle of vodka and a flask. Handing it to the cashier, I hastily looked around, sweat pooling at my brow.
My back pocket vibrated- my phone.
HE MUST OF SAW ME.
Taking the phone out with shaking fingers, I slid the answer call button.
"H-H-hello?" I said, handing the cash over.
"It's Harry. I'm outside." He said, his voice calm.
Not panicking anymore then.
"I'll- I'll be there soon, just- finishing up." I stuttered.
He hung up, the line beeping dead.
