Slowly, I turn my head back to the kitchen, and as I stare at Austin, who won’t even meet my eyes, I want to scream.
I want to break everything in the house and slap the smug expression off Amanda’s face.
But then a weird emptiness settles heavily in my chest.
If I lose my shit, it will show them how much this upsets me and that they’ve won, and I refuse to give them the satisfaction.
Without wasting another second on Austin and his whore, I walk to the door, grab the suitcase handle, and pull it behind me as I leave the house.
As I walk down the driveway, I hear Amanda laugh and the front door slam shut.
For some reason, it’s the nail in the coffin that makes a tear roll down my cheek.
I have no idea where to go and end up walking back to the train station. During the ride to Island Park, everything replays like a crap movie in my mind.
I’m too exhausted to feel anything but lost right now.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll go back and bitch-slap Amanda.
Maybe after some sleep I’ll go tell Austin exactly what I think of him and…
God, I’m just too tired to care about them.
Having no other option, I get off at the stop and walk back to the office.
At least I’ll be safe there, and Heather doesn’t have to know I’m staying there for the next couple of nights.
Once I get paid, I’ll take the available room and wash my hands clean of the assholes.
I barely got any sleep last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Amanda standing in the kitchen in one of Austin’s shirts while he looked at me like I was the inconvenience rather than his girlfriend who’d spent years of her life with him.
God, every damn day I tried making myself smaller and did everything in the house because I could feel him slipping away, and I was terrified of what would happen when he finally stopped wanting me around.
Even though I knew it was coming, I still can’t believe it actually happened.
Especially two days before payday.
I don’t have a home anymore.
I’ve hidden my suitcase in the cleaning supplies cupboard, and feeling worse for wear, I keep watching the time.
Heather will be in any second now.
My chest feels so tight I can barely breathe, and nausea churns in my stomach.
What am I going to do? There’s no way Heather will give me an advance so I can pay the rent.
Shit, she probably already knows Austin kicked me out. The last thing I want to do right now is deal with her, but more than ever, I need this job.
Just until payday.
The second the front door opens, Heather’s voice cuts through the air like a sharp knife. “Laurie. My office. Now!”
God. Here we go.
I get up as she stalks past me, and seeing the animosity on her face, every muscle in my body tightens painfully as panic rushes through me.
Suddenly, I’m terrified because I have no idea what she’s going to do. When I stop in the doorway, Heather looks at me with a cruel smirk.
