“Same.” Turning to the driver, I pull the fifty dollar bill out of my wallet and pass it to him, not taking no for an answer this time. “To cover a free ride for the next girl that might need it, then. Deal?”
Eyes shining with repressed anger, he takes the money with a frown, sliding it into his glove box and giving me a brief glimpse of the hand gun stashed inside. “Let’s pray neither of these will ever need to be used, hmm?”
“Amen to that.”
Holding up the blanket for a semblance of privacy, I wait until Emmy yanks on my clothes before I clamber out of the cab, watching the two of them pull away from the curb. By the time the tail lights round a corner and disappear from view, people are beginning to pour out onto the sidewalk and streets, heading to work to start their days, bright eyed and well rested.
And I’ve never hated every single one of them more for being oblivious to the horrible things they allow to happen right under their noses, fair or not.
Chapter 2
Sabrina
––––––––
It’s been three daysand I still can’t bring myself to put my earbuds in on the walk to work like usual.
If I hadn’t been between songs, I’d never have noticed Emmy. I’d have jogged right past that alley without ever being any the wiser. What if I’ve run past other people over the years, as oblivious as the people I condemn around me?
“Hey, gorgeous, you get all dolled up for little ‘ol me?” some jackass hollers from the construction site and I simply carry on without sparing him a second glance, knowing my annoyance will only encourage him. I made that mistake two weeks ago, glaring at him, and he simply laughed, never missing a day to taunt me since.
Two buildings and a set of automatic doors later, a blast of air conditioning hits my face as I enter the lobby of Mal Tech. Fishing around in my purse, I flash my badge at the security desk, not that Hugo is even looking up from his phone to check if I’m some rando here to shoot up the place. Crossing the bustling lobby, I enter the elevator, riding up with a few others I vaguely recognize from around the building until we reach the fifth floor.
Bypassing the few others situated at their desks on the otherwise abandoned floor, I take a seat behind mine, mustering up the energy for a plastic smile. Smoothing out my basic, lavender summer dress, the white ivy pattern hides how cheap it actually was, allowing me to masquerade as a business casual clad, model employee. Tugging out my pony tail, my dark hair tumbles loose around my shoulders, though I leave my scrunchie on my wrist for the sole purpose of annoying my pitiful excuse of a boss.
It’s the petty little things that keep me putting one foot in front of the other.
Plastering on a smile and my business voice, I begin the arduous process of replying to all of the messages waiting on the machine, adjusting Mr. Holcomb’s schedule as needed, and just generally keeping him looking competent when he doesn’t actually do shit beyond kiss the ass of investors. That man wouldn’t know the difference between a search engine and a carburetor, and the temptation to let him make a fool of himself is only kept in check by my desire to afford the luxury of groceries.
The day drags on in an endless, monotonous loop, and by the time it’s time to clock out, I’m practically running out the door. Alas, after five years at Mal Tech, I can’t afford to screw anything up when it’s my only relevant reference to put on applications.
At least until someone calls me back. The second I get a new offer, I’m going to give this place a double one-fingered salute.
Avoiding everyone that attempts to engage me in conversation, I hustle into the elevator, but when yet another person tries to talk to me, I finally break; my capacity of interacting with people already maxed out for the day. Popping my earbuds in for an excuse to keep to myself, I keep the volume far lower than usual as a compromise to myself. Crossing the lobby, I follow the crowd out of the door and onto the sidewalk, quickly disappearing within the anonymity of the masses. Reluctantly, I don’t crank up my music to drown out the thorn in my side as I pass the construction zone, the fresh memory of my run in with Emmy like a bucket of ice water I can’t forget. Last thing I want is to be unaware of my surroundings; especially when there’s someone around that makes me uncomfortable already.
I can’t drown him out and forget that he exists like I want to. Even if I wish that he didn’t, he unfortunately does, and pretending otherwise is a fool’s errand. We can’t wish our problems away with denial, it simply gives them the opportunity to sneak up on us when our guard is down, and I’m already kicking myself in the ass for dropping mine.
