“Ahhhh”
There goes the yelling at one another again. Every morning it is the same
routine. I get out of my bed, walk down stairs, make sure my brother is safe,
then make us some food. During this time our so called parents are in
another room arguing. Each time they act like us kids don’t even exist.
Perhaps they would be better off if neither of us had been born. Letting out a
sigh I feed my little brother. He was such a mess even though being five
already. After breakfast it was time to get him cleaned up. Getting in the bath
wasn’t the problem, it was getting him out. He would always cling to the side
of the tub yelling at me.
“Nooo...me stay in...me waterboy.”
In the back of my mind it was cute but in the front I was annoyed.
“Time to get ready for your class Abel. Remember your class is going to
have art today. You told me that it was the most fun thing in the world.”
I laughed when he jumped out of the water into my arms. Abel cuddled into
my arms as I leaned over trying to grab another towel. It was almost
impossible to reach while his small body wanted to be clung onto me like a
little leech. Once we finally got him dry it was easy to get him dressed.
We walked down the stairs to see our mother sitting at the table with a bottle
of wine. She had lit up another one of her nasty smelling cigarettes. I pulled
Abel to my other side as we walked past her. Abel hid his face in my side as
she threw the bottle at me. It was very normal on mornings like this that her
temper flared.
“You worthless piece of shit! How could I have given birth to something
like you?”
I glance up with blood dripping down my head to smile at her.
“You had no choice in the matter.”
My words made her start crying. That was my cue to leave the house. Once
we were a few blocks away the pain finally reached my damn brain. I made
Abel sit down as pulling the trash bag off my bag for work. Inside the bag was
some clothes and medical supplies.
Sadly she had hit me so many times this was a necessity. Abel watched
closely as I got cleaned up then changed into my spare clothes. It shouldn’t
be normal for him but this was our life. When we arrived at his school the
teacher looked at my bandaged forehead.
“Please don’t ask...Abel you make sure to have lots of fun today. Big sister
wants to hear all about your fun day when I pick you up.”
The teacher wanted so badly to ask, it could be seen in her eyes. I wave as
Abel walks with his classmates next to their teacher. He always stopped at
the door to blow me a goofy kiss. It was adorable but I hoped no one teased
him for doing it.
Not being able to help it I do the same goofy kiss back at him. He acts like he
was shot in the heart then smiles going into the building. Letting out a sigh I
look to my cellphone to see the time. It was now 8:40 am which meant that
there was only ten minutes to get to work, clock in, get everything set up,
and make sure all the others weren’t being lazy assholes. It took about five
minutes to run all the way to my workplace. As I walked into the door my
mood soured seeing that no one had even started getting ready. Sometimes it
felt like the owner just hired me to yell at these idiots.
All of them were at least ten years older but their work ethic was horrible.
Letting out a sigh I clock in then start getting my stuff put in their places.
“I will only say this once. You have till I count to three to get your lazy
asses up. Then get to work or else I will take this broom in my hand and
shove it up your entitled little assholes.”
They all looked blankly at me till I said one. They shot up running to get
everything done quickly. It took one time for them to know this wasn’t a
joke. When I started working here at sixteen someone thought it funny to
push everything solely onto my shoulders. I was cleaning one of the empty
wine bottles at the time. The owner takes them to recycle after work hours.
The employee made me so mad that I smashed the bottle over his head then
stood on his balls crushing them. The owner had just walked into the room
but was watching it seemed.
After that day no one even dared not to listen when I got stern with them.
The owner was weird to let me stay after that incident in my opinion.
Although considering some of the scary looking people that have come in
here...I was very mild. The owner was so friendly with these people even
though their gang marks were in plain sight. Maybe he just didn’t want drama
or maybe he was one of them in the past? Either way it didn’t matter since
he allowed me to work since I had been a minor. To think I was turning
nineteen today kind of sucked. I wouldn’t have enough money to even take
Abel out to a good dinner. It was a special thing I did even on my birthday for
him. Feeling a tap on my shoulder I jump slightly. It was the owner standing
next to me with a big smile.
“Happy birthday Katerina. I know that you hate me saying it but couldn’t
resist.”
He leans down kissing my forehead.
“Your mother must have been a real bitch today huh? Here this is for you
and no take backs little one.”
I raised a brow at him for acting like a little kid. When I opened the card it
made me lose the strength in my legs.
The owner helped me to a chair laughing some out loud.
“Come now is it so shocking that I wanted to give a good present for the
hardest worker to ever work in this place?”
His joke was a little too much. He had put two thousand dollars in a birthday
card.
“This is not funny Sir...you can’t just give me this much money.”
As I tried to give it back his hand stopped me. He pushed the card to my
chest.
“This is not nearly enough in my opinion but the wife hit me on the head
telling me no more than this amount.”
Wow...couldn’t she have said a smaller amount? It was super nice since I felt
low not being able to take Abel out. He patted me on the head like a child
then walked off. Getting myself back together there were other things to
worry about at the moment. The customers would be starting to come any
moment. When the bell chimes on the door everyone turns then bows to the
guest. This time it looked to be an elderly couple. They looked so adorable
together.
Our regular customers started to come through the door. Each one gave
friendly smiles to us workers. During my break time one of the men that
scared most people came. He was about six foot three. He had dark brown
eyes, pitch black hair, light skin tone, and a very notable tattoo on his neck.
The tattoo was a black phoenix. In all honesty I wanted to ask about it but
kept my mouth shut. Just looking at him his muscles were enough to crush
someone like me. He had one of those tough guy faces but damn was he
good looking as well.
“Katerina would you come with me?”
The shop owner had me walk over to the man. Up close he was even more
handsome which didn’t help my nerves.
“So this is the girl you spoke about last time?”
His voice was low but one of those you could listen to all day.
“Yup this is my super worker Katerina. This is my friend Samuel. He would
like to ask you a favor.”
Um...should I just tell them no thanks I wondered? Seeing the look to my
eyes Samuel patted my head some.
The owner patted my shoulder making me sit next to Samuel walking off.
Great now I am left alone with a gangster. He kept looking me up and down
like trying to figure me out.
“The job I want you to do is be my date.”
Wait...my brain couldn’t process that. He wanted me to be his date for real?
“Um, why would you want me to be your date for starters? Second, what
would the payment be for this job?”
Samuel laughed while drinking some of his coffee. He seemed to like my
attitude.
“Well it is to a social gathering of sorts. You already know my profession. It
is required that we bring someone this time. I’ve heard the stories of you
beating another employee when you were merely sixteen.”
The owner really needed not to go telling that story to other people. It is a
catch twenty-two in this sense. Placing my elbow on the counter I let out a
sigh.
“You still didn’t answer my question about the payment. I would also like
to know the time, place, and requirements on the attire.”
He leaned over brushing some hair from my face.
“Well it will be tomorrow night. The pay will be thirty thousand dollars for
the night. You will need to wear a formal dress. I will take you to buy it
today if you agree.”
Holy shit was he for real on that amount of cash? There had to be something
else going on for Samuel to pay me that amount.
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