Chapter1
“f**k” Allison mutters to herself when she checked the time and sees it was just 5pm in the evening.
The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground, it was the quiet part of the day but Allison doesn’t know the difference, for all the times of the day had always been in hush. Allison sat behind the counter in a grocery shop she had worked for since seven years ago. She had her hair packed in a bun, her brows arched as she stares at nothing in particular. She had no makeover on as she thinks of it as the unnecessities in life. She looked pale and too slim, even her usual loose pants and T-shirt did her no justice anymore as it has always does.
She had her head bowed when she hears the bell door chimes and she looks up to see who it was that entered. Her stomach turns in a knot as she sees a familiar patron who eyes her every time he comes to buy groceries. She knew Mr Collins, the patron was married and already had four children with his wife but he still make advances at her occasionally, with his eyes roaming all over her body. She knew the only reason he had always decided to buy the groceries was only to see her.
“Hi Allison, how had your day been” Mr Collins said with a small plastered on his face.
“Good enough, I wouldn’t like anything to ruin it” Allison intentionally said while lips formed the usual fake smile she always had on. Mr Collins understand what she meant and nods awkwardly.He goes around the spatial arrangement of aisles and shelves, checking out the groceries that he might need and occasionally looking at Allison from the counter she sat at.
After he was done choosing a lot of stuffs into the cart, he wheels it to the front of Allison. He brought out the goods one after the other and aligned it on the counter for Allison to pack. He handed over his credit card to her and she swiped it in the credit card machine.When he stretches his hand back to collect the his credit card, he intentionally made his fingers touch hers and winks at her.
Allison was disgusted but heaves out to calm herself as she always refrain from losing her temper. She ignores his actions and hands over the goods in the polyester to him.
“Miss Wilson, Might we have a little chat, when you are done after work” Mr Collins said.Allison stood like she heard him say nothing.
“Miss Wilson?” Mr Collins called but still heard nothing from her. Just then, the door bell chimes and another annoying customer of she came in.
It was the old-hag Alexander, Allison nicknamed her. The old woman is in her late eighties but doesn’t seem to have gotten rid of her bad acts from being a youngster. Allison couldn’t help but frown at how saddening the evening is becoming. She wondered who else among her crazy patrons would walk through the door next.
“Have a nice night Mr Collins, my regards to Mrs Collins” Allison faked a smile and the middle aged man retreated with a sad face. After he left, Allison couldn’t breath out of relief because of the older problem was still stuck pushing around the cart to get her usual spicy choice of meal ingredients.
“Here” Alexander said while dumping the goods on the counter. She kept staring at Allison with a frown on her wrinkled face.
“Thank you, Have a nice night” Allison said but the older woman ignores her and finds her way out of the store. At that particular time of the day, Allison always got impatient to get home as soon as she could, even though she still have four more hours to go. She checks her wristwatch countless times as she attended to patrons.
Larry, her boss had called her earlier in the morning, telling her he was feeling out of the weather and he wouldn’t be able to come in to the store but she thinks something is going on with her boss and her mother but choose to stay quiet about it though she felt a little betrayed by her mother’s secrecy.
Finally, she got to clock out and she immediately took a bus to her home. When she got home, she met only her mom, Maya in the small spaced kitchen connected to the cozy living room.
“Where are Jaden and Jason mum” Allison doesn’t bother to greet her mother as she fears a lot about the safety of the children.
“No hi mum or perhaps a hug will do but always getting yourself worried” Maya said with furrowed brows while her head was bowed, chopping vegetables on the cutting board.
“I do that every time, please where are they” Allison questions impatiently again, already half way up the stairs to search upstairs if they were in their room.
“Relax daughter, you have been depriving them of freedom, a little could do, they are at Dustin’s” Maya said. she had been busy with cooking since thirty minutes ago she got home from her little fare. She had dropped the kids off at Dustin’s, their friend’s place so she could be free herself.
“Dustin’s!,mother it’s almost 10pm, gosh” Allison rushed down from the stairs and begins to find her way towards the door to go pick up the kids. Her only weakness is her kids and she fears something would have gone wrong every time she doesn’t meet them home. She believes something will go wrong every time just like it did to her, it had token a disheartening turn she’s forced to live with.
Maya looked at her daughter with a sullen face. Though Allison hasn’t always been the friendly type to anyone but she had been the sweetest her. She couldn’t stop but feel bad at what her daughter’s life had turned into. She blamed herself many times for her incompetency as Allison’s mother and that she couldn’t fight for her daughter when someone had taken all her dream away in a twitch. Maya sighs as she thinks of what she had been hesitating to talk Allison into because she knew Allison will blatantly refuse. She knew she had to summon the courage to convince her as her mother and she plans to do it as soon as possible. She needed to get her only daughter out of the hellhole she’s stuck herself in for the past ten years.
