CHAPTER 7
1187 Words
CHAPTER SEVEN
The email came in at exactly 8:14 a.m.
I almost ignored it. I was halfway through fixing my blouse in the bathroom mirror at work when my phone buzzed inside my handbag.
Salary Credit Notification.
For a moment, I just stared blankly at my phone. Then my heart started pounding. Slowly, I opened the message.
And the moment I saw the amount, I gasped.
“Oh my God.”
It felt unreal. My first salary. My first real salary.
After six whole years of rejection emails, failed interviews, and depending on my parents for almost everything. I leaned heavily against the sink as emotions rushed through me unexpectedly..My eyes burned suddenly.
“Lara?”
I looked up quickly to see Amelia from HR entering the restroom.
“You okay?”
I laughed shakily while wiping under my eyes.
“I just got paid.”
Her face softened instantly.
“Oh.”
That single word carried understanding.
“First paycheck?”
I nodded.
And somehow, that made me emotional all over again.
By lunch break, I had already started searching apartment listings online. By evening, Sadie was dragging me through downtown while acting like a real estate agent.
“This one has ugly tiles.”
“You’re not the one paying.”
“And thank God for that.”
I rolled my eyes while the realtor unlocked another apartment door for us.
The moment I stepped inside, I paused.
The apartment wasn’t massive. But it was beautiful. Warm lighting. Large windows.
Wooden floors. A cozy kitchen space.
And enough sunlight pouring through the windows to make the entire place glow softly.
I slowly walked farther inside. Mine. The thought alone almost made me emotional again. Sadie noticed my expression immediately.
“Oh,” she said dramatically. “You like this one.” I nodded slowly.
“I really do.”
The realtor smiled proudly and started explaining the rent details.
At first, I was still excited. Until he mentioned the total payment. My smile slowly disappeared. Because immediately after calculating everything mentally, my soul left my body.
House rent. Agency fee. Caution fee. Legal fee. Commission. What kind of wickedness was this?
By the time he finished speaking, I was mentally bankrupt. Sadie leaned toward me quietly.
“You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“I think I just became poor again.”
She burst into laughter. But honestly, panic was already settling into my chest. Because after paying for the apartment…
I would still need furnitures,kitchen utensils, curtains, groceries, a mattress, electricity setup
Adult life was a scam. A complete scam.
Still…I looked around the apartment again.
And somehow, I still wanted it badly. For the first time in years, I wanted something that belonged only to me. Not my parents’ house. Not a shared room. Mine.
“I’ll take it,” I heard myself say.
Sadie gasped dramatically.
“Look at you making rich decisions.”
“I’m literally terrified.”
“Good.”
That night, I called my sister Jenny immediately after getting home. She answered on the second ring.
“Well well,” she teased instantly. “Look who remembered she has a sister.”
I laughed and collapsed onto my bed.
“Jenny, guess what?”
“You got married?”
“WHAT?”
She cackled loudly.
“Okay fine. What happened?”
“I rented an apartment.”
Silence.
Then,
“YOU DID WHAT?!”
I laughed harder.
“I’m moving out.”
“Oh my God.” She sounded genuinely shocked. “Lara Finn with her own apartment?”
“Please don’t mock me.”
“I’m not mocking you, I’m proud of you!”
My chest warmed instantly.
Jenny had always been the supportive one. Even when everyone else pitied me quietly, she never did.
“So where is it?” she asked excitedly.
I explained everything while she listened carefully. Then her voice softened.
“You sound happy.”
I smiled unconsciously.
“I think I am.”
“Aww.”
“But also broke,” I added honestly.
Jenny burst into laughter.
“Welcome to adulthood.”
“I forgot furniture existed.”
“That’s because you were blinded by independence.”
“I really was.”
“Don’t worry,” she reassured me. “Buy things gradually. Nobody furnishes an apartment overnight.” That actually made me feel better.
“I can also give you my old microwave,” she added. I gasped dramatically.
“My rich sister.”
“Respect me.”
I smiled softly afterward. God. I missed living around her sometimes.
“When are you moving?” she asked.
“In a few days probably.”
“Take pictures before moving in fully.”
“Obviously.”
“And Lara?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m proud of you.”
My eyes burned again instantly.
L Why was everybody making me emotional lately?
“Thanks Jenny.”
“No problem, big girl.”
The next few days became exhausting.
Work. Apartment payments. Packing. Budgeting. Stress. I quickly realized adulthood came with terrifying responsibilities.
One evening, I sat cross-legged on my bedroom floor surrounded by notebooks, calculators, and random expenses written everywhere. Mattress. Sofa. Dining table. Kitchen utensils. WiFi installation. Transportation. I stared at the numbers in horror.
“This apartment will kill me.”
My mother passed by my room and paused at the doorway.
“What are you doing?”
“Suffering.”
She laughed softly and entered. For a moment, she simply watched me quietly.
Then she sat beside me.
“You know…” she said gently, “when I first moved out after marrying your father, we only had one mattress and two pots.”
I looked at her.
“Really?”
She nodded.
“We bought things little by little.”
Something about that comforted me deeply.
Maybe I didn’t need everything immediately. Maybe building a life took time too.
Three days later, moving day finally arrived. My boxes were stacked near the front door while Sadie walked around dramatically pretending to supervise workers.
“You there,” she pointed randomly. “Carry it with care. That’s emotional baggage.”
“Sadie please shut up,” I laughed.
She grinned proudly.
I wore comfortable mom jeans, white sneakers, and an oversized beige shirt with my hair packed into a messy bun.
My father surprisingly helped carry a few boxes into the moving van while pretending he wasn’t emotional about it.
“Don’t waste money buying nonsense,” he warned for the hundredth time.
“I know.”
“And lock your doors properly.”
“I know.”
“And don’t let strangers enter your house.”
I blinked slowly. Was my father…worried?
Before I could process it, he coughed awkwardly and walked away. Interesting.
My mother hugged me three different times before I finally entered the car.
And as we drove toward my new apartment, reality finally settled in. I was really leaving home. Not as someone unsuccessful. Not as someone stuck anymore. But as Lara Finn. A woman finally building her own life.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD