Damage Control

chapter 6

Showers were one of the best inventions that man had ever created.

After Hadyn went into my bedroom to put clothes on, I went into my bathroom and turned the faucet all the way on to the 'hot' option and prayed that just this once it would be actually hot.

For the first time in a while, I had a win. I jumped in and let the hot water wash away the entirety of Hadyn.

I must've stayed in there for a while because once the hot water ran out, I dried off and my one night stand had disappeared. I don't know what I had been expecting; him to say goodbye? A note? Breakfast?

Perhaps him leaving without any trace was better. It made the entire night easier to forget.

Strolling into my room with a towel wrapped around my hair, the bed was made and the floor was clean of any clothes. I opened my dresser drawer and snatched a light pink dress to pull on. Today definitely wasn't a pants kind of day.

Despite my long morning, I was still on track to get to work on time.

I tied my wet hair into a low bun and put on some simple earrings and makeup. When I looked in the mirror, I saw the same old Alexa;  the girl from Boston who was a student and had a weird fascination with history. Not the girl that slept with a celebrity and had the paparazzi outside of her window.

Swiping on some lipstick, I slipped on my sneakers, shrugged on a cardigan, and gathered my things into the Edwardian Bookshop tote bag. I was ready for the day.

The Edwardian Bookshop was named after the original owner, Edward Bishop who had immigrated to the States from England about eighty years ago. We sold books that dated back to Plato to JM Salinger to Sarah Dessen. It was a small, hole-in-the-wall bookshop that made it onto Buzzfeed's Ten Must See Sights of New York's article last year, which earned us a good amount of business.

We were a small staff and I happened to be the youngest. The owner was Melinda Bishop, Edward Bishop's granddaughter. Then we had her husband George, a retired librarian Gigi, a thirty year old named Rachel, and a grad student named Darius.

Today's staff consisted of me, Gigi, and Darius. Since it was the weekend, most of the busywork had been completed during the slow hours. All I had to do was mindlessly tidy up the shelves and ring people out with a bright smile on my face and a sugary voice.

"Morning, Alexa," Gigi smiled. She was behind the counter, holding a mug of coffee in her hands.

I flashed her a grin. "Did you-"

She jutted her chin towards the register and I peered around to see my usual ceramic mug filled with coffee.

"You're a saint, Gigi," I told her, grabbing my steaming cup and holding it up to my lips. I was such a priss when it came to my coffee. I loved the crazy sweeteners like caramel and coconut. I also took my coffee with a crap-ton of sugar. And Gigi made my coffee exactly the way I liked it.

Darius swung around the corner holding a stack of books in his arms. He paused when he saw me. "You're glowing," he commented, a teasing grin spreading onto his lips.

"What does that mean?" I snorted.

He chuckled. "You have that 'morning-after' glow, Alexa."

Gigi cackled into her mug. "I wasn't going to comment, but yeah. You do."

"Oh, my God," I said, mortified. "Where's HR I'm so going to report you guys," I joked.

Darius laughed and continued walking with his stack of novels. "I'm going to interrogate you after!"

"I'm going to interrogate you now," Gigi decided. "Who was he?"

"Gigi!" I gasped, a laugh in my voice.

These people at the bookshop were the closest thing I had to friends in the city. I loved them all like family. I was closest with Gigi-she was like my long lost aunty and wasted no time with the formalities. Darius was like my doting older brother who made it his business to know how my life was going constantly.

A lot of the times, I was over at their apartments for a home cooked meal.

Darius came back with his hands empty. "Not to change the subject, but that Hadyn Michaels guy is all over my newsfeed," he said.

"Hadyn Michaels?" Gigi asked.

I sighed. "He's some actor," I explained. As if that was all he was to me.

"Yeah," Darius said. "Apparently some of his fans chased him to where you live and he just...disappeared. Nobody's seen him since."

My throat closed. "Near...my place? It says that in the news?"

Darius looked at me weirdly. "I mean, it didn't state your exact address, Alexa. But that area."

My shoulders slumped in relief. "Oh. Okay."

Gigi moved to the register. "Let me see a photo," she demanded. Darius obliged and she sucked in a breath. "If I were thirty years younger..." she said, in a low voice.

I laughed. "He has a-" I paused. Well, him and Macy weren't even together so I just let that sentence die. Luckily, my coworkers didn't question it.

We went the rest of the day doing our usual work of banter and helping out customers. The shift went by relatively quickly and before I knew it, it was closing time.

"Paycheck for you," Gigi said, handing me a white envelope filled with my check.

I had forgotten to grab it during my previous shift, so it was long overdue. "Thank you," I told her. 

Opening it up, I felt a pang of disappointment. Because I had skipped a shift to finish an assignment, the number was lower than it usually was. And it was usually a pretty low number.

Sighing, I stuffed the envelope into my bag and bid a farewell to my coworkers.

Slipping out the back door, I pulled my phone out of the bag and held it out to make a call.

"Hey! Alexa, wait!" Darius called. He let the door shut quietly behind him and approached me. He shoved his hands in his jacket pocket and bit his lip. "So, uh, I've been wanting to talk to you," he started.

I smiled at him. "What's up?"

He cleared his throat. "I was actually wondering, um, if you'd like to come to my place for dinner tomorrow night. As a, um, date."

For a second, his words didn't register and my mind drew a blank. Darius was cute, I supposed. He had dirty blond hair and a nice smile, but he was far from my type. He was easy going and it made working with him really fun. But-

"I'd love to have dinner with you," I began, frowning.

Darius sighed. "But not as a date," he finished.

I gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Darius," I apologized. "There's a lot on my mind. And I'm, uh, kind of getting over someone right now."

He nodded and grinned at me. "It's all good. Don't worry about it. I just would've beat myself up if I didn't ask you sooner."

Placing my hand on his forearm, I offered him a smile. "But dinner tomorrow sounds great."

"Sure, sure," he said, easily. But his tone was down, which made me feel like a total ass. I thought back about Hadyn and how I had just had the best s*x of my life with him. Then a pair of crystal blue eyes appeared in my mind and my heart began to pang.

Darius went back inside and I trudged away from the bookshop and into the subway station.

While I waited for my stop on the train, I decided to check my email.

My heart stopped when I saw the most recent one was from my school. From the financial aid office regarding my tuition.

Without even reading it, tears sprouted from my eyes and I clicked it.

Dear Ms. Thomas,

We have sent you this email to notify you that your tuition for the rest of your time has been paid off my an anonymous donor who has taken a particular interest in investing in your education.

This seldom happens. We would like to congratulate you. Your loans, including private ones, have been paid off. There is no further action to be taken on your part.

Best,

Financial Aid.

Was this a joke? I checked the time and I had only a few minutes before the office closed.

I dialed their number and prayed for them to pick up. I was on the last ring when a voice answered.

"Hi!" I gasped. "This is, um, Alexa Thomas. I just got an email-"

"Yes, Ms. Thomas. Your tuition for all four years have been paid off. That was no spam email. Congratulations."

I swallowed the lump and wiped the tears off my cheeks. "Who paid them off?"

The voice sighed. "An anonymous donor. I'm not at liberty to say who. But know that this has never happened during my career, so it's a monumental gesture from whomever."

"Okay," I responded. "Thank you."