ROCK BOTTOM
1232 Words
CHAPTER 2
ROCK BOTTOM
NINA’S POV
“Liam, I just need more time please!!”
I begged as my eyes welled up as I tried to keep my cool
“You know I always try to pay, there's a lot to take care of, you know it's January. Please!!”
I begged some more as I bit back the tears threatening to roll down my cheeks
“What excuse do you have this time?”
Liam asked as he rolled his eyes and folded his arms looking at me, clearly annoyed with the situation.
As he sat across from me in the booth of the diner, all I could think about was how fast I wished he'd agree to accept my apology and extend the date for me to pay the loan so I could just get to my 8 pm shift.
Today is Friday, which means it's my fourth job of the week and the highest paying one at that!
“You know I work four part time jobs a week, and two of my employers haven't paid me in two months and also bonuses have been cut. Please Liam!!! Just give me more time, I assure you, I'll find a way to…”
He cut me off.
“Is that it?”
Liam scoffed, his leg bouncing under the table as he shook his head.
“Liam”
I called out and taking a deep breath
“I know I owe you money but you also know how much dad's cancer treatments cost, mom just died and no other family member wants to help us.
No matter how much we beg, they just laugh and shut their doors.”
I said and slouched some more as tears ran down my cheeks
Liam’s eyes came back on me, pity flashing across his face for a split second before disappearing. He switched again.
“You owe me thousands of dollars, do you really think creating a sobby story about a dead mom and dying dad would make me clear it all?”
Liam asked sarcastically.
“It's true!! You've seen everything. Why're you doing this!”
I cried out
“I'm telling the truth!”
I added as I lowered my head and buried my face in my hands
“I know,”
he said lightly.
Then he laughed. Not loud, just short and careless.
Why is he laughing? I asked myself. Begging him publicly is shameful enough for me but, a tasteless laugh like this? Come on!
“Of course you do!. You were at the funeral”
I yelled
“Careful, now.”
He warned stoically, pointing a finger at me with a death stare. He looked around the room and then giggled some more.
A few people at the diner stared at us with confusion.
“Why are you laughing?”
I asked him with a frown on my face, tears still streaming uncontrollably
“Damn, you should see how you look right now”
he commented, eyes unfocused as if he wasn’t fully present.
If this is an attempt to enrage me, he's doing it really well.
What a pain in the ass. Such an asshole.
“There's a place I think will help you pay me faster,”
Liam announced with a smirk on his face
A very questionable smirk.
“Really!? Where?”
I asked curiously, hope flickering in my eyes
“The Reef,”
he said simply.
The little hope I had got destroyed in a millisecond.
“What… wha…”
I trailed off, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying.
“I already spoke to the manager,”
he added casually.
“They like girls who don’t ask too many questions.”
I didn’t need him to explain.
I’d heard enough stories.
“I'm not a w***e”
I told him aggressively
He laughed again, louder this time, drawing attention from nearby tables.
“You're so naive!”
Then his expression changed.
“You don't have a choice.”
He threatened calmly
“I know my rights Liam, I won't be a prostitute for that place!”
I retorted, trying so hard to control my tone
“It seems you've forgotten the terms of the contract missy,”
he said as he removed a file from his bag and slid a paper across the table.
“There’s a clause for situations like this,”
he said, tapping the page.
“If you can’t pay, you don’t get to say no to the kind of work we give you.”
I didn't understand.
So the job is there…?
This must be what these illegal companies do to women.
As he talked, all I could do was sigh in defeat, thinking how evil loan companies could be, writing terms like this knowing you're desperate.
I felt stupid. I hadn’t read it properly.
Life is cruel. Is this really my fate?
I started crying and fidgeting in my seat.
Liam just watched me, eyes glassy, leg still bouncing.
“Oh,”
he said suddenly, checking his phone.
“It's 7:25 pm.”
He smiled as if that were good news.
It takes me 30 minutes to get to this job.
I stood up abruptly, grabbed my cleaning supplies and hurried out of the booth, wiping my tears.
“Don’t forget who you owe,”
he said loudly. Stopping me in my tracks.
“And how much.”
He added, his words made me feel weak and defenceless.
All I could do at the moment is get to work on time so I wouldn't get fired or else I wouldn't get my paycheck and I really need to pay Dylan's tuition and take dad for chemo.
“It's over”
I whispered to myself softly as I cried. I closed the diners door with shaky hands and saw a cab across the street.
Now all I have to do is get to the cab before someone else does. I sprinted into the streets with my heart racing, head pounding and my eyes blurry because of tears.
I couldn't fathom what had just happened to me there. I don't think I could show my face in that diner ever again. His words replayed in my head and it made me feel so small. So helpless.
Trying my best to hold it together until I got into the car, my vision splitting, my heart aching, my head pounding so loud it was all I could hear. Not even hearing my own thoughts properly, I strode as fast as I could until…
*Pim pim pimmm*
A vehicle with very bright headlights horned frantically right before hitting me. I didn't see the car until it was right there.
I didn't even get the chance to run, I just got hit and rolled on the tarred road. I tried to get up but the pain was so much I couldn't move an inch.
I laid there staring up at the darkening sky, my body trembling, my ears ringing.
Is this it for me?? Is this how I die??.
I asked as if the universe could respond to me.
After everything I've lost? And all the hard work?
Even at this state, I couldn't help but think about my sick father. My brother and all the things I needed to do for them.
My final thoughts before, everything finally went blank.
- Writer
