My Ex's Stepsister

3

Until this morning, Echo was unwilling to step out of her house, let alone visit the store, as she was too sad about her break-up with her girl. It felt like there was no meaning left in living her stupid life anymore.

However, Echo suddenly found a new purpose in her life, and now she didn't want to leave the store anymore. Her new goal in life was to get to know beautiful Bo and succeed in the challenge given to her by Boston.

After being stuck in that store for about an hour, Echo befriended a few people and realized they were not that bad to interact with. Moreover, she had at least time until tomorrow morning to spend with them.

While Echo is stuck there, she can manage to fritter away her time, listening to some people sharing silly jokes with her, only if that means she can get her chance with Bo.

Echo spent a long drawn-out hour, randomly talking to people. And when she looked out of the glass windows, everything seemed blurry because the wind was blowing heavily, and they could barely see anything after a certain distance.

The parking lot was empty, and not a single soul could be seen. There were, however, just a few cars parked right there. But they would soon be submerged in the water, if the adamant downpor persisted. Echo deduced those cars must belong to somebody, who was stuck in the store, along with her and the others. Those poor people were about to lose their beloved car or have to shell out lonesome money to get that thing up and running again.

For a long time, Echo could not find either Bo or Boston anywhere around. She chatted with others and made a call to her friends. Yu and Pearl were visiting their parents for the holidays, and they were doing fine. While they were both gone, Echo's girlfriend broke up with her, so her best friends weren't aware of it.

Not that it mattered anymore, because at that moment, Echo had a new interest - Bo!!

"So, are you with Andy?" Yu teased her playfully.

Echo could only roll her eyes and say, "Did I not tell you? She broke up with me a month ago. Which would be right after you both left."

Yu gasped or maybe he choked on the news. "No girl. You did not." Yu huffed out.

He sounded very upset and annoyed, "How dare you not tell us about the break up? After thirty effin days, now you tell me that you have been alone all this time while we were away? And what the hell were you doing all this time, anyway?" he questioned with both curiousity and annoyance.

"Hey! Relax, will you?" Echo protested. Though she had expected this reaction from her friend, Echo puffed out air anyway. More importantly, now was not the time to talk about the one that has already left.

She tried to explain the reason for her call, "I've been fine, don't you worry. It's just that I went out to shop for a few things and got stuck in the store. It's raining heavily, and I was getting worried about you guys."

"Thanks!" Yu scoffed. "We are fine here. It is raining here too, but I don't think I'll drown or anything. But.. girl, I'm not fine with you hiding this break-up thing from me."

"Chuck it. She lasted only for three weeks. So, it's no big deal, anyway. So, lets not drag it anymore." Echo tried to reason with her friend. But, was it even true? Given how Echo had locked herself in that room for all this while? However, her friends did not need to know, right?

And Yu was not taking things lightly either. "Yeah! And that's almost two and a half months, sweetheart. It's not that you both met and fell in love then started dating immediately after," he argued with fair point.

"Hey, Yuki!" Echo whispered, "YOU are the KEY to my happiness, and your sister is the PEARL of my eye." she flirtatiously whispered, trying to lighten up his mood.

Echo further added, "Trust me. Nothing in this world matters to me more than both of you, and of course, your parents. I barely get time to visit Cora these days, so I wouldn't want to distract you from having your family time."

"I know." Yu sighed deeply. "But you can't stop me from being upset. What you did was wrong, Echo. We are friends, and we don't hide things from each other, especially not for as long as a month."

"What have you been doing all this while, anyway? Why didn't you just pack up and come here? You know mum and dad misses you, Echo." Yu huffed as he felt upset, "Or you don't know that?" He added as an after thought.

"Okhay.." Echo drawled. "You are right, and I'm sorry. But I'm glad you both are not back here. Because the weather looks shitty, but I may have.. something exciting about to happen here." She announced, and successfully diverted his attention to something else, apart from her break-up.

"You found someone?" Yu shrieked. "No f*****g way, girl."

"I'll tell you all the details once you both are back. Give my kisses to everyone. Ciao." Echo chuckled skittishly and then disconnected.

Her phone battery was getting drained. So she went to look for an associate who would help her charge her phone. But she noticed that nobody was around.

Echo found a charging point behind a counter though. And so she jumped to the other end of the counter, to put her phone to charge.

She traced her eyes everywhere but found nobody from the staff was around there to assist her. Not that she needed that help, anyway.

As she plugged her phone to charge, Echo received a text from Yu. "I want all the juicy and fruity details. But first, let me warn you, Pearl is very upset, and so are my parents. Don't blame me if you are assassinated by tomorrow." That put a grin on Echo's face.

Meanwhile, Echo was also stealing glances at the door where she had seen Bo walk into but couldn't spot anyone.

Bo and her co-workers were asked to gather up for a quick meeting by her boss. Her phone kept vibrating in her pocket, but since her boss was right in front of her, she decided look at it after the meeting is done and to return the calls back later.

"Listen to me very carefully, " Her boss Mr. Carl Son clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"The weather does not really look very favorable. And according to what I have heard, it is about to take a turn for the worse. So, we can't let these people step out in this condition. And... we may even have to let in... if any... additional people who want to come and take shelter inside.

But first, let's make some arrangements to make the people who are already here feel comfortable. Just stay away from the windows, and meanwhile, I will try to call for help and get these people rescued as soon as possible."

Bo raised her hand, "Is it not a better option to let people go back home instead of getting stuck here? We still have time if we move a little quicker. I mean, people who have their own vehicle, for example?" She proposed. "We do not have much in the inventory as a back up. I'm afraid that we may not be able to get through the night in this cold weather, by starving ourselves." Bo added.

"No. We can't let them go." Her boss immediately replied. "Because the roads are already blocked. Several accidents have already been reported, and I don't think we can let them leave to take the risk. Just in case, if you haven't noticed, water is starting to rise, and those cars will sink in the water in no time."

Boston interrupted, "Then we can only call for help to get us out of here. Our store has huge windows, but they are glass. I think if the wind keeps up with its speed or accelerates, the windows will give in and water will start flooding inside, before we know it. Also the cold weather will further worsen the situation."

"Correct." Mr. Carl said. "I don't know what to do yet, and can't confirm when we can receive help. But I think we should make a comfortable space for as many people as we can accommodate." He ordered.

"Until the help arrives, let's move everyone to the second floor. The higher the better, and we must vacate the ground level. As for starving or not starving and the cold weather, I say we must fight the weather. I'm sure by tomorrow, we might get to hear a good news. The sky might clear itself and perhaps we may not have to face the rain water seeping in. Let us all stay positive and stick together. Clear?" Carl looked around to gauge the response from his teammates, and he wasn't dissapointed to see they were ready to fight the situation.

An hour-long wait, somehow lingeringly, passed by. But suddenly, Echo noticed water- perhaps rainwater seeping inside the store.

Apart from Echo, a few others also noticed the rainwater entering inside. However, the staff members were still nowhere to be seen.

People started to call out for their attention, and a few others started to blame Bo for leaving them stuck in this situation without making any proper arrangements.

That's when a man approximately in his forties came out of that door, with Boston and other staff following behind.

"Attention, Customers!" the man said to grab their attention.

"We wanted to make an announcement. Roads around this area are already blocked, hence, we have called for help to get us rescued. Due to the rain, there have been accidents and people have been reported to have either gone missing or died. Meanwhile, we request you to head to the second floor, where we have made an arrangement for us to wait until the help arrives. Our staff members will assist you in case you need help."

Gradually, everyone started to move up and settle on the second floor. Once those people were taken care of, Boston approached his boss. He was instructing something to Bo when Boston interrupted them and inquired, "Carl. Is there something else that we should know?"

His boss arched his brow, "Why do you ask?" he calmly asked.

"You looked worried," Boston simply answered. "And, if I have to be honest, we had a lot of chance to get these people out on time. It's not that there was fire that suddenly erupted and immediately spread across before we could even notice. I think we could have handle the situation in a better way."

"Agreed, Boston." Mr. Carl answered. "But our situation was somewhat similar. Our basement was already overflowing with water, and that would be that status of an hour ago. As we speak, our ground floor is on the verge of going under the water." He explained the situation. However, he still remained calm.

Boston was shocked, "Then, how could you let those people leave?" He questioned his boss and further argued. "Weren't we supposed to keep them safe?"

"I have my staff and it is my primary responsibility to keep them safe." Mr. Carl reasoned.

Boston retorted, "How can you-"

"Hear me out, Boston." Carl shut him up. "I cannot forcefully keep them here because it is not safe. We can't take responsibility for so many lives. Also, an hour ago, there were rescuers around this area, not far from our store, as it was not flooded to such an extent until then. I had made sure the people who left the store were transferred to somewhere safer. But now, we have to be more careful not to create an alarm and wait for rescuers to arrive here. I suspect there is an evacuation still in process, which means a possibility of complete failure and stalling of everything, until the rain stops. I'm also sure there is severe flooding in the coastal areas."

As soon as she heard this, Bo excused herself and went to the staff room. Bo wanted to call back on the number she had been getting calls from for the past hour.

As she entered the staff room, Bo whispered in a low voice, "Hi, Ricky! Where-"

"Where are you, Bo?" Ricky scolded from the other end. "I've been worried about you. Why don't you answer your phone, damnit?"

Bo sighed with tiredness, "Sorry. I.. Things are a little crazy here. We are stuck in the store because the roads are blocked and-"

"I was out surfing with the gang. Bo, it is crazy here." Ricky interrupted. "The waves were wild. I'm sure that soon the storm is about to hit, and it will get really bad. It'll be worse on your side too.."

Ricky let out a relieved breath, "Stay in there, OK? I will come to pick you up. Please keep your phone with you and make sure that you answer my calls."

"No. Don't come here." Bo sounded panicked. She tried to take control of herself, so she did not reveal the situation she was currently in. "We are safe if we stay here, we have moved to the second floor as the water has barely reached up to the basement."

"But, don't worry.." she assuringly replied. "..because we have called for help and I'm sure soon we shall be rescued soon. I believe Carl is constantly in touch with the rescuers and I can back on him to keep us safe in here."

" OK, call me when you are out of there, I will also call you once I reach my room," Ricky asserted. Though there was a hint of doubt, that lingered in his voice. The reason behind was unknown to Bo, but she did not want to pry. Ricky would tell her whenever he wanted to.

Ricky repeatedly warned, "Please do not go anywhere and wait for me. I will come to pick you up. I need to be sure that you are safe out there. You understand?"

Bo nodded her head, even though she knew Ricky cannot see her face. Then she hummed in response when Ricky asked, "Did you hear me, Bo?"

It was going to be a long night for Bo. She just hoped Ricky gets to get back to his room before any worse side to the weather shows up. Also, she hoped to be rescued out of there unharmed. There were lot of people that were in the store with her, that is apart from her workmates.

"Okay!" Bo sighed exasperatedly, even though she understood the concern in his voice. "Ricky, I will wait. Would you please relax?" Bo lovingly scolded. She knew her boyfriend must be worried about her safety, but that wouldn't help either of them, given the situation they were in.

"Alright! You be safe out there girl." Ricky sighed and he sounded a little tired or maybe he was relieved that Bo had finally answered the call. "Bo. I love you," he said affectionately, and Bo couldn't help but smile shyly. Even though she knew nobody was around, she still trailed her eyes, just to be sure.

Bo muttered in a low voice, "I know. Me too." and then shyly giggled.