Chapter Two
1215 Words
Ava lay in bed, staring at the water stains on the ceiling, her body rigid beneath the thin blanket. She hadn’t slept much—maybe an hour, maybe none at all. Her mind kept replaying the previous night.
The restaurant. The arrogant bastard with the sharp jaw and sharper words. The wine spilling. The phone in his hand. The glint in his eyes as he left.
The moment she lost her job.
She sighed, running a dry hand over her face.
Outside, the distant honking of cars and chatter of early risers filtered through the cracked window, but inside, the apartment was silent. Cold. The only sound was the occasional drip of the leaky faucet and the loud buzz of the old refrigerator in the kitchen.
And then-
The front door burst open.
Ava jolted upright as the familiar stench of alcohol and cigarette smoke flooded the room and quickly hit her nose.
Shit.
Reese.
In her daze, she had forgotten to lock the door.
She barely had time to swing her legs off the bed before he stumbled into the doorway, blinking at her like she was a hallucination. His dark hair was a tangled mess, his T-shirt wrinkled and stained. His pupils were wide, his movements sluggish.
"You’re home?" His voice was thick, like he was dragging the words through his gums.
Ava folded her arms. "No, this is just a very realistic hallucination."
Reese narrowed his eyes. "You’re supposed to be at work."
"Yeah, well," she said, forcing a smirk, "not anymore."
Silence.
Then his brows knitted together, confusion turning into something sharper. "You got fired or something?"
Ava huffed. "No, Reese, I just love sitting around doing nothing while you piss away our money on booze."
Reese’s expression darkened. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
She let out a bitter laugh. "With me? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that I was actually working while you were out partying, and now I don’t even have that anymore?"
He scoffed. "Yeah? And whose fault is that?"
Ava bristled. "Excuse me?"
"You screw up every job you get, Ava. Every single one. And now what? You expect me to pick up the slack?"
She stared at him in disbelief. "Pick up the slack??" She let out a humorless laugh. "What slack? You don’t do anything, Reese. You don’t pay rent, you don’t clean, you don’t—"
"Shut up," he snapped, stepping forward.
Her stomach clenched as his fingers bit into her arm, the pressure just closed enough to bruising. She forced herself not to recoil, not to show fear—but her breath hitched all the same.
"Don’t touch me." She could barely hear herself as she yanked free, her pulse hammering in her ears.
His nostrils flared. "You’re acting like a b***h right now."
Ava took a step back, her hands curling into fists.
"Yeah?" she said coldly. "Well, you’re acting like a leech."
Reese’s hand twitched like he wanted to grab her again, but this time, she didn’t wait for him to try.
She turned, snatching her jacket off the chair and heading straight for the door.
"Where the hell are you going?" he demanded.
"Anywhere but here. Away from you!"
She yanked the door open and stepped into the hallway, slamming it shut behind her before he could say another word.
By the time she reached Elaine’s apartment across the street, her hands were still trembling. She took a deep breath before knocking, her pulse thudding in her ears.
The door flew open almost instantly, revealing Elaine—her dark curls in a messy bun, dressed in an oversized hoodie and pajama pants. Her eyes, initially droopy with sleep, widened in alarm. "Ava?"
Ava barely had time to step inside before Elaine grabbed her arms. "What happened? Is it Reese? What did he do this time?" she asked angrily, looking down at the fresh bruises now taking space on her arm
Ava sighed, flopping onto the couch. "We fought. Also, I got fired."
Elaine’s face fell. "Ava—"
"I know, I know." Ava rubbed her temples. "I screwed up."
Elaine shut the door and paced the small living room, her arms crossed tight. "Are you serious right now? This job? Do you know how hard it was to get you in there? Do you know how impossible it is to find good-paying work right now? Especially in this neighborhood?"
Ava sighed. "Elaine—"
"No, Ava," Elaine snapped. "You keep saying ‘I know, I know,’ but you don’t! You keep messing up, and every time, you think another job will just fall into your lap. But this one? This one actually paid well. This one actually mattered."
Ava swallowed. She’d never seen Elaine this worked up. When she told Elaine what had led to her dismissal, her friend only shook her head.
"You needed this job. Rent is due, bills are stacking up, and now what? What are you going to do?"
Ava looked away. "I’ll find something else."
Elaine let out a harsh laugh. "Find what? Ava, do you know how many places I called to get you into that restaurant? And now, with that rich guy complaining? You might as well tattoo 'Do Not Hire' on your forehead because no restaurant in this city is gonna take you now!"
That last bit stung Ava like the sharp taste of lemon on the tongue.
Elaine sat down beside her, rubbing her temples. "God, Ava. You don’t make this easy."
Ava bit her lip and muttered. "I know."
Elaine let out a slow breath. "Oh, Ava."
Ava groaned, leaning back. "It wasn’t my fault! I mean, okay, maybe the sass was there, but I didn’t mess up his order on purpose! And the wine—I was trying to be nice!"
Elaine closed her eyes. "You talked smack to his face and spilled his drink after getting his order wrong? You can’t blame the poor guy."
Ava sighed. "Well he was asking for it. Should’ve at least waited till the end of my shift or until I got my last paycheck."
Elaine muttered a curse under her breath, then groaned. "I can’t believe this. This was the job, Ava. The one that could’ve actually gotten you somewhere. You can’t just keep bouncing from one job to the next forever!"
Ava ran a hand through her tangled hair. "I know, okay? I know."
Elaine sat back with a sigh. "So, what now?"
Ava squared her shoulders. "I start looking for a new job, I guess."
Elaine gave her a long look. "You guess??? Well, I don't know how you're going to manage that but you better. Because if you don’t, I swear to God, Ava, I’ll drag you out there myself and you know it's not going to be the first time. And get rid of that stupid boyfriend of yours," she added, handing Ava an ointment for her bruising.
Ava managed a small smile. "Noted."
Elaine still looked worried, but she nodded. "Good. And Ava?"
"Yeah?"
"Please. Don’t mess this one up. If you do get another job"
Ava swallowed.
She wished she believed she wouldn’t. But if history had taught her anything, it was that she always found a way to screw things up.
- Writer
