Little Sunflower

“You little bitch! You better not try that again, next time I will kill you.” Said Peter Forrester. I shrunk back even more, if that was even possible. He got a couple more kicks in before I saw black dots and passed out.

I woke up with a gasp not believing that I was safe, I grabbed my phone and looked at the time 4 am, great I thought, I have to work in 2 hours. I guess I’m not going back to sleep. I pushed the covers off me and started getting around. I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, looking in the mirror I see the dark circles under my eyes. I guess makeup it is. I sigh and strip to get into the shower once the water is warm enough. Not only that, but I try to ignore the thoughts of my past that are running from my mind. I get out after seeing my hands turn into prunes, wrapping a fluffy towel around me, I get dried and dressed. I put on a little bit of makeup to cover the last of the bruises that are healing and the dark circles under my eyes. After, I put on the simple baby blue coffee uniform and grab my purse and phone and run out the door, almost forgetting to lock the door. The coffee shop isn’t far from my home, so I don’t bother getting a car, plus getting anything in my name makes it easier for him to find me.

Walking into the coffee shop and taking a deep breath, I head up to the counter. Timidly, I look up at the older woman, “Hi, my name is Bianca Forrester. I’m starting today.” Taking a deep breath and looking down at my hands, hopefully, she doesn’t see how truly scared I am.

“Hi Bianca, my name is Mary Hollister, I’m the owner, I hope you are a quick learner.” She smiles softly at me. I nod my head and follow her around as she shows me where everything is and what to expect. “You are going to be working the till this week to learn about the different coffees and all the different things that go with it. Once you get the hand of that, I’ll go ahead and move you along to make them.” I nod my head as I listen to her explain a few more things.

“Alright dear It’s going to be crazy for a couple of hours, and then it will slow back down, and I’ll have you go on break and have one of the other girls cover for you. We do two breaks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and then we do half-hour lunches. They are unpaid, but we do ask that you take one.” I nod my head as I try to process everything. She shows me how to unlock the till with my code and assigns it to me.

She instructs me to go put all the chairs down and tucked in. After finishing that, she flips the sign on the door to open. I like working the morning shift, the morning cool air and the sunrise is worth the tired feeling when you first wake up.

Another girl walks in, I think Mary said her name was Angelica, but I’m not one hundred percent sure. She has long black hair, a little shorter than my wavy strawberry blond, and green eyes compared to my pale blue ones. She goes in the back to grab her apron and comes over to me.

“Hi, my name is Angelica.” She sticks her hand out for me to shake, which I do.

“My name is Bianca.” I quickly shake her hand and pull it back and look down at my feet. Before she could say anything else, the bell above the door rang. I look up and see a couple of young kids come in, and I take their orders a little slower than they are used to.

They start whispering and pointing at me. I look down and continue taking their order as quickly as I can.

A couple of hours pass, and we finally slow down, grabbing the disinfectant and a cloth, I start wiping the tables. As soon as the last table is wiped, Mary comes out and sends me to break. I grab a quick coffee with extra Carmel and creamer. I sit looking out the window at all the laughter around me, I smile at a child hugging his mom, I wish I was having that sometimes. I shake my head and get up to get back to work. Angelica takes a break next, so I’m taking over the register and making the coffee.

The day moves quickly, and before I know it, I am already leaving. I clock out and grab my small purse. I head to the store for a couple of things and as soon as I get them I go straight home. My apartment doesn’t have much, and it isn’t too big. I have a small bedroom and a small kitchen, and the dining room and the sitting room are squished into one. I have a small black couch that I got for free. There isn’t a t.v since I couldn’t afford one, but I do have a phone and I use YouTube so that I don’t have to pay for anything since I don’t have a bank account. I put some music on and start making dinner. I sit down and put a show on my phone to watch while I eat.

After I am done eating, I quickly clean up and wash the dishes. I put them away and go get ready for bed. Sliding into bed, I hope that I can get one night with no nightmares. I sigh and close my eyes after I have checked that my phone is plugged in, and my alarm is set.