Chapter one
JANE’S POV
I was standing behind the counter waiting for the next customer, and finally, I was attending to the last customer. Today has been a very busy day, and I was getting tired of standing; my feet were getting sore already.
I felt someone digging daggers at me with their eyes and turned to see my boss scrolling at me; I tried so hard not to roll my eyes; he couldn’t make it any more clear that he hated me.
“Someone is waiting for you, table 7 you better be fast about it and not waste my time, the customers won’t attend to themselves”
“Yes, sir,” I replied with a little bow to avoid being tagged as the most disrespectful worker he had.
I got to table seven and met my best friend, Ava; she looked anxious like she couldn’t wait to leave.
“You don’t look like you came here to order something so why are you here”
I asked her and kept standing, I could still feel my boss staring at me.
“It’s your grandmother Jane, I want to your place in search of you just to find everywhere scattered, and I feel like they harassed her or threatened her before leaving because she looked quite scared and refused to speak to me, so I had to rush down here to get you”
My ear perked up at the mention of my grandmother; she was the only one I had left, and I wouldn’t be able to leave with myself if anything should happen to her under my watch.
At this point, I didn’t know the next step to take because meeting my boss to make an excuse was useless. He’ll just end up deducting from my pay, which was close to nothing at this point, but I didn’t have any option, my grandmother was more important than this trash I call work.
“Let’s go,” I said to Ava in a hurry, dropping the rag I was holding.
“What of your boss, he looks like he’s about to match down here and drag you back, but I’m sure he can’t do that with me sitting here”
“Let’s just go I’ll handle him later I need to make sure my grandmother is okay”
Ava looked at me skeptically before standing up and following me out of my workplace.
I entered her car, and she drove off towards my house; I lived in the dirty part of New York, and this area was filled with thieves and pickpockets.
“You know you could come stay with me until you save up money to get a better place, I don’t feel comfortable with you staying here,”
My best friend said while trying so hard not to run through nails or any sharp objects.
I ignored her statement, willing the car to go faster so that I could see my grandmother and make sure she was in good condition. I didn’t know what to expect, which didn’t sit tight with me.
“Did she have any bruises on her body?” I turned to ask Ava.
“Nope, I didn’t check but I would have noticed if she had any, she was just in shock that’s all”
“Fuck, I hate this city and everyone in it, why would anyone harras an old woman”
Immediately, Ava got to the front of my house; I didn’t wait for her to pack well before jumping out and running straight to my house.
I entered inside while shouting my grandmother’s name to alert her that I was home.
Our living room was in a very bad condition as everywhere was scattered and different things were thrown around.
I meet her in her room trying to arrange her things.
“What happened here?” I asked, and immediately I saw her. “I came as fast as I could Ava told me what happened”
“I’m okay, you don’t need to worry, it’s just the landlord, he came in here trying to throw our things out of the house but I begged him and he gave us only a week, if not we’ll be out on the street”
I didn’t know what to say; as I clenched my fist, my hands trembling as I tried to hold in my anger, the room felt smaller, like they were closing in on me as the anger threatened to consume me.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Ava. She must have finally found a good enough space to pack her car. I just hope they don’t steal any part of her car before she’s ready to leave.
“Calm down, Jane, you need to be calm to figure out what to do at this point; you can’t go barging into his house like that,” Ava tried to calm me down, but it did nothing to quench my anger.
“Who barges in on an old woman and starts throwing her things out? What if he did something to harm her? I have to warn him, Ava, he can’t go around treating my grandmother anyhow; what will it take him to wait till I get back?”
I looked around my house to find out that everything had been turned upside down. At this point, I hated my life so much, but there was nothing I could do about it.
I was already working at three places; I couldn’t add a fourth one; someone had to be at home to make sure my grandmother was okay at some point.
I gently pushed Ava out of my way and made a beeline for my landlord’s house. Ava followed behind me, trying to talk me out of it, but at this point, I was too angry to listen to her.
I pushed open my landlord’s door without knocking, ready to unleash every ounce of my frustration. But the words died in my throat as the scene before me sank in. He was lying in the middle of his living room, shoulders hunched, his shirt smeared with streaks of blood.
I stopped dead in my tracks, my anger evaporating so quickly it left me lightheaded as if someone had pulled the ground from under me. It was like someone had poured me a bucket of chilled water, leaving an empty, hollow space in its wake. My chest felt weightless, almost hollow, and the pounding in my head eased, replaced by a dizzying sense of disbelief.
The words I’d been so ready to throw at him now seemed meaningless. I swallowed hard, my mouth dry, as my fists unclenched and my shoulders sagged. All the heat, all the fury gone, leaving only a cold chill sensation crawling down my spine.
