Struggling Existence: Angie’s Dilemma
Angela laid motionless on her bed staring off into the distance. She’d been laying there for hours trying to figure out where things had gone wrong in her life. She’d spent so much time and effort earning her degree, but now her life had become completely different. If it hadn’t been for that bastard Global Dynamics, maybe things would have been better.
Just as her blood began to boil when a black blur came bounding off the shelf above her diving into her chest instantly changing her focus. She smiled broadly while the Persian cat began to purr and nuzzle into her hand as she stroked her ears.
“Macey,” she stated in feigned exasperation. “I thought we agreed I wasn’t a mouse; you were supposed to stop trying to hunt me.”
Macey simply meowed in response before making herself more comfortable on Angela’s stomach, purring even louder. Not everything that came from Calia was terrible, she did have a few friends that helped her when the worst happened. But she hadn’t heard from any of them since she left.
Angela sighed and began to pet her cat gently, letting the tension slowly drain from her body. It was moments like these that she was grateful for, even if they were becoming more and more rare. It wasn’t that she was truly busy with anything important, but lately she had been packing her things planning on moving back home.
Something had been happening with her family, while they refused to tell her anything about it, she knew there was some kind of a problem. She let out another sigh and gazed into Macey’s eyes, they would have to be honest with her in person and being honest with herself she missed the comfort and safety of her family.
“I guess we’ll be heading home soon girl,” she said softly while Macey continued to purr. “At least we’ll have each other there.”
With that Angela’s focus returned to the problems at hand and she once again began to worry about the future. It seemed like her entire life was one big question mark ever since she was forced to leave Calia and her dream job behind. She began to slip into her usual state of self-pity before her phone began vibrating off the bedside table.
She snapped upright causing Macey to hiss softly before bouncing off to the door shooting her a glare and running off. As she lifted the phone, she saw Emily’s name on the caller ID and immediately realized what time it was.
“Hey Emily,” she said as she answered the phone. “I’m sorry I’m late, I completely lost track of time.”
“It’s fine Ang,” came her friend’s response. “I was just getting worried; you’ve been so out of it lately.”
Angela sighed and rubbed her temples before replying, “I know, sorry we haven’t talked yet. I’ve just been putting my thoughts together and trying to figure out what I’m going to do. I’ll be there soon and fill you in.”
“Okay,” Emily said sounding a bit hesitant. “I’ll see you soon then.”
With that the phone went dead and Angela slowly rose up from her bed, taking one last look at her now empty room before heading out the door. Her and Emily had been sharing an apartment since she arrived in Impor, and she was the closest friend she had since leaving Calia. She quickly made her way out of the apartment building and down the busy streets doing her best to avoid eye contact with anyone.
She always assumed that keeping to herself would ensure she stayed out of danger without her two older brothers to protect her. But even so she found herself in difficult situations whenever they weren’t around and found herself missing them desperately as she made her way to the flower shop.
The entire way she continued to think about her past and the possible future she may have had. She was deep in thought as she finally entered the shop.
“Angela, you’re finally here,” Emily said sounding relieved as she came out from the back room. “I was getting worried. It doesn’t usually take you that long to get here.”
“I’m sorry,” Angela said as she hung her head in shame. “I lost track of time, then I kind of zoned out on the way here.”
Emily sighed and came over to hug her friend tightly. “It’s okay, I know you’ve been going through a lot lately. But maybe it’s finally time to talk about it with someone?”
Angela nodded and the two women made their way to the small break room in the back of the shop. They sat down at the table and Emily poured them both a cup of coffee before pushing Angela’s towards her.
“Spill it Angie,” Emily said with a small smile. “You know you’ll feel better once it’s all out there.”
“Dad isn’t returning my calls and neither is Danny,” Angela said after taking a sip of her coffee. “I tried to get ahold of them again last night, but their phones just went straight to voicemail. It’s been that way for a week now and even before that they rarely returned my calls.”
“Did you try Lucas?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, he says everything’s fine.” She said lowering her head and looking at the cup in front of her. “Said the restaurant is really busy and he was heading back to help. But he was distant and didn’t want to talk much.”
“If he said everything’s fine, shouldn’t it be?” Emily replied hopefully. “Maybe he’s just distracted or busy with something else.”
“No,” Angela replied finally looking back up at Emily. “Lucas is lying to me, I just don’t know what about. I’m planning on going back to Antis tomorrow. I have to figure out what’s going on with my father and brothers.”
“What?” Emily exclaimed. “Angela, you know that’s not a good idea, Antis is too dangerous. You’ve seen the news reports coming out of there.”
“I don’t care,” Angela said angrily rising from her chair. “That just gives me more cause to be concerned and go check on them. I have to make sure they’re safe, no matter what it could cost.”
“And what exactly are you going to do?” Emily asked skeptically. “It’s been years since you’ve been to Antis, you don’t know how bad things are. It could be even worse than what we see on the news.”
“I’ll think of something,” Angela replied distantly as the front door to the shop opened.
“That should be Nova,” Emily said noticing Angela jerk slightly. “I wasn’t sure if you would be able to make it and I didn’t want to close the shop down again.”
“I’m really sorry,” Angela said before Emily put her hand up waiving her concern away.
“Nova loves it here,” she said standing up and heading toward the door. “Besides, she’s just as worried about you as I am.”
Emily finished before walking out the door. Nova was the other girl that worked in the shop with Emily and Angela. She seemed to have a natural affinity with plants and always had a positive attitude. While they had worked together for a few months now they hadn’t gotten to know each other very well yet, but Nova was always asking how she was or how she felt whenever she was around.
Angela quickly downed the rest of her coffee before leaving the break room. She put on a smile as she walked out and saw Nova stocking some of the shelves.
