(intheafternoon-)
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A couple days of texting and more fainting on Jenna's behalf passed, and it was time for me to return to work.
I was groggy when I awoke at 7:30, and my eyelids tried to close and pull me back into dreamland, but I knew I had to get up. My mouth opened wide as a yawn escaped, and I stood up towards the bathroom.
The mirror was a little bit foggy for some reason, but I just ignored it.
I slipped on my black skinny jeans and uniform shirt, which looked really tacky and stupid, to be honest. Maybe someday I'd convince my boss to get us new ones.
I walked past the hallway and grabbed my keys off the counter, playing with them as I stepped out the front door. My car was parked closer to my apartment today, and I unlocked it pushing a button on my keys.
I shut the door behind me as I jumped in and set my things down, turning on the ignition and backing up. It was decent weather today and hopefully the traffic wouldn't be too bad.
But of course, I jinxed it.
The cars behind me were honking nonstop, as if I could control the situation. I started to actually drift off and my eyelids were sliding shut, exhausted from the lack of sleep last night. I suddenly heard another loud honk and realized I had my mouth wide open and nearly fell asleep.
I flinched and gripped the steering wheel, driving a couple feet forward to meet with the same car I've stared at for the past ten minutes in this one street.
This was just terrible.
~~~~~~
I barely made it out alive. The traffic was literal torture, and it just killed my motivation for the whole day. I grunted and fixed my uniform as I creaked open the door, meeting the gaze of several workers and a decent sized line.
But I also met eyes with my boss, and he didn't look very happy.. My heart started to pump and my nerves raised, just looking at him. I made my way over to him, nervous as can be.
"Good morning, Izabella." He glared at me as my feet inched closer, my chest thumping louder. "Tell me, what time is it?"
I swallowed and nervously checked my watch, my eyes widening as the numbers appeared on the tiny screen. 9:24.
I must have been dozing off and completely out of it to realize how late it was becoming. And by the look on his face.. there wasn't really a good excuse now. I sighed and looked him in the eyes, spilling the truth even though I knew it most likely wouldn't work.
"I got caught in a ton of traffic, I'm sorry.. I didn't even watch the time I was hurryi-"
He raised his hand to motion for me to stop. I quit speaking and he continued to stare, but his head shook when his mouth opened. "No. There are no more excuses, Izabella. You're done."
"What?" I blinked. "You can't be se-"
"I'm dead serious." He said with an unamused expression. "I have given you many chances, but you still somehow remain to show up late. And this was your last straw."
I stood there for a minute, letting all of this sink in. I heard the door open and close behind me, and I saw a flash of red hair.
Josh...
I turned back around, facing my boss again. "You turn in your uniform tomorrow, then. Or give it to one of our workers to hand over to me. Thank you for your time, I'm sorry it had to be this way."
You aren't sorry.. I thought.
"Hey, Izabella!" A voice called behind me. I recognized it, it was Josh. But by now my head was spinning and I couldn't concentrate on anything, just the fact that I have just been fired and I no longer had a job to withhold my finances or needs. It was becoming too much.. I felt dizzy, paranoid, and many mixed emotions I couldn't explain.
I felt like I was about to throw up, so I ran outside as fast as I could and leaned against the wall to try and catch my breath. I started to breath more heavily now though, and my anxiety levels were rising. "Are you okay?!" Movement next to me made me even more anxious, but next thing you know Joshua is sitting down on my right and experiencing my random anxiety attack.
I couldn't even talk or move without freaking out even more, and I felt my heart race faster, faster, and faster. It was awful.
"Shhh, look at me." He said, grabbing my hands suddenly. I shakily held onto them, my eyes searching for his. "Breathe, just breathe.."
His voice was oddly soothing me, and his brown squinty eyes were very comforting. He continued to speak and help me throughout everything. "Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth.." I did as he told, and repeated it over and over again until I was breathing normally a few minutes later.
I didn't want to speak, so I just grabbed him and held him tightly. And then the tears spilled, unexpectedly, onto his shoulder. "Don't cry, Izabella.." He spoke and squeezed me further into the hug, where I felt at home.
I wiped my tears away and pulled back, shaking my head. "I'm sorry.."
"Don't be." He frowned.
"I haven't had one of those in forever.." I wiped my tears away, hoping my face didn't look like utter crap. "But.. for some reason, you actually helped it go away faster than they used to. How did you know what to do?"
He shrugged and breathed out. "To be honest, I used to have those a lot. Especially before concerts and stuff, when I was getting used to being famous and all. But Tyler helped me throughout it all.. and I hope I can do that with you."
My cheeks suddenly felt really warm, and I knew that they were most likely pink now. Agh, this boy..
I half smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Josh. That really means a lot.."
"Of course." He patted my hand, which I forgot we were both still gripping and caused my cheeks to heat up even more.
"Do you want me to drive you home?" He offered. I shook my head and sighed. "No, it's fine. I got it."
"No, I want to. Please? You still look upset.."
I looked back up and his eyes were still fixated onto mine. "I guess so.." I gave up.
So we both stood up and walked over to my car.
~~~~~~
