Until You

Chapter Two

Sue shrugged, a slight frown creasing her face as she watched Gretchen.

She sighed. "You offered me a job about three months ago."

"I did?" The frown on Sue's face deepened. "Well, are you here for a dress?"

Frustrated by the seeming confusion of the woman before her, a frown settled on Gretchen's face. "I'm here for the job," she offered, clarifying her purpose for coming to the dress shop.

"What job? I already hired someone and I did send out letters informing everybody of my decision."

Sue's words were like a slap to Gretchen's face, weakening her until her knees threatened to give way beneath her as their implication began to sink in – no job. If there was no job, then there was certainly no hope of a new beginning. She had journeyed all the way to London for nothing; she was trapped!

Hope dwindled and what that was left in its place was the overwhelming desire to cry. She had lost everything; Matthew, the man she loved was now with another woman! Her family's entire fortune had gone down the drain! She wasn't worth a single dime and had sold her entire jewelry collection in order to sail to London! She couldn't turn back, not only because she had nothing left to return to, but also because she lacked the money to pay for a ticket.

"I am really sorry, miss." Sue's apology did nothing to change the situation. As a matter of fact, Gretchen found it easy to blame Sue for her predicament; if she hadn't offered Gretchen the job in the first place, only to have her embark on a futile journey, none of this would even be happening! There was also a small part of her that blamed Matthew for everything. She thought it was his fault that she had arrived in London when it was too late to accept the job offer. She certainly would have arrived earlier if Matthew hadn't begged her to remain with him on his farm for a few more days, rather than embark on her journey as she had planned.

Mentally, Gretchen found herself blaming everybody else for her predicament because she was afraid of facing the truth; it was all her fault. She knew she was only where she was because of all the terrible decisions she had made and she hated herself for it.

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she nodded to Sue's announcement. It was all she could do; accept the terrible news. Mentally, she began weighing the options she had left. She shoved aside the possibility of returning to her parents in San Francisco or the possibility of writing a letter to Matthew, asking for help. Perhaps she could find a different job in a different dress shop? Perhaps she could ask for Sue's help in finding another employment? For all she knew, she needed to find a job within a few days or risk begging on the streets for food.

"I am really sorry," Sue apologized once more.

"I really needed this job... or any job, really. Is there nothing you can do to help me?" she asked, her heart sinking further when Sue shook her head in response.

"Jobs are impossible to come by these days given the population."

Fighting to keep herself from falling apart, Gretchen nodded and stiffly turned around. She was a fool to have come here in the first place. She was a fool to have left everything behind, and for the umpteenth time since she turned down Matthew's proposal, she mentally kicked herself for her poor decision as she made her way out of the dress shop and into the busy streets.

Wiping her tears with her sleeves, her gaze swept the streets briefly in an attempt at finding an employer desperate enough to hire a woman off of the streets. She didn't think there was such a thing as silly as that, and even if there was, she imagined she would inevitably be putting herself in the hands of perverted strangers if she indeed accepted such an offer, but she was desperate and it was her desperation that saw her clinging to an absurd hope.

Exhausted, her bones protested the weight of her travel bag and her stomach growled for food. Placing her bag on the sidewalk, she frowned as she mentally calculated the money that was left in her purse. She had spent quite a few pounds paying for the coach ride to the dress shop and she imagined it was most likely going to take a few more days of paying for boarding as well as feeding before she found another job...if she found another job.

Perhaps she could skip lunch today, she mused, quickly dismissing the thought as her stomach growled once more in response.

She scanned the streets once more – this time, in search of some pastries, and sighting a shop across the street, she leaned down to retrieve her bag, when a gust of warm air and a flash of black knocked her off of her feet.

Falling hard on the sidewalk, pain exploded in her skull, knocking the air out of her lungs momentarily.

She moaned, willing her limbs to function as she attempted to rise to her feet. But rather than obeying her command, her limbs remained stubbornly glued to the hard pavement, pain paralyzing her.

She tried to move again, yanking her hand off of the ground this time with blinding pain that caused a loud cry to tear from her lungs, her hand falling limply to her side as darkness clouded her vision. Clenching her teeth, tears filled her eyes as realization began to sink in; she wasn't just stuck in London, she was stuck on its streets, helpless.

And as the darkness began to close in on her, Gretchen thought dying alone was the worst way to die.

Copyright © 2017 Lily Orevba All rights reserved.