Lethal

Chapter Three.

It was around four in the morning when I finally crawled into bed and as much as I would've liked to sleep in, my eyes opened at seven o'clock like they did every other morning. I looked around my apartment with a sigh, the daylight always made it look even more pitiful, the peeled wallpaper and the incessant trickling from the faucet in my kitchen area caused me to groan and hop out of bed. I needed to go outside, since moving in I'd tried my best to spend as little time as possible in that shoe box. I took a quick shower, the only kinds that I took on account of there never being any hot water and then looked at myself in the small bathroom mirror, willing myself not to cry.

The girl standing before me was exhausted, her eyes were dark and full of despair. I looked at her one last time before grabbing my makeup and walking four steps to sit on the edge of my bed. I might not have felt good inside, but I would look the part. An incoming FaceTime call from my sister was a welcome distraction from my internal pity party, I propped my phone up against my bedside lamp and continued to do my makeup.

"You're already awake, good. I need you to come with me to an appointment later." Aisha said cryptically as soon as the call connected. I froze, mascara in hand and looked at her quizzically, wordlessly demanding more information. "I'm getting a tattoo! I don't wanna pussy out so I need you, please Zana!"

I rolled my eyes, "Next time lead with that, but sure, just text me the information." I smiled at her face on my screen. Aisha and I were polar opposites, one of us overcame their experiences and the other was forever jaded by them.

"Thank you Za! I might have a job opportunity for you too, we can talk about it over breakfast." Aisha told me as I finished off my makeup; it was simple and neutral just how I liked it.

I looked back at the screen and smiled immediately, hers was contagious, "Meet me at our spot in an hour A." I told her, she nodded in understanding and we said our goodbyes.

Aisha and I grew up in the same foster home; I'd been there for a year when she arrived, we were both three years old then and had been inseparable from the start. I was always the older sister, despite us being only two months apart in age; I looked out for her no matter what and I'd continue to do it until I the day that I died. We experienced so much together in that house and had never been adopted; I stopped caring about being part of some stranger's family but it was all that Aisha ever wanted, we were each other's family and at the end of the day it was all that mattered to me.

I got dressed, trying to think of more positive things, my childhood had a nasty way of darkening my mood until I couldn't function properly. I looked through my clothing after picking my outfit on and pulled out all of the items that I could live without; if I couldn't find a steady job then I would have to sell some things to keep me afloat. I held a vintage Prada bag in my hand and smiled as I thought back to stealing it from a thrift store when I was sixteen; it was the first and only thing that I'd ever stolen but I felt like I needed it. I contemplated selling it, knowing its sale would help me immensely but ultimately couldn't bear to part with it; I placed it back on my shelf with a sigh and pulled out some items with less sentimental value.

Exactly one hour later I was seated in a tiny cafe called Rosa's with my sister as she excitedly told me about the proposed job opportunity. Aisha was a hair stylist and had been developing a buzz on social media, despite my own situation I was proud of her. She told me that she was working on the set of some kind of music video and that there was a possibility that the company could use my services.

"So the stylist got axed last minute and we're supposed to start next Wednesday, naturally I gave them your contact info." Aisha plucked a strawberry off of my pancakes and popped it into her mouth, "I told them that you style me all the time when they complimented my outfit; hopefully they'll call soon."