Sweet and Spicy [COMPLETED]

A Long and Lonely Night

3 months ago...

Kaya checked her watch for the fortieth time in the past hour. It wasn't right. Something went wrong. She knew it. 

Every inch of her body itched with restless anxiety. Even though the sun had long since set, Kaya didn't dare to turn on the lights. What if something worse happened? 

She curled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. What would she do now? 

The alarm clock flickered on the other side of the room, a series of repetitions. 

1:03... 

1:03... 

1:03... 

1:04...

Kaya checked her watch again. Still, only sixty seconds had gone by. Sixty excruciating seconds added to the three hours she had waited. 

A haunting melody filled the black air. 

Kaya glanced to the lit screen of her cell phone. 

Two words cackled their maniacal laughter behind the song. Unknown Number. 

Kaya reached out and slid the green button. Twenty seconds later, the phone hit the floor with a solid thud.

Present day...

Water sloshed as Kaya jerked awake. 

She laid her head against the wall and took a breath. She shouldn't fall asleep in the bath, but the day had been so exhausting. Clearly, the stress from the day had taken a toll on her mental health. 

Kaya took a few more breaths in an attempt to still her racing heart. She had to calm down. It ended. She left everything behind. Dreams couldn't harm her. 

The bath now ruined, Kaya drained the water and toweled off. She should, at the very least, eat something before she went to bed. 

Despite the late hour, Kaya prepped a sandwich and took a bite. It fell like ash against her tongue. 

"One day at a time," Kaya reminded herself. She had to focus on one thing at a time. Just the cafe. That's all she could afford to think on. 

If she thought any farther, Kaya wouldn't be able to function. She had to focus on her job. She needed the job. Her only tie to her mother and the only thing bringing her an income. She couldn't afford distractions. 

A montage of faces floated through Kaya's thoughts. Distraction upon distraction that had accumulated since she moved here. 

"What kind of a person are you, Kaya? You know better." 

Kaya dropped her head into her hands. She could feel the spiral of depression. She should go sleep now, before she lost it completely. 

As much as she told herself to push those people away, Kaya couldn't. She had been lonely. It wouldn't hurt to let one or two people in. Right? 

Though she knew it was a bad idea, Kaya rested in the fact that all the relationships she had were superficial. Even her neighbors didn't ask about her personal life. All for the better. She didn't want to explain. 

Too much had happened. 

Too much still hung in the balance. 

Kaya crawled under her blankets and tucked them around her in a comforting cocoon. Tonight, she would find solace in her sleeplessness. Tonight, she would breathe in the cold air and breathe out her fear. Tomorrow, she would deal with the things she needed to deal with.