"I'll be there in 5!" I yell downstairs, frantically trying to tame my now frizzy hair.
I finally adjust my clothes before walking out the door. Today was my first day at the café and Michael very kindly offered to drive me.
"Okay, let's go." I reach for my phone and wallet before walking to the car.
"Excited?" He raises an eyebrow as he reverses out of the driveway. "No, I'm fucking nervous as hell." I crack my knuckles.
"You know I hate it when you do that." He looks over at me.
Do what?
He puts one of his hands on top my mine which immediately make them stop moving. I let out a deep sigh.
"You got this." He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze before trailing it down and stopping at my thigh.
I sharply inhale through my nose, closing my eyes. You got this.
After about 5 minutes of driving, the car jolts to a stop and he leans towards my side, trying to look outside and examine the place.
"I can go from here you don't have to come." I give him a smile because now he's the one that looks worried.
"No, I'll come with you." He proceeds ahead of me and I roll my eyes. His body still remains tall and his shoulders broad like he's on some red carpet as he walks to the front.
I nudge past him and a girl comes to the front desk. "Hi, what can I get you?"
"I'm actually here because it's my first day at work." I let out a small laugh.
"Oh... right this way." She opens another door from the side as she takes in the new information.
"I'll be fine." I look back at Michael and I feel his lips place a firm kiss on the top of my head. "I know you'll be."
I start walking towards the door. "Kick their asses if-" He starts. I look back and cringe at him. "Sorry. I love you." He starts walking back.
"I love me too." I flash him my teeth before going inside. I heard a muffle of curse words but I cut them out.
I love him.
"Boyfriend?" The girl looks towards me. I crack my knuckles "Yeah."
"Keep him." She opens the employee's only door. "Yeah... thanks." I don't know what I was supposed to say to that.
More murmuring fills the area as we walk in deeper. "So, I'll introduce you to everyone and then we can go in from there." We turn the hall.
"Chloe Dial, please make your way to the front, Chloe Dial." The speakers ease out as she groans. "I'll be back. Just go to the end of this hallways and it's the last door to the left."
Uhhh...
She leaves and I have nothing to do besides start walking. I finally reach the door and take in a deep breath before opening the door and 3 eyes fall on me except one.
She's turned around, her back facing me as she tries to grab something.
A smile forces itself onto my face. "Hi everyone. I'm Cora Evans, the new barista." I look around at the 3 who are probably on their break.
The ruffling from the one girl stops, but she doesn't turn around. "Hello Cora, I'm Enzo." His thick Italian accent flows out as he reaches out to shake my hand.
The girl aggressively turns around and a sinking, yet light feeling fills my stomach as I take in her features. The nostalgic, comforting feeling once again filling me up.
The laughter, the smiles, tears, the screams.
Alyssa.
I'm at a loss of words as tears prick the corners of my eyes. "Cora." She croaks out as we both slowly approach each other. We smash onto each other, hugging like we never have before, remensining our past.
I hear a small sob and immediately pull apart, my hand still grasping her shoulders as I look into her eyes before embracing her again.
"Explanation. Now." She sniffles and I let out a laugh. The other three that were probably awkwardly standing there, left.
"Don't you have to go for your shift?" We sit down on one of the metal benches.
She wipes her nose. "It can wait."
"You've changed so much." I look at her in awe. A small smile creeps its way onto her face.
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2 hours and 30 minutes of tears, laughs, and moments of awe from her of me explaining myself and the first thing she says is:
"Are you sure it's not stockholm syndrome?"
Stockholm syndrome?
"Even I thought that. But Alyssa... everything about him is so... so captivating. So serene. He makes me feel so safe." My eyes gaze over the white painted chipped walls.
"Well then let's see this captivating and serene man."
A laugh forces its way out and I remember the times where she used to badly insult my exes.
"Why did you move to Italy?" I question, tilting my head to the side. "Boyfriend got a job here so we moved." She smiles.
"How's Tayo been treating you?" I smirk, leaning closer to her and she blushes.
"LADIES!" The door bursts open and startles us. A large man with a stubble on his chin lets out a small grunt.
"You know how long you two have been sitting here?! It's work! Not talk to a buddy time. You're FIRED! BOTH OF YOU!" And with that he leaves.
"What an entrance." She rolls her eyes. My eyes are still wide. "What. The. Actual. Fuck. Was that."
"Okayyy then. Moving on." We get up and head to the front.
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Saturday July 10, 2021 @2:17 pm
-Dhruvi Parmar