My ears began to ring as Lewis announced first place, my mind barely registering that we had won the contest. The screams of Haley, Sam, and Alex sounded like white noise, the weight of Josh's presence dizzying me. Josh is a huge, vexing ceiling, Alex.
I could feel plaster beginning to build itself above me, my vision growing darker as the once sunny, fall day transformed into the same box I'd always been stuck in. "Oh my god," I breathed out, my stomach in knots.
"Right!" Haley screeched, grabbing my hands and spinning me in a circle. "Can you believe it? It's like a dream come true!"
Words weren't enough for my thoughts; the million different things dancing on the tip of my tongue remained unspoken.
"Sadie?" Alex called from behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders and giving them a little rattle. "Sade, are you okay?"
"The—the Joja exhibit," I choked out, my eyes glued to the pavement beneath us.
"Yeah, they thought they had us, didn't they! Jokes on them!" Sam chimed in.
"No," I croaked, burying my head in my hands. "The guy...the representative."
"Oh, him? Who cares," Haley said, her thumb running circles over my hand. "He's just some Joja corporate drone. I've seen his sorry ass before."
"What?" I snapped, the trance I was in quickly disappearing. "Like on the posters in Joja Mart or something?"
She glanced in his direction, probably trying to figure out the root of my reaction. I could feel his eyes boring into us from his position across the Square. "No, not on the posters...Why would I have—he's, like, staring at you...Sade? Is something going on?"
"That's Josh," I blurted out, almost inaudibly.
"I'm sorry, what?" Sam asked, now staring in his direction. "That's Josh? The hell is he doing here?"
"I don't know," I sighed, shaking my head. "Where have you seen him?" I said, directing my attention to Haley.
"Just around, I can't remember," she said worriedly, rubbing her temples. "It was only a few times, like, forever ago."
Wait...He hasn't been in Pelican Town since I've moved here—I definitely would've seen him. That means...No way. We never visited while we were together, and why would he have come without me? My grandpa had been dead for years, and Morris seems to be running a tight ship as far as the store is concerned. He never mentioned a business trip to Pelican Town, only to Joja Headquarters—wherever the hell that is.
"This doesn't make any sense," I said, my voice bitter. "This must be some mistake...Haley, are you sure it was him? I mean, he looks like every other guy on the face of the planet. How can you be sure?"
"I don't know, Sade, I just recognize him," she whispered, her fingers tightening around mine. "But even if I'm wrong, and he's truly never been here before...Why is he here now?"
I took a deep breath, trying to settle my now soaring heart rate. A terrible feeling welled up inside of me, traveling quickly through the entirety of my body. She's right. Joja is the richest company in the world; surely they don't need to win a small town contest to gain publicity.
"Okay, let's think about this," Alex said, the shakiness in his voice masked by the confidence of his words. "Maybe he is just on the posters. I mean, isn't he some hot shot CEO or something? If I were the CEO of Joja, I'd want my face everywhere."
"Vice President of Operations," I mumbled. He doesn't deserve to be called the CEO.
"Alright, my bad," Alex said, his hands flying upwards in surrender. "Vice President of Operations. You knew what I meant."
"So what are you saying?" Sam asked, his brows furrowed. He clearly did not care about Josh's technical title.
"I'm saying that we should pay Joja a quick visit," Alex proposed. "Get Sade some much needed space, and see if he is just on the posters, or if he's actually been here before."
"Good idea," Haley agreed. "Let's go."
——————————————————
I'd never seen Joja Mart this empty; the quiet hum of the wall to wall freezers being the only consistent sound. Our footsteps seemed to echo through the room, their thumps bouncing around the open space and ricocheting off of the walls.
Posters littered the perimeter, the fake smiles and carefully placed products dually starring in each. Despite the darkness generated by the lack of its usual fluorescent lighting, I could tell that none of the faces were Josh. My heart sank deeper into my stomach the further we walked, the heavy accuracy of Haley's claim slowly settling in.
"He's not on any of them," I groaned as I slid down the back wall, now collapsed in a helpless heap on the ground. It didn't take long for three additional bodies to flop down beside me, the contagious happiness from mere minutes before now nowhere to be found.
"Have you ever seen him here before?" Alex inquired, directing his attention towards Sam. "Like, while you were on shift?"
"God, Alex, I couldn't tell you," Sam sighed. "I don't look people in the eyes while I'm working, because usually they'll want to talk to me if I do. And when you're in here for a million hours a week, the absolute last thing you want to do is talk to the losers that shop here."
"Is it really that bad?" Haley asked. "It seems like one of the more bearable employment options in town—I mean, my parents have made a good life out of it. They get to travel all the time, and they're probably rolling in money—wherever they are. A job, like, I don't know, milking Marnie's cows might suck a little more than that."
I chuckled and let my mind wander away from the present. Suddenly, I was thankful to be my own boss. I had forgotten the horrors of obeying someone's every command—no matter how bizarre. I reckoned that Morris probably had a lot of ridiculous requests.
"Yeah, I guess it could be worse," Sam giggled. "At least Morris is kind enough to give us a five minute break per every four hours worked. I cherish my ten minutes a day in that damn break room, even if it does look like a prison."
"A prison?" Alex laughed. "Why does it look like a prison?"
"Well I've never been to one, but there's no way they don't have the same vibe. White concrete walls and floors, toilets that rarely work, and a million locked doors. I mean, seriously, we'd be screwed if the place went ablaze. There's so many prohibited rooms that we probably wouldn't even realize that there was a fire until we went up in flames."
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure Joja has a million top secret operations happening back there," Haley rolled her eyes. "They probably just want to prevent you guys from sneaking out of the back door. If this place is as shitty as you claim, that's what I would do."
"Good guess, but nah. All the doors just lead to offices, which is weird in itself, because Morris's office is at the front..."
The color drained from Sam's face as he spoke the words. His legs immediately began scrambling to lift the rest of him off of the floor, his movements strained—almost as if the tiles were swallowing him whole.
"Joshua Chord," he gasped, his eyes wide. My chest tightened at the sound of his name, my heart slowly crushing beneath the weight.
"Joshua Chord," I whispered, nodding my head. "That's him."
"Sadie Chord sounds shitty anyway," he said, grabbing my forearm with both hands and hoisting me off of the ground. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" I asked, the others now on their feet.
"If he's here, in town, he probably came here before the festival."
"And?" Haley asked.
"His office is probably unlocked," Sam replied, his walk gaining momentum with every step.
Within seconds, we had arrived in the break room, our group standing face to face with a cracked open door and a golden plaque adhered to the wall beside it. Josh's name was smeared across the shiny panel, his arrogance perfectly encapsulated by the unnecessary medallion.
"For the love of God," I groaned, running my hand across the engraving. "This has got to be some kind of sick joke."
My fingers moved off of the plaque and onto the door, lightly pushing it the rest of the way open. The creak of the hinges indicated the age of the office, but the interior told a different story. Not a single speck of dust had settled on top of any of the furniture, the light bulbs still emitting a slight warmth that filled the room. He was here.
My eyes darted around the space, searching for an answer. Why was he here? When else has he been here? What could he possibly need to do in Pelican Town?
My mind drifted back to the day I left him, the memory of searching our bedroom for further proof of his infidelity consuming me. He hid the letter. Why did he truly hide the letter?
My gaze landed on a safe, securely tucked away in the far corner of the office. I scoffed at the parallels between our last interaction and now, my heart racing at the mere thought of what may be inside. Whatever secrets I couldn't find then might be right in front of me, waiting to be discovered.
Sadly, my dear, you have not escaped it yet. You have questions that long for an answer. That answer you seek...it is near.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sam asked, still at the head of the pack. "We don't have much time. Let's rip this place apart!"
Alex nodded sternly, joining him inside and starting to rummage through drawers. I couldn't control my movements; my feet stumbled towards the safe and knelt in front of it—Haley close behind me.
"Do you know the password?" She asked.
"I'm not 100% sure," I started, leaning closer to it. "But I have a pretty good idea."
0427.
The safe was open.
Once again, an initial glance didn't reveal much. The familiar visual of Joja folders occupied a majority of the space, this time neatly filed away in a few labeled compartments. Finances. Current Employees. Confidential.
Confidential.
My hand flew to the mystery files, pulling them all into my lap in one quick motion. Manilla folders spilled out from the Joja branded sleeves, each with various keywords scribbled across the front. Passwords. Sales. Clientele. Yearly Budget. Us.
My hand hovered over the last one, my fingers trailing above Josh's big, bolded handwriting. Part of me hoped that something of mine sat inside—one last, dying symbol of the love we used to have. A trace of me in his world, where I was merely a side character.
Haley wrapped her arms around me, her head falling onto my shoulder. Her blonde hair enveloped me, the scents of pear and orchid wafting off of her figure, which was now intertwined with mine.
For a brief moment, time was frozen. The feeling of betrayal—the worry of what may be in my hands—disappeared, the rhythmic pattern of Haley's breathing becoming one with mine. The bustle of Sam and Alex was drowned out by pure comfort, as if her embrace created a forcefield around us. Nobody gets in, nobody gets out.
"Open it, Sade," she whispered, her soft command echoing throughout the bubble we had created. "You deserve to know."
Trembling, I peeled the folder open, revealing a thin photobook. "US" was scrawled across the front lazily, almost as if it was meant to appear unimportant.
The film-coated cover crinkled beneath my fingers, the first picture slowly coming into view.
Josh stood in the center of two people—seemingly a couple—grinning goofily while shaking the man's hand. The woman and him stood shoulder to shoulder, her smile almost larger than his.
"Who are these people?" I asked, leaning closer to examine their features more closely.
"Wait," Haley said quietly, abruptly yanking the album out of my hand. "What the fuck?"
"What?" I asked, fear erupting through me. "What is it?"
"There's no way," she said to herself, frantically sliding the photo out and standing up, the photo album falling and sliding beneath the desk.
"What is it?" I asked, jumping up behind her. "Haley?"
"Sade," she said, handing me the photo. "These are my parents."
"What?" I asked, snatching it from her. "Are you fucking with me?"
"Does it seem like I'm fucking with you, Sadie?" she bit back, clearly just as frazzled as me.
"What's going on?" Sam asked, walking over and carefully taking it from my hand.
"What the—" he said, his eyes scouring the picture. "What is Josh doing with your folks?"
"You don't think I made up seeing him now, do you?" she snarled, burying her head in her hands. "I don't understand what is happening."
I peered over Sam's shoulder, trying to get a good look at them. The woman's soft blonde hair was cut right above her shoulders, and though tinted with gray, was almost identical to Haley's golden locks. Her father, on the other hand, resembled Emily—tall with kind eyes.
"What the hell is going on here?" A voice barked from behind us, immediately breaking me out of my thoughts.
I froze. I would recognize that voice from a mile away.
We'd been caught.