Nick left a little while later, and I watched trashy television until the others returned home. Marc and Joshua headed in to the kitchen, but Janie ran and basically crashed on top of me. She’d noticed Nick and I had left at the same time alright.
“So… You and Mr Jackson left the office at the same time. Explain?” she asked, her voice a little nervous, like she was worried about what I might answer with.
“It’s a long story and its not what you think. Just trust me”
“Nah uh! You can’t give me that I want the details!”
“I have a problem… with someone from my past. He knows about it because of the stupid research he does on his potential employees. Please don’t ask for more details, I’ve said more than I want to” I replied, sadly.
Her nervous smile dropped in response and she sat back in to the couch, sullenly she nodded
“I’m sorry” She replied quietly.
“It’s fine, really… but as of tomorrow I’ll have a new work Alias. Actually, Josh, Marc… I need to let you guys know too,” I stopped and waited for the boys to walk over to the couch. “As of tomorrow I am Roxy Levi at work. There is someone in my past I would do anything to avoid. Unfortunately he found out my email address at work and earlier today I received a message that I didn’t want.”
“Oh? An ex or something?” Josh questioned, his tone was a little high pitched, but I didn’t want to decipher why it was, or even address the question, I just shrugged In response and let him think what he wanted. As long as they knew me as Roxy at work, everything was fine.
“Well Roxy, shall we head off and do that shopping now?” Janie asked getting up off the couch as the boys walked back into the kitchen. Part of me wanted to stay recluse and hide away in my bedroom. I liked being hidden, but the fact remained I needed clothing for work so instead I nodded
“Give me five to get changed into jeans and a tee first?” I asked
“Same, I’ll meet you out the front. Marc, can we take your car, pretty please!” Janie asked playfully, as she looked over at Marc who was sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee. She batted her eyelids at him and shot him a flirtatious smile. Marc blushed a little and put his free hand in to his pocket.
“Fine, but look after her, no speeding up to avoid read lights Janie!” He chortled chucking his keys in Janies direction.
“Me?! Never” Janie scoffed mockingly as she caught the keys and swung them around her fingers.
Marc just rolled his eyes and laughed again.
I got up off the couch and walked down to my bedroom. I reached around to unzip the dress and let it fall off me to the ground. I stepped out of it and flung my suitcase on to the bed. I bent over and picked up the dress and hung it over my drawers.
I realised I should have used my free time to unpack, to settle in. After all this was going to be for a long time. My father was not going to find me. I was never going to go back there. It wasn’t an option. I opened the suitcase and grabbed pair of jeans and a black guns and roses t-shirt. I pulled the clothes on and left my suitcase open on the bed.
I’d unpack when we got back.
I walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway to the front door.
“Have fun!” Josh called out as I opened the front door
“Oh, yeah, um thanks!” I called back, I looked up and smiled over at him before I walked out the door. It was a few more minutes before Janie walked out, she looked a lot more laid back than at the office, but her fashion sense still greatly trumped my own. She wore a pair of pink ballet flats, faded dark blue skinny jeans and a pretty floaty white top.
“G ‘n’ R huh?” Janie said smiled, skipping down the front steps.
“Yeah, pre axel rose with corn rows though.” I replied as I followed behind her. She blipped the alarm in Marcs car and we hopped in.
“I’m a pop girl myself, Katy perry, lady gaga, all that kind of manufacture crap. My brother used to blast Guns and roses when I was growing up though, so I guess I kind of have a soft spot for them” Janie put the keys in the ignition and turned it on
“I love my rock, I love its anger” I replied honestly. It was true. Music had always spoken to me, regardless of genre, but rock was me, through and through. I clicked my seatbelt in and rested my head firmly against the head rest.
“You don’t seem like an angry person” Janie replied clicking her own seatbelt in before backing out of the driveway.
“I have a lot of pent up pain, music sometimes helps me to free it” I shrugged
“Do you play anything?”
“A little guitar, nothing special though. I learnt at school, but I haven’t played one in over a year. My uh… my dad made me stop playing in junior year” Replied, the words came out of my mouth harsher than I’d intended, but the memory still ate me up. I’d found something I liked, and even though home life was as horrible as it always had been, when I’d been chosen as a potential candidate for a scholarship to college on a music programme I was happy. Dad found out and cruelly shot down the opportunity and pulled me from music.
“Josh has a guitar at home, I’m sure he’d let you play it?” Janie offered as she indicated right
“I don’t think I’m ready to play again. Thank you though”
“You’re pretty broken huh” Janie said softly, he words cut through me like a knife and before I could absorb what she’d said I nodded.
“You could say that”
“When you want to talk about it, you know where I am. I may have only met you a few days ago, but I feel like we’ve been friends before. In a past life maybe?”
“Thanks Janie. I appreciate it, and I feel the same” I replied with a smile, I really did feel the same.
A little while later we pulled in to a car park. We headed into the clothing store and after $200 and a coffee later, I had plenty of cheap, but passable work clothes.
We headed home and I unpacked my suitcase. Granted there wasn’t much to unpack, sure my clothes had almost doubled, but they were packed away in the drawers and closet.
I set my toiletries and make up on the drawers and placed the only photo of my mom and I on my bedside table. The room still looked bare, but it was my room.
Josh cooked a delicious stir fry for us all for dinner and we chatted about who we’d pick for aliases’ if we had the chance. Mine was of course, already picked. So I laughed as the others discussed theirs.
Josh decided on Cauli Applebottom, because he enjoys Cauliflowers, apples and bums. Marc picked Vin Depp, because it was a name sure to pull all the ladies. Janie, who seemed somewhat annoyed at Marc’s choice and reasoning decided that she’d probably pick something mundane, like Kelly Hartman and then left the table without another word.
Marc went after her a little while later, leaving Josh and I alone at the table.
“I’ll wash, you dry?” Josh offered gathering the plates. “If your hand isn’t too sore that is?”
“My hand is fine, it was a superficial cut and sure I’ll dry”
By the time Josh had run the water I’d finished the glass of wine we’d had with dinner.
“You’re not a big drinker eh?” he said smiling as I placed my wine glass on the bench.
“That, was my first alcoholic drink Josh” I replied shyly, my face warmed up
“Oh, wow. I mean most 18 year olds have had a party or two, I just gathered that –“ Josh stopped midsentence and began washing the plates
“I’m not like most 18 year olds. In many respects I’m completely behind, and in others, I’m years ahead. It’s alright though, I’m excited to grow up a little and taste real life” I said smiling, as I grabbed a soapy plate for the dish rack and dried it
“Real life huh?” Josh said as he placed freshly cleaned wine glass in the rack.
“Well applebottom, I guess you could say my life as seemed pretty unreal until now… actually even now it seems unreal. Just now it’s in a good way.” I murmured.
A mostly good way, being stalked by my father was definitely not something I welcomed.
Later that night as I lay awake in bed, I fretted about work. My father had never been the type of person to give up all that easily. If he found me, he’d probably kill me. That thought alone was enough to chill me to the very bone.
I fell asleep while still stressed, because of this my ‘dreams’ were fraught with pain and misery. When I woke the next morning I felt more exhausted than I had before I’d gone to sleep.
I drowsily climbed out of bed and rifled through my wardrobe. I grabbed a pair of black high waisted pants and a white shirt and left the room to have a shower. I couldn’t hear the water running, so assumed (wrongly) that there was no one in the bathroom. I opened the door only to be greeted by josh in only a towel.
“Oh shit! Sorry” I exclaimed, deeply embarrassed. What made the situation worse, was the fact that even though in front of me stood an attractive, and practically naked man, I didn’t move…
Or shut the door…
Or stop staring…
Josh just grinned and ran his fingers through his hair
“It’s alright” he soothed as he walked toward me, embarrassingly I was still staring, he was quite muscular, more so than I’d have imagined actually, about as muscular as Nick.
I physically shook my head, in an attempt to erase the inappropriate thoughts from creeping up on me.
“You can perv anytime” Josh said as he exited the bathroom
I smiled nervously and as soon as he had begun walking down the hallway I zipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind me, locking it firmly.
After a speedy shower, I got out and dressed before leaving the bathroom. I wasn’t about to saunter around the house in only a towel, even though I had to admit, that watching Josh saunter about like that was hardly the worst thing ever.
Once I was back in my room I pulled my hair up into a bun and applied my war paint. Today I was Roxy Levi. Filer at ‘booked out’. The woman in charge of processing 5000 rejection letters for every acceptance .
Wonderful.
When we arrived at work, it seemed Julie had been clued in on my new identity. Luckily no one else had really worked with me, and there for no one knew who I was.
“Ms Levi” She said, nodding her head as I walked past.
I smiled politely and walked to my desk, I was eager to get to work, because despite the major drawback of feeling like a dream crusher, the mind numbing process of the job zombified me, and made me feel as though I was a million miles from where I actually was.
I checked my emails before I even looked at the work for the day. My new name was emblazoned up the top left where my real name had been the day before. I had 1 new email.
To: Roxy Levi RLevi@Bookedout.com
From: Nikolai Jackson Nikolai@bookedout.com
Subject: update
Just a quick message, I’ve pencilled in a staff meeting today to talk about the tagging system, and as you can see your email is up and running.
Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.
Nick
To: Nick Jackson Nikolai@bookedout.com
From: Roxy levi RLevi@bookedout.com
Subject: Re:update
Thank you very much Mr Jackson, you’ve really been wonderful. I think you’ve truly done more than what is required of a boss however, and will let my friends know if I need anything.
Thank you.
I hit send and began my work for the day. Of course, I knew Nick wouldn’t let that email go. He wouldn’t let me get away with saying something like that. For some reason he needed to help me, I’d figured that much out. The reason why however, confused me.
When I received and email back I did the responsible thing, and not read it until my first break. After all it wasn’t marked urgent.
To: Roxy Levi RLevi@bookedout.com
From: Nick Jackson Nikolai@bookedout.com
Subject: Re: update
Just accept my help. Please.
It’s important to me that you do.
I furrowed my brow at the screen. Why is it important that I keep accepting his help?
Granted, it is hard to fully comprehend the tone behind such an email as this, but something told me, that him helping me, was as much about him as it was me…. perhaps even more so.
I didn’t reply. What I had to ask him wasn’t the kind of thing you ask an almost stranger via email. Even after the ridiculous lust surge in those first two days, we were after all, almost strangers after all.
At lunch time to avoid running in to Nick, I stayed upstairs. Josh came around as per usual, but I sent him on his way and worked through lunch. Unfortunately my plan backfired when the familiar beep of my email went off.
To: Roxy Levi RLevi@bookedout.com
From: Nick Jackson Nikolai@bookedout.com
Subject: Skipping lunch?
I see you’re still logged in to the filing system, I am hoping this is an error rather than a blatant disregard for break adherence.
I sighed, of course.
The CEO who researches his potential employees to the point of sourcing contacts, and retrieving files from cold case in small police stations in tiny towns would have a log on system.
I signed out of the filing system and stared at the email. Finally I began to type a reply.
To: Nick Jackson Nikolai@bookedout.com
From: Roxy Levi RLevi@bookedout.com
Subject: Snapped.
Sorry. I have rectified the error Mr Jackson. I won’t let it happen again
Almost instantly I received a reply
To: Roxy Levi RLevi@bookedout.com
From: Nick Jackson Nikolai@bookedout.com
Subject: Lunch
Go eat Lunch, Sarah.
Or I may be forced to walk out of my office and bring you half of my turkey sandwich.
I laughed and hit reply
To: Nick Jackson Nikolai@bookedout.com
From: RLevi@bookedout.com
Subject: re:Lunch
Lunch is almost over. I’m fine.
Enjoy your turkey sandwich.
S
Nick didn’t send an email back, and after 5 minutes, I thought I’d won.
That was until half a turkey sandwich was shoved in front of my face.