-Myla
I had just woken up and I was dreading this day from the moment I had heard about it. Our store was having this big clothing sale, which most of the deals were on the men's wear. I contemplated about skipping, but of course, the girls wouldn't let me if I had even tried.
So I was forced to get out of bed and get the day started with what I usually do. I decided to straighten my hair today, hoping it would cover a good majority of my face. I wasn't ready for this, nor was I ready for whatever life was about to throw at me next. I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchen to fix myself some coffee and a small snack. I brought it into the bathroom with me and ran a hot bath, because it was just what I needed at this very moment....
I leaned my head back against the tub and closed my eyes, allowing the same thoughts to brew inside my head once again.
I thought back to a couple days ago when I went into the coffee shop with Ivy. Every bit of that day had been replaying over and over inside my head since basically the moment it happened. I remembered everything I felt that day, the way it all started and the mixture of feelings I started to endure after making eye contact with this guy; that I seemingly, cannot stop thinking about.
From the moment his dominant, green eyes met with mine; to the moment I had flood out the door in a panic...
As much as a nightmare it was to me, I still couldn't admit to myself how handsome I thought he was. How his smile grew and curled to the side as he greeted us, the way his soft- spoken voice immediately stole my attention for even the slightest second. Not to mention the English accent the boy had that embellished his entirety, even more so.
Even though I kept thinking about him, I immediately knew it was wrong and I hoped to never see him again. Even if it meant never going to my favorite coffee shop ever again...
When I had finally gotten out of the bath, I heard my phone buzzing from atop of the counter, beside the bathroom sink.
"Olivia?" I answered, whilst wrapping the towel around my body.
"Yeah, hey girl, so you have to promise not to be mad at me..."
"Why would I be mad at you?" I asked, unbeknownst to me i'd soon regret the words that had just left my mouth...
"I can't make it to work today, I'm not feeling so good..." she begins to say, before letting out what sounded like a forced cough. Even worse, I begin to hear a man's voice in the background for a slight second, soon to be shushed in a distinctive manner by Olivia.
"Who's there with you?" I rolled my eyes, extremely annoyed by this pathetic excuse of a lie.
"It's just me Myla, I'm at home in bed..."
I swear, she was making me angrier by the second....
"Cut it out Olivia, you and I both know you're a horrible liar."
"Whatever, girl. Believe what you want to. You're so freaking paranoid all of the time. And that's a fact." My jaw dropped open and I could feel my face begin to heat. I really couldn't believe what she just said to me and how defensive she's acting.
"There's a reason the way I am and the person I've become. I'm not ashamed by it in the least bit, but at least I'm not a liar." I hissed back at her.
I guess I was wrong about one thing though, I really was ashamed of myself. I hated the fact that I had trust issues, and even more so, I hated the fact that I hated men. It was true to a high extent, I am a paranoid human being. And I was a freak. Point being, I still wasn't clueless and I knew I wasn't imagining that voice I heard. It was clear as day.
Also, Olivia never has an attitude. Only when she lies, which is pretty rare, and is the only time when she becomes rude and sort of petty like this.
"You know what Myla? I get so tired of vouching for you every time I make excuses as to why Ivy and I have to help most of the customers that come into the store. Your people skills are weak and it is so hard to include you in most of our conversations."
What she just said to me really hurt, but I wasn't done throwing insults right back at her.
"Yeah, well maybe if you didn't obsess over guys as much as you do, then there wouldn't be a problem!"
"Oh you think I'm the problem now?! Look at you! Maybe if you weren't so obsessed with having such a hatred for the opposite gender then maybe I wouldn't actually have to pretend to keep being your friend!"
At this point, I had enough with the conversation so I hung up on her. She went way too far this time, and of course, I couldn't stop the tears from pricking my eyes until it all just flowed down my face. As often as I cried, you'd think that my tear ducts would probably be dried up by now; and nevertheless, I wouldn't be able to produce any more tears.
But with my luck, they never cease to an end.
I finally convinced myself to get dressed and while I was doing so, I could steel feel myself hyperventilating. As much as I wanted to remain calm every time this happened, I absolutely couldn't. It usually takes hours for me to get back to my usual self. Scratch that. Not the usual self beneath the person I've been these past few years, but my current self....
I wasted the next half hour or so trying not to keep messing up while doing my daily little bit of make up, but I failed miserably. I was still shaking way too much and If I didn't leave now, then I'd be late for work. I literally could not miss or be late one more time, as there would be a good chance I could get fired.
As I was driving, I noticed Seattle's Finest up just one block and it started to call my name. As much as I needed that second dose of caffeine, I had to decline due to the circumstances that happened the other day that I went in there. I couldn't embarrass myself again, especially on a day like today. But most of all, I couldn't risk any possible chance of vulnerability to make way back in if I saw that boy again. Even though the probability was almost negative....
When I had gotten to work, I saw ivy outside her car door digging in her purse. I got out of my car and headed to where she was standing.
"Ivy? What are you doing?" I asked, while looking down at her hands as they were scrambling in and throughout her giant purse.
"My keys, they're not in here!" She huffs, displaying a panicked look on her face. I stood there silently for a few seconds before realizing a chain that was hanging out the side of her denim jacket.
"Ivy, what's that in your coat pocket?" She immediately darted her eyes down at her side and became frustrated.
"They're my keys, of course! Man I'm such an idiot! Thank you so much, hun! I don't know what I'd do without you...." and that's when I shrugged.
"Are you sure? Because Olivia would do perfectly fine. If not better..." I told her, mumbling the last part of my sentence.
"What are you talking about Myla? Are you okay?"
"No I guess not, Just same old me being a lunatic again..." I continued, "I'm just paranoid." I told her, this time with sarcasm.
"Girl, I don't know what's going on with you but I love you to death. Best you keep that in mind..." She shot a serious look at me and pointed her finger at me.
"If this is about Olivia, can we please talk later? My neighbor just called me and I have to get back home right away. She told me that she saw my dog outside and that Lo Lo ran off too fast for her to chase after her." She explained to me, while hurriedly getting inside her car. And that's what I really liked about Ivy, she was always truthful. She never made excuses or flat out lies no matter what she was up to. As bad as my trust issues were, I somehow always trusted Ivy.
"It's okay Ivy, I understand, call me later. Okay?" She nodded her head and shut her car door, before pulling out of the parking spot.
"Oh and I hope you find Lo Lo!" I shouted to her, as she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. When I got inside, I ran to the back of the store and signed in for my shift. About two seconds later I felt a hand on my shoulder, which startled me.
"Myla, you do know you're five minutes late right?" I turned around to see one of the managers looking at me distastefully.
"Yes, I realize that Miss Styles and I'm very sorry. I've had a really rough morning...."
I guess you could say that she was more stern than the other two co- managers, as she was this very professorial woman that wanted as much respect as she could get.
"You mean Mrs. Twist?" She explains, placing a hand on her hip.
"I now respond to Mrs. twist, dear. If it wasn't obvious before, I am remarried now and very much happy." She then lifts her arm towards me and reveals the silver ring on her left hand.
"Oh congratulations Miss Sty-"
"-Mrs. Twist!" I quickly correct myself, hoping she wouldn't notice the awkward error that almost left my lips.
" Well thank you very much Myla. Now if you will.." She points towards the door which exits back into the public part of the store.
I awkwardly grin and nod my head in response, before heading out to find something that needed to be done.
The store literally opened less than an hour ago and there was already a big crowd coming through the door. I honestly didn't understand what was so special about this sale, but I guess everyone else was excited for it... I was immediately surrounded by tons of people, about eighty-five percent male. I could feel my chest begin to tighten up and I started to feel a preview of the anxiety I was about to endure for the rest of the day. And it was only going to get worse.....
I stood there frozen behind the counter for a few minutes, off in my own little world, just to be startled for the second time today. A very large man approaches me with an apparent look of confusion in his eyes. If it weren't for the goofy clothes or goofy features this man had, then I guess you could say I'd be far more frightened then I had already been feeling throughout the morning so far.....
The man that was dressed in these hideous overalls and ripped up shirt beneath that, began to speak.
"Do y'all have a bathroom in here?" The moment he opened his mouth, I felt like I had to faint. His breath nearly knocked me over and I wished on every star that he'd just walk the other damn way....
I placed my palm against the edge of the counter, trying to retain some balance.
"Uh... y-yeah..." I gagged.
"Look to your left and go straight down that direction. It will be the first door on your right..."
He flashed a teething smile at me before wobbling down the area I pointed him to. Finally the stars listened to me for once....
I spent the next two hours hanging clothes up, which customers either tossed around or left behind in the dressing room. I avoided as many male customers as I could, but of course, there wasn't much luck with that. I thought about making up some kind of excuse so that I could leave, but everything I could think of sounded super lame. Finally, I gave up the idea and decided to just try and get through the day without experiencing a huge panic attack.
When it reached thirty past twelve in the afternoon, I exhaled a huge breath of relief as it was time for lunch break. Well, mine at least... I headed toward the back part of the store again and signed off for the hour. I couldn't tell you how fast I left the store the moment I knew I could leave for break....
Instead of waisting my money on fast food again, I decided on going home for lunch. I made my way to my car and pulled out my phone to check my notifications. I had twelve missed calls from Olivia, two text messages from Ivy and nothing for social media. It was pretty much what I was expecting, as that was all the attention I usually ever got on a daily...
I turned the car on, while opening the messages I had from Ivy. One explained that she found her dog after searching for two long and miserable hours. then the next one explained to me that she wasn't coming back for work today, as she was scared for her dog getting out again. She also asked me to come over after work so that her and I could finish the conversation we were having this morning about Olivia.
As I was texting her back, I received another call from Olivia, which I had to hit the ignore call button. I hurriedly finished responding to her, before shutting my phone off and driving away.
When I had gotten home and closed the front door of my house after walking in, I locked it as quickly as I could and ran to the fridge. My tummy was rumbling and I was growing very impatient. I rummaged through the fridge before pulling out some left over spaghetti that I made last night. I scooped some over a paper plate and tossed it in the microwave. Another part about me that was weird, I always bought paper plates so that I wouldn't have as many dishes when it came down to doing them...
I yanked the plate of spaghetti out of the microwave and started to dig in. It was only half way warm but I was too hungry to care..... after two more small helpings, I sat down in one of my recliners and reached for the tv remote. I passed the time by watching one of my favorite cooking shows, up until it was time to return to work.
I reluctantly grabbed my car keys and hand bag, before heading back out the door. I walked straight into pouring rain that definitely wasn't in the forecast for today, so I had to go back inside to grab one of my jackets. I decided on the black zip up leather coat that I hadn't gotten a chance to wear yet.
I rolled the gray fleece hood out that was tucked inside the jacket, to over my head. I then ran to my car as fast as I was able to, trying to prevent myself from getting soaked. Once I arrived at work, I scurried to the back of the store again and got situated before getting back on shift. Little did I know, the day was only about to get harder to deal with. The next half hour seemed pretty dead, except for maybe ten customers in total.
I didn't have much to complain about, as none of them seemed very overwhelming or that hard to speak to. It still wasn't easy, but I could still cope with it. That is until one certain person walked through the door, someone I definitely wasn't expecting to see anytime soon....
//
Thank you guys for being so patient with me! I tried to make this chapter a bit longer this time! Please tell me what you think and I hope you enjoy!
Ps: the gif at the top is of Myla's reaction when that mystery person walks through the door at the end of the chapter.