Chapter 2

I looked at my appearance in the mirror. I was dressed in faded blue jeans, a light pink shirt, and a denim jacket, and my lips were pressing into a white slash. I don't have many good-looking clothes to wear. They never buy new clothes for me; I always wear the old clothes of Deliah. I don't have any clothes that I can call my own. Everything I have is used by Deliah. I leave my long black hair open; it is naturally curly. I made my way out of the motel and pulled out my phone to search for the directions to the cafe where I hoped to have a job. Finally, after seeing the directions to that place on Google Maps, I made my way towards the subway station; I have to find a job as soon as possible. After twenty minutes, the subway train stopped and I made my way towards the cafe. I held the knob of the glass door of the cafe and entered. The delicious aroma of cookies with coffee touched my nostrils, making my stomach growl in hunger. Yes, I ate nothing except a packet of chips with a cold drink at Los Angeles airport before coming here to New York. I closed my eyes and calmed my nerves, and looked around. The walls of the cafe are graced with beautiful floral designs in pastel colors. There is relaxing music in the background of the cafe; wooden furniture; and sofas or comfortable chairs will prompt customers to stay for longer durations. I felt my chest getting hitched by seeing such a positive atmosphere. I have never felt positivity since childhood. I smiled at such a relaxing environment and looked around to find a manager to talk to about my job. Finally, I found a guy who looked the same age as me with blonde hair. He is wearing simple denim jeans with a yellow shirt and apron while bringing orders from customers. I quickly approached him. He looked at me and smiled. "Hi, how can I help you?" he asked politely. "Hello, I am Emberly Swan. I am here for a waitress job, as I read in the article, "I told him while scraping a hand through my hair." "Oh, yes, we need one. Please give me five minutes. Let me bring orders for those customers. They are waiting for so long," he said, smiling sheepishly towards me, and I nodded while bouncing on my toes. "Can I help you?" I asked him, smiling politely at him. He shook his head smiling, "No need, just sit over there. Give me five minutes; I will take you to our owner. "By the way, my name is Eric," he said, and I nodded while blowing out a long breath and smiling. "Wait," he exclaimed while bringing a tray. I saw a plate full of cookies with a cup of latte coffee on it. He handed me the tray. "Enjoy this; I'll be back in five minutes," he said as I shook my head and fidgeted with my fingers. "No need for this, I am fine," I insist, but he is not listening to my excuses. I gave up and nodded, honestly saying, "I am so grateful to him, to think this much for me, and I am also hungry." I came with a tray and sat on the corner table. These cookies are so mouth-watering. Finally, after some moments, he arrived. He looked at me smiling. Something was there in his eyes for me, which I found so different, like not genuine but not bad either. "Come, let's go," he asked me, and I nodded while standing up. We came towards a kitchen. There I found a lady in her early sixties. Eric comes with me. Mrs. Glide, this is Emberly Swan, and she has come here to work as a waitress," he informed her, and she turned around, her brows furrowed. "Hello dear," she greeted, while Putting off her apron and coming towards me I grinned and looked at her. "Hello mam," I greeted her back. "Please, don't call me Mam, call me Bernice," she insisted, and I nodded enthusiastically. "So, you came here for a waitress job," she asked me, and I nodded. "Did you work before?" she asked, and I shook my head. For some personal reasons, I have to leave my birthplace, Los Angeles, and have to come here to New York. "Oh," she said and after some moments, she spoke again "fine, you can join from tomorrow, honey," she informed me and a wide smile appeared on my face hearing her answer, finally; I can be able to manage my expenses. "Thank you very much, ma'am," I exclaimed, while quirking an eyebrow and smiling. "No matter how many times I tell you, don't call me Mam, honey, it's Bernice for you," she said kindly, placing her hand over my shoulder. I nodded, smiling, delightful. Even though I know I will cry if I stand here for some more time, in such a difficult situation, this job means a lot to me. After discussing my duties here, I am going towards the exit, as from tomorrow I will join this cafe as my new working place. Before I can exit, a voice stops me. "Emberly," Eric called me while running in my direction. I turned around to look at him. "Yes," I said to him, wondering... "I want to ask, ask," he trailed while scratching his neck awkwardly. Finally, he managed to ask me, "Umm will you, I mean, would you like to have a coffee with me?" I looked at him, smiling, "sure," but why "No, sir," I replied to him while lifting my head to look straight forward. "Actually, there is not a lot of work here today and my shift is also almost over, so I can drop you off at your home," he said to me, smiling. My face fell when I heard the name "home". How unfamiliar this name is to me. I never know what is a real home for me. He understood my uneasiness and asked me "what happened?" I looked at him smiling weakly, "I don't have a home. I live in a motel. Yesterday I came here from Los Angeles," I told him I felt a tightness in my chest that was not loosening. Oh, that was all he said to me. "If you don't mind, I can arrange a place for you to live," he insisted. "No thanks, but I will manage by myself." I politely denied his request. I don't need or want to take any favours from him, or even from anyone else. "I'll see you around," I said to him as I exited the cafe. As I am walking towards the road, my mind is quizzing around past incidents and upcoming opportunities in my life. Finally, I am away from that hellhole, but I need to focus on my waitress job so that I can earn enough money to afford a rented apartment. As I was walking, I don't know, my leg hit something hard and I stumbled and fell hard on the road. "Ahh," I cried out in pain and pouted while looking up. Oh my god. Its newly launched Mercedes-Benz is But, by God, I'm hurt because of it. First, that horrible family who tortured me since my childhood, then my unfortunate life, and now this car, everyone just hurt me. I stand up while clenching my teeth. I looked at that expensive car. I hissed at it and kicked its front end with my leg. I quickly put my hand over my legs; I felt unbearable pain there because of kicking the hard surface of the car. "You won't get it, right?" I reasoned. My muscles are tense. I looked around, and finally, I found a public dustbin. I quickly went there, took that dustbin, and walked towards that car, pulling the whole garbage over the front of that car. I smiled, satisfied after getting off my anger at that car. "What the hell," I thought, as I heard a deep husky mesmerising voice behind me, and my adrenaline shot through my veins with my racing heartbeat. My eyes widened. "Shit!" I think this is the voice of the owner of this car. I swallowed, feeling the sensation of not being able to get enough oxygen. I gulped it down, closing my eyes and started counting. Okay, we will count until three. After three, I will run as fast as I can as the owner of this car is behind me. Count to three...I felt footsteps coming in my direction, but I slowly went forward. Now 'three', my mind screamed, and I ran as fast as I could without looking back. I ran as fast as my legs carried me. I don't know where I would end up, but I ran for my life.