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"Of course."
And then, just like that, she's gone and the office doors are shut again.
And my heart still will not stop racing in my chest.
FOUR
~ Cora ~
I nearly died a few times on my way to the cafe. I find myself rushing through the hallways of the building, almost crashing into people, rushing out into the street, and having cars slam to a stop and honk at me. By the time I burst into the cafe again, I've nearly escaped death half a dozen times, and my heart feels ready to give out in my chest.
Several pairs of eyes are staring at me, and I feel my face burn up with embarrassment. Thankfully, though, Thea isn't too far, and she takes in the sight of me, panting for air.
"Back already?" One of her brows is raised as she looks me up and down. My legs burn as I walk over to the counter, trying to hold myself together the best I can as I lean over the counter.
"Can you take another break?" I whisper, looking around the cafe again. The eyes are starting to turn away, but I can't help the feeling that someone is watching me for a moment.
And I know that Thea is starting to get worried about me. She's staring at me, nodding slowly.
"Sure..." She looks around the cafe. There still aren't many people since I was here, maybe all of fifteen minutes ago. After a short pause, Thea turns to her coworker and gives her a quick nod. "Taking another break!"
She practically sweeps me up, taking my hand, leading me to the quietest corner of the cafe, and sitting me down at the table. I try to open my mouth to tell her everything that just happened, but no words will come out for a long moment.
"What's going on?" Thea's voice breaks through my haze and I find myself staring at her. She looks worried. I wonder what she thinks is going on.
Because I would much rather be living in any of those situations.
I clear my throat, trying to collect myself for another second. It's the worst-case scenario that I've been trying to avoid even thinking about for ages. But it finally happened.
And I have no idea what comes next.
"Mister Fletcher found my website."
The words seem to ring through the air for way too long and way too loud. I look around, but no one else is watching me at this point. Thea is the only one looking at me, and there's a blank look on her face as she thinks.
"The... the website?" she mouths, the look of confusion still on her face for a split second. I can see the second that it clicks in her mind, and the realization that floods her face only makes my stomach sink lower in my guts.
"Oh my god," she breathes, her hand flying to mine and cupping them in her own. There's something so... protective in the movement. It's the second time that it's happened today, too. "Are you okay? Do you need a place to stay?"
I shake my head immediately. Even if there were a problem like that, I wouldn't take the offer from Thea. I can't do that to her. But hopefully, housing won't be an issue that I have to worry about with all of this.
"No, it's... it's not like that," I say, my mind still spinning a bit from everything that's happened. At least... I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have a job tomorrow. I think.
There's another pause, and Mister Fletcher's words keep returning to me in snippets. It was all a blur, even in the moment, and now it seems like it wasn't real at all. But I'm sure that it happened because my heart still hasn't stopped racing since the second he called me into his office.
"What's going to happen?"
I know that this situation isn't good. It's a bad situation. But I really... don't know how bad it's going to get.
There's no reason he should have promised me all the things that he did in his office. I know that the girl before me only lasted in this job for a total of a week and a half. There's no reason he should want me to stick around when I'm easy to replace.
But there was something so genuine in his voice when he talked to me. The distance he so often has up when we're talking was gone. And I know that he could have been colder with it. He could have just sent me an email. Or sent me home without explanation.
But he held my hand. And told me that things were going to be okay. For some odd reason, Mister Fletcher... did all of that for me.
"I'm really not sure. He just called me into his office and told me that he knew about it. That the board had told him and that I wasn't going to lose my job or anything, but... he told me that I should go on a walk to clear my head," I whisper, trying to make sure that everything that I say is true. It's hard to keep track of everything, but... I think that's what he said.
Thea sucks in a deep breath, her hands squeezing mine before she breathes out. I wish I could know what's going on in her mind because I'm sure that she has a clearer picture of what's going on than I do.
