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It’s freezing when I get home from the college early this evening. It’s cloudy and windy out, and even though it’s not overcast, I wonder if it’s going to rain.
I get out of my Subaru and head to the front door, but my phone rings in my pocket, and I pause.
When I pull it out, I see Rainer’s name on the screen.
Not what I need right now.
“Hey,” I say.
“Where’s my story?”
Hello to you too, boss. No, I’m great, thanks for asking. How are you?
“Still working on it.” I don’t mean to show attitude, but he can be such a jerk sometimes that it’s really difficult not to.
My boss’ voice is intimidating and threatening, as usual. “This was your chance to make things right, Kenneth; don’t you forget,” he begins. “I keep waiting to see if I find out that another magazine has gotten an exclusive interview with his wife or one of his old girlfriends. You’re lucky I haven’t.”
I chew on my tongue, biting down so hard that it’s painful. I wish I could explain to him the stressful situation I’m in.
“I’ll get you your exclusive. I assure you.”
“Let me make myself very clear to you, Kenny.”
I look up at the sky and wish to be struck by lightning.
“If you don’t get me a story before anyone else, you can kiss your job goodbye. I’ve given you plenty of time.”
Stones drop in my stomach. I clench my phone tightly, thinking I might throw it.
“Do you understand me?” he asks when I don’t answer right away.
“Yes, I understand,” I say with a hoarse voice.
He hangs up, and I have to wait outside for a bit so I can compose myself. I’m so angry that I don’t even feel cold. I look toward the one window at the front of my house. The blinds are closed, but I can tell the light is on.
What am I going to do? My job is everything.
I finally go inside. Selena is sitting on the couch, messaging someone on her phone. I can’t help but wonder if she’s spilling details of her abuse to someone besides me.
Her entire face brightens when she sees me, but then falls when she sees the expression I probably have on my face.
“Kenny?” she asks, clicking her phone off and getting to her feet.
“You okay?” I ask her before she can ask me.
She nods. “He keeps making fake Instagram accounts and trying to message me, but he’s not being mean because he knows I could just use it against him.”
She looks nervous, though, like she isn’t sure she would use the messages against him if given the option.
I nod my head, my jaw tense, and look away from her, into the kitchen. She has a pot of something being kept warm on the stove. It smells delicious, but I don’t have much of an appetite.
She walks behind me and over to the window in front of the dining table. Then she cracks open the blinds.
“Making sure no one followed me back?” I ask her, dumping some of my stuff onto the table like I always do when I come home.
Standing next to me, she quickly grabs my wrist. “Kenny, it’s snowing!”
I furrow my eyebrows.
