with such conviction, I really couldn’t blame his startled reaction.
“Whatever! Let that shit eat away at you! I don’t need this disrespect anyways!” I stood my ground as I watched him stomp out the way he came. Before he left I heard him mutter something about why did he care anyways—a question I myself wondered. Why would he care about my drama?
The water in my shower was already getting cold turning my mood even more sour. If only I had decided on a cold shower before calling Corey to come over. Maybe that would have saved us from the destructive fight that just occurred. Instead I was left shedding the tears I’d held back; feeling emotionally worse off than before his visit.
What The…?
Monday sucked.
I suppose that was every Monday, but this one in particular was terrible. My mind was everywhere else but on the job. My scatterbrain ended up dropping a stack of dishes, sending guests to the wrong room and many other things that if it had been anyone else—they’d have been fired. The fight with Corey still rattled my bones along with the argument with my Grandmother. Then add the pressure of my mother waiting to talk to me and it was no surprise that I hadn’t sleep worth a shit Sunday night. That next morning I made it into work at 7:00 for lack of anything better to do.
So when I got home after a fourteen hour work day, at least I was able to go right to sleep, without thinking of my screwed up life. Before crashing, I had to switch my phone off. It wasn’t as if it had been ringing off the hook all day—the opposite actually. There wasn’t a single crazed call from Gram, a sound from the prison, or a single call or text from Corey. NOT that I expected one—I didn’t, but I hoped.
We were nothing and that was exactly what I had pounded into his brain before kicking him out. We would occasionally engage in a sexual relationship but that was the most we would be—ever! From the looks of things now though, he didn’t want that anymore. Maybe Corey finally realized that I was more trouble than I was worth.
The next morning when I turned my phone back on my frustration level rose when I saw there were no missed texts or voicemails while I slept. This called for a cigarette on my way back to work. Meaning I had to buy a pack because Corey had taken his anger at me out on my last pack.
By noon I had accomplished quite a bit, but mostly because I hadn’t stopped moving since I started my shift. The workers’ looked at me with terror in their eyes every time I buzzed past them. All morning long I had been giving them borderline insane tasks that made no sense. It wasn’t until one asked me why they needed to put the folded towels in the sink to dry that I realized what I was saying. Not that it stopped me from making demands.
A couple of the staff visibly flinched as I opened my mouth to give direction. Making me wonder what exactly I had told them to do—hopefully they’d all forgive me once I came out of this funk. If I said it, clearly there was a reason for it!
At noon I was laying out freshly wrapped silverware at the tables in the large banquet hall. When I’d ly arrived, there were about a dozen other workers cleaning and preparing the place. Somehow, I ended up left alone to finish the tasks. Oh well, probably safest for all of us anyway. I was mindlessly putting out the place settings when I heard the banquet doors open.
“So why is it that when I asked the receptionist where you were, she seemed afraid to answer my question?” I recognized the voice immediately, but I shot my head up to verify it. My foolish heart skipped a beat as Corey slowly moved towards me. He was still too far away for me to reach out and touch him—not like the thought crossed my mind—but I was so relieved to see him there.
“I’m a little out of it today.” Corey cracked a smile, lighting up the beautiful blue eyes I’d been dreaming about.
“I kinda guessed that.” Very slowly he approached the large round table I was working at. With every step he made to close the distance separating us, my pulse raced faster and my