Grace approached me and hugged me tightly. I cried on her shoulder like a little girl; the slap on my cheek didn't hurt as much as the pain I felt in my soul."Why did you do it, Kat? You didn't deserve something like this," she said to me as she held me close.I began to sob, unable to answer, not feeling capable of speaking; the tears and the huge lump in my throat prevented it."He hates me," I managed to say.Grace pulled me away from her and looked into my eyes; then, she gently caressed my bruised cheek."He shouldn't have hit you. I know you pressured him too much, but he shouldn't have done it, and you... you shouldn't have said all those things to him. You both made mistakes," she said.I knew all too well about that, but this was the only way to keep him away from me. I just wanted him to shine because if he stayed with me, sooner or later he would hate me for not letting him reach his dreams and goals. Maybe one day he'll thank me for what I did."It's done now, and I know
Weeks later, the sale of my apartment went through smoothly; I was determined not to accept any help from my father. I wanted to prove to him that I could handle my life independently. Jona accompanied me to sign the papers for the apartment sale, even though he didn't fully agree with my decision. Despite his reservations, he supported me."Come home; Nora would love to have you there," he suggested.I shook my head. Debbie had helped me find a place in her building, which was quite affordable, so I wouldn't have any trouble paying for it."I've got everything sorted out," I assured him.He looked at me and simply nodded."Your father is still insisting on investing," he informed me.I shook my head. I didn't want my father near me, at least not for the moment. I was still hurting from what had happened."If he invests, I'm leaving," I warned Jona."I've already told him no many times, but he keeps insisting," he commented.I nodded."My father never understands; just ignore him," I
Opening my eyes, a dreadful headache hit me. I buried my face in the pillow and stayed like that for a couple of minutes. Yesterday, I had lost consciousness completely. I threw the pillow aside and got out of bed as best as I could. I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I looked at myself in the mirror and grimaced; I looked really awful.The door to my apartment started ringing, and immediately my headache worsened. I walked to the door and opened it. It was Debbie with a cup in her hand."I think you need this," she said with a smile.My sense of smell awakened as I caught a whiff of freshly brewed coffee. I took the cup from her hands and took a sip."What time did you leave? And how did I end up in bed?" I asked.She entered my apartment."I practically carried you. I could've taken advantage of you, but I held back," she joked.I chuckled a bit."What time is it?" I asked.She glanced at her watch and then at me."It's eleven. I think Jona is going to kick y
I arrived at Grace's workplace, entered her office, and sat in front of her. There were several muffins on her desk, so I grabbed one and devoured it."What's wrong with you now?" she asked, looking at me oddly.I looked at her with my best tragic expression."I went back to work with Jona," I said between chews.She rolled her eyes immediately."I'm starting to think you're a masochist," she said.I shrugged."Jona asked me, and I couldn't say no," I replied.Grace closed her eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath and looked at me."Yeah, sure, whatever you say," she said.I swallowed a gasp and started breathing slowly to calm myself; I felt like crying, I was so sentimental about all of this."Hayden is with Debbie, that sneaky bitch, how I hate her," I said.Grace took off her glasses and set them aside."You're both masochists, made for each other. You lie to him, and the other idiot gets involved with a woman he feels nothing for," she said.I crossed my arms and gave her a
The next day I arrived at the workshop. Jona and everyone else were gathered around the new car, so I approached slowly to see what was going on."I won't drive that," Hayden said angrily.Jona turned to look at me and I just smiled at him."I warned you that if he invested, I wouldn't drive. Screw it all," he said.I wasn't understanding anything. So I looked back at Jona, but he just gave me small smiles."He's not your father," Jona told him.Hayden laughed bitterly."But it's a subsidiary, it's the same shit! And I warned you," he complained.Hayden looked at me angrily, turned around, and left."What's going on?" I asked.Nora approached me and pushed me."You screwed everything up, that's what happened," she accused me.Jona grabbed her arm and pulled her away from me."I'm sorry," he apologized.I didn't pay attention to them and went after Hayden."Can you stop?" I yelled as I ran after him.But he didn't stop, so I ran faster until I caught up with him."Go away, Kat, I don't
After my sister's wedding, Grace accompanied me to buy a pregnancy test. She and I went home. I went into the bathroom, closed the door, and sat on the toilet. I was scared of the result, so I stayed there for a moment with the test box in my hands. I thought about how much my life would change if it turned out to be positive, which was very likely, but imagining it was one thing, and being certain was entirely different."Kat, what did it say?" Grace asked me.I, still holding the unopened box in my hand, didn't respond. The door opened, and she came in. She looked at me disapprovingly and took the box from my hand."Stop being such a coward," she said.She took the test out of the box and handed it to me."Hurry up, it's better to know as soon as possible," she urged.Grace sat on the bathroom floor and watched me."Get out," I asked her.She immediately shook her head."Hurry up," she repeated.I nodded, pulled down my pants, and took the test. Grace watched me while I did it, and
Returning home was one of the things I liked most about this job, but for some reason, it no longer felt the same. Coming to my apartment was depressing, cold, and lonely. Sometimes I preferred to go to Jona's house and spend the day there, or simply go to a crowded place and watch people being happy.Debbie was with me in the apartment. She had waited for me to celebrate my victory. I... honestly didn't want to be with anyone, but I had promised myself to change, to go back to being the same as before, and maybe with Debbie, I could achieve that."Congratulations, Hayden," Debbie said, smiling.I approached her and pulled her close, lowered my head, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips."Thanks for supporting me," I said.She and I had agreed to try something, although it had been quite difficult since I was always out of the country."I thought you were going to dedicate your win to me," she said with a smile.I laughed a little. When I won, I didn't think of her. I had thought of K
I woke up to the smell of fried eggs and bacon. I got out of bed and went straight to the kitchen. There, like a dream, was Hayden, barefoot and cooking. He turned to look at me and smiled. This felt like nothing had happened between us; it was like at the beginning. I was so tempted to run into his arms and shower him with kisses, but I knew that was a very bad idea; he was only here out of pity.“Good morning,” he greeted me.I looked away. I didn’t know how to act around him now. Even though everything seemed like before, there was a huge barrier.“Why are you still here?” I asked.Hayden approached me and made me look into his eyes. I looked at him and almost started crying; I needed him so much at this moment.“I made you breakfast. After I see that you’ve eaten everything, I’ll leave, so your bad mood won’t make me run away,” he said.I moved away from him.“Well, I want you to leave now, and I’m not hungry,” I said.Hayden smiled again.“Then I won’t leave. You decide,” he said