Chapter 6

Aurora

I wake up at 4am and get ready for my morning shift at the post office, this job isn’t as exhausting as the one at the library, but after what happened yesterday at the bar, I don’t feel like moving an inch, my whole body is aching and sore. ‘You need the money Aurora’, I remind myself and sigh in frustration. After Michael left yesterday, I cleaned the blood on my lips and applied some ointment for my bruises, they weren’t exactly bad and I would be able to cover them with some light makeup but it still physically hurt to move. Then I made my way to mom’s room and cried, she wasn’t awake though and that was for the best. If she knew I was hurting, she’d be sad and it would take a toll on her health.

I sluggishly drag myself out of the bed and brush my teeth lazily looking at myself in the mirror, the girl that looks back at me, is the one I don’t recognize. All the life has left my eyes and my body feels just as useless, it’s like my life is gone into autopilot, all I do is work all day. No socializing, no phone calls, no fucking ‘life’. I rinse my mouth in frustration and take a bath. I get dressed in my ragged uniform of eight years, and wait for Amelia to arrive. Exactly at 5am she opens the door with the spare keys I gave her and smiles up at me, “Hey, good morning” I give her a soft smile “good morning, I won’t be going to the bar tonight. So, you can leave early” she looks at me for a beat, and I know she has questions but she doesn’t voice them, “okay” she replies and I leave.

My shift at the post office starts at 5:30am, I am a postal assistant here and my job is pretty easy, make a list of all the letters that have been delivered, write the senders and recipients names and address, then pass it to the sealing counter next to me, I look up at the clock. I have to be at the library at 7am, typically I wouldn’t be this restless but Mrs. Hemmingway warned me to be there on time and I don’t want to lose my second job in a span of twenty-four hours. I return to my work and write as quickly as I possibly can, my fingers hurt by the time I finish and release an exhausted sigh. I look at the time, its 6:30am, ‘I can grab some quick breakfast and then head for the library’. I pick up my bag and open it to find my granola bar, I am about to take it out when the white business card catches my attention. I haven’t decided if I want to call him yet, the only time I’m free now is in the evenings, the library takes most of my time in the morning and afternoon and pays well enough for my time. I can’t exactly quit a job if the salary isn’t enough for paying off my medical bills.

I walk out of the postal office and make my way to the only breakfast place in the town, “The Jimmy’s” even though the place is way out of my budget, I have a little deal with the shop owner. Every month, when the library throws away the books that aren’t sold, I give them to old uncle Enrico and in return he saves a croissant and a pastry, for me. It isn’t a fair deal by a long shot and I know Enrico is doing it more out of the kindness of his heart, it’s people like him that make me believe that the world isn’t all that bad and there is always hope for a better future.

“Good morning my darling!” Enrico exclaims as I enter inside the little breakfast corner, he is a man in his early seventies but has the energy of a teenager. With his white beard and thick white hair, Enrico is like the grandfather I never had the chance to meet. I smile widely at him, “Good morning Rico, how come you get always get younger with time?” I ask and he smirks at me and winks “ones you find true happiness, it takes a toll on your health” Rico says and hands me my breakfast. “Thank you, Rico for everything” I say and he shakes his head, “Don’t mention it, bella” (translation: beautiful) I smile at him and turn to leave. I walk out with a sense of positivity and renewed contempt. Because even if Nash

Its currently 12:30pm and I am pacing back and forth in the library. I got here five minutes before it was 7am and Mrs. Hemmingway was pretty pleased with me. I counted the box, unloaded the books and placed them at their respective shelves and now I’m waiting for customers. Even during the age of internet, the library does great, and me being the only employee here, I don’t exactly have to spilt money, I get all of it. 12:40pm and I still haven’t made a decision yet, I stare at the white card in my hand and bite down on my lip, what if he offers me a job of the cleanup crew? Shit! That’d be so humiliating. I shake my head, Michael is many this, but cruel, isn’t one of them.

“What’s going on Aurora? I’ve been watching you since morning, you look stressed” I shriek as Mrs. Hemmingway makes her way towards me. “Oh my God! You scared me” I tell her and release a sigh of relief, “It’s nothing, I just got a job offer and I am contemplating if I should take it” Mrs. Hemmingway frowns, “don’t you already have, like… three jobs?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.

I hesitate, “Ahh… I quit the one at the bar” my gaze slides down at the floor, “Oh! Thank god!” she says, clearly pleased, my eyes snap back to her and I raise my eyebrows in question, “That bar wasn’t the right place for you anyway” she says nonchalantly and waves her hand in the air.

“I wanted to tell you that earlier but you needed the money, so I didn’t bring it up” she shrugs “anyway, if it has nothing to do with a bar, then you should definitely take a look at what they have to offer”. I blink at her, is she for real? That is probably the sweetest thing Mrs. Hemmingway has said so far, this day keeps getting better at better, maybe I should call him.

I look at the clock again, 12:59pm, it’s now or never, “Do you mind if I go into your office for some privacy?” I ask hopefully, “Sure, go ahead, I’ll be right here”. I nod and open the back- office doors, I gently close them behind me and take a deep breath, okay… here goes nothing. I copy the number from the card quickly and press the call button, it rings ones, twice and then a sweet voice drifts through the phone, “Michael Calloway’s office, how can I help you?” the lady on the other end asks, “Hi, this is Aurora Sinclair, Mr. Calloway had a job proposition for me” I tell her.

“Hold on a second” the line goes on hold and my nerves kick in, what if he changed his mind? What if he thinks I’m not worth the trouble? As I wait for the call to reconnect, questions of uncertainty plague my mind and my self-esteem shrinks. “Hello miss, are you still there?” the sweet voice says and I relax. “Yes, yes” I say quickly, “Okay, Mr. Calloway is busy right now in a business meeting. But he says, he’d like to meet you personally to discuss the offer. Are you free this evening at around 5:30pm?” I frown, a personal meeting? Why? I was already dreading this phone call as it is. I would probably have a panic attack if I see him again, ‘my mother’s pale face comes into view’ and I gulp.

“Yes, I’m free” I say because I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing this for my mother, for the one person who’s fighting death, just so I wouldn’t be left alone. “Great!” the woman says enthusiastically, “I’ll send the address of the building on your phone number” “alright” I speak in a low voice and she disconnects the phone. What have I gotten myself into?