CHAPTER 3

"Hey... hey.. Wake up" a voice intrudes into my subconsciousness. I felt my cheeks being tapped continuously. 

I open my eyes to see a blurry image of a man holding me in his arms. Fear surged through my veins as I struggled to break free, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Let go of me!" I shouted, my voice trembling with a mix of terror and defiance. The stranger's face remained hidden beneath a hood, adding to the mystery and dread. 

"Hey chill, it's just me, Ned" he confesses, removing his hood for confirmation. 

I had a good glance at him. "Jesus Christ! Ned, you scared the sh!t out of me. Why would you do that?" I said, gaining my confidence.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. I saw you from afar-"

"And your first thought was to scare the living day-light out of me?" I asserted, cutting him short immediately.

"No I'm sorry, really, I was just messing with you" he said convincingly, his eyes bore into mine as he held me by the arm. 

I felt a bit uncomfortable, so I shrugged him off. "It's fine, I have to head home now" I averred, walking away.

He took a big leap towards me in a hurry. "Well, I'm here now, I can walk you home" he suggested, trying to hold me back.

"No-" I professed subtly. 

"-You've done more than enough for today. I'll see you around, I guess", I concluded, and continued walking.

"I'm sorry" he uttered loudly.

"Later, Ned", I waved a hand to him. 

I arrived home, but I went knocking on Lily's door instead of hoping she'd be in this time. Thankfully, she opened the door. 

"Hi Olly, can I call you that?" She asked politely with a broad smile.

"Yeah sure it's whatever, may I?" I gestured for permission to enter.

Giving way for me to come in, "Of course" she replied.

As I walked, my eyes eagerly scanned the vibrant colorful displays. "You have a nice place" I uttered, as I took in every detail with strict focus.

"Thank you, would you like to have anything?" She asked nicely, heading towards the kitchen.

"Oh no, I'm good" I responded with a lot of emotions I couldn't decipher.

Back home, I didn't have any friends. I always kept to myself and shut everyone out. I had this fear that if I gave too much, I would end up losing them, or they would easily replace me, just like mom did.

"I almost got kidnapped," I blurted. 

Her bright face quickly turned sour "what!, when, where, was he caught?" She asked curiously, showing concern as she held my hand leading me to sit on the couch.

"Well, it was kidnapping till I found out he was someone I knew" I uttered, which sounded kind of stupid hearing me saying it out loud.

She furrowed her brows trying to make sense out of what I had just said.

"It was Ned, a guy from the mini mart down the street, he was stalking me and I found it unsettling" I stated, feeling a rush of adrenaline as the events replayed in my head. 

She comfortingly places her hands on mine "then you should inform the police immediately".

I haven't seen anyone this bothered about me well except my dad. 

"Noo, he didn't mean any harm" I added.

"Are you sure? Stalking is not something you should take lightly" she says, with a bit of doubt in her tone.

Locking my fingers with each other, which I do anytime I am nervous about something, "Yeah" I muttered "though he comes off as weird, but he assured me that he would never do it again", I concluded.

Displaying a bit of sassiness, "he better not" she said, wearing a warm smile, so I could feel comfortable.

We talked at length that night and realized we had a few things in common. One of them was our weird preference for eating chips with sour cream. It was something I had always thought only dad and I liked, he'd bring them whenever I was sad to cheer me up.

Lily is nice, she seemed like the kind of person you can always count on and feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and feelings with. 

She has a genuine smile that can light up a room and make everyone around her feel valued and loved. She worked as a waitress in a restaurant and told me all about the nature of her job.

I slept peacefully, feeling excited to have made a new friend. If dad and I were on good terms, I'd have called to tell him about Lily, he'd be so thrilled to hear about her.

Dad has always wanted me to have friends since I had none growing up. He even planned a play date when I was eight with Asher Brentford, an annoying, disgusting nine-year-old.

He made me sick to my stomach. We went to the same school where he lived a few blocks away from our house and my dad was friends with his dad.

He was the weirdest boy I had ever met. The day he kissed me in my house while we did our homework, I spent five hours in the bathroom washing my mouth. It was the weirdest kiss ever but, apparently, my first and only kiss.

- - -

I lay on my cozy bed tussling from side to side, unable to sleep. I heard distant noises coming from mum and dad's room. 

They had that pretty often, it was becoming a daily routine at this point. 

I get out of bed, heading towards their bedroom to feed my curiosity.

As I drew closer to the bedroom door, their words became more lucid.

"But it's not fair on her, Becca, and you know it" dad's voice enounced through the door as I placed my ears on the door to fathom what they were saying. 

"I don't give two sh!ts Brian, how I treat her shouldn't be any of your problem." 

"It is because she's our daughter."

"Your daughter!-" mum yelled. The room was silent for a while, I had assumed that it came to dad as a shock to leave him numb.

Mum used to be my favorite person. I grew up being fond of her, she had the prettiest smile and took excellent care of me. All that changed when Jason was born.

"Your daughter Brian, not mine." She added.

"Oh so that's how it's going to be now, huh? You wanted her before Jason came along, then you go ahead and change towards her?" 

"I don't know! I just hate her so much, she gets on my nerves every fvcking time," mum said with so much intensity in her tone.

Tears welled up in my eyes on hearing those words come out of mum's mouth. I walked away from the door before I could hear even more heartbreaking words from her.

I crept into my room and mildly shut the door, so they wouldn't know I had left. I cried miserably under my sheets, trying not to make a sound….

I open my eyes slowly with tears covering all over my pillow. I inhaled deeply, calmly getting out of bed as I headed towards the bathroom.

I looked at myself in the mirror all messed up with saggy eyebags from crying so much in my sleep.

After taking a shower, I took a pair of jeans and a top from the wardrobe and tossed them on the bed. I didn't feel like going to work today, and had the urge to call in sick, but I decided not to, "it's just a bad dream," I said to myself.

I started my job as a cashier attendant at Sunrise Bites, a breakfast restaurant, two months ago thanks to Lily for hooking me up with the job. 

Friday mornings are always quite busy as it's the start of the weekend. I arrived at work, signed in and changed into our work uniform.

I walked in from the changing room with a broom to clean my space. "Ready for a hectic day?" Jane asked whilst dusting the chairs and tables. 

"Nope" I responded coldly. She chuckles, 

"You never have". 

Jane understood my work ethics. Anytime I looked tired and weary, I was not in the best mood. Overall, she is kind, jovial and considerate. Being around her makes me hate my job less. 

I flipped the close sign open and in less than ten minutes customers started to troop in. 

"Good day Sir, can I take your order?" I asked the middle-aged man in corporate wear who stood in front of me.

"I'd like to order a mocha latte please" he replied, taking out his phone from his pocket.

Trying to keep eye contact with him. "Would you like it iced or hot?" I asked politely, he wouldn't take his eyes off his phone screen.

"Uhm, sir, I asked if you'd like it iced or hot?" I asked again as we locked eyes. He stared at me in silence. I stood there confused, anticipating a reply.

"I know you-" he uttered, pointing a finger at me, his face lit up in excitement.

My lips parted slightly perplexed "Excuse me?" I asked.

His face gave off the vibe of trying to decipher between me and someone else "Oh, my bad, I uh mistook you for someone else."

Trying to adjust myself as I was already feeling distressed, "OK, so do you want your latte Iced or hot?"

Another customer walks through the door heading towards the counter. Jane had gone for a bathroom break, leaving only me to handle the customers. 

"Hi, can I get a uh... Hot cup of espresso to go please?'' the customer chipped in.

"Sir, I'll be with you shortly-" I said, replying to the customer who had just walked in. I turned to the customer I was attending to. "-Sir please can you just place your order, a customer is waiting." 

He moves apart from the counter. "Please one sec", he excuses himself to take a call. 

I started getting restless and frustrated, inhaled deeply and attended to the other customer who needed my attention.

My exasperated self became more suffocated, I slowly began to zone out of reality. In no time, the restaurant was packed buzzing with activity and noise.

I heard an insistent voice trying to get my attention "Ma'am, hello! Excuse me", the voice continued.

"Olivia!" Jane called out to me, snapping me out of my thoughts at once.

Jane wore a big smile at the customer. "I'll take it from here", she said subtly.

My voice aptly enounces from my tension "Uhm, I'll be right back", I said exiting the restaurant through the saloon door.

Opening the bathroom door, I reached out to the sink and turned on the tap, splashing a bit of water on my face just to calm myself. I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror, "it's just a bad day", I said to myself.

I headed back to the counter to resume duties after I felt ok. In no time, I felt uneasy again. 

The clattering of plates, the sizzling of pans from the kitchen, and the constant chatter of customers began to create a stifling atmosphere for me. I wasn't myself but still kept pushing.

"Hey! Why is there no melted butter on my pancakes? I requested that" An aggravated plump looking customer yelled at Jane who had just served him his order. 

A profound state of silence filled the room as everyone stopped to look at them.

"Hey, hey! Be polite, that's not how you talk to a lady, she's human and everyone makes mistakes" I blurted, with a scowling face on. 

Jane turned to look at me surprisingly like she wasn't expecting me to speak, "uh Olivia, please stay out of this" she interjected, giving an unsure look.

He looked at me viciously like he was ready to pounce on me. "I don't remember talking to you missy, I was talking to that" he averred.

"Please, make your representation correctly because she's a she, and if you can't get that right, then you also can't talk to her like that for getting your order wrong," I continued, stating my words curtly.

I was feeling edgy all day, he came as the right bait for me to pour out all my anger and frustration.

"Olivia, I said stay out of this. Sir, I'm really sorry, I'll fix it", Jane said putting his food back on the tray.

"Yeah! Stay out of it you petty looking skinny b!tch!" he pronounced, causing an uproar in the restaurant. 

I looked at him sternly.

"It's impressive how you managed to stay so confident. With a body like that, you shouldn't even be thinking of eating ever again" I said unfazed. 

"Ooouuu" the crowd cheered in unison, as they all murmured among themselves.

I could see his face turn red. I deserved an accolade at that point for putting him in his place.

"Olivia!" 

A gruff voice yelled from across the room. I was completely taken aback when I recognized the voice.

I turned around slowly to catch a glimpse of the person. 

"Yes, Mr Greg" I said, smiling sheepishly.