Fuck, I think to myself as I run out of the apartment, rapidly trying to button up my white shirt.
I had only meant to close my eyes for a few minutes. With everything going on, I haven't really been sleeping all that great, so a little nap before work was supposed to rejuvenate me. Instead, I slept through the alarm I had set to wake me up, and am now in danger of being late for work. At the last minute, Jade had come into my room looking for my phone charger, thinking I had already left, and found me still asleep.
Thank god she found me when she did, or else I'd have missed work completely. It was bad enough that I've had to call out a lot recently because of all the y'know... superpowers and stuff... I don't need to give my boss another reason to fire me. I waitress at one of these hoity toity restaurants that rich tourists love to go to and pretend to be locals. I'm also training to be a bartender there, though it was hard to get the U.S. no drinking under 21 rule out of my head at first, since the legal age for drinking in the UK is 18. Even though I'm 20, and pretty close to turning 21, something about drinking openly in public just feels wrong, like I'm breaking a rule.
The apartment is only a couple blocks from my work, so I usually walk or bike there instead of taking the Tube or a bus. Today, I opt for the bike for speed as I am already extremely late and running is simply not for me.
Once I get there, I'm sweaty and out of breath... but only a few minutes late instead of a few hours. I spritz on some emergency perfume I keep in my bag, straighten out my clothes, and walk in.
~
The shift today was long and tiring, and included a lot of having to be nice to old republicans but hey, at least the tips were good. I was really hoping that I would get a chance to work with the main bartender and practice some drinks, but we were too busy. The current bartender is this short girl Anna who is covered in tattoos. I idolize her probably more than I should, but she's just so cool. I want to be her friend so bad, but maybe right now when I have to keep secrets from practically everyone I know isn't the best time for that.
I biked home at a much more leisurely pace than before, just taking time to think about the millions of things constantly weighing on my mind. Things like the masked men, what I'm going to eat for dinner, my powers, and Sel. Always Sel.
I know I love him, but I also know that I'm really hurting him by keeping all of these secrets. I just don't see how I could ever tell him. The less people who know our secret, the better, and we already have Ren who knows. Even though I love Ren, and it's nice that he is able to support us and share this burden in a way, I wish he never found out. The risk is just too high.
When I finally crested the final hill to where our apartment is, my thoughts were no less jumbled than they were before. I walked my bike over to the area in the building's side yard where our landlord lets me lock it up. As I walked up the steps to the apartment, I tried to convince myself to go knock on Sel's door and apologize for everything. But as I stopped in front of his apartment, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Maybe it's a good thing that he's mad at me. If he distances himself from me, at least he won't be in any danger. Maybe if I stay away for a little while, he'll be okay. Maybe I won't be okay, but at least he would. Not that avoiding is much better than lying...
With a scoff I turned towards my apartment, walking inside. I was prepared to give the girls a completely unnecessary rundown of my day, but when I looked around, no one else was home. Immediately my nerves were on edge.
"That's weird," I muttered to myself and checked my phone to see what time it was. 8:23 PM. I had gotten off at 8, but it was kind of unusual for them to be gone and not let me know.
