My alarm blared in my ear from underneath my pillow, jerking me awake. I internally rolled my eyes at the thought of getting up and starting my day. I hadn't come up with a solution for the guitar issue, so I was fully prepared to walk into work and face the blow of getting fired.
If I had it my way, I would've hit snooze and rolled back over, but I might as well get it over with. I sat at the edge of the bed contemplating life, then eventually dragged myself to the bathroom to do my hygiene.
I stared at myself in the mirror as I recounted the nightmare I had last night. It seemed like they were becoming more frequent, since my abuser's daughter found a way to snake herself back into my life. I personally thought I was making good progress dealing with my trauma, but knowing I had to deal with the likings of him meant he was still in the back of my mind, and would be until court was over. I was going into Charlie's mom's office after work to talk about everything and I just hoped she had a solution that I wanted to hear. If I understood the summons correctly, I had to appear in court on January 23, and today was the 21st.
I got out of the shower and stepped into the steam that filled my bathroom. Even though I was getting fired, I still planned to dress like I normally would so I could walk out with some dignity. I wiped the condensation from the steam off of my phone screen so I could get the weather. Per usual, it was hot as hell: 91 degrees in January. Being from Minnesota, I was still not used to the scorching heat that plagued this state 365 days a year.
I slipped on a work-appropriate length denim skirt and a slightly oversized, but thin enough for the heat, sweater vest and tucked it into the front of the skirt. I put some lotion on the skin that was exposed and threw on the Gucci loafers that Charlie bought me a few months ago.
"Here goes absolutely nothing," I said to myself in the mirror before I opened the door and left.
*
I pushed open the large glass doors of the museum and walked in. London usually got here before me so she could plan out my day and notify me of any meetings I had, but I was surprised to see her office door was closed and locked.
Meech's door on the other hand, was wide open, and I heard mumbles of him talking on the phone with someone. I had to walk past his office to get to mine, so there was no use trying to sneak past. I weighed my options of going into his office first and meeting my fate, or just waiting for him to come to me. I decided to get it over with.
I walked to his office and stood in the doorway. Like I suspected, he was on the phone. He glanced up at me and held up a finger, letting me know to wait around. I looked around his huge office as he finished his phone call, and I couldn't help but to imagine myself sitting where he sat. Sadness washed over me as I realized that would never come.
"Good morning, Indica! How was the rest of your weekend?" he asked with more enthusiasm than I expected.
"Uh, good? Listen, about the guitar, I-"
"Don't worry about it! I got the check so we all good. Next time let's put artifacts like that in cases," he said with a big smile.
"What do you mean you 'got the check'?" I asked confused. Unless I did something crazy in my sleep and my bank account was in the negatives right now, I don't remember writing him a check.
"Hol' on," he said as his phone started ringing again.
"What check, Meech?" I asked again. He was already engaged in his phone call, ignoring the question I had. I stood there in confusion for a moment, before turning and walking to my office.
