Passion's Price

What Are Friends For

Amelia dragged herself into her tiny apartment. The sun had set long ago and the subway ride home had zapped the last of her energy from her. She locked the door behind her, and made her way to the small bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes and shoes as she walked.

The searing heat from the water had the tension in her muscles slowly releasing. Steam rose up, giving the room an almost ethereal feel. She wasn't sure how long she stood unmoving, letting the droplets run down her back but as the water started to cool, she rushed to soap her hair and body.

Exiting the shower, Amelia wrapped her hair up in a towel and made her way into the bedroom. She collapsed on the bed, uncaring that she was naked and still wet from the neck down. Sleep came almost instantly.

Even without an alarm set, Amelia managed to wake up on time for the day. She dressed and started to make her way back to The Tower, when her phone buzzed inside her bag. She blindly rummaged through, searching for it. She finally felt the thin case and pulled it free just in time for the caller to hang up.

The screen was still lit up. Eleven missed calls. Shit. They were all from Corinne. She swiped up on the phone to unlock it, as the subway car doors slid open and a wave of eager passengers made their exit. The movement jostled the phone out of her hand, and a flurry of feet and bodies kicked the phone out of her grasp right onto the subway track.

She feverishly made her way to the edge of the platform and craned her neck to look down between the car and the concrete. A shiny and broken phone lay in pieces. That's just fucking great.

Dejectedly she made her way into the now empty car. Already the day was starting out crappy.

The mood was hard to shake, and when she finally made it up The Tower and got to her shared desk with Michael, even he noticed something was off.

"What's up New Girl? Who pissed in your cereal?" He laughed at his own snarky comment.

Amelia didn't react, just sat down at the desk and started to arrange the space for what she was sure would be a long day.

"Amelia?" This time Michael was more serious, his tone concerned. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

"It's silly. Really. I think I'm just stressed." Amelia oversold the smile.

"Liar." Michael sat down next to her. "Tell  me what's up. If not to get it off your chest, then so that I don't go opening my big mouth and making it worse."

"I got home late last night and fell asleep, and then this morning I realized I'd forgotten to call Corinne, and then I was on the subway platform and dropped my phone. It's totally busted. I have no idea how I'm going to afford a new one, and I still need to pay rent, and I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday." The words had come out fast, each one tumbling over the other. She took in a shaky breath. Her emotions were threatening to pour out as a small tear escaped, leaving a glistening trail down her cheek.

She looked apologetically at Michael and barked out a laugh.

"I'm sorry. I'm a mess. This is not professional, AT ALL." Amelia swiped at her cheek, and dabbed under her lashes.

"Screw professionalism. You're a human first, the work comes second. Wait here for just a minute." Michael glanced back at the door to Lucas's office. "I need to ask Lucas a question, but then I think we need to take a field trip."

Amelia smiled weakly and nodded as she turned back to the computer screen. Trying to keep herself busy, she skimmed through the four emails in her inbox, rearranged her desk, sorted and then resorted the inbox, reread her notes from yesterday. The frustrating morning was finally giving way to nervous and agitated energy.