An Ocean Between Us

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Hey! Granny sent me over to talk to you. Are you okay?" Ruby asked, finding her friend sitting alone at a table in the back, her head buried in her arms as she leaned over the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I still have a few more minutes of my break left," she said, resting her head back down on her arm.

"I know. I'm not here to bust you for being late. I'm here to make sure you're alright," Ruby said, sitting across from her friend.

"I'm fine," she said, secretly wishing Ruby would leave her alone so she could take a power nap for the remainder of her break.

"You're not," Ruby said, reaching across the table to touch her arm.

There goes my nap, she thought to herself as she lifted her head, looking at her friend. "I'm just tired, that's all," she said.

"Of course you're tired. You work seven days a week now," Ruby said.

She sighed. "I need the money."

"What good is money if you collapse from exhaustion?" Ruby asked, her voice full of concern for her friend.

"I..." she started to say, trying to find an excuse, her face falling when she realized she had none. "...I don't know," she said, defeated.

"Listen, let me talk to Granny. I'm sure she'll understand that you're exhausted and you need to leave early tonight. I bet I can convince Ana to come in a little early to relieve you."

"No, it's okay. I can make it a few more hours," she said, trying to stand up.

"No, you can't. You're exhausted. You're killing yourself,." Ruby said, pushing her back in the booth.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," Ruby said, pulling her phone out of her pocket, heading to the kitchen to talk to her grandmother. She came back a few minutes later, sliding back into the booth across from her.

"Granny says to get the hell out of here. Ana is on her way now."

"It's okay, really. I'm fine," she said, lifting her head again.

"No, you're not. Go to the beach. Write in your journal. Go for a swim or something. Do whatever you want, just as long as you don't do it here. I'll cover for you with Killian if he calls, that way you don't have to rush home," Ruby said. "And that's a direct order from Granny. Even I can't help you if you defy a direct order from that woman." Ruby laughed, slapping her hand and sliding out of the booth to attend to a customer seated at the counter.

She sat in the booth for a few more minutes until she mustered up the energy to leave. Ruby was right; she was exhausted. She had been picking up shifts at the diner on her days off, trying to save as much money as possible. She didn't know why she was saving her money like that. Maybe she wanted to have a little safety net in case something happened. She grabbed her bag from behind the counter and waved goodbye to Ruby as she left. She made her way right to the beach, kicking off her shoes, smiling as her bare feet hit the warm sand. She sat down in the sand further in than she used to, pulling out her journal and pen, flipping to the next blank page.

Dear inanimate bestie.

I am so tired. Exhausted beyond belief. I am so tired that Granny sent me home from work to rest. I wouldn't be surprised if she does it to me again tomorrow. She's right...I am killing myself working so much. And it's true, I do need the money, but it's more than that. It's Killian. He's smothering me. I thought it would get better once we went back to work at the docks, but it hasn't. In fact, it's getting worse. He wants to know where I am every moment of every day. At least if I'm at work he leaves me alone. He even texts Ruby to make sure I'm still there. It's starting to get to me. And everytime I go to the beach and go swimming, he throws a hissy fit and screams at me like I'm a child.