Gracie Abrams is eking out a solitary existence, fighting day-in, day-out against the drain of working customer service and nursing two newborn kittens in her off time. Out on her own ever since her sister moved in with her boyfriend, the burden of...
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It had been over a week now since Bella had told us she would find the witch who had lived through one encounter with the interdimensional spell.
After each phone call with my sister left me dancing around the weird new turn in my relationship with Kakashi, I had finally gotten past my need to hide from the man. We had gotten back to normal.
Really.
Trudging my way to work after another late night was a groggy version of hell where the world was on fire...but from a distance. I was stuck in the foggy haze on the outer reaches of the flames watching the world erupt all around me.
I was definitely moving slower as I pushed my pickup cart over the store, but I felt I was owed a mildly-paced day. Usually, I busted my ass for no other reason than that I was a hard worker. It's not like anyone ever noticed or cared. And it's certainly not like my pay reflected all the effort I put in. But I guess I was just that dumbass that big companies depended on to keep the status quo, not giving a shit about changing working conditions for their employees.
If some idiot fool would still bust her ass to help a soulless corporation, then why would they need to change anything?
Nodding goodbye to Amanda, who had recently been promoted from Service Coordinator to Meijer Pickup Team Lead, I somehow managed to drive my way home. My favorite parking spot was taken, so I drove around the block, parking on a different street. I walked under the parking awning, glancing at Sam's apartment building. No texts from her today. I was choosing to see that as a good sign that things had calmed down a little bit.
A construction crew somewhere in the general vicinity clanged and clanked. Some heavy machinery backed up with that incessant beeping sound. Birds flitted from branch to branch. There were still quite a few leaves hanging on, but that would soon begin to change. Halloween was only a stone's throw away. Ghosts and skeletons littered the lawns and windows of different buildings. Like all neighborhoods, some went all out, creating some kind of amusement park of expensive blow-up decorations. Even in the quiet, you could hear the buzzing of the air pump keeping the damn things filled.
It was actually pretty impressive how my neighbors found ways to secure the things in their yards to discourage theft. And to keep it safe from the wind.
I was just grateful not to have an expensive hobby.
My door swung open with the barest push. Heaving myself up through the opening, I aimed for my room. I'd taken to showering twice a day now that Kakashi lived with me. I couldn't start my day without a shower to clear my head, but I absolutely didn't want to have grocery store dirt and liquids sploshed on me when I sat down for dinner with him.
Before I could get too far, though, I was stopped. Kakashi glanced over his shoulder by the stove. He hadn't put his mask or gloves on since before our night at the Wolf Den. Without his headband, his hair, too, fell in soft spikes across his cheeks and forehead. A different pattern every time I saw him. The sight brought me a comfort I didn't realize I needed. If ever I needed proof that this wasn't just a drawn-out hallucination, it was these small changes.
