A wave of relief washed over Chloe as she exited the hospital, the weight of a long shift finally lifting from her shoulders. The promise of a hot shower and a comfortable bed beckoned, but as she reached her car, her heart sank. Shattered glass glittered ominously on the ground beside her BMW, and upon closer inspection, she discovered her back windows had been smashed.
A wave of anger and frustration surged through her. She quickly checked the interior, relieved that nothing seemed to be stolen, but the damage was still infuriating. 'People have nothing better to do,' she muttered, tossing her purse onto the passenger seat. Ready to leave, she started the car and began to pull out of her parking spot, but a loud, grinding sound brought her to a screeching halt. She hopped out and peered down at her tires, only to find them all flat.
The realization hit her like a punch to the gut - whoever had broken her windows had also slashed her tires. 'What the actual fuck,' she exclaimed, the anger rising within her. She pulled out her phone, checking the time. It was too late to call a tow truck, and the wait would be interminable. Scrolling through her contacts, her finger hovered over Nina's name, but she hesitated, remembering her friend was out on a date with Zeke. Chloe didn't want to interrupt their evening with her problems.
Maybe she could have Nina send a driver and worry about the car later, she thought, but ultimately decided against it. It was too late to call her mom, so she reluctantly pressed the contact number for Rakim. 'Shit,' she thought, 'he owes me for popping up at my job on bullshit.' The phone rang for what felt like an eternity, and just as she was about to hang up, the call connected. 'Wassup?' Rakim's voice boomed through the speaker.
'Hey, are you in the middle of anything?' she asked hesitantly. A tense silence hung in the air. 'Yeah, I am,' Rakim replied. 'Okay then, bye,' Chloe said, pulling the phone away from her ear, ready to end the call. But Rakim's deep voice cut through the silence, 'What you need?'
'It's nothing, I'll figure it out,' she said, her voice laced with defiance. 'Like always,'
"I don't like repeating myself."
'Well good thing, I didn't ask you to,' she retorted, her own anger now taking over. She didn't even know why she had called him in the first place.
Chloe slammed the phone down, the plastic clicking against her palm. Pissed off was an understatement. It had been a day of escalating frustration, starting with a grueling shift, people deciding to damage her car in the middle of the parking lot. Then, just when she thought things couldn't get worse, Rakim, with his irritatingly smug tone, had managed to further inflame her anger.
Her phone had rung in her hand, but she ignored it, her mind whirling with desperate solutions. The ER was a possibility. Sarah, her friend and fellow nurse, would be finishing her shift soon. Maybe she could wait there until Sarah was free. But before she could make a decision, her phone buzzed again, this time she looked, Rakim's text message 'Answer' flashing on the screen. She rolled her eyes. But the phone dinged again with a call, and she hesitantly answered.
"Fuck is your problem, G?" he questioned, his voice low and heavy with an underlying tension.
"Look Rakim, I'm not in the mood. I called to ask for your help but like always you're acting like a fucking bitc-" she started, only to be cut off. 'I let that shit slide the first couple of times, but now you taking shit to far. Watch how you talk to me, Chloe,' he said, his voice devoid of anger but carrying a steeliness that made her pause.
'Whatever,' she retorted, her defiance unwavering. 'Bye.'
'Hang up on me and that's your ass,' he warned. Chloe scoffed and hung up, her frustration reaching a peak. She was done with this. She'd get a ride on her own. Reaching for her phone, she tapped open the AppStore and began downloading the Uber app, ready to reclaim her independence and leave the whole mess behind her.