Blood Lily

10

Serafina

Never again. I would never again give a favour to someone that already owes me!

Screw Ezekiel, Mussa and his psycho friend! I was on my break, but I had been pacing around my office for at least half an hour. The anxiety was eating at me like an itch I couldn't scratch, and the more I thought about it, the worse it got.

"For the sake of all that's holy," Maria said as she opened the door, her eyes wide with concern. "What in the world?"

"Did you get the call?" I asked her bitting my nails

She knew what I was talking about. And knew I was dreading that call more then my father coming to see me in one of his surpeise visit.

"No, no one called yet," she said, shaking her head. "God, just tell them you can't do it." I turn to her, slightly annoyed "You think I wouldn't if I could?! I promised my cousin. It's too late to go back"

I hadn't told Maria why I was so apprehensive. It's not like I could exactly explain like 'Hey! the guy we might take in. Yeah, him. He's a murderer and might snap our necks if we annoy him.' Yeah, that would go over well.

Maria looked at me with a mixture of concern and pity, clearly trying to figure out what she could say to calm me down. "Just... try to rest," she suggested, though her tone made it clear she knew how futile that advice was.

"Rest," I repeated, letting out a humorless laugh. "Right. I'll just sit back, relax, and wait. Sure, Maria. I'll get right on that."

"I'll be right outside if you need anything. Try to breathe, okay?" Maria sighed and closed the door behind her, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I sit down and try to calm myself by putting myself to work. I still had half an hour left to my break and I refuse to wallow in this pit of self-pity, anxiety and what-if's. That was a kind of pathetic I was not used to and I hated it.

I would rather throw myself off of the empire state building after it was rebuilt on top of mount Everest rather then think a second longer.

I start getting my ass to work hen I get a ping from an unknown number on my phone;

'how many times can you take him?'

I look at the text for a good amount of time. Was that Mussa? or Ezekiel? Or the psychotic fucker I was supposed to take care of?

I stare at my phone like it's alien technology or a nuclear bomb. Just as I'm considering throwing my phone out the window to see if it could blow up, it pings again

'twice a week for 8 weeks'

I let out a groan, my shoulders slumping in defeat. The number of sessions wasn't the issue; it was the potential for absolute and complete disaster in every single one of them. I typed a quick response, my fingers moving almost automatically:

'Call it in'

I tossed my phone onto the desk, and laugh at myself almost immediately. As if putting physical distance between me and that phone would somehow make the situation any less real.

I needed to focus, to lose myself in work before my mind could spiral any further. The papers in front of me blurred as I tried to dive back into the tasks at hand.

A soft knock on the door pulled me back to reality. "Serafina? Miss Vasquez is here for her appointment."

I blinked, trying to remember what time it was, what day it was—anything to ground myself. "Perfect, send her in," I managed to say, my voice sounding more composed than I felt.

Maria hesitated at the door, her eyes flicking away before she added, "Also, we got a call."

I felt my blood turn to ice and my heart drop to my stomach.

"You've been booked for the next two months," she continued, her voice almost a whisper. "Twice a week, every Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 pm."

The world seemed to tilt for a moment, my thoughts scattering like leaves in the wind. I had known this was coming, but hearing it out loud made it all too real. I forced myself to breathe, to focus on anything other than the sheer panic clawing at my insides.

"Right," I said, nodding as if that simple motion could anchor me. "Thanks, Maria."

She looked like she wanted to say something more, but, instead, she just nodded and slipped out, closing the door softly behind her.

Miss Vasquez would be in any second, and I had to pull myself together. I couldn't afford to let anyone see me like this—least of all a client.

The door opened, and Miss Vasquez walked in, a warm smile on her face as she greeted me. "Serafina, always a pleasure to see you."

I forced a smile, hoping it didn't look like it was pinched out of me by my mother. "The pleasure is mine, Miss Vasquez. Please, have a seat."

As she settled into the chair opposite mine, I tried to push everything else to the back of my mind. For the next hour, I had to be Dr. Aalami—the calm, composed professional who had everything under control.

Not the woman whose world was slowly becoming a nightmare. Fuck me for this.

Never again. Never again would I let someone drag me into their mess. After this, I was done. For real this time.