PULSE

(twenty) january 10

(TWENTY) JANUARY 10

When my phone started vibrating underneath my shoulder, where I'd rolled over on top of it, I woke up slowly. It took a few moments for me to fish it out from under me and hold it above my face, squinting at the screen. When I still couldn't make out the name, I rubbed my eye with the back of my hand and held the phone toward my ear.

"I think you've done a proper amount of moping around now. When are you coming back in to the shop?" the Old Lady demanded on the other end of the line.

A sharp pain in the back of my head came from the realization that it wasn't Candace who'd been calling, but I quickly gathered my wits again and said, "I haven't been moping."

"Come on, Freeloader. I know moping when I see it. Lev and Ava are busy with class work. Are you going to come help me today?" she asked.

"Are you going to pay me?"

"When do I not?"

"I'll be there in an hour."

"Be here in 45 minutes and I'll send you home with dinner."

"Alright."

I was about to hang up and move toward my bedroom door when she said, "Aidan?"

"What?"

She sighed. "How is your mother?"

"I just clean the shop for you. Right? Or do I have to indulge my personal life in you now, too, in order to get paid?" I asked.

She was silent for a moment. "No. I'll see you tomorrow."

The line went dead.

I slowly moved to my feet, stretching and squinting in the mid-afternoon light that was streaming in through my open bedroom window. Crossing the carpet toward my dresser, I pulled a coat around my shoulders and stuffed my wallet and keys in either pocket. It felt strange, being prepared to leave on just a moment's notice; since I'd only returned from the hospital an hour or two before dawn, I hadn't had the energy to undress myself, or even take off my shoes. So, despite just waking up, I was as ready as I'd ever be to head straight to work—one of the places I'd been unintentionally avoiding for the past few weeks.

I was just heading toward my bedroom door when I accidentally kicked the leg of the dresser. Cursing loudly, I lifted my foot and massaged it for a moment before peeking behind the dresser to see what had caused the clattering sound I'd just heard. Wedged in between the wall and the wooden panelling was a CD case that I recognized without needing to see the images on the front of it.

I reached back as far as my hand would go and managed to pull the case out, laying it on the surface of the dresser. I took a step toward the door again, intending to leave the CD case where it was, but doubled back at the last moment. Roughly prying open the case, I pulled the CD out and moved toward the trash can at my feet. I only hesitated for a single moment before I gripped either side of the CD Ava had given to me and broke it in half.

The two pieces fell to the bottom of the trash and I left my room, not looking back this time.

***

"Fifty minutes," the Old Lady announced without looking at me as I entered the shop. "You promised me forty-five. What should I give you now?"

"How about a break?" I asked, hanging my coat by the door.

"Don't get smart with me, Aidan. Just do your job, and be here on time," she snapped, pushing the register closed with a crash and retreating back to the kitchen.