Bitter Sweet

1. Lost

Stephanie Rios hated being lost.

She hated how weak and vulnerable it made her feel. It was like she was failing at something so basic like living like a twenty-four-year-old young woman who had her shit together should. A career, an apartment, a car, a boyfriend, she had it all.

She was a baker. She could bake in an extremely hot kitchen, slave herself in front of an oven for hours on end and still have the time of her life. Cakes, desserts, cake decorating, she did it all and she loved it. She graduated from a very prestigious (and expensive) Culinary Institute. She was hired in a very prestigious Bakery downtown right after her graduation and she could not love her life more.

She lived with her boyfriend, Alex, a tall, blonde French man. They met in culinary school and for her, it was love at first sight. They dated for three years until she realized Alex was an asshole. He mistreated her constantly, he knew how good looking he was and he knew he could get away with a lot of things, if not everything. And he did, for a while. Until he raised his fist at her ready to strike her. He apologized profusely and begged for forgiveness but Stephanie feared him, and she left him. It all went downhill from there.

The owner of the famous bakery was a strange woman, she always thought so, ever since she met her. She was in her mid-forties though she was a great looking woman, she never married. Then she went insane. Without any explanation whatsoever, she emptied the cash register and sat the place on fire. Mid-life crisis, Stephanie thought. It must have been that. She left three pastry chefs unemployed, including her.

She searched for another job, she applied everywhere where they had bakeries, anywhere they had an oven and offered desserts, but she had nothing. What was the use of having a bachelor's degree in baking and pastry arts when she couldn't even use it? The little savings that she had were spent on her rent and car payments. She had no job, she had no money. She only had one place to turn.

As her father's truck parked in front of her former apartment building, Stephanie felt like crying. He had always said she wouldn't make it in the big city of Phoenix. That the city would chew her up and spit her out. That she didn't have the right character, the right attitude to survive on her own. And to her dismay, he was right. And she hated that.

The black ostentatious truck came to a stop, she held on to the strap of her duffel bag tightly turning her knuckles white. Her mother was the first one to meet her. She extended her arms wide and held her into a forceful embrace. Stephanie simply stood there unable to return the embrace. Their strained relationship was palpable as Stephanie struggled to free herself form her arms. Her mother was a devoted Catholic and she did what she could to guide her daughters into the right path. She was relentless, she prayed constantly out loud making sure Stephanie and her young sister could hear her. She recited the Bible every chance she had. When Stephanie was young, she forced her to memorize whole books from the Bible. It became so bad, she felt like she was being suffocated. She couldn't stand her mother's constant need to remind her how screwed up the world was, how hell was closer than they thought. It scared her, and it annoyed her.

"Thank God you are okay!" her mother said loudly. "Thank you, Jesus Christ!"

Stephanie bit her tongue and reminded herself she needed somewhere to stay, at least until she could get back up on her feet.

"Where's your stuff?" was her father's greeting.

"This is it," she replied just as coldly. She could smell the combination of cigarettes and beer in his breath.

"That's it?" asked her mother appalled by the idea that all of Stephanie's belongings fit in a duffel bag.

Stephanie nodded ashamedly. She was a disaster.

"Alright well, let's go," her father replied as he climbed back into his precious truck. He gave his wife a look that Stephanie wasn't meant to see. The look they shared was one of, what did we do wrong?

The ride home was long and tedious. The radio played songs loudly about how great the Virgin of Guadalupe was. She hated that song. She had heard it so many times in her childhood, she memorized the words. Her mother tried starting a conversation but Stephanie was not in the mood. She simply allowed her to talk, and she could talk for hours, even when she was so obviously ignored. She liked to hear the sound of her own voice, Stephanie told herself using all her strength to not scream in desperation.

"It's in God's hands what's happening to you, Steph. Like the Lord said, 'For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.'"

Stephanie rolled her eyes at her mother's pathetic attempt to make her feel better. She leaned her head against the cold glass and watched as the tall buildings zoomed by. Phoenix had given her so much.

A/N: It's time to take a break from Historical romances and try something new, A CHICKLIT!! A good old fashion modern romance. The chapters will be short, most of them, i don't know about you but i like it when chapters are short, it gives me a sense of wanting more! I'll be updating every Friday because Fridays are awesome. Don't forget to vote and comment how you feel so far! 

Happy reading!

Madai