him

03 | not again

Ariella soon found herself at Albany's most notorious breakfast joint, Sue's 24 Hour Diner. Just after pulling open the door to enter, the scents of freshly-brewed coffee and maple syrup quickly fill her nose, a smell she has grown very much accustomed to.

She makes her way behind the counter swiftly and clocks in for work after casually greeting the some of the employees who were already preparing for the breakfast rush. She quickly glances at herself while flashing a smile in the mirror by the kitchen, scanning her face for any dried mascara under her eyes or food remains in her teeth.

She adjusts her apron before picking up a ticket book and readies herself mentally for another day of grueling work.
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By 10:00 on the dot, Ariella feels as if her body could collapse at any minute from how exhausted she is from working all day. Once she is finished bringing food out to the last customer in the diner, she wishes everyone a good night and clocks out. She grabs her purse, slips on a coat, and makes her way out the door, the brisk, New York breeze blowing hard against her face.

She shivers with every step she takes toward to the nearest bus stop as her cheeks numb from the frigid gusts of wind. She plops herself down on the bus bench and hunches her body over in an effort to conceal warmth. Even though she hates freezing her ass of, Ariella loves cold, winter days like this.

She had already memorized the bus's schedule, so she knew that it always arrives exactly 6 minutes after she gets off from work. In the meantime, she watches how her breath turns into a white cloud in the air every time she exhaled in attempt to keep herself entertained.

The noisy, public bus soon makes its way around the street corner so she tiredly lifts herself to her feet. The bus abruptly comes to a stop and allows Ariella to jog up the steps and plop herself down in a seat to get some sleep eye before she gets to her stop.

Seconds after plugging in her earbuds and laying her head against the window, her phone begins vibrating in her pocket. Sighing, she wearily looks at the screen, the words Unknown Caller blaring from the screen.

Not again, she thought to herself while rolling her eyes and quickly declining the call to return to her napping position.

Her phone buzzes again, this time making her huff and answer the call with the rudest tone she could muster.

"What do you fucking want?"

"You really thought that by blocking my number that I'd give up? That's cute," The familiar voice chuckles lowly, making Ariella grit her teeth.

"Cut the bullshit. Who are you?" She spits out, furrowing her eyebrows.

"You know, you sound really cute when your pissed."

Losing her patience, she takes a deep breath and calmly says, "I asked you a question."

"And I—don't give a fuck. So babe, when can we meet up?"

"For fucks sake, I blocked you. How are you calling me again?"

"Ever heard of using a different phone? Thought you were smarter than that considering you're in a prestigious college and all."

She sat speechless.

"How do you know I'm in college? Again, who the fuck are you?"

"I know a lot of things. Especially about you."

Rolling her eyes, she replies, "Listen, you fucking asshole. All I want to know is how you got my number in the first place and why you won't leave me alone."

"Has anyone ever told you how hot your voice is?"

"That's it. I'm filing a police report."

She hangs up the call, takes a screenshot as evidence, and proceeds to block the number.

Just moments later, her phone rings again from yet another number. Knowing better than to answer, she blocks the caller without any hesitation.