Bitter Sweet

9. Rumors

Stephanie walked through the streets of Tumacacori saying a small prayer in her mind. She had borrowed her father's truck and went to the city for an interview at a grocery store. She didn't get the job, she was over qualified, they told her, whatever that meant. She still had to hear from the four other locations and she prayed that one of them would recognize and appreciate her qualifications, she was good at what she did, they were bound to see that. She didn't feel like going inside her house and face the constant questions of did you get the job? From her whole family. So she parked the truck and walked to the mini market to buy mini donuts. She walked around as she ate them enjoying every bite of the sugary pastries. There wasn't much to walk, right beside the neighborhood, walking distance, there were small diners and restaurants, the mini market, a food bank, an elementary school which she attended when she was little, and a park.

"Ohmigod! Stephanie!?"

Stephanie turned and saw a blonde girl in a pink sweater smiling at her with pearly, white (and most likely fake) smile. "Oh, hello?" she said not knowing who the girl was and why she was talking to her.

"It's me! Lacey!"

"Oh hello, Lacey?" she replied wondering if she could cut the visit short and run.

"Remember in Government class, you lost an earring one day and I found it and gave it to you? It was funny because it turned out that we had the exact same earrings and I gave you mine by mistake."

Stephanie simply nodded and smiled. She had no idea what she was talking about, and she was pretty sure she was mistaking her with someone else.

"Anyway, how are you? I heard about your boyfriend problems, what an asshole," she added still with that smile on her face.

Stephanie looked up from her mini donuts abruptly. "Where did you hear that?"

"Well, your mom told my mom, I think."

"What?" Stephanie was so mad she wanted to slap the smile off from Lacey's face. "Those are rumors," she replied rapidly.

She had told her mother in confidence, she was crying her eyes out when she moved out from the apartment she shared with Alex and not knowing where to turn, she called her mother from her hotel room. She told her mother how Alex was, how he was behaving and her mother was sympathetic and knew exactly what to tell her to make her feel better, or at least to make her stop crying. But she turned around and did this? She wondered how many neighbors knew of this.

"Is that why you're here?" Lacey whispered loudly. "Are you hiding from your abusive boyfriend?"

"That is a rumor." Stephanie found herself retorting. "Honestly Lacey, next time you hear such serious rumor don't bring it up. Are you lacking that small thing we all call consideration and common sense?" She turned firmly and walked away from Lacy as fast as she could. She started running back to her house even though she wore her interview clothes which consisted of a knee high skirt and a black jacket. She was angry and she had to let it all out before arriving home. She didn't want to get home and see her mother as she was still wound up with anger, she never liked confrontations with her mother, they were loud, violent and pointless.

She stopped in the front of the door and leaned forward resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

A loud thump from the garage caught her attention. She stood attentively as there was a second thump and a giggle followed it. She rushed to the garage door and flipped the lights on.

A guy with his pants down to his ankles faced the wall, and against the wall with her legs around his hips was Ashley.

"What the hell?" Stephanie basically screamed as the boyfriend scurried to pull his pants up. Ashley pulled down her skirt, her face flushed and breathing heavily. "What do you think you are doing? Like..." Stephanie was too shocked to continue her thought. The incident from ten minutes ago completely forgotten.