The Crew | On Hold

Chapter 30

"You and I are gonna have a little chat." Mila announces as she barges in through the door past me, hitting my shoulder with hers. 

I feel my face turn into a scowl as I stare after her. Mila sits down on the couch, crossing her legs at the knee and looks at me expectantly, a mischievous spark dancing in her eyes. "Well, aren't you gonna offer me a tea or coffee?" 

My eyebrows furrow. Who does she think she is? My nerves are stretched tighter than a well-tuned violin, and, as seconds pass, I feel my hands start to tremble more and more. "My bad." I give her a polite smile, and sit down next to her. I am sure as hell not making her a beverage. This is gonna be a serious talk, not some girly chit-chat with coffee and cupcakes.

It is obvious that she wants something from me. I'm not in a position to tell her off, but I'm sure as hell not gonna let her threaten me. I've been threatened by lots of people in my life, including my own father. 

After the time he came home with a woman by his side, demanding a divorce from my very-surprised mother, he threatened us both to take everything away from us. He knew how, he could easily do it, and I believed it. I feared him. But now I don't anymore. And I won't let other people make me feel like he did back then.

Mila watches me intently as I stare back at her. Though my hands are all covered in sweat and my heart is already picking up the tempo, my face stays calm. I don't want Mila to know how nervous I actually am. She'd just pick at me harder.

"Let's get this over with, Mila." After at least two minutes of silence, I finally give up with the silence. "What do you want in exchange for you to keep your mouth shut?"

Mila's eyes widen, and I can tell that I've caught her off-guard. I bet she didn't think I'd admit my romance so easily. She probably expected that I'd beg to her, humiliate myself, but I won't. What's the point? I'm not dumb. I know I broke the rules, and the only person I need to fear is Anna. I've met people like Mila in my lifetime. They feed on your fear. 

A smirk appears on her face and Mila tilts her head slightly. "You aren't denying you had a romance, then? Well, well. I was hoping for you to beg." She confirms my suspicions, and makes me roll my eyes. She is so shallow and mean. I hate people like her. I never did anything to her, why does she hate me so much?

"What do you want, Mila?" I snap, annoyed by her attitude. Her eyes narrow slightly, and I can tell I've hit a nerve with my tone. Mila looks away, pretending to think, and adjusts her ponytail.

"I want you to break up your romance with Andrew, and never talk to him again. Only if it's work related." She smiles again. "I want him all to myself."

Her words seem to be multiple knives, flying straight to my heart and piercing me. Suddenly it is harder to breathe, and I leap up from the couch, unable to sit there and stare at her any longer. 

How can I never talk to Andrew again? We tried that already. Those were the hardest days of my existence. That was even harder than going through my parents' divorce. It was harder than living on food stamps and going without food for days. 

I walk over to the small window on the right side of the trailer, and stare through it mindlessly as I try to contemplate her demand. I can see Mila watching me from the corner of my eye, but I don't care. She can take a photo, too, if she wants to stare longer. "But why would you want him? You work with him, too. It is unacceptable for you to date him, just like it is for me."

I turn my head to her, hoping that she hadn't thought about it this way, but, sadly, it looks like she knows that. Is she really that stupid to repeat my mistake? 

Her smile fades, but she doesn't look taken aback. She looks more serious and threatening. "You shouldn't worry about that, Emma. Just tell him off, and no one will find out about your secret fling."

With that, she gets up, and walks out of the trailer, closing the door behind her. 

I finally allow my feelings to shine through. Tears pool in my eyes, and I break down on the floor. My breathing becomes erratic, and my nose completely fills up with snot, dripping down my face.

What do I do? Who do I listen to - Mila's demand, or my heart, that is begging me to stay with Andrew. He is the only one, who's made me happy in the past few years, and I don't really know how to live without him anymore. I fell for him - fast and hard. There is no going back from the affection I have for him. But I have to do the right thing. I can't go back and live in poverty with my mother, who deserves the absolute world.

My eyeballs start to hurt. Pulling out my phone, I decide to text Anna, and inform her that I'm going home today. There is no way I can go on today. It just feels like the whole world is becoming too much for me to bear. The heartache tells me that my heart isn't capable of breaking even further, and my stuffed nose makes me panic with thoughts of suffocating.

God, what do I do now? What is the right choice?

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