Nearly Broken

Chapter 16 - Overtime

The December snow stuck to my balcony doors and the wind blew viciously. I could see the sad look of LA through the glass as i sat on my couch. The hot coffee in my hand warmed me and I took a sip to let the heat rush through me.

It has been three months since I've seen Nash. He respected my privacy, for the most part. Since the incident after the aquarium, he has tried to contact me and ask if I'm alright.

On my birthday, he sent me a beautiful, white, elegant dress. Although it was gorgeous, I refused to wear it. Anything that reminded me of Nash was thrown into the depths of my closet.

I went out with some people from my work (some clothing store in downtown LA called 'Miã'). Although they never gave me much thought, they still found it unacceptable not to hang out with me on my 21 birthday.

We went drinking and it would have been somewhat fun, if I hadn't felt like I was being watched the whole night. I had a sneaky feeling that Nash was watching over me. The thought sent shivers down my back.

He never came to see me. Although did he tried to video chat. After I ignored his call, he even took the bold move of sending Matthew to come and hang out with me.

-One month ago-

Black Friday shopping was never really my favorite thing. Which is why instead of hitting up the mall, I was curled in a blanket with my E-Reader in my hand.

"knock. knock. knock." Someone banged on my door.

Feeling annoyed by the visitor, I got up to see who it was. I put my eye up to the peephole. There standing out in the chilly weather was Matthew.

I sighed in frustration and started walking back to the couch. As soon as i sat down i heard a voice yelling through the door.

"I know you're in there. Fortunately for me, I can smell your scent." He chuckled, "not to sound too creepy."

'completely creepy' I thought to myself. Every nerve in my body told me to ignore Matthew, but I, stupidly, opened the door.

"What do you want? I told Nash I didn't want any contact with him!" I yelled at him.

He looked taken a back by my anger, but recovered with an amused smirk. Without asking he walked into my apartment.

"Nash misses you. You're the only girl he's taken an interest in." His eyes scanned the small place I lived in.

"Nice home." He mumbled.

"I dont care if Nash misses me. And I don't have a home." I said harshly, "please leave my apartment. I don't talk to scum like you." I pushed his arm and he took a backwards step towards the door.

His eyes went from light brown to a maroon color. Although it wasn't bright red, I was still frightened. I backed away from him as he closed the distance between us.

He grabbed my wrist and put his face inches from mine. Pure anger shown through his eyes. He leaned forward and put his mouth to my ear.

My heart raced and adrenaline pumped through my veins. He wouldn't dare hurt me though, not if Nash wanted to have a chance to talk to me again.

"Scum like me? I could kill you right now. It wouldn't take much, but I'm not like the rest. Neither is Nash. Don't make me do something that I'll regret." He threatened me.

"Matthew. Leave. Now." I fumed with my teeth clamped together.

He nodded, his eyes still a dark red. As he opened the door he turned to face me one last time.

"He's not as bad as you think."

-

I shivered as I remember my last encounter with Nash's kind. My phone vibrated and the transparent screen came to life.

I picked it up to see who was trying to reach me. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized it was just my boss. I quickly hit the answer button.

"Hello, Verona speaking."

"Hey, Verona! I was just wondering if you could fill in David's shift tonight? I know it's your day off and you hate working night shifts, but he called in sick and I can't seem to reach anyone else." My boss, Ricky, sounded stressed so I reluctantly agreed and ended the call.

'So much for a nice relaxing day.'

I removed myself from the coziness of the couch and went to my bedroom to get ready. I took a quick shower and hopped into some fancy clothes from Miã.

On the way out of my apartment I grabbed my keys, wallet, and winter coat. Before I left I looked around to see if I missed anything and I turned off the lights and started walking towards the road.

I wanted to walk to work in the daytime, because in this world it was so ricky to take a step outside into darkness. So I followed the 3 mile long road town.

It wasn't a terrible walk, even though it was freezing outside. My coat protected me from the snow and wind. But i had to admit I was relieved to step into Miã.

The store was filled with Christmas shoppers and woman buying some stylish clothes. I immediately saw Ricky running around like crazy.

Ricky was in his mid thirties and owned Miã. He had some Grey hair mixed into the rest of the short brown hair. He had a small mustache and green eyes.

He had no kids, but he used to have a wife. No one talked about her, so I figured she was murdered and didn't leave him intentionally. I didn't understand how he was always so positive, but he was a good man.

He gave me a huge grateful smile and nodded towards the unopen register. I signed in and grabbed my lanyard with my name on it. Then I walked behind the counter.

As soon as i opened the register I had a long line of customers. The night shift was my least favorite, because it was the busiest. I prepared myself for the long night shift ahead of me.