•Sequel to RUN•
𝘛𝘩𝘦
𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺
𝘞𝘢𝘴
𝘍𝘢𝘳
𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮
𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳
𝘈𝘯𝘥
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺
𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦
𝘍𝘢𝘳
𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮
𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨...
𝘿𝙊𝙉𝙀
[𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑳𝑬𝑻𝑬𝑫]
Join Sydney and her friends as they continue to battle their way out of d...
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Chapter Ten. ***************
Caleb, River, and I rode to the restaurant together two days later.
Turns out girls' lunch had been a lie. Or at least a half-truth. Everyone was invited. Attendance mandatory. No opt-out clause.
River talked the entire drive to the restaurant. About everything and nothing. Caleb chimed in only when absolutely necessary. I nodded or shook my head when required.
I hadn't wanted to leave the apartment, not for this at least. I definitely hadn't wanted to get dressed up. But Savannah insisted on doing my makeup, and Kimmy showed up with a dress a few sizes too big, the two of them dressing me up.
They washed and brushed my long, blonde-ish hair and left it loose. I felt like a doll they'd tried to dress up, handled carefully, adjusted too many times, but no matter how hard they tried, I still didn't look normal.
They did their best to hide the bruises and the worst of the scars with makeup. You can't hide everything, though. Not the marks on my arms. Not the permanent tension locked in my shoulders. And definitely not the giant cast strapped to my leg like a neon sign screaming 'broken'.
A text chimed in the taxi. Caleb looked down at his phone and broke into a grin so wide it startled me.
"What's got you smiling like a lunatic?" River asked.
"This lunatic got a job."
River perked up instantly.
"Seriously?"
Caleb nodded. River reached across me to deliver some kind of bro-handshake-shoulder-pat hybrid thing.
"Good job, mate."
"Thanks. I start next week at Le Marisa's."
"The one two blocks away?" River asked.
Caleb nodded again.
"Congrats." I said, patting his arm rather awkwardly.
"Thanks, sis." He replied, already diving back into his phone.
"I'm thinking of getting a job too." River said casually.
I turned to my right and looked at him.
"What?" He shrugged, "I need something to do."
"Playing games and eating snacks isn't fulfilling enough?" Caleb added.
River shook his head, eyes darting between my brother and I.
"Finished my third game yesterday. Even I know that's excessive."
Part of reintegration meant we had six months to find jobs before the benefits disappeared. And since none of us were permanent residents yet, finding work was about to be a nightmare.
