Orange

Nineteen

It felt kind of weird to sleep in on a Tuesday, but I wasn't complaining. My body ached like I had been hit by a truck, but at least I was able to move around without so much pain. By the time I actually got up out of bed, I checked my phone to realize that it was twelve o'clock in the afternoon. I groaned, pushing my body back under the covers. That's when I realized something. Something kind of important.

"...Orion?" I called out. No answer. "Orion, are you in the bathroom?" Nothing. I looked towards the kitchen, thinking I'd catch him staring down at me. Not there, either. I frowned. Where'd... where'd he go?

A soft panic welled up inside of me.

Is this it? Is he gone for good?

What do I do if Blaise shows up? I can't stop him by myself.

What happens if I end up like Laura? What if Marvin was right, that Blaise is really just some kind of abuser who's got his eyes set on me?

What if—

The door opened slowly, the sound of papers rustling catching my attention.

"I'm home."

Orion placed his small collection of stapled papers on the kitchen counter walking over to the window to open the blinds. When he looked over to me, he gasped. My cheeks were riddled with tears I didn't know that I had been crying. He knelt before me, wiping my face dry with a panicked look on his face.

"Whoa, hey, hey, hey—are you okay? Wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head, leaning my head into his shoulder. I heard him sigh a bit, resting his hands on my back and slowly beginning to rub smooth circles between my shoulder blades. I relaxed a little deeper into his touch. With every breath, the taste of salty sea breeze wafted in and out of my mouth. I almost fell right back asleep there when Orion pulled me back a bit, looking me in the eyes.

"You're resting today, right?"

I nodded.

"That good," he gave me a soft smile. "But..."

"But what?"

"But... man, I... I feel bad. You're all sad and now I've gotta kinda drop some news on you."

My eyes widened.

"Are you leaving?!" I gasped, grabbing his shoulders.

Orion laughed a bit, putting his hands over mine. His fingers laced together with my own.

"No way, I'm not going anywhere. Well, not really. I got offered a job today."

"Really? That's great. Where at?"

"O-okay, um, you're, uh, you're gonna laugh."

I eyed him suspiciously.

"...why?"

He took a deep breath.

"You know a lady named Mila?"

My heart dropped.

Yeah, I definitely knew a lady named Mila.

Warehouse 44 was actually run by two people: a husband and his wife. While Marvin worked on the girls' side of the warehouse, Mila (or "The Madam", as the guys affectionately referred to her) worked on the guys' side. Where Marvin was sweet, kind, and affectionate with a soft touch, Mila was tough, loud, and commanding with an iron fist. Every time she passed by someone, they'd fall into a militant stance of attention. Not that she was necessarily a mean woman. Quite far from it. The guys all adored her and were more than happy to have such a strong-willed queen be their boss. I never really got to talk to Mila much, but the few encounters that I'd had with her were pretty nerve-wracking. It certainly didn't help that she was a seven-foot tall Russian fashionista who made her own striking clothes. Her beauty even rivaled that of Sandra.

"Yeah," Orion rubbed the back of his head shyly. "I was going out for a walk when I bumped into her. She immediately recognized me and we chatted for a while. She heard the whole thing about me getting kicked out, and I explained to her that I was living somewhere with a friend when she gave me her card. She told me that I could easily be making thousands of dollars everyday thanks to my, well uh, familial relations and decent looks, and gave me a pretty good offer."

"Y-you didn't accept it, did you?"

"Not yet. I wanted to talk things over with you. I ended up stopping by the warehouse to pick up some more information and the contract, so that's why I'm back a little later than I was hoping. Sorry about that."

"That's not what I'm mad about right now," I sighed, rubbing my temple. "Orion, you can't go through with this."

"Why not? I mean, you do it every day. I know you're not too keen on it, but it'd be really selfish of me to keep living here without helping you out."

"Didn't you finish high school? What about college? You can find a job other than this."

"Well, sure, I did high school, but ended up dropping out of college. And there's really not many other options for people like us, Clementine—you know that. Besides, you're on a leave of absence right now and aren't making any extra cash. We can't afford to be picky."

I looked away, shame filling my every pore. Orion ran a hand through my curly locks, tangling his long fingers around each little coil he could find. It was a mild comfort.

"Clementine," he said in a soft voice. "It's gonna be okay. I'll work there for a little while, then we'll work on getting a new place. Get you out of this apartment and into a real house. Just imagine it, Sweetheart—fully furnished with an actual bed, a nice little flat screen, maybe a dog—and best of all, no more oatmeal."

"...no more oatmeal?" I said, slight enthusiasm in my voice.

"No more oatmeal. Hell, maybe we'll even move out of LA. The possibilities are endless, Sweetheart."

He planted a soft kiss on my forehead. I couldn't help but giggle a bit at the wonder in his voice.

"You make it sound so easy."

He smiled with a dreamy expression on his face.

"If I can have a future with you, hell, I'd do anything, Sweetheart. I'd climb across time and space just to see you smile."

I couldn't resist the smile that fell onto my face as I looked away from him.

"You... You'd better think about it good, Orion. The whole working-at-the-warehouse deal. If I remember right, you don't have much experience, so it'll be a bit of a shock. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

He shrugged.

"Dunno. But I've gotta do something."

We sat in a silence for a few moments. There was nothing weighing either of us down—there was no tenseness in the air nor were there words begging to spoken. Just two people, enjoying each other's company.