The Trap

Did You Miss Me?

The days went by slower than ever. After donating almost every dollar she had to health organizations, she found a job as a waitress at a small bar by the shore. It wasn't the best job, her boss was a complete douche, but it allowed her to pay the bills. She was seeing a therapist and taking care of her health. She gained back some of the weight she had lost and the dark circles around her eyes were almost gone. She visited her mother and, after telling everything that happened, how sorry she was and how she wanted to start again, in the right way this time, she comforted her and told her how proud she was. Now, everyday they called each other to talk about their days.

Life was simple for the first time in forever and she loved it, if it wasn't for the fact that a part of her was still missing. Shannon was still away and wouldn't get back for another week. At least that's what she thought based on what Sarah told her the night she found her at Shannon's house. She had no idea what day she would return, but as soon as the calendar hit the two months she told her, she would try to reach her again. Maybe it wouldn't change anything, maybe Shannon wouldn't want to see her, but giving up without trying wasn't an option. She would fight for her, and if it didn't work, she would find a way to move on, because right now she was holding on to the fact that the battle wasn't completely lost yet.

She was enjoying some sun at the beach before going back to another shift at the bar. It was a warm winter day and people took the opportunity to get out of the house on that beautiful sunday and catch some air. She was sitting at a bench watching the people casually live their lives: kids running and playing games, some couples laughing together and others mutually ignoring each other, families spending some precious time together. Everything felt normal and peaceful, until she saw a familiar figure walk by in front of her, around 100 feet away from where she was. She would recognize that shape miles away. Cari felt her entire body suddenly tense up. She was back. Shannon was right there in front of her. But she wasn't alone. She was with somebody else. A tall, blonde, skinny and beautiful woman.

Cari's heart skipped a beat. The memory of that first time when they went to that same beach and she asked her out to their first date hit her like a punch. Shannon had already forgotten her and was with somebody else. Cari felt stupid, hurt and anxious all at once. It never crossed her mind that she would move on so fast. She felt her stomach ache when the love of her life gently touched the back of the stunning woman with a smile on her face. She needed to get away from there. The pain inside her chest the sight was causing her was too hard to handle.

-

Having to work after realizing that she had lost the person she loved the most in her entire life was one of the hardest things she had to do in her life. She couldn't focus to get the orders correctly and serving the always impatient clients became a nightmare that night. All she wanted to do was lay in bed and let the tears wash the agony away.

"Hey lady, I didn't order this!" A client said unsatisfied when she put the dish in front of him.

"I'm sorry sir, let me check your order again." Cari looked for her notes and confirmed that, in fact, he asked for a completely different thing and she was delivering the order from another table. "I'm sorry sir, it was a mistake, I'll bring your order right away."

"You better. I've been waiting for almost one hour for some simple chicken wings."

That was a lie. He was barely waiting for thirty minutes, Cari knew that, but she couldn't argue with him. She apolagized again and delivered the order to the right table this time, going straight to the staff bathroom after and hoping that that man wouldn't say anything to her boss before leaving. She closed the door with the key and supported her weight on the sink, looking at herself in the mirror and taking a couple of deep breaths. Two more hours. Just two more hours and she would be free to go home.

"Focus Cari. You need this job. You need the tips. You can do this."

She spend two minutes there before someone called her name asking where she was. She got back to work and tried her best not to mess up again, but the poor amount of tips she received and the way her boss yelled at her when the third customer complained about her services showed she did a terrible job. Trying to keep the tears from falling, she apologized to him and said she was just having a bad night and it wouldn't happen again.

"Well, make sure your hormones doesn't ruin my business again, because next time you're not getting another chance."

She had to take a deep breath for the hundredth time that night after hearing that. Every day she was surer that men were the worst thing that ever walked through earth.

-

The shift was finally over and she felt like the weight of the world was hanging in her shoulders when she walked out of the service door in the back of the bar. She was tired. The warm temperatures made the week quite busy at the bar and she never stopped for a minute in all of her shifts. However, her physical state wasn't even close to be as bad as her mental state at that moment. She no longer had the little hope she had clung to in the last months that everything would be fine again. The battle was actually lost and now she didn't know what she was supposed to do.

The first tears rolled down her face before she even reached the car parked in the poorly illuminated parking lot for the staff. She was looking for the keys inside of her bag beside the driver's door when a pair of strong arms held her from behind, pressing her against the hard body that those arms belonged. One of them covered her mouth, making it impossible for her to scream, and the other held her tightly around her ribs, under her breasts, not allowing her to move an inch.

"Hello sweetie. Did you miss me?"

-

hey everyone, how are you doing?

we've got some trouble in the way. Get prepared for some hard chapters ahead... 😕😕