Chapter 15 What’s Your Relationship?
The barbecue restaurant needed a lot of hands. After a quick
look around, I found a decent job.
500 dollars a month for six–hour night shifts every day.
It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
The next morning at eight, I arrived at the restaurant on time.
I was so busy washing dishes, serving food, and wiping tables
that I didn’t even have time to catch my breath.
Soon, I was drenched in sweat.
The ER was hectic too, but this kind of physical labor was
worse.
The customer at table three was urging me to serve their food when my phone suddenly rang.
Seeing that it was Terrell calling, I was going to hang up, but my hand slipped and I accidentally answered it.
His scolding voice then came, “Alexandra, where are you right now? Why aren’t you replying to my messages?”
Chapter 15 What’s Your Relationship?
There had been notifications earlier, but I didn’t have time to
check them. I figured I’d respond later when I got home.
With the noisy background around me, I casually made up an
excuse, “Out having fun.”
There was silence on the other end.
I figured Terrell must be thinking, if I had time to have fun, why
didn’t I have time to reply to him?
But I didn’t have time to explain anything right now.
The man at table three was getting impatient, and he even came
over and snapped at me, “Why are you so slow?”
I quickly hung up the call.
Afraid Terrell would call again, I turned off my phone.
I didn’t get off work until two in the morning.
It took twenty minutes to walk back to the staff dorm.
By the time I got there, I was completely exhausted. With my
backpack still on, I trudged in slowly, the only thought in my
mind was to go to sleep as soon as possible after a quick shower.
I didn’t expect to see Terrell standing at the dorm entrance.
Seeing my sweat–soaked hair and the strong smell of barbecue clinging to me, he frowned in displeasure and scolded,
“Alexandra, I gave you time off. That didn’t mean you could stay
out till 2 a.m.!”
If he hadn’t switched my shift without asking, would I even be
this exhausted?
I was already annoyed after a whole day of work, and now
getting scolded on top of that? My temper flared up.
I looked at him coldly and said, “Terrell, what right do you have
to tell me what to do?”
“Please, stop caring about me,” I was begging in silence.
I had long gotten used to being on my own. I didn’t want him to
disrupt the peace I finally had.
He and I were never meant to be in the same world.
Terrell stared hard into my eyes, trying to find a trace of guilt,
but there was nothing.
He yielded, disappointment flickering in his eyes.
“Forget it. I shouldn’t have meddled.”
I watched his back as he walked away without looking back
Chapter 15 What’s Your Relationship?
and entered the dorm, feeling a little down.
My co–workers only lived here occasionally. No one else was
around these few days, and the dorm was eerily quiet in the
middle of the night.
I numbly took a shower. I should have fallen asleep the moment
my head hit the pillow, but I just couldn’t.
When I checked my phone, I saw the string of messages Terrell
had sent.
He texted every few minutes, and when I didn’t respond, he got
too worried and called.
ww
My heart suddenly warmed. I closed my eyes and instantly
drifted off.
Four and a half hours of sleep was enough. I felt refreshed
heading to the department the next day.
When I arrived, Nia found me with a serious look.
“Did you get into a fight with your husband? He came looking
for you first thing this morning. He’s in the director’s office right
now, saying it’s wrong to give you such a heavy shift schedule.”
What the…? Lamar actually meant it when he said he’d come to
Chapter 15 What’s Your Relationship?
the hospital!
Knowing him, he was bound to get into a huge argument with
Terrell.
Lasked Nia to cover for me for a bit and dashed over to Terrell’s
office.
Lamar was there, furious, confronting him face to face.
“That photo Alexandra has saved in her phone… It’s you, isn’t it?
What exactly is your relationship?”
Hearing that, I felt like my heart had sunk.
Just then, the office door opened, and both of them turned their
gaze on me,
Chapter 16 The Photo
