Chapter 2
The smell of grease and burnt toast clung to my skin no matter how many times I scrubbed. Another double shift. Another day pretending I wasn’t breaking inside.
I wiped down table seven for the third time, not because it needed it—but because it gave me something to do with my hands. Something to stop me from thinking..
The restaurant buzzed around me—waiters calling out orders, pans clattering, the hum of rich customers complaining about food they’d never cook themselves.
This was my life now. Survival in the form of minimum wage and aching feet.
I hadn’t spoken to my family in two years. Not after the shouting, the bruises, the cold stares from people who once called themselves blood. They changed after my parents died. Or maybe they’d always been that way, and grief just stripped the mask off..
Only Amy stayed. Amy with her too-loud laugh and stubborn loyalty. We were all each other had..
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
“You good?”
* she asked, leaning against the counter beside me, balancing two plates like a pro.*
Selena donovan (FL)
I nodded.
*Lying had become second nature*
Selena donovan (FL)
They think pain makes you weak.
It doesn't. It makes you invisible.
*Washing dishes behind the kitchen counter, sleeves rolled up, face blank
Wipes sweat, eyes hollow*
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
Leaning on the counter beside her, chewing gum...
"You need a break, Lena. One more shift like this and you’ll drop"
Selena donovan (FL)
Breaks are for people who have something to go home to.
I left “home” the day they made me feel like a burden.
*Lighting a cigarette with shaky fingers*
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
You’re not alone. You’ve got me, remember
Selena donovan (FL)
You’re the only reason I didn’t let the world swallow me whole.
*Half-smiles, then turns away as a customer enters*
Selena donovan (FL)
Here we go again… pretending to exist
* Crushed the cigarette *
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
Only this girl Had gut to smoke in this famous restaurant...
Customer
Hey i want this and this..
Selena donovan (FL)
Sure sir...
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
Watching Selena put on a fake smile
"You deserve more than tips and fake “thank yous.”
Selena donovan (FL)
*Voice low, walking toward the counter*
"Deserve doesn’t pay the rent. Survival does"
Customer
Miss, where’s my order?
Selena donovan (FL)
*Under her breath
Right where I left my will to care.
Turns with a forced smile*
Coming right up, sir.
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
*Frowns *
as Selena walks back...
You should talk to the manager—get a better position.
Selena donovan (FL)
*Snorts*
The manager stares longer at my ass than my application..
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
You could still leave. Find a better place
Selena donovan (FL)
*Wiping down a tray*
And do what, Amy? Sell dreams to people who still believe in them?
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
I just… I hate seeing you like this. * frustrated *
Selena donovan (FL)
This is me. What’s left after they stripped everything away.
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
You’re not broken, Lena. You’re just… waiting
Selena donovan (FL)
*Glancing out the window, voice low*
Waiting for what?
A miracle in a city that chews girls like me alive?
Amy Adams (BFF/FL)
No.
*Softly, with certainty*
For the wrong man to walk in… and the right one to follow.
Author
i am trying something different let me know if you like it
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