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003. SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? ( chapter three! ) ᵃʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵘʳᵉ ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁱˢ ʷʰᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ʷᵃⁿᵗ? -the background world, nine inch nails.
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ASUKA WINCED AS her fingers weakly traced the slightly fading hand printed bruises on her cheek. Her reflection in the mirror practically resembled a zombified version of herself with the various shades of red and purple staining her fair skin, and the deep crescent moons settling beneath her eyes, darkening with the lack of sleep. For the remainder of the night, Asuka had woken up several times for several different reasons. If it wasn't for a door slamming somewhere down the corridor of her apartment complex, followed by a woman screaming at a man, it was a dog barking its head off because someone walked past its yard, and if it wasn't the physical, outside world, it was her internal thoughts swirling in an endless spiral.
Her mind had been latched onto the salesman. The way they met felt so surreal, as though it never even happened, and it was only a dream, but the evidence of the ache and the bruising on her cheeks from when his hand collided with her face repeatedly told her that it was real. Not to mention the business card he had given her, still resting on her nightstand, and the call log in her phone from when she called the number.
She half expected the salesman to be lurking in the shadows of her apartment, silent and waiting for the perfect moment to strike when she was at her most vulnerable. He must know where she lived. But that doesn't even begin to describe her weariness towards being a potential contestant on some shady gameshow. She regretted not asking more questions when she had the chance. Not asking what sort of games she was going to be playing, or what the money prize was, or where the venue was stationed at. The salesman, and the person she spoke to on the phone, all had a level of secrecy that put Asuka on edge. How was it fair that they knew all of her information but she didn't even get the name of the man who had slapped her silly?
Asuka scowled as she turned the taps on, ignoring the way it squeaked and groaned in its struggle to spit out the liquid, before splashing the water onto her face, in an attempt to wake herself up properly. She felt withdrawn, and numb, the mere act of smiling felt like it was going to take a mighty effort, but she knew for her job today, she had to force a smile to make the patrons comfortable.
In the sorry state she was in, she managed to throw on her waitressing uniform — a brown blouse tucked into a tight, black skirt reaching the middle of her thighs, and slathered on some makeup to cover up the bruising as much as she could without drawing attention to herself. She didn't exactly want people to ask questions, and wonder about her home life, and besides, going into work with a battered face wasn't particularly workplace appropriate. Not like it really mattered, though. Asuka could be suffering from cancer and her boss would still expect her to show up to her shift. It was more for the sake of the patrons, and their comfort.
