Shafted [ONC 2022]

Changes

Rukiya set the last of her books on the shelf and stepped back to admire her newly transformed room. Gone were the plain, white walls, replaced by a cool mint green, accented by darker green leaves. She'd gotten a new mattress, a new bed set, more throw pillows, a new robe and a pina colada body wash that gave her the same amount of joy as the mango one.

But more importantly, she'd scrubbed Tycen's presence from her apartment. After a night at Wendy's, she'd packed up his stuff and left them downstairs. All the things she'd bought him had been sold or sent to the local GoodWill. Save for the Xbox, which had been traded in for an Animal Crossing themed Switch.

All the places that used to belong to him, had been filled up with more of her. The little shelf on the bathroom that held his grooming products was now filled with a basket of bath bombs and body wash encircled by fake flowers. The drawers that held his socks and underwear were now filled with T-shirts she'd bought on trips and neglected to put away.

But what really drove Ty's absence home was the temperature. She'd set the thermostat to seventy-five degrees, and slept under a normal blanket for the first time since Ty moved in.

Wendy had been there every step of the way. She helped change the locks, got Rukiya a new SIM card and dragged her out for bottomless mimosas on a Tuesday night. Rukiya still didn't remember how they made it home, but she'd woken up too late the next morning on Wendy's living room floor.

If Wendy didn't have to go visit her parents, she'd be heaping the last of Ty's things into a pile to set on fire. She had called that morning to check up, see how things were progressing with the apartment makeover. Rukiya couldn't have asked for a better wife.

She assured Wendy more than once that she was doing fine, but underneath the mask, she was still hurting. Her body was heavy and achy, as though she'd been wading through a bog. Breaking up was bad enough, but getting cheated on made her question everything, made her lose sleep. It wasn't as easy to convince herself that none of this was her fault, that somewhere along the way, she'd pushed Ty away.

Wendy would tell her to stop talking nonsense. "Ty is an asshole. You're too good for him," she'd say. And she was right. Rukiya had done her best, Ty had made his choice, and perhaps, with some time, she'd be able to think back on their relationship and not feel like someone had punched a hole through her chest.

Rukiya grabbed her phone from the bedside table and glimpsed Kadin's beanie beneath her lamp. She'd put it there, out in the open, so she wouldn't forget to return it, and yet she still forgot. Then again, a lot of things had been forgotten in this whirlwind of a week, and at four pm on a Friday, she didn't have the bandwidth for much else.

She snapped a photo of the beanie and shot it and a short text to Kadin. Then check the messages from Wendy. Amid the whining about her family being annoying was a simple call me. Rukiya dialed Wendy as she gathered her keys and coat.

"Hey honey, how are you?" Wendy asked.

"I'm doing alright." Rukiya hit the lights before leaving her apartment. "How's the valley?"

"Fuck the valley. I don't even want to talk about it. Let's talk about Greyland Tower instead."

At the mention of Greyland Tower, Rukiya spotted the elevator and banked a hard left to the stairs. "What about it?"

"It's lawsuit time—if you're up to it, that is. I know an attorney in town who's willing to take your case. Again, only if that's what you want."

Rukiya paused on the landing of the twentieth floor and weighed her options. She wasn't sure if she was in the best headspace for this, considering everything that had happened. But she deserved something for almost freezing to death in that elevator.

"How much hassle is this gonna be? And how much will it cost?" she finally asked.

"If the elevator is in terrible shape, this will pay for itself. She's willing to sit down and talk, no strings attached, and kinda... feel it out, I guess."

She started down the steps again. "Would it be possible to get Kadin in on this? He deserves some money for his troubles, too." More than me, she added in her head.

"It's entirely up to you. Just call me when you've made your decision, alright?"

"Alright. Thanks."

"Okay. I gotta run and..." she groaned, "...get ready for dinner with my aunt and uncle tonight. God, just strike me dead."

Rukiya breathed a laugh. "You'll be fine. Call me later?"

"For sure. Later babes."

She tucked her phone into her bag and strolled through the lobby. A blast of frigid air hit her in the face as she emerged in the parking lot. She had a work meeting at a sandwich bar in town. The owner contacted her about spear-heading their marketing campaign ahead of their opening later this season, but before that, she needed to know what she was getting herself into.

The reason Hawkin's succeeded was because they offered something new, and high quality at a reasonable price. But more than that, they understood what their consumers wanted and how to reach them. The owner was passionate and bold. Just like her.

Rukiya pulled her coat tighter around her to fight off the drafty evening air. Around this time, people were coming in from work, walking their dogs or getting in a jog before dark. Her silver Lincoln was parked in her designated spot on the east side of the parking garage, an irritatingly long way from the door, especially in heels.

"Rukiya."

She whipped her head around and spotted Ty sitting on one of the metal benches that lined the side of the building. He looked no different than he had the day she kicked him out—though she didn't know why she expected him to. Perhaps some vengeful side of her wanted to see him suffering.

Ty stood and tucked his phone away before taking measured steps towards her. Her heart slammed against her ribs and her stomach flipped. She knew they'd run into each other eventually, but not here, not this soon.

She set her gaze on her car and picked up her pace, her heels clicking against the pavement.

"Rukiya, wait."

She could feel him on her heels, smelling his spicy perfume washing over her. But not here. Not like this. Not when her wounds hadn't even scabbed over yet. She made it to her car and just as she set her hand on the door handle, Ty's reflection appeared in her car's tinted window.

"I just want to talk," he said.

Her shoulders bunched, and she tightened her grip on the handle. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Then don't talk, just listen. I'm sorry. So sorry. I was just upset and trying to get back at you. I felt like you always cared about your work more than you cared about me. What happened with that girl, it meant nothing. It was stupid and childish, but it meant nothing."

"It meant everything to me." Somehow, she kept her voice even despite the fire burning through her chest. "I walked through the door that morning with every intention of having a long talk with you about the state of our relationship, but you had already made your choice." She met his eyes in the window. "I did everything I could to make things work, but it was never good enough. I could've quit my job and dedicated my entire life to you and wouldn't have been good enough. I was never going to be good enough."

"Rukiya I'm—"

"Don't come back here." Rukiya opened the car door and slipped in behind the wheel. And when she slammed the door shut, it felt as though she was shutting him out of her life for good. It hurt, because she did love him, but it was what she needed.