Always, Arlo [Published]

Chapter 4

Therapist

I rush into the back into our break room, grabbing my lunchbox and my coat from our employee closet.

Slipping my long coat on, I rush towards the back exit. I wouldn't be surprised if they started to tally up the amount of times I leave without permission. It's becoming an often occurrence.

I wouldn't also be surprised if they fired me earlier on, Marlin helped get me this job with his connections to the owners. One of the few things he's done for me.

Now after our breakup I wouldn't hold hope that he'd let me keep the job, Whatever pisses Marlin off is going to get pushed off the edge of cliff eventually.

Leaving carelessly with a stranger isn't something I'd do before all this mess. Thinking straight is my strong suit, staying calm under pressure without cracking is easy enough for me. Patience has brought me far enough.

Or so I thought, All the mess of my life was just building up all together until I couldn't hold it inside anymore. Maybe it wasn't patience, it was ignorance.

My mind no longer can hold it together as stable enough as it did before. So the thought of fleeing with an attractive stranger doesn't seem so bad. The warning signs in my brain are silent--Too silent.

Stranger-Danger until he's a pretty guy with dark challenging eyes and a tall built figure. Probably an easy attracter to get oblivious women like me, who knows.

I make it to the front of the restaurant through the alleyway. Theres a line starting from all the way down the block. I bite my bottom lip in guilt as I realize they probably need me in there, and i'm letting a silly heartbreak get to me.

I glance through the windows and watch at my busy and hardworking coworkers, who are putting elbow grease into getting to all those incoming tables.

"They'll manage." Arlo says as he walks up to me, noticing my expression. He looks from the window to me with reassuring eyes.

"They'll definitely fire me after this.. Marlin is going to have a hell of a laugh after finding out." I mutter uncomfortably,  my mood drops lower than it was before.

Thinking of him having pleasure in my faults, hurts bad. Its not like I get paid anything good, just enough to pay the bills for my apartment. But this job has given me an outlet for my brain to stay focused and busy.

Thoughts that try and eat at me get pushed away. Stored in the back of my brain until later. Until i'm finally alone and theres nothing left to distract my over-consuming mind.

"It's not like this job is really doing you any good. You get paid minimum wage to work at a place for pretentious assholes. Trust me, you're better off somewhere else." Arlo begins walking off towards the sidewalk, and although I feel the guilt kicking my stomach, I follow behind.