When she came back, Heather was carrying a couple of grocery tote bags; one had a few boxes of tissues and bandages while the other was filled with a gallon of bubblegum ice cream. She went to find Martha and she practically searched the entire building, but Martha was nowhere to be found.
"Hey, Franklin. Have you see Martha anywhere lately?" Heather asked.
"Yeah, I think she's in the ladies' room." Franklin said before he spotted the bags. "What's all that stuff for?"
"It's lady stuff; none of your business." Heather said before briskly heading in the direction of the ladies' bathroom.
The moment she entered, Heather could clearly hear loud sobbing and heavy breathing coming from the last stall; Martha was in there. She knocked on the door.
"Go away." Martha said in between sobs.
"Martha, it's Heather. Johanna sent me. Can I come in, please?" Heather asked.
"...Just you."
Heather reluctantly opened the door and what she saw nearly made her gasp; Martha was crouched over the toilet with rivers of fresh tears falling from her eyes and down her cheeks. Her makeup was running and Heather could now see the fresh black eye and healing cuts. Martha noticed the look on Heather's face and sighed.
"That bad, huh?" She asked.
"Uh, I wouldn't say that." Heather replied, trying not to sound nervous.
"No, I get it. I look horrible... and you can thank August for that." Martha said before she noticed the tote bags. "What's that for?"
"Johanna told me to buy you these." Heather set the bags down and gave her a family-sized box of tissues, which Martha reluctantly accepted; she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "I also get you this." She took out the large tub of ice cream and slid it over to her co-worker, along with a small bowl, a spoon, and a bottle of chocolate syrup. "I hope you like bubblegum."
At that point, Martha didn't care. She tore open the tub, took the spoon, and viciously ate from it, still crying all the while. Heather hesitantly sat down in another corner of the stall before closing the door and locking it shut; she uncomfortably watched Martha eat like a pig, unsure of what to say.
"So... how bad was it this time?" She asked after a minute of silence.
Martha stopped eating and paused, her mouth full. "I don't want to talk about it."
"O-okay. Next time, don't speak with your mouth full. It's very unflattering."
Martha rolled her eyes, set the half-eaten tub of ice cream down, and ran a hand through her hair; she swallowed. "...Why?"
"What?" Heather asked.
"Why? For sixteen years, I've put up with it now. I must get away from this pain... but HOW?" She screamed into the toilet before continuing to cry.
Heather just sat in silence, unable to find a proper solution. Martha reached out and flushed the toilet a couple of times, not sure why. Then she sat up straight; she got an idea, an awful idea. Martha got a wonderful, awful idea.
"That's it. That is it." Martha whispered as she stood up. "I know just what to do." She smiled and giggled wickedly to herself.
"What?" Heather nervously asked, standing up.
Martha looked at Heather with a sly smirk on her face. "...I'll leave." She then headed out of the bathroom.
"Wait, wait, wait... WHAT?!" Heather shrieked, running after Martha.
YOU ARE READING
Working in Fashion
General Fiction[The Grinch 2018] Martha May went to school to become a teacher and she thought that would become just that. But instead, she ended up getting a job at Who Runway Fashion Magazine... and she hated it.
