"How are you holding up, Jules?" Stacie asked as I shook my head, focusing on the silverware I was polishing.
"I'm not." I said honestly. The world has felt like it was ending every day I was away from my family.
The lonliness was eating me alive and the guilt made me feel sick 24/7. It was like I was a shell of a human.
Mike didn't make the situation any easier. He kept trying to come around but would always ruin every interaction.
He would assault me and try to give me alcohol to 'cope'. It was a really fucked up situation and I knew I needed to leave him but I needed someone.
I couldn't spend too much time alone at the house because my thoughts would get dangerous and the depression would swallow me whole.
I was just so miserable.
"I'm so sorry this is happening to you. You really don't deserve it." Stacie said as I sniffled. I could feel the tears starting but I was at work.
I couldn't cry here. If I lost my job because I was unprofessional, I didn't know if I would survive it.
"It's okay, Jules." Stacie said and hugged me. "I'm sorry." I whimpered, hugging her back.
"It's okay. Hey, it's really slow and you've been through a lot. Why don't you head home. Maybe stop and get yourself a little treat on me." She said and pulled out a twenty dollar bill from her purse.
"I couldn't do that." I said as she shook her head. "I insist." She said and held out the money a little more.
"Okay. Thanks." I said and untied my apron, grabbing my wallet and clocking out.
I hated that I was being sent home early because home was the worst place to be.
It once was a place filled with love and comfort, but now it left me feeling empty.
When I got to my car, I rested my head on the steering wheel and cried. It had been a long day of holding it in so it felt good to let it out.
I ended up crying for a while before I wiped my tears and started the car. I decided I was going to get myself a milkshake since I rarely ever got stuff like that.
I was almost home when Stacie called me. "Hello?" I asked with concern. "Are you home?" She asked as my stomach dropped.
"Pulling in now. What's going on?" I asked shakily. "You need to turn your TV on the news when you get inside. It's urgent." She said as my blood ran cold.
"Are you okay?" I asked as she gasped. "What happened?" I asked then frantically made my way inside.
"Just hurry." She said as I nodded and made my way to the living room. "I'm hurrying." I said then turned the TV on.
On the screen was a picture of a police officer that looked somewhat like Mike. It wasn't him but it looked like they could be brothers.
The title on the bottom said 'police officer Michael Octavia, found dead.'
"Holy shit." I whispered and turned the volume up.
"Police have suspected that the killer has been pretending to be Octavia for some time. Jeremiah is at the scene." The news anchor said before the screen cut to a guy interviewing what looked like the police chief.
"Thank you Corina. Yes, I am here with Officer Daniels. You discovered his body, correct?" Jeremiah said as the officer nodded.
"I've worked with Michael for years but recently he's seemed off. Last night he messaged me some cryptic stuff so I decided to come check on him. I found his body mostly decomposed, which means that Michael has been dead for weeks." The officer said as my blood ran cold.
