Should Have Not Asked - New Adult Romance (Wattys 2014)

Chapter 1 - Diner

Do you want to have sex with me?

Christ!

A loud whack echoes early in the morning joined by the ringing of my alarm clock.

Ouch! I feel my bum sore after I fell off the bed.

It was just a dream.

Wait, it isn't just a dream! It actually happened a week ago, and it has been haunting me every single second of my life. Even my sleep has become more of an option now rather than a necessity.

What was I even thinking when I said that?

I hate myself because of it.

"Angel, are you awake?" I hear Mom knocking on my door. Breakfast is ready for sure.

"I'm coming, Mom!" I sit on the floor before standing up. I feel my blood rushing from my stomach to my limbs and head, flowing throughout my body as the dizziness wanes. I clean up my bed and hit the shower.

School starts at ten, but I have a two-hour day job at Maxwell's Diner which starts at seven thirty in the morning. After class, I will resume work for another three hours. My day doesn't end there, though. I have another job at my school's cafeteria as a waitress. All these help me cut my college expenses and help Mom run the house.

After the economic meltdown, the New Jersey plumbing industry almost shut down, affecting almost all plumbers and agencies. Dad was a plumber and a small businessman while Mom worked at our office. We had this small company office in our building, just a floor away from our space, so we were fine for a while after the crisis. But when our small company shut down as well, Dad lost his living. Mom was forced to find a job in a small hotel as a chambermaid. Consequently, Dad got sick and was diagnosed with CRF or Chronic Renal Failure. It's in the end-stage, so he has dialysis twice a week. His medications and treatment really cost us a fortune. He has been in and out of the hospital three times already, the recent just two weeks ago. With Mom's job and my part-time jobs, we're hoping to sustain Dad's medical treatment. I'm finding school a nuisance now even though I only have a semester left before graduation. As a matter of fact, I have yet to pay my tuition dues for the final exam. I have thought of dropping school and just concentrate on my jobs. Maybe look for work that can support my family, perhaps a job with higher pay.

As I lather shampoo on my hair, I think of applying as secretary to Dr. Martin's clinic. He has offered me this job a week ago, and I turned it down. Yeah, I know I was stupid to do that. If only I knew things will be this tight, I would have accepted it right away. However, working full time in Dr. Martin's clinic means leaving school, and dropping out a few weeks before graduation will be as good as a blunder. Just four weeks more and I will be graduating! Think of what Mom and Dad could have done to me if I stopped school! Dad worked his ass off to get me to a university. Mom does all the household chores so that I could concentrate on my studies and my part-time jobs. Imagine the heartbreak I would have given them! It could have been awful. I would have sent Dad to an early death and Mom to the depths of despair.

Money is life, though.

Money is a college degree.

And money is Dad's assurance to a longer life.

Geez! I wish that one day it will rain money, and I'm going to make sure to carry big buckets and grab all money that my hands can. Dreaming doesn't hurt, I guess.

I scurry out of the shower and dry myself up.

I choose a pair of faded blue jeans and pink tank top 'Dream Big' printed in bold captions. Yeah, I believe in it. Well, that's what poor people hold onto in times of great need. It's free anyway.