Her Safety

Chapter Three

3 weeks later

"Nina, darling. You are going to be late for work!" Ma rushed to pull my sheets off of me, letting the colder air bite at my skin.

"Ma," I groaned, rubbing my arms tiredly. "Five more minutes! The sun isn't even up yet." I dug my face into the warm pillow.

"Nini, it is almost seven! You must be out in ten minutes." She shouted over the running water in the bathroom. I raised my tired body out of bed and allowed her to prepare a warm bath for me. After all, I'd been working open till close every day for the past two weeks to keep up with the never-ending bills.

I refused to think of DeAngelo and his proposition that he would take care of me and my family. Was it that simple, though? There was always a catch, and this catch would probably be that Mr. DiVicci was probably a stalker, serial killer, or both.

Oh, DeAngelo.

I shivered. Darn him. I'd been trying to go at least one day without thinking of him. It seemed like the more I worked, the more I thought of it. I guess manual labor does that to a person? I laughed at myself before stripping out of my sweaty night-clothes and dipped into the tub. Instead of thinking about how much the water bill would be this month, I thought about how long it'd been since I'd had a warm bath. It felt incredible to say the least.

"Bye ma! I'll probably be late, so don't wait up for me." I smiled and kissed her cheeks before grabbing a slice of toast and a banana.

"Be safe, mia bella figlia." She smiled with a guilty, conflicted look in her eyes. She gave me that look often, but it never really sat well with me. What was she so conflicted about?

The walk to work was long and tiring, especially at seven in the morning. The sun was just rising, so I was left alone in the dim morning. I tightened my bag around my shoulder as if that would make me more comfortable. It was times like these that I wished I could afford a car.

"Sorry I'm late Portia!" I hollered from the backroom before checking in. "I had a hard time getting out of bed today." I frowned, desiring the warmness of my bed and that soothing bath.

"I understand, hunny. Happens to the best of us." She winked before tossing me my apron.

After a long six hours in the kitchen baking things such as cakes, pies, and casseroles; I made my way to the backroom to find Portia and two other employees quietly discussing something. By the looks of it, it was no joking matter.

I cleared my throat, "Um, the shop is empty so I thought I'd take my break before starting my shift at the bank." I removed my apron as they all stared blankly at me. "What's going on here?" I looked around uncomfortably.

"Nina, there is... I have to tell you something. You're not going to like it." Portia fidgeted. For my strong, bold and fearless manager, she seemed pretty distraught. Right at that moment I knew something was seriously wrong.

"What is it, Porsh?" I asked, walking up to her and held her shaky hands. She let out a shaky breath and looked away before stepping back.

"Hunny, I'm going to have to let you go." She turned her back to me in an effort to hide her emotions. "You'll receive a paycheck for the rest of the week in the mail. Please leave your apron in the counter and gather whatever belongs to you in the backroom."

I stood still, stunned, disbelieving. "Portia, this isn't really happening right? You guys are pulling my leg. Right Troy, Gabby?" I turned to look at the other two employees I'd worked with now for almost two years and saw the guilt and pity written in their eyes.

"Portia, wait. Why? What's going on!" I grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face me. Immediately my heart clenched. Her eyes were red and tears smothered her cheeks. I'd never, ever seen Portia even come close to crying.

"I'm sorry Angelina, I can't disclose that information to you or else I'd be in a lot of trouble." She smiled sadly before twisting my hair behind my ears and hugged me warmly. "You didn't do anything, I promise. And if I could keep you here, I swear I would. Please forgive me, I had no choice."

I hugged her back, swallowing my anger. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this. "It's okay Portia, I know you'd never do anything to hurt me intentionally."

I picked up my bag and went back to the front to pick up the food I was saving for Ma and the family. Portia never, ever let us eat on the job, but I supposed since I was no longer working for her, I could turn back and eat one of our famous 4 dollar cookies that I'd never dared to spend my money on. I smiled, enjoying every last bite when I heard Portia and Gabby come to the front. A couple customers entered, but I payed them no attention. Gabby assisted them while Portia stood in front of me.

"Don't worry, Nina. Hey, why don't you grab some for your family?" She picked up a small bag and loaded it with treats. She didn't even know how much it would mean to my siblings. I smiled graciously at her and hugged her for the last time.

"Thanks for everything, Porsh. You've been great. Bye Gabs." I forced a smile at the girls. "I'll stop by sometime."

I hugged Troy on my way out and ventured down the empty side-walks. I was going to be early for my shift at my second job, but I didn't even want to think about it. I didn't want to think about the betrayal I felt, or the fact that I'd have to find another job. I allowed myself to indulge in a brownie while I hummed to myself. A few cars passed by me but I didn't realize a sleek, silver car had been tailing me almost the entire way until I reached the parking lot of the bank. They also followed me until finally, they parked.

I tucked my bags into my locker and went to start my shift when Riley, another employee stopped me, "I wouldn't go out there if I were you." He smiled sadly and I received another unwelcomed pitiful look. What was going on today?

"Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"You didn't hear it from me, but I was going into the back-room to find when I heard someone intimidating Paul into firing you." He looked around the empty back room for extra eyes and ears.

"What?" I screeched. So someone must have threatened Portia as well! I turned angrily on my heel and began to gather my things once more. I walked straight up to Paul—though I'd never really enjoyed his rude attitude and dry humor—and thanked him for everything. He stared confusedly at me and handed me an envelope with my week's pay. He looked at me guiltily before patting my head and finally turned away.

It suddenly hit me. DeAngelo.

Once again I found myself thinking of him, but this time it was in a different way. I didn't get pleasurable shivers, curiosity, or warmness. That time I'd got an deep, tired, angry feeling welling up in the pit of my stomach. I was ready to unleash it. I'd just have to wait for him to come back to me now. Fear crawled up and down my spine, for I had no idea when the next time he would show up would be.

For now I'd have to wait.