Emerald Chains

12. Glimmer of Hope

Raelyn woke up the next morning happier than she had been in a while. Even though she didn't have the job yet there was a glimmer of hope that everything would be ok and today she was going to secure that job.

Opening her bedroom door she walked into the kitchen. Her Aunt was on the couch in the living room watching TV.

"Hey sweetie, sorry I wasn't awake when you got home yesterday. I was just so tired," she said while slowly lifting herself off the couch.

"That's ok," said Raelyn. "No, you sit back down. I'll make us some breakfast."

Claire slowly walked back to the couch. "How was your day yesterday?"

"Great actually, I got myself a job interview. It's today after work, so I'll be home a bit late," she said with a grin on her face.

"Omg, that's fantastic Raelyn. I'm sure you'll nail it," said Claire.

"That's the plan." Raelyn made a breakfast of eggs and toast and passed Claire a plate her plate while she was still seated on the couch.

Raelyn scoffed down her breakfast. "I have to leave a bit early today. I switched shifts so I could make the interview this afternoon. Raelyn picked her bag that already contained her interview outfit and headed over to Claire. She kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be back later but don't wait up, if you're tired just go to bed and I can fill you in in the morning"

"Good luck Raelyn," said Claire.

"Love you," replied Raelyn as she walked out the door.

***

The day passed much quicker than expected. Raelyn was nervous but excited about the interview. I can do this, she thought to herself as she walked out of the restroom wearing her nicer interview outfit. She was wearing long black pants with a very light green blouse and a black three quarter length jacket. Most of the outfit she stole off Aunt Claire. To top it off she had on some small black heels.

"Wow, you look great Raelyn," said Susan from behind the counter. Susan was cleaning up the coffee machine and had agreed to help Raelyn out by swapping shifts. She was thankful that Susan was on her side while she was looking for full-time work. She was very understanding of Raelyns situation.

"Are you sure this looks ok?" replied Raelyn, fidgeting with her silver belt around her pants.

"It looks great. Now you better get a move on. You don't want to be late." said Susan.

It had just turned 5 pm but it would probably take about an hour to get over to Hunters Point via bus if she included the additional walking time. She waved goodbye to Susan and proceeded to the bus stop out the front. Luckily it was only a 5-minute wait before the bus arrived.

She spent the next 40 minutes staring out of the window of the bus. So much had happened to her life in such a short amount of time. From her aunt getting sick, to Ethan's fast disappearance and dropping out of college. It seemed like a whirlwind but hopefully, this would get things back on track. She lost herself in her thoughts for the remainder of the bus trip.

When she hopped off the bus she looked around at her surroundings. She hadn't been to this neighbourhood before but she noticed it was very industrial and there wasn't much in terms of lighting. Most of the businesses were closed for the evening already.

Feeling the cold evening air on her skin, she picked up her pace. Pulling out her phone she opened up the navigation on her phone. She had been walking for 10 minutes when she came across the building that she was looking for. The building looked almost closed but for a faint light coming from the door.