I gasped and both of my hands raised to cover my mouth. I stepped back and he chuckled.
"D-Dav…" I whispered.
"C'mon, it can't be that scary," His voice came from behind me and it made me shiver as I realized that he was the one responsible for this.
He came closer and I subconsciously stepped aside. He took a look inside the box and made a troubled face. "Ugh. It smells way worse."
I stared down at my feet.
The box had the head… head of my ex, David Wilson. It was… bleeding and… I can't explain how scared I was at the moment.
"What? It is just a present." He looked at me and smirked.
I didn't have the courage to look back at him. What kind of monster could do something like that? And… feel proud?
"Y-You did that?" I whispered, which was probably barely audible to him.
"Oh, no. I don't get my hands dirty. Although, I might have ordered it some time. Can't pay attention to small things." He smiled but I hated him so much.
I hated his smile.
I hated his smirk. I hated his face.
I hated him with the last cell in my body.
I closed my eyes and ran to Drew's room to make sure he didn't come out. I locked myself in his room – he wasn't asleep yet.
"Mommy?" He asked. I ran to him and hugged him, sitting on the floor to match his height.
I didn't know when I started to cry. I felt so scared for him. I had a monster in my house.
I knew he was bad and heartless. I knew he was a jerk and a douchebag, but I didn't know this.
"Mommy, what happened? Did your friend hurt you?"
I sobbed and hugged him tightly.
"No… Drew. Mommy is fine."
"You can tell me, mommy. I will save you!"
I tried to stop my sobbing and hugged him quietly. He was such an angel… and it reminded me that I had to be strong.
I had to be strong enough to protect him from that monster.
I will never let anything happen to him.
After some time, I got up and saw that Drew was crying too, quietly so. I wiped his tears.
"I am so sorry, honey. I made you cry." I smiled sadly.
He smiled.
"Don't worry, mumma. Just don't cry."
I smiled at him. "Let's sleep. Mommy will sleep beside you."
His mood changed drastically and a big smile made its way to his lips. "Yayy!"
I smiled and then sighed. There was no use in going out and asking him to leave when I knew that he was only going to make things worse.
More so, I couldn't face him. He was a black spot in the name of humanity.
I went to the bed and put a blanket on him. Then, I laid down on the other side of the bed, however, the horrible incident played on my mind, again and again, not letting me sleep.
_________
The next day, I took a deep breath before leaving the room. I didn't want to see that horrible parcel again. And I didn't know if he even left.
Thankfully, when I came out of the other side of the door, there was nothing in the living room. I heaved a sigh of relief until my eyes landed on a paper kept on the table.
I tip-toed to the table and picked it up.
"It didn't have to go that way. Since you realize now what I'm capable of, don't you think it's good to do as I say?
– X"
I breathed heavily and tore the note. God, why does he have to fuck with my head like that!
I did my daily chores and it was school time for Andrew already, so I went to check up on him. He was almost ready.
"Drew, come for breakfast!" I called out and we had a nice & peaceful breakfast. When he left for school on the school bus, I exhaled, calming my nerves.
Of course, there was no way I was going to go to work in that monster's company. No matter what happened, I couldn't go back. I had to search for another job.
I spent the rest of the day trying to find a good job. Finally, I ended up in a bar — as a bartender. I didn't like the job, but I didn't have any special skills and this seemed like the only option at present.
"I mean, you can't skip any day. One day per month is allowed." The beautiful bartender explained the job to me.
I sighed. "No Sundays off either?"
"No. Friday to Sunday are the best days. You can take four days off from next month if you prove yourself worthy."
I raised my eyebrows. "Worthy?"
"Well, yes. If you catch some rich man's eyes and keep him coming here, again and again, it is called being worthy. So?"
I sighed. Woah, my fate is really falling. "Okay. When do I start?"
"You can start right away."
I nodded.
"Uh-huh, not in those clothes!" She took me inside a big room. "Change into one of these. Choose your style."
I nodded again and then skimmed through all the designs while she went out. Most of them were too short — but thankfully, I got a decent dress. It was a crop top with jeans, so much better than others.
I changed quickly and came out.
"You look beautiful. You can work morning or night — or both shifts. Depends on you. We are low on people and I might quit the job soon," she said as I stepped out.
"Oh, what's wrong?" I asked, concerned for my new friend.
"Nothing's wrong." She smiled. "I am getting married. He doesn't want me working here."
I smiled back.
"That's sweet. What're you going to do then?"
"I don't know. Probably work in his own company."
"Rich guy, huh?" I smirked and she laughed.
"He is. But I didn't know that until a few days ago. He doesn't behave like one."
I gave her a content smile. "I am happy for you. And oh, as for the shifts — can you tell me the pay for each?"
"It is 16$ per hour for the morning shift and $19 per hour for the night. If you do both, you get both at the same rate and $50 extra each day. That means, almost $230 per day if you work both shifts."
I smiled widely. That was good pay, considering I had no work experience as a bartender.
"That's good. I'll work both shifts then."
She was happy about that. "That gave me a big relief. I had to prepare for the wedding but I couldn't find any people to work here, since this bar isn't as great as it used to be. Now I can go and do other work."
"I am happy we both could help each other. By the way, congratulations!"
She looked at the engagement ring on her finger and rubbed it. "Thank you. By the way, I didn't tell you my name… it is Jezelle. And I wanted to ask, would you come to my wedding?"
"I will be glad to!"
"I'll send you the invitation. Would you manage it from here?" She started packing her stuff. I guessed she was in a hurry to leave.
"Y-yeah, sure! You already explained everything."
She gave me a sly nod and handed me her phone number on a piece of paper. "If you have any problems, give me a call."
"Thanks, Jazelle."
With another smile flashing on her face, she left the bar.
Well, this was a weird day. This was my first day at work and I was all alone in the bar, with the owner disappearing for several years and the last bartender on the verge of quitting.
She told me that the owner just disappeared one day and left the property to her since she was the longest bartender here. So, she owned the place and ran it till now. I guess it was an amazing coincidence that I came here when I did.
I sighed. Well, time to change the look of this place and make it exciting since I won't get paid for standing!
____________________
It was almost the end of the day when I realized that Andrew was all alone at home. I needed to hire a babysitter for him — I couldn't leave him alone like this!
I made a call home and he picked it up.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, it is me, Drew. I just wanted to check up on you. You aren't hungry yet, are you? Mommy has to work for a little more while."
"No, mommy! I am good. I ate it already."
"Ate it?" I raised my eyebrows in confusion. "But I didn't make it yet, honey."
"Yes yes, mumma. Your friend came home and he bought me my favorite food!"