[Present Day]
_______________
Veronica ran through the busy streets till she'd gotten far enough from the scene. She slowed down to catch her breath, placing a hand over her chest to calm the fast beating of her heart.
Her phone alarm beeped, reminding her that there were only about five minutes before her break ended.
She began to count her steps just like her therapist had advised. Whenever she felt stressed, she picked a random thing to count to distract herself. After over two hundred steps, she finally reached her office building. The security guard who knew her helped her push a button from inside to open the card-sensitive doors.
"Miss Miller!", Mrs. Carla called out with an oddly excited tone waving to catch Veronica's attention.
'Did she hear about me losing my job?", her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she approached the woman. "You seem oddly excited".
The older woman cleared her throat in an attempt to regain composure. "I didn't know you'd gone out. Fabian will hand you an envelope once you go upstairs".
Veronica arched a brow, "Okay...".
She quietly walked towards the elevator which took her two floors up. On her way to the office, she heard them laughing for some reason but decided eavesdropping would be unnecessary. She waltzed in noting that the whole place fell silent as she approached her seat.
On her desk was an envelope which was already opened. She picked it up to check its contents only to find out that it was her new ID that was inside and the picture looked like she was about to let one loose in the toilet.
'I can't believe I once called my co-workers good people'. She almost laughed before continuing to type on her computer. As long as she still showed up at work for the next week, she'd be able to leave with her full month's salary, so it was all a matter of endurance.
Fabian was nowhere to be seen.
After heading home, she hung up her blazer and fed Davie before searching for the meds she took whenever she felt stressed and overwhelmed.
"Empty...", she slammed the top shelf shut before sliding out the second to find a small cylindrical plastic container. Her hands began to tremble as she uncorked it, only to discover that it was empty. 'When did I run out?', she stuttered a bit, shutting her eyes in an attempt to catch her breath.
Was it because she'd not needed to medicate for a while that the finished medications had gone unnoticed?
"I did notice this morning though".
Veronica signed before moving to the bathroom sink and splashed cool water onto her face and neck. 'Damn it! This is not okay'. And it wasn't safe to take a bath while she felt anxious because she also became paranoid.
The thought of having to look for another job bothered her since it would be difficult without having any connections in Augsburg.
And she still wasn't sure how she'd ended up home.
She rushed to the kitchen to drink some water before looking towards the cutlery cabinet, "No...no", she shook her head deciding it would be better to take a run outside instead of remaining indoors and probably harming herself in the long run.
Veronica hastily changed out of her office clothes into a pair of navy green baggy shorts and a black cami top which she tossed a hoodie over because of how cold it could get in the evening. She tied her hair behind her neck in a ponytail before grabbing the keys on the bed to leave.
On opening the door, she saw a familiar face which immediately spoilt her mood. Her analytic eyes scanned down from the sorry expression on his face to the flowers in his arms.
"I'm heading out", she tried to push past him but he outstretched a hand to stop her.
"I'm sorry...", Fabian's voice was barely audible and he couldn't meet her gaze. He pushed the bouquet in her direction and mouthed an apology, "For everything I said, I wasn't thinking and you're right, I acted selfishly by not telling you".
She sighed, feeling slightly guilty. "I overreacted too, s...s...sor...ry". She fought with herself to let those words come out since she wasn't used to apologizing.
Fabian chuckled.
"What's funny?", she queried with an arched brow.
"It's nothing, just that you've never been the apologetic type, so I find it kinda cute. The way you act mean but you're actually such a softie". He tried to touch her face but she pulled back.
"You know what else would be cute? My fist in your face", she inserted her key in the lock while glowering at him.
He shrugged indifferently, "If you're going out, might as well have dinner with me somewhere".
She'd managed to find an excuse whenever he asked her out.
"Nah...", she turned to walk past him.
"What's your excuse this time?", he called after her as she jogged down the hallway.
"Just gotta run", she called back with a wave.
Fabian watched her turn a corner while wondering why she was always trying too hard to keep away from him—like she was scared to give her heart out. He sighed turning to leave before remembering the flowers in his arms, "Shit!".
***
Veronica who had no plans of accepting his flowers since they'd die sooner or later kept jogging till she was out and some distance away from the building before stopping to breathe. She rested her elbows against a brick wall, taking deep breaths, turning back at intervals to check if he'd followed her as her laughter gradually faded.
'Now I don't even feel like jogging anymore', but there was no telling how long he might linger at her doorstep, so she had to find somewhere to spend the next hour.
Although the capital city, Augsburg had exquisite buildings, the crime rate was terribly high at nightfall and the city was the hideout of many drug dealers, prostitutes, religious fanatics, gangsters, and any other sort of criminal group you could think of!
Knowing that no regular citizen would be out by nightfall. Fortunately, it was about half past five which meant there was still over an hour before it got completely dark.
Veronica smiled before walking away, without noticing the man watching her from across the road with a hoodie covering his face.