When Frank drove me home, I alighted from his car and bade him goodnight before heading straight into the house. I was exhausted, I felt like falling wearily into the couch right that instant at the sitting room and sleeping right there.
But I wouldn't do that because I didn't want to wake up with body pain. Thus, I headed to my room. There, I quickly changed into my night gown and retired for the night. Initially, I didn't think I could fall asleep as soon as I arrive home. I was worried about Jessica, you know?
The following day I woke up with body ache. I went to the bathroom, took a shower and changed into a top and a peer of jeans trousers before taking pain relief pills. Then I headed downstairs and met Aunt Vicky preparing breakfast.
"Good morning, aunt" I greeted her.
"Morning, Laura. How are you?" she asked.
"I am fine, thank you" I responded.
"You are welcome," she beamed at me, "Did you hear from Jessica?"
"This morning?" I wrinkled a brow at her.
"Yes, I called her earlier but her line was down. She probably activated flight mode or turned off the phone in order not to be disturbed" she said.
"Is that right?" I blurted out, "I mean, is she supposed to do that?"
"No, but... maybe she's kind of busy with something very important" she presumed, obviously trying to defend her daughter. She was one of the reasons why Jessica turned out to be the bad girl she was.
"Okay, if you say so. I just hope she returns home safely, I was so worried about her yesterday. I never even thought I could sleep" I voiced out, and that made aunt Vicky to burst into laughter.
"Why were you worried? Come on, you shouldn't have" she said and continued, "Jessica isn't a small girl, plus she has friends. And her dad was a very good sheriff deputy, nobody's touching her"
"Oh, okay then..." I cleared my throat and decided to change the topic. If she say her daughter is safe, then I guess she's safe. I believe every mother has this extraordinary way of sensing if their kids are in danger, they will have a bad feeling. "Remember Frank?" I asked her.
"Your new friend?" she wrinkled a brow at me.
"Yeah!" I gulped.
"What about him?" she stopped what she was doing and concentrated on me, "Talk, Laura, did he proposed to you?" She was anxious to know what I had to say.
"No, he didn't" I giggled, "It's actually about my job, he promised to get me a job in his dad's company. He even asked about Jessica too, that he could get her a job there with her high school diploma" I explained to her.
"Like seriously?" She was astonished, "When did he say that? I hope it's not in your dreams?" She teased.
"Hmm, yesterday. In the night. He gave me his address and asked me to meet him there today. I am going there this morning, I hope I can get a cab to drive me all the way to the mainland?" I enquired.
"Yeah, and you can also wait for Jessica to come back and drive you there. What do you think?" she suggested.
"Nice idea, but..." I said halfway as Jessica stormed into the house looking weird.
"Good morning, mom... Laura, what's up with that look you are giving me? Did I do something wrong or something?" she sarcastically asked.
"Of course not!" Aunt Vicky chimed in, "You did nothing wrong. Now go upstairs and change, don't forget to shower up though"
"Aye, mom" she giggled and headed to the stairway.
Wow, what a family! I never had the chance to do what Jessica was doing, my parents wouldn't let me stay late at school let alone to attend night parties or sleepover at a friend's house.
"So, what were you saying? Should Jessica drive you there?" Aunt Vicky said as Jessica stepped back and snapped at her,
"Drive her where? Come on, mom, you know I am exhausted. All I need now is some sleep, I really need that!" she bellowed and left.
In my mind, I was happy. I didn't even want her ride, I should be taking a cab.
"Well," Aunt Vicky turned to me, "I guess you would be taking a cab. You can book one on GoApp, they have good ratings. I use them sometimes" she suggested.
"Thank you, aunt. I will do that as soon as I am ready. What should I help you with, now?" I tried to help her with the eggs but she told me not to bother, that she was almost done.
When the breakfast was ready, I helped her in serving... after which she went upstairs to summon Jessica. She could just call her on phone, right? Anyways, perhaps she wanted to talk to her about something secretive.
While waiting for her to come back, Frank called and asked how I was.
"I am fine, thank you" I responded, "How about you?"
"Fine too. You heard from Jessica? I saw her heading home earlier" he said.
"Well, she's back home already. Looking tired, as if she did something strenuous" I muttered.
"Hhhh" he laughed, "Laura, you are funny. Don't you think partying all night is exhausting?" he said, trying to defend her.
"Nobody forced her to stay all night partying, right?" I uttered, not knowing what else to add.
"It's her life" he giggled, "Besides, the festival is annually"
"Hmm" I sighed, he actually had a point there.
"Yes, so... let's talk about our meeting, 10am please. I would be expecting you, I already talked to my dad about it" he said.
"Wow, you talked to him about the job? What did he say?" I curiously asked.
"He said and I quote, as long as she's fit for the job then she's welcome"
"Hmm, thank you so much Frank. I really appreciate it. I will be on my way soon, see you!"
"Alright, later dear" he ended the call.
As soon as Aunt Vicky returned to the dining, she huffed and told me Jessica wasn't coming down for breakfast, "She ate something before coming back" she added.
"At the party?" I asked.
"At one of her friends' domicile, why?" she wrinkled a brow at me.
"Actually," I cleared my throat and continued, "I was just wondering if she's really telling the truth"
"Of course she is, and if she's not then I am sure she will look for what to eat when her stomach starts grumbling" she smirked.
"That's true" I smiled.
"Yeah!" she sipped her coffee, "So tell me, what's your plan if you start working with Frank?"
"Like...? I don't get it"
"Like, are you going to relocate to the Mainland?" she uttered, prompting me to sigh.
"Oh, do I really need to do that?" I gulped, "I thought I could use cab for transport"
"You can do that, but it's not gonna be easy. Every day waking up and taking a cab to the Mainland, I just hope Jessica gets the work too so you guys could be going there together" she said.
"Don't worry, aunt, I will talk to him about it. But do you think she's going to like it?" I curiously asked.
"That's what I do not know, 'cause she's obsessed with studying in Oxford. Something I can't afford" she said.
"Maybe you should talk to her" I suggested.
"Alright, I will" she agreed.
Thus, we kept on talking while eating. And after the breakfast, I helped her in clearing the table before heading upstairs to prepare for my little trip.
I was excited, actually, that I was finally getting a job. I didn't even know what exactly to wear. Anyways, since I had a pantsuit I decided to wear it.
Then I packed my hair in a ponytail before grabbing my bag from my bed and heading out of the room.
There was still time, actually, but I intended to go there early. Therefore, I bade aunt Vicky goodbye and left.
While walking on the street, the thought of all that had happened the day prior bumped into my mind. I almost lost my phone in this street, I thought to myself.
Seriously, if I had not acted fast then I would be thinking about getting a new phone now. And, although the phone can be replaced, some of the things I had in the phone can't be replaced.
All those pictures I had of my parents, the ones I couldn't save on the cloud in fear of internet breach or something, and some of my important documents too. They can't really be replaced.
When I arrived at the main bridge, I brought out my phone from my bag and searched for the app Aunt Vicky told me about. GoApp.
I installed the app, registered with my email and summoned a cab. The app really had good reviews on store, and about two hundred million downloads.
That probably meant they were a good company with good reputation. I would definitely leave my review too after my first ride, I just hope I shouldn't be disappointed.
While waiting for the cab to arrive, a black SUV passing through the bridge pulled over and the driver rose his glass. "Hey young lady," the river said. It was actually the Count's son, Paul, and he was smoking again, don't they get tired? "where to?" he asked me.
I didn't want to reply him but in fear of what he might do to me, I told him I was going to the Mainland and I already booked a cab. "It's on its way" I added.
"Cab? Come on" he smirked and blew his cigarette, "I hate cabs. Especially those on GoApp and MyRide" he negatively commented.
"Oh, but GoApp has good reviews and about two hundred million downloads..." I said as he snapped at me,
"Come on, darling, don't be fooled by fake reviews. Anyone can decide to pay people to download their app and leave positive reviews" he said and chuckled.
He was actually on point, it used to happen but I doubt if GoApp was into that. "The reviews looked genuine, you should check it yourself" I advised.
"I don't need to do that, young lady, because I already know what's going on" he blew his cigarette again, "What you and others don't know" he added.
"Well, I am about to find out too. I will leave a review when I reach my destination" I said, hoping to be left alone.
"Hmm, you really wanna do this huh? Well, you may not survive to leave a review" he uttered, rendering me speechless. I was actually frightened. "Hello, why that look?" he giggled, "I was just trying to... you know, change your mind. Come on in, I could take you to your destination" he offered me a ride.
However, there was no way I was going to enter his car. First, I didn't trust him. Second, he was smoking and probably wasn't in his right sense. What if he ended up killing us both? "No, thank you!" I declined his offer.
"Like seriously?" he rose his brows, staring at me while I pretended as if I didn't grasp his expression. "Lorraine, or what's even your name?" he stepped out of the car and dropped his cigarette. While squashing it with his boot, he smiled at me. "Laura, right?" he huffed, leaned his back on his car and folded his arms across his chest. "You know, Frank told me a lot about you. Just exactly what you told him. Actually, he's good at sharing things with me"
He tried to make me talk but I remained silent. I chose to remain silent because I was bored, I wanted him to go. Sadly, he was persistent. He kept talking, narrating how he first met Frank and how they ended up becoming friends. He also told me about his family, and other things I regarded as 'too personal to be shared with a stranger like me', was he drunk or something? I wondered.
