SHE

SHE
 “Miss?” 
Someone tapped me on the shoulder, I turn to face them, he has a huge smile on his face, and a hard to miss tag that says, ASK ME FOR HELP. A worker in this place, genuinely I was impressed, there seemed to be no rhythm to anything around here.
 “Yes?” 
His eyes widen a fraction, he must recognize me, I clear my throat and tuck my head into my chin, since Connor didn’t make a big deal out of it, I had lulled myself into a false sense of normalcy.
 “Don’t worry, I was asked to make no fuss and tell no one.” he says quickly, and from his shadow casted on the ground by one of the giant overhead lights, I saw him wave his arms as if waving my doubts away.
Yet, he was making a fuss.
 “By who?”
He reached into his messenger bag, dips his hand into the opening and hands me a stack of cash, if I had to guess, I would say it was at least 30k, and from the vacuumed ziploc bag that held it, I knew it came from Richard, he hid money here as well?
 Taking it from him gingerly, I tuck it to my chest, the man must be crazy, how was I supposed to walk around with this much money without attracting attention.
“Where is he?”
“Oh, he already left. He said he was taking the car and the room for the night, and this should sort you out.”
“What the fuck?!”
The nodded as if he understood that Richard brought me here and dumped me, and as if I was a petulant child, he stuffs cash in my hands? Like it would solve anything?
 “He said not to use your card because paper trail, that the cash should suffice, and if it didn’t...” he trails off, dipping his hand inside the bag and handing me a similar ziploc bag. 
With wide eyes, I collect the second bag, peeping into the messenger bag, I find similar ziplocs.
 “Has he finally gone insane??” 
“He also said not to use your phone.”
I let out a sigh, I was not an idiot, I knew that,
 “How many more are in there? Wait, don’t answer that, gimme the bag, I will buy it off you.”
The guy smiles, and hands me the messenger bag, and then waves me off again,
“I have mine, he paid me for my services, thanks to his weirdness, I don’t have to work any more part time jobs.” he says in excitement, I can’t help but be excited with him.
“Is he okay?”
“Just slightly tipsy, don’t worry, his partner drove, and he didn’t drink.”
 He leaves, leaving me alone with so much cash that I knew counting it outside would be unwise, I return the other ziplocs to the messenger bag and trudge to the gate. I wasn’t worried about him, it was obviously not his first rodeo, I was worried about me, where was I supposed to go?
 For the second night in a row I was rendered homeless by the Kersher boys, I could not rely on them, this I know. 
Calling a cab, I ask him to drive me to the mall, getting a new phone at this point was a need, I had to look up hotels or short rentals, and turning on my phone would rain Abed down on me, and while my heart ached for him, I still felt slighted. 
 I get a prepaid phone that didn’t need me to register it in my name and a few clothes, and by the time I leave the mall, I had found a place to short let, good thing it was in opposite direction from the hotel and both Kersher men.
 Texting Connor with the new phone took a lot of courage, I was trying to remove someone from my heart but what if replacing him was the wrong way to go about it? The answer meant little to me it seems, since I texted him, and by the time I paid for a month, the owner, a stout man with thin wisps of hair cleared his throat, but delighted when I add an extra 1k, Connor had responded with the time and place, I didn’t want him to know my address, so I tell him I would meet him there, and the weariness from the day catches up to me, and even with the thermostat set to hell, I still feel myself shiver, not from loneliness I’m sure.
  The next morning I see the short-let with new eyes, it was cozy, and the decor was obviously done by a professional, it was homey and beautiful. The fridge was also stocked, a good host, I think to myself as I make myself cereal. Suddenly I am reminded of breakfast at Abed’s, it was always nutritious and delicious, my heart aches, I convince myself it was the breakfast I miss as I dress up.
 When I get there, I am a few minutes late, I find Connor easily, I remind myself that he was the cutest person I had ever seen last night as I walk to him, I find a girl sitting beside him, and from the red streak in her hair, I know she is his sister. Kiya?
 Her eyes go wide as she stares at me, her jaw scraping the ground, I turn to Connor, feeling uncomfortable, he fixes his glasses and chuckles nervously.
“She didn’t believe me when I said I had a date today, and for some reason this was her response when she heard your name, I am so sorry.”
“You will have to forgive my brother, he sees the world through a lens so a lot passes by him, like how he doesn’t know you are the famous actress.”
 I tuck my hair behind my ear, chuckling nervously, I press myself further into the booth, alarm bells screaming inside my head that this was a mistake.
“You did it! I knew you had it in you! Now I feel so sorry for ruining last night for you.”
Connor sighs,
“Can you please excuse us for a second?” 
He pulls his sister along with him, even as she asked for my autograph, his grip on her is stronger, and they both disappear out of the door. My entire body sags, at least nobody was looking in my direction. I start to plot my escape, because if Connor didn’t know about me before, his sister was definitely giving him everything he needed to know, and I would hate to be shamed for it up close.
 Connor returns alone, 
“Hey listen I forgot that I have...”
“Please don’t go...” he tells me, I look up to his eyes, they are filled with hope, so much hope that I have to blink.
“I uhm...” I start.
“Miya has no sense of personal space, and I just wanted her to stop setting me up with her friends, it gets embarrassing at some point.” he says, I chuckle slightly, he was good at that, making small jokes that makes you smile.
“I didn’t know who you are... I know you were special, I am glad the rest of the world know it too.”
Okay, he knew the right the to say to a girl as well, my grip on my bag had loosened, it seems I won’t leave.
 “If you will, give me the next few hours, and if you still have that thing, you can leave.”
Another small chuckle, maybe my day won’t be so bad after all, maybe I would forget Abed, even if I was comparing Connor’s looks with his, Abed still wins.
“I got this for you.” he says putting a gift bag on the table, gingerly I reach out, take the gift box in hand, and when I open it, I find a Polaroid of the photo he took yesterday, it was beautiful.
 “I also sent you a digital copy.”
I look up, “You spent all night working on it?”
He nods shyly.
 I was utterly grateful, immensely grateful, but all I could think about was giving Abed the picture.